Garífuna rice and beans is long-grain rice cooked in coconut milk with small red beans, onion, garlic and sweet pepper. In its 2016 coverage of Garífuna celebrations in Izabal, Prensa Libre listed “el popular rice and beans (arroz con frijol bañados en coco)” among the community’s dishes, glossing the English name in Spanish as rice with beans bathed in coconut. This recipe makes a pot for six.
Rice and Beans, in English
AntiguaDailyPhoto describes the dish as made by the Garífuna of Livingston and Puerto Barrios, Izabal, from rice, beans, coconut milk, tomatoes and herbs, and notes that the Garífuna call it Rice and Beans, in English. The same post points out that other Caribbean communities have their own versions and names; in Cuba, for example, a rice and beans dish is called moros y cristianos.
Prensa Libre’s 2016 list of Garífuna food puts rice and beans next to tapado, sopa de caracol, machuca and ceviche, with pan de coco, casabe, pan de banano and pan bulá among the baked goods.
The dish crosses borders along the coast. Saveur’s Garifuna recipe, first printed in its November 2012 issue, opens by calling coconut milk an essential ingredient in many Garifuna dishes and titles the recipe Rice and Beans with Coconut Milk (Resanbinsi). In Honduras, El Heraldo published a rice and beans recipe in 2023 and called it “platillo muy nuestro” (very much our own dish).
Garífuna Day and the UNESCO listing
Our Garífuna Day guide covers the history, the Yurumein and how to get there, and our Livingston guide lists published prices for activities in town, including a Garífuna cooking class.
UNESCO’s listing Language, dance and music of the Garifuna covers Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. It was originally proclaimed in 2001 and inscribed in 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The listing is for language, dance and music; it does not include rice and beans or any other Garífuna dish.
Ingredients
For the Beans
- 1 cup (200 g) dried small red beans, soaked overnight (or 2 cans of 15 oz small red beans, rinsed)
- 6 cups water
For the Rice
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 ripe tomato, finely chopped
- 2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
- 1 can (13.5 oz / 400 ml) coconut milk
- 2 1/4 cups bean cooking liquid or water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs culantro or cilantro, chopped
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the beans. Drain the soaked beans and put them in a pot with 6 cups of fresh water. Simmer, partly covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until tender but still whole. Drain them and keep the dark cooking liquid, which tints the rice. If you use canned beans, rinse them and use water in place of the bean liquid.
Step 2: Soften the aromatics. Heat the oil in a heavy pot with a tight lid over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the tomato and cook 3 minutes more.
Step 3: Toast the rice. Add the rinsed rice, and the cumin if you are using it. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until every grain is coated in oil and the edges turn slightly translucent.
Step 4: Add the liquid. Pour in the coconut milk and 2 1/4 cups of bean liquid or water. Add the salt and pepper, stir once and bring to a boil.
Step 5: Add the beans. Gently fold in the cooked beans and the chopped culantro or cilantro. Fold rather than stir so the beans stay whole.
Step 6: Cook covered. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir gently from the bottom once or twice so the coconut milk does not catch, and cover again quickly each time.
Step 7: Rest. When the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, take the pot off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes.
Step 8: Fluff and serve. Fluff the rice with a fork, taste for salt and serve hot.
Como Lo Hacemos en Guatemala (Local Tips)
Watch the bottom of the pot. Keep the heat low once the lid goes on and use a heavy pot, so the coconut milk does not stick and burn.
Cook the beans yourself if you can. The bean liquid tints the rice and adds bean flavour. Cook a double batch and freeze half with its liquid.
Culantro or cilantro. Saveur’s recipe calls for culantro or cilantro, so use whichever you can find.
Leftovers. Rice and beans reheats well with a splash of water in a covered pan over low heat.
Find Ingredients in the US
| Ingredient | Where to Find | Substitute |
|---|---|---|
| Small red beans | Latin grocery stores, supermarket bean aisles | Red kidney beans |
| Coconut milk | Asian, Latin and Caribbean aisles of supermarkets | No real substitute; use full-fat |
| Coconut oil | Supermarket oil aisle | Vegetable oil |
| Culantro | Latin and Asian grocery stores | Cilantro |
For Guatemalan restaurants and bakeries in the United States, see our Guatemalan food in the US directory. Pair this with tapado or browse all Guatemalan recipes.
Sources
- Prensa Libre, Garífunas celebran su día con expresiones culturales, 26 November 2016 (read 4 November 2026)
- AntiguaDailyPhoto, Guatemalan Caribbean Food — Rice and Beans and Guatemalan Cuisine: Rice and Beans (read 4 November 2026)
- Saveur, Rice and Beans with Coconut Milk (Resanbinsi) (read 4 November 2026)
- El Heraldo (Honduras), Tesoros del Caribe hondureño: irresistibles recetas con coco, 25 May 2023 (read 4 November 2026)
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Language, dance and music of the Garifuna (read 4 November 2026)
