Belize Red Beans and Rice, a Sunday Tradition

Belize red rice and beans are so traditional and so loved in her country, the dish is synonymous with Sundays, says Maggie Alfaro, who now lives in the Chicago area. This family-famous recipe is from Maggie and her sister Maria Chan, who lives in Belize City, Belize. Maria is nicknamed Coty, and some of you might recognize her as the cook whose recipe won our Familia Kitchen Mole Recipe Contest last year.

The two sisters reunited recently, when Maria came to visit Maggie in Illinois. They took the opportunity to piece together their memories of how to make this family recipe. What makes Belize’s take on beans and rice different from other Latino countries’ versions is its use of coconut milk and oil, Maria explains. This fruit is native to Belize and a defining ingredient in so many of its traditional dishes.

The cuisine of Belize reflects the country’s colonial history, and is a melding of Indigenous, Spanish and British influences. Spain was the first outsider to arrive in the 1500s, bringing foods like rice, chicken and garlic aboard their ships. But it was the Brits who build the first settlement of what came to be called British Honduras. The name changed to Belize in 1973, and the U.K. ruled until 1981. Different dishes reflecting the country’s complex history emerged but the undisputed meal that is the signature of Belize is, of course, red beans and rice. Here is Maggie and Maria’s make-every-Sunday version.

The Essential Flavor of Coconut

”It’s all about the coconut,” Maria says. ”Back home in Belize, we use pure coconut, from a tree. We don’t use coconut from a can. Everybody has a coconut in their yard, and we have a lot in the market. Coconut is everywhere. We grate it and then we wet it in warm water and squeeze the milk out of it. That’s what we use. But of course, here in the States, it’s not quite as easy to find a coconut to crack for coconut milk.” When there are no coconut palm trees to be found, Maggie reports she uses canned coconut milk with delicious results.

She and her sister have been eating and making this rice and beans recipe their whole lives, says Maria. ”I learned to make it as a child, from my relatives,” she says. And now she and Maggie—like good Belizeans—makes this dish “every Sunday,” says Maria. ”That’s a religious staple dish of ours. Every Sunday. If you don’t eat rice and beans on Sunday, you don’t have have a good Sunday.”

This dish is a must-make part of the midday meal families sit down to after church. ”We’re not like you,” Maggie explains. In Belize, ”we eat our main meal in the afternoon, 12 or 1 pm. And this is what we eat: Belizean rice and beans, always with stewed chicken, potato salad and fried ripe plantains. Everybody loves it.”

Who loves it the most in her family? “My sons,” Maria laughs. “They love it so much.”

To make this dish, you first cook the beans, from scratch usually. Using dried, small red beans is key, says Maria. You then make the rice with coconut and mix in the stewed beans, with some of their liquid. Try it and taste for yourself why Belizean beans and rice are so easy, traditional and delicious—our favorite kind of abuela cooking and family recipe!

Ready to Make Belize Red Beans and Rice?

Belize Red Beans and Rice

Recipe by Maggie Alfaro and Maria ”Coty“ Chan

4.6 from 15 votes

Cuisine: Belizean

Servings

10 to 12

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

2

hours 

Ingredients

• 3 cups red beans, dried, small

• 10 cups water, for beans

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 Tbsp cilantro

• 1/2 can coconut milk (or freshly grated coconut)

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil

• 6 cups rice, long grain

• 8 cups water, for rice

• 2 tsp salt, or to taste, divided

• 1/2 tsp black pepper, or to taste, divided

Directions

• Wash the beans and throw away any stones or discolored beans.
• Place the beans, onion, garlic and cilantro in a large pot. Add 10 cups of water (you want the water to cover the beans by 2 inches).
• Bring the beans to a boil and then lower the heat. Simmer until the beans burst, about 1 ½ to 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• When the beans are done, start making the rice. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
• In a separate large pot, add the rice, ½ cup of the cooked beans, ¾ cup of the liquid from the bean pot, coconut milk, coconut oil, 8 cups water, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper. Pro tip: To know if you have the right amount of rice to liquid ratio, insert your index finger in the pot. The liquid should reach and not go above the first line of your index finger, says Maria. (That’s about 1 inch).
• Bring the rice to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot.
• Let the rice cook for 30 minutes. Lift the lid. If the liquid is fully absorbed, it is done.
• Fluff the rice. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Serve hot.

Notes

• Do not add salt to your beans until after they have boiled, says Maggie. Or they won’t burst.