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Rice & Beans

Rice & beans is simple, cheap and delicious. It is a budget-friendly classic, simple to add veg to, and can be batch cooked to save time and money for the future, too! We’ve gathered some expert tips and small steps to help you take a basic “rice & peas” dish from good to great!

Why is rice and beans so great?

It’s focus on simple, readily available and affordable, and mild ingredients suit adult’s budgets and children’s palates very well and it is easy to add veg to without changing the flavour or texture of the dish too much. While you can serve this alongside cooked meat or fish, it is a balanced, protein-rich meal in and of itself, so you can make your money go further all while eating better.

Its adaptability means rice & bean can be as healthy, cheap, easy and quick as you choose to make it, meaning it’s a perfect basic family recipe to have under your belt to make small tweaks to over time. We’ve kept the recipe below simple rather than focusing on a traditional recipe, but if you have a more traditional one you already make, just use yours as a starting point and use our tips to adapt as you go.

You can make a big batch of rice & beans and freeze for up to a month to have it on hand for quick dinners, just make sure to cool and freeze quickly and reheat to piping hot to keep temperatures safe and healthy for the rice.

Our Simple Rice & Beans recipe below is just that – a basic mix of rice + beans + maybe some seasonings and/or chilli. If you are just starting out, this is the place to start!

If you already have the basics and want to work on slowly improving your recipe using our Step by Step method, try our Next Steps Rice & Beans.

Kids who engage with healthy foods are more likely to eat them, so to set yourself up for success, we’ve included tips to get kids involved in the second recipe to keep things simple.

Simple Rice & Beans

Ingredients:

1 mug basmati (or other) rice for 4 people

2 mugs water (or 1 mug water and 1 tomato sauce or coconut milk if you prefer more flavour)

1 small red chilli, deseeded and halved lengthways (optional)

1 tin red kidney beans (or black eyed beans)

1 tbsp Jerk seasoning or 1 tsp each dried thyme and ground allspice (optional)

Cooked chicken or veggie alternative, to serve (optional)

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Not made rice & beans before, or not ready to try the next steps? Start here!

Method:

  1. Pour 1 mug of rice and 2 mugs water (or 1 each water and tomato sauce/coconut milk) into a large saucepan, along with the halved chilli if using, and bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is fluffy (about 12-15 mins for basmati, longer for long-grain rice), adding more water if it boils away before the rice is cooked.

  2. Remove the chilli if you used one and stir through the drained kidney beans and seasoning (if using). Serve as is, or with some cooked chicken or veggie alternative. Some sliced spring onions are also traditional with this dish!

There is no need to go any further with this recipe until you are confident with it and feel up for the next step.

Once you have the basics it’s time to slowly improve your recipe using our Step by Step method to a bit better.

There are two ways to step-by-step your way to better rice & beans – start where you feel most comfortable and if in doubt, start with a few veg.

Remember, the MOST important thing is that the family enjoys the meal! These changes and swaps can take as long as is needed. Small simple improvements over time may not even be noticed!

Aim for 2 handfuls of veg per person in the long-run, but it’s better to go slow and get there than to rush to the finish line and find no one is there with you. For the best chance of success, start with a veg you know the family likes, don’t try to hide it, and build up over time. Starting with frozen veg can also mean less waste, keeping costs down, and being able to add a small amount simply.

We’ve added our top suggestions and how and when to add them to the recipe below.

If you use a jarred sauce to add flavour to your rice & beans, swapping a ready-made sauce for a homemade sauce can often help the budget as well as the salt and sugar content. If making your own sauce is 20 mins you can’t spare, adding a tin of chopped tomatoes or coconut milk is an easy, cheaper, instant way to a healthier sauce.

Next Steps Rice & Beans

Ingredients:

1 mug basmati (or other) rice for 4 people

2 mugs water (or 1 mug water and 1 tin chopped tomatoes or coconut milk if you prefer more flavour)

1 small red chilli, deseeded and halved lengthways (optional)

1 tin red kidney beans (or black eyed beans)

1 tbsp Jerk seasoning or 1 tsp each dried thyme and ground allspice (optional)

Cooked chicken or veggie alternative, to serve (optional – try to reduce the amount as you add more veg to the dish)

Some added veg – aim for 1-2 handfuls per person

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We suggest you do this in stages, slowly, and go as far as works for your family, here’s how your final recipe might come together…

Method:

  1. Pour 1 mug of rice and 2 mugs water (or 1 each water and chopped tomatoes/coconut milk) into a large saucepan, along with the halved chilli if using, and bring to a simmer. Add frozen veg if using. Cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is fluffy (about 12-15 mins for basmati, longer for long-grain rice), adding more water if it boils away before the rice is cooked.

  2. Great frozen veg here includes: peas, sweetcorn, mixed veg, grilled Mediterranean veg, frozen whole leaf spinach, broad beans or edamame beans, sliced peppers or mushrooms, sliced carrots… For bigger frozen veg that takes longer to cook like broccoli/cauliflower florets or diced sweet potato/squash, try cooking separately according to package instructions and stirring through when everything is ready.

  3. If using fresh veg, try dicing small and cooking either separately (then adding to the rice when done), or soften in some oil in a large saucepan, then add the rice and liquid to the same pan in with the cooked veg so it’s all in one. Try: finely diced carrots, celery and/or onion, sliced or diced peppers or mushrooms, diced courgettes or aubergines, thinly sliced leeks, finely diced sweet potato or squash… If using broccoli or cauliflower florets, you are best off cooking separately, and for fresh leafy greens, just stir them through with the beans!
  4. Remove the chilli if you used one and stir through the drained kidney beans and seasoning (if using). Serve as is, or with some cooked chicken or veggie alternative. Some sliced spring onions are also traditional with this dish, or try some fresh veg on the side with your protein like sliced cucumber or cherry tomatoes, or even cooked and buttered corn-on-the-cob!

Engaging Kids

Engaging Kids

Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating. Find out more here.

Kids in the kitchen

Kids in the kitchen

Get younger kids rinsing the beans in a sieve, measuring out the rice and water with a mug, and/or chucking a couple of handfuls of your chosen veg into the pan.

Older kids might be ready to learn how to chop some fresh veg to add at the start of the meal, stir everything together in the pan, and learning to taste (careful, it’s hot!) to determine whether to add some optional extras for flavour such as lemon or lime juice, fresh chopped coriander or mint, or perhaps some salsa or coconut milk for tang or creaminess.

Master these skills:

Cleaning vegetables,  Weighing,  Tasting,  Mixing
Activities

Activities

Use arts & crafts as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. While you make your rice & beans, why not set a child up with:

Peas Veg Crown

Peas – Cutout ‘n Colour

Boxing Peas Puzzle

Escapeas Game

Peadoku Puzzle

Find more arts & crafts and puzzles & games on our website.

Sensory

Sensory

Why not start with a red pepper and get them to describe what they see – what does it look like? Does it remind them of a bell, a mini umbrella, or a scary face (if sliced in half lengthways)? Encourage their imaginations and see what fun ideas they come up with! See if they want to chuck some into the rice & beans, or serve them raw on the side, after having engaged with them.

Watch Ruth Platt’s video on sensory activities with peppers for more inspiration, or get more tips, games and videos over on our Sensory page.

Serving

Serving

Why not let your child be in charge of coming up with a fun name and story for the meal and decorating the table with the theme they have in mind! They could turn the table into a Caribbean island for the Jamaican “rice & peas” dinner to bright a little brightness to a dreary day, or come up with a funny story or some silly puns about the dish to share with everyone over dinner.

Get more ideas over on our Roles for Kids page.

DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
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