Awesome Belizean Rice and Beans!

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Belizean Rice and Beans is a staple in Belize. When visitors ask a Belizean what the national dish is, usually the response will be "Belizean rice and beans, stewed chicken, and potato salad." The other day I made some Stewed Beans. I used a pound of Camellia dried red kidney beans to make these Stewed Beans...and do you know what you have when you cook up a pound of dried beans? Enough food to feed an army!

I used some of my stewed beans to create a delicious rice and beans dish, a la Belizean style. In addition to the stewed beans, the ingredients include garlic, onion, cilantro, fresh thyme, coconut milk, chicken broth, rice, and seasonings. One seasoning I have used in this recipe is Goya Sazonador Total, which has become one of my favorite seasonings! Click here if you would like to purchase Goya Sazonador Total on Amazon.

I have made a fair few rice dishes since I began cooking, but I had never included thyme in them. This was a revelation to me. The thyme really helped to give the rice and beans an incredible flavor. And may I say that the aroma from this pot of rice and beans was absolutely amazing.
This will definitely end up back on our plates in the future. Although it is preferable to use stewed beans that you cook up, for ease of preparation you could also use canned stewed red beans.

Simple, easy, delicious! I hope you will try making these fantastic rice and beans, a la Belizean style!

Some Other Belizean Dishes You May Enjoy!

For a true Belizean style dinner, serve this accompanied by delicious Belizean Stewed Chicken. 🙂

You may also enjoy this delicious condiment which can accompany the chicken and rice...Belizean Hot Pepper Onion Sauce. So incredibly easy and amazing you will love it!

Cheers!

Grace

Belizean Rice and Beans

Grace adapted from the Flavors of Belize cookbook

Absolutely delicious rice and bean dish using your own prepared stewed beans, or canned red kidney beans! The inclusion of thyme in this dish elevates these rice and beans to something very special. Cook these up and enjoy a taste of Belize in your home!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Resting Time 10 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Belizean

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup rice
• ½ onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 cup stewed beans use canned or see my recipe for stewed beans: https://explorecookeat.com/belizean-stewed-beans/
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chicken broth plus additional may be needed
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoon cilantro diced
• ½ ts salt plus additional to taste
• ¼ ts pepper plus additional to taste
• 1 tablespoon Sazonador Total by Goya

Instructions

 

• Heat up olive oil in a med sized saucepan (med high). Add garlic and onion, and saute for around 2 minutes.
  
• Add rice, coconut milk, chicken broth, thyme, Sazonador Total seasoning, salt, pepper, stewed beans and some liquid, mix and bring to the boil.
  
• Reduce heat to med-low to medium so that the beans and rice are on a low simmer, and then cover and cook for 25 minutes, checking every so often to ensure the mixture does not dry out. If it is dry, at a little more chicken broth or water (around ¼ cup), stir, and recover. Continue this until the rice is tender. You may need to cook it for a few additional minutes, but I shouldn't think it will take more than 35 minutes.
• Once the rice is tender, stir in the cilantro, and then taste and additional additional seasonings if you like.
• Remove from the heat, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs and then your dish is ready to enjoy!

Notes

The Belizean staple, rice and beans, is a delicious side dish to accompany any meal!  If you'd like to go all out and have a Belizean style dinner, enjoy this with Belizean stewed chicken and some potato salad.  Enjoy a fantastic taste of this beautiful Central American country!

Keyword rice and beans