Our Vegan Jamaican Rice and Peas delivers on bold Caribbean flavor! Best yet, it is a simple one-pot meal that requires little active cooking.
Do you crave bold Jamaican flavors? Then this delicious one-pot meal is for you. Jamaican rice and peas are simple to prepare but are big on flavor, and they are perfect for your weekday meal prep. They are also delightful when enjoyed in our Vegan Jamaican Bowl!
🇯🇲 WHAT ARE RICE & PEAS?
Rice and peas is Jamaica’s most popular side dish! Other Caribbean islands have their own variations as well. The dish is called rice and “peas” because pigeon peas (also known as gungo peas) were the traditional legume used. However, kidney beans are the legume of choice today.
This rice has a healthy infusion of aromatics (garlic, onion, green onions, thyme, Scotch bonnet pepper), allspice, and coconut milk. The kidney beans provide a toothy bite. And although this dish is often naturally vegan, some recipes use chicken broth. We use vegetable broth in our recipe to add an extra layer of flavor, but you can sub in water if you prefer.
📝 INGREDIENTS
- Aromatics: onion, garlic, ginger, green onions, thyme, bay leaves, and a whole Scotch bonnet pepper. These ingredients infuse the cooking liquid with incredible flavor and aroma. Note: If you can’t find a Scotch bonnet, you can sub in a habanero pepper.
- Dried kidney beans: The “peas” in our rice and peas. We recommend using dried kidney beans, because they have a meatier texture. However, you can substitute two 14-oz cans of kidney beans (drained).
- Long grain white rice: The “rice” in our rice and peas. We used basmati, but you can use any kind you like.
- Coconut milk: Adds luscious creaminess to our rice.
- Seasonings: allspice, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Allspice is a quintessential spice in Jamaican cooking. It tastes and smells like cinnamon, nutmeg and clove had a lovechild.
- Vegetable broth: The cooking liquid for our kidney beans that adds an extra layer of umami. If you prefer, you can use water instead.
🔪 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
***Check out our recipe video below!***
- Soak the beans: Soak the beans overnight (or for at least 5 hours). They’ll plump up, and it’s totally normal for them to crack at the seams.
- Cook the beans: Add the beans with their soaking water to a large pot. Then add vegetable broth, onion, garlic, ginger, green onions, thyme, bay leaves, and whole Scotch bonnet. Add salt, pepper, and allspice. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. The beans are done when they are fork tender.
- Cook the rice: Add the coconut milk and rice, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Adjust seasoning, discard bay leaves, thyme, and hot pepper. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
💡 RECIPE TIPS
- Leave the Scotch bonnet whole: Don’t be tempted to slice that bad boy and throw it in your rice. It is one spicy mamma jamma! Just leave it whole and let it add wonderful citrusy, peppery notes to your rice. And don’t worry, it won’t make your rice and peas spicy. If you can’t find a Scotch bonnet, you can sub in a habanero pepper. Lastly, make sure to remove the hot pepper before serving.
- Dried kidney bean substitution: We recommend using dried beans for better texture. But if you’re in a hurry, you can sub in two 14-oz cans of kidney beans, including the liquid in the can. Simply add them in at Step 2.
- Tie up the thyme sprigs: Use kitchen twine to tie up the thyme sprigs for easier removal.
DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN JAMAICAN RICE AND PEAS?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE VEGAN CARIBBEAN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
VEGAN JAMAICAN RICE AND PEAS
Ingredients
- 1 small onion chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 3 green onions chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1 cup dried red kidney beans soaked overnight [or substitute two 14-oz can red kidney beans, including the liquid in the can]
- 2 cups long grain white rice rinsed and drained
- 1 14-oz can coconut milk
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 whole Scotch bonnet or substitute 1 whole habanero
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Soak the beans: Soak the beans overnight the day prior to cooking this dish. Otherwise, you can soak the beans for at least 5 hours.
- Cook the beans: Add the kidney beans with their soaking water to a large pot. Then add vegetable broth. The liquid should be about 2 inches over the beans, so add additional broth or water as needed. Then add the onions, garlic, ginger, green onions, thyme, bay leaves and whole hot pepper. Then add the salt, black pepper and allspice. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes (or longer depending on how long you soaked the beans). Watch the beans closely to make sure they don’t burn and add additional broth or water as needed. The beans are done when they are fork tender.
- Cook the rice: When the beans are cooked, add the coconut milk and rice and stir to combine. (Note: There should only be about a half inch of liquid above the rice). Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, or until rice is tender and the liquids have been absorbed. Stir occasionally to ensure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Adjust seasoning to taste and discard bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and hot pepper before serving. Garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
- Leave the Scotch bonnet whole: Don’t be tempted to slice that bad boy and throw it in your rice. It is one spicy mamma jamma! Just leave it whole and let it add wonderful citrusy, peppery notes to your rice. And don’t worry, it won’t make your rice and peas spicy. If you can’t find a Scotch bonnet, you can sub in a habanero pepper. Lastly, make sure to remove the hot pepper before serving.
- Dried kidney bean substitution: We recommend using dried beans for better texture. But if you’re in a hurry, you can sub in two 14-oz cans of kidney beans, including the liquid in the can. Simply add them in at Step 2.
- Tie up the thyme sprigs: Use kitchen twine to tie up the thyme sprigs for easier removal.
This sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try this.
Wow, rice and peas are a lot easier to make than I thought. I have all the ingredients. I’m going to give it a try.
My first time making Jamaican food. It won’t be my last. FANTASTIC.
Healthy. Easy. Full of flavor.