This Jamaican Rice and Peas has all the delicious flavors of the traditional Caribbean side dish, but is quickly cooked in the pressure cooker! Have this easy coconut rice ready to eat with your favorite protein and Jamaican sides in less than 30 minutes.
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Quick and delicious. By using canned peas (kidney beans), we're able to pressure cook this twist on Jamaican peas and rice in just 6 minutes. Perfect to make for Sunday dinner or any night of the week when you need something filling and flavorful.
- Goes with many proteins! Serve Jamaican peas and rice with jerk chicken, curry chicken, pork, fish, and more. See more recommendations later in the post.
- Freezer friendly. Easily freeze cooled leftovers in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Coconut milk - To make the most flavorful Jamaican rice, it is important to use full-fat coconut milk from a can or homemade coconut milk. Please do not substitute lite coconut milk or coconut milk from a carton. These varieties of coconut milk are too watery and won't bring enough richness to the dish.
- Kidney beans - If this is your first time making rice and peas, you may have expected this recipe to include green peas. Beans are called peas in Jamaican cooking and this traditional coconut rice dish is almost always prepared with kidney beans.
- Thyme, garlic, and scallion - In Caribbean cooking, thyme, garlic, and scallions are referred to as the trinity of spices. It is important to use fresh ingredients for the best flavor. Don't skimp on your seasoned rice!
- Scotch bonnet - Scotch bonnet peppers on their own are incredibly spicy. By pressure cooking a whole, uncut pepper in the rice, you'll get additional savory flavor without the heat.
- Allspice (pimento berries) and seasoned salt - Essentials to delicious, seasoned Jamaican rice. I use and recommend Lawry's seasoning.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Ginger substitute: Use ½ teaspoon ground ginger in place of the fresh ginger.
- Substituting the Scotch bonnet pepper: Use serrano pepper, habanero pepper or even a chili pepper in place of the Scotch bonnet pepper if needed. The flavor won't be an exact match, but it is better than leaving the heat out all together.
- Using dry kidney beans: If you are cooking your peas (kidney beans) from scratch, be sure to do so before starting the recipe and pressure cooking with the rice. Cooking beans from dry takes a lot longer than it does to cook white rice in the Instant Pot. Ideally, cook and cool the peas before starting so the peas do not overcook.
Instructions
- Wash the peas and rice. Drain the kidney beans and rinse the peas and rice together thoroughly with cool water. This will help remove the excess starches to help make the rice not stick together. Shelly rice is a popular term in Jamaica to describe this type of "flaky" rice.
- Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot. Make sure that all of the rice is submerged in the liquid to help it cook through evenly. Secure the lid, set the valve to seal and pressure cook at manual high pressure for 6 minutes.
- Fluff the rice. Remove the scotch bonnet pepper and fluff the rice with a fork. Make sure all the spices are evenly distributed before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Are peas and rice a complete protein?
Yes, this coconut rice and peas dish is a complete protein on its own. This means this side dish contains all 9 of the essential amino acids and can be enjoyed as a main dish.
What goes with peas and rice?
Serve the peas and rice with one of these favorites:
- Curry Goat
- Jamaican Oxtails
- Jamaican Style Curry Chicken
- Ackee and Saltfish
- Callaloo
- Jamaican Hot Pepper Shrimp
- Fried Sweet Plantains
Can I make this peas and rice in the rice cooker?
Yes, if you do not have a pressure cooker but instead own a rice cooker, follow the instructions but cook the rice and peas on the white rice setting.
Top Tips
- Before pressure cooking, give the rice and peas a good stir and mix in the spices. This will make for the most balanced flavor. Be careful not to burst the scotch bonnet or your peas and rice will be very spicy.
- Remove the lid when the rice is fully cooked. If you leave the lid on, the rice will keep cooking and be soggy.
More Instant Pot Recipes You May Like
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🍳Recipe
Instant Pot Jamaican Rice and Peas
This Jamaican Rice and Peas has all the delicious flavors of the traditional Caribbean staple, but is quickly made in the pressure cooker! Enjoy this easy coconut rice dish with your favorite protein and Jamaican sides in less than 30 minutes.
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Servings: Servings
Calories: 170.75kcal
Equipment
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 can kidney beans, drained
- 1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed
- 1 stalks of scallions, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, whole
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning
Instructions
- Begin by draining the beans and washing the rice.
- Add all of the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Set the valve to seal and cook for 6 minutes at low pressure. Allow the pressure to naturally release for about 10 minutes then switch the valve to manually release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the scotch bonnet from the instant and fluff the rice with a fork.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Before pressure cooking, give the rice and peas a good stir and mix in the spices. This will make for the most balanced flavor. Be careful not to burst the scotch bonnet or your peas and rice will be very spicy.
- Remove the lid when the rice is fully cooked. If you leave the lid on, the rice will keep cooking and be soggy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 170.75kcal | Carbohydrates: 37.42g | Protein: 3.37g | Fat: 0.33g | Saturated Fat: 0.09g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.09g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 4.08mg | Potassium: 65.27mg | Fiber: 0.69g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 24.48IU | Vitamin C: 3.67mg | Calcium: 14.72mg | Iron: 0.41mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Sarah M says
Delicious flavor and easy. seemed like too much liquid though, my rice turned out a little bit gummy. I don't know if you could just omit the water, or if it would be better to cut back a smidge on the coconut milk. But either way, my family loved it and I would definitely make it again! I substituted a habanero for the scotch bonnet since those are not available where I live.
Sarah Holt says
Hi Sarah, thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you and your family enjoyed the flavor of the rice. I will retest the recipe by adjusting the amount of liquid and change the recipe as necessary.
Sarah Holt says
Hi Sarah, I just retested this recipe without the water and it came out great so I edited the recipe to remove the water. I hope you make this again and let me know how it turns out next time 🙂