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AI-generated photograph: A neat dome of rice and peas speckled with deep red kidney beans on a matte white plate, a sprig of fresh thyme and a fine scatter of sliced spring onion on top

Home · Recipes · Caribbean rice and peas

Caribbean · Sides

Caribbean rice and peas

coconut rice · red kidney beans · thyme and pimento

AI-generated photograph

Fluffy long-grain rice cooked in coconut milk with red kidney beans, thyme, spring onion and a whole scotch bonnet that gives warmth without fire. The side that belongs beside every Sunday plate.

Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Coconut is not counted as a tree nut under UK rules.

Ingredients

  • 1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
  • 2 spring onions, trimmed and lightly squashed with the flat of a knife
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme (about 5g)
  • A quarter teaspoon ground allspice (also called pimento)
  • 1 scotch bonnet chilli, left whole and not cut
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tin (400g) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 250g long-grain rice

Plan a week with Caribbean dishes

Let's cook

  1. Pour the coconut milk into a medium pan that has a tight lid. Fill the empty tin a quarter full with water (about 100ml), swirl it and add it to the pan.
  2. Add the spring onions, garlic, thyme, allspice, the whole scotch bonnet and the salt. Bring it to a gentle simmer on a medium heat and let it bubble for 5 minutes so the flavours go into the milk. Do not let the scotch bonnet burst: whole, it only gives a gentle warmth.
  3. While it simmers, put the rice in a sieve and rinse it under the cold tap, moving it with your fingers, until the water runs almost clear. This washes off loose starch so the grains stay separate.
  4. Stir the kidney beans and the rice into the pan. Turn the heat up and bring it back to the boil. The liquid should sit just above the rice; if it does not, add a splash of water.
  5. Turn the heat down as low as it goes, put the lid on and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
  6. Take the pan off the heat and leave it, lid on, for 5 minutes. Lift out the scotch bonnet, the thyme stalks and the spring onions with a spoon, then gently fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

Tips

  • Keep the scotch bonnet whole. If it splits, the rice turns hot, so lift it out carefully.
  • A heavy pan with a snug lid stops the coconut milk catching on the bottom.
  • Cool any leftover rice quickly, keep it in the fridge for no more than a day and reheat it until steaming hot all the way through.

Swaps

  • Traditional pigeon peas or gungo peas: use a 400g tin of either in place of the kidney beans.
  • Lighter: use half a tin of coconut milk and make up the rest with water.
  • For children: leave out the scotch bonnet altogether.

More in the Caribbean meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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What goes with it.

The Caribbean meal plan