One-Pot Caribbean Red Beans and Rice

This easy one-pot vegan Caribbean-inspired recipe is great as a side or as the main.  I love how creaminess of the coconut milk blends so well with the spice of the Creole seasoning. Its great recipe to change and spice things up in the kitchen! It is full of protein and definitely keeps you full.

In all honestly I was down to the bare bones in my pantry. I hadn’t been grocery shopping in a while and I was too lazy to go. I dug in the back of the cabinet and found 2 cans of coconut milk. I used one for this recipe and the other for a Thai curry (recipe to come!).

This is such an easy recipe it can be made in one pot. You cook your rice, with your coconut milk, seasonings and toss in the beans and cook til tender.

I have also made this recipe by cooking my beans in a Crockpot (16 oz of beans and 6 cups of water) and cooking the rice in a rice cooker (using the can of coconut milk then filling the rest of the required liquid with water). This ‘fix it and forget it’ version is easy because all you have to do is combine all of the cooked ingredients at the end.

This dish is inspired by Caribbean/Jamacian and Creole styles. I know they are very different but I think in this recipe it works pretty well.

The prep and cook time for this recipe is so fast and east. If you use canned beans you can have this recipe done in 30 minutes or less. But If you prefer cooking with dried beans it will take longer.

Ingredients:

This makes a fairly large batch for the week but you can definitely adjust this to your liking.

1.5 cups of rice

3 cans of red kidney beans

1 15 oz can coconut milk

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1.5 cups of water

Seitan sausages (optional, but encouraged!)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Add the water, the coconut milk and spices to a pot. Bring to a boil.

2. Once at a boil add the rice. Cover and turn down to low. Cook the rice until tender about 20 minutes.

3. Once rice is tender add the beans (This is where you add sliced seitan sausages if you’d like). Cook until everything is warmed through.

4. Serve as a side or as a main entree!

Let me know what you think and if you try this out!