File this under “Tastes Better Than It Looks”:
It’s Caribbean-style beans and rice, only I was running short on time, as usual, so I opted to use quick-cooking quinoa instead of brown rice. As a result, dinner was on the table in about a half hour.
The allspice gives this dish its distinctive Caribbean taste while olives and capers add a Mediterranean pizazz. I served it with a squeeze of lime juice and additional hot sauce at the table.
You can also file this under “Tastes Even Better the Next Day.” The leftovers make a great lunch. I should know; I just finished eating them! Well, not all of them because this recipe does make a lot. If you’re a small family as we are, prepare to have leftovers for a few days.
Caribbean Beans and Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 large green, yellow, or red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed several times
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cans (about 3 cups) cooked kidney beans, drained
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup stuffed Spanish olives
- 1/8 – 1/2 cup capers, drained
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 – 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- lime, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large, non-stick pot over medium-high heat . Sauté the peppers, onions, and garlic just until softened. Add the quinoa and toast it for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly, just to dry it out a little. Add the remaining ingredients, turn the heat to low, cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir well before serving. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice at the table.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Makes 8 servings. Each serving, using minimum amounts of olives and capers, contains 221 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (11% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 441mg Sodium; 7g Fiber.
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you Susan, i just made this recipe today and between my husband my DD and me there were not leftovers!!! i did use only one cup of quinoa and one can of beans, but even if i would have done the recipe as stated i still think there would not be any leftovers because my hubby asked for more at dinner!! ajajajajajaja
Thanks you are a life saver!
Made this last night and DH and I LOVE this dish Susan! Thank you so much for all your hard work. You make eating healthy a joy:)
This was DELICIOUS! It was my first quinoa meal and I have to say I couldn’t be happier. It was so tasty I didn’t have to add salt. I didn’t have capers or allspice, and I was out of basil, but I substituted Italian seasoning for the basil and oregano. It was fantastic! Oh, I also used red quinoa – doubt it made a difference. I can’t wait to make it again and see what it tastes like with all of the proper ingredients! 5 stars out of 5!
Had this last night – my housemate made it w/o the beans, and we had it with some jerk-marinated tempeh, and some okra w/tomatoes. It was lovely!
Hi Susan,
This has been a favorite for awhile, but recently developed a quinoa allergy (lame!) and was wondering how to make this with rice instead? My guess would be more liquid and a longer cook time? What would you do?
Thanks!
Sorry to hear about the allergy! You know, I would probably just make this using 3 cups of cooked brown rice and eliminate the broth, except for adding a little if it needed moistness. If you’re using white rice, you could probably get away with the same proportions and a little bit longer cooking time.
Duh! Of course cooked rice would be the way to go. Cooked it up tonight using a wild rice blend and it was rad. But I miss quinoa. Sigh. I think I must have been a real jerk in a past life to be cursed with a quinoa allery in this one.
Hi Bianca- How do you know that you are allergic to quinoa? I occasionally have a strange reaction after I eat quinoa but I haven’t been able to find much info on quina allergies.
I have found I need to rinse quinoa even if the packaging says pre-rinsed. When I didn’t, I would occasionally have an adverse digestive reaction, but once I started rinsing before use, these problems disappeared.
This had a really nice flavor, I love that it had green olives and capers in it! I thought they might be overpowering, but they weren’t, all the flavors blended together very nicely.
Loved the recipe. Changed a few things, skipped green peppers and switched chipotle with smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. Still tasted pretty good. Thanks.
Just made this for dinner and my Mum and fiance really liked it. I liked the flavors but found it too mushy and overcooked so I think I would wait to add the beans and bell pepper until later so they don’t get overdone. I would probably also use a bit less water. I used one can of kidney beans and one can of cannellini beans. Didn’t use the chipotle pepper because you can’t get it where I live.
This recipe is stunningly good – and healthy, thanks so much!!
Personally, I nixed the capers, and subbed them with 1 diced sweet potato. I cooked the potato partway through before adding it to the pot. Instead of chipotle pepper I used a tablespoon of chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. and added extra garlic of course!
I’ll definitely be visiting you for more healthy recipes!
I was wondering what kind of hot pepper sauce you used? I put in sriracha (the red one with the green lid and the rooster on the front. This turned out amazing! 🙂
I used a Louisiana hot sauce but will have to try it with the Sriracha.
I made this last night and it was fabulous!! Thank you! I actually used Tabasco Chipotle chili pepper Sauce instead of the chipotle’s and hot sauce (3 tbsp) and it tasted great. This is definitely my new favorite recipe.
You are being too humble! It looks delicious. I cannot wait to try it.
Stupid question 🙂 dried basil and oregano or fresh?
Not stupid! I should have noted that they are both dried.
Thanks for the quick reply! I made this today with a couple of adjustments due to lacks in my pantry. Added some wholewheat bulgar because I was low on quinoa. Threw in orange lentils because I only had one can of beans. Oh, and celery instead of the pepper. And it is FANTASTIC! What a flexible yummy recipe.
SOOOOO yummy. I don’t like capers or olives, so I left them out. I also had to simmer closer to 30 minutes for the quinoa to cook all the way through and for the liquid to reduce. This is going on my “favorites” list. Cheap, easy, nutritious and delicious. Everything I could ask for!
It says “yields 8 servings”. What is a serving size? Thanks!
Looks wonderful and I plan to make tonight. My first ever of your recipes. Is that a 15 ounce can of tomatoes?
Thank you for your wonderful postings!
Yes, it’s the 15-ounce can of tomatoes. I hope you enjoy it!
thanks for a really good meal Susan! Love the olives in them. I added a bunch of swiss chard to it too, so it became a complete one pot meal for us.
I can’t stop eating this! I just made it for dinner and it may be my favorite recipe yet – with many favorites over the past few years. I only made two substitutions – with some herbes de provence to replace the dried oregano and basil and pitted kalamata olives to replace the green. DELICIOUS!
This dish was absolutely delicious. So well flavored and protein packed. Thank you so much; my husband and I will be making this one over and over.
Hi Susan. Can this be cooked in an IP? What would be the cooking time? If I omit the capers, I wonder what would be a good substitute? I never like the taste of them unfortunately :/
You could probably cook in in the Instant Pot but you wouldn’t really save any time. I think you could cook it at high pressure for 1 minute and then let the pressure come down naturally, for at least 15 minutes. With getting up to pressure, it might actually take longer! As for the capers, I would just leave them out. There will still be plenty of flavor from the olives.
I’ll definitely be making this on the stove top then! I can’t wait to have this for dinner next week. Thank you Susan!