365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking

Easy slow cooker and Instant Pot recipes for each day of the year

Crockpot Coconut Rice and Beans Recipe (and some thoughts on feelings)

The older I get the more I come to understand my personality and what drives me.  I think this has to do with looking at my children and noticing how they are like me and how they are not like me.  My daughter is like Fort Knox.  She keeps pretty much everything inside and it takes a lot for her to express feelings.  My son, on the other hand, is pretty much an open book.  He wears his heart on his sleeve.  His joys are manifest in the smallest of things (I found a gummy bear on the pantry floor–yay!) and his sorrows are pretty low (I NEVER get to play with friends–BOO HOO!).  I am sometimes frustrated when my daughter doesn’t open up or express feelings but then I remember that I was probably the exact same way as a child.  I remember the unit in health class about feelings and how I HATED it and would make fun of it with my family at home.  I didn’t want to talk about feelings.  Sometimes when we were little my dad would have this father-daughter interview.  I remember him falling asleep because we sat there so long due to my unwillingness to talk.  Another time I remember having a really awesome experience as a 14 year old with my mother and father present.  They wanted to talk to me about it afterwards and I just didn’t want to!  I didn’t want to talk about my feelings–I just wanted to feel them inside myself and not talk about them with anyone else.  I remember my mom being frustrated with that.  I still find that I am pretty stubborn with my feelings and don’t really like to express them and talk about them much.  My husband is more like my son and really actually loves to talk about feelings.  We were discussing this the other day on how much he likes to talk about feelings.  Other people’s feelings, his feelings…he likes it all.  I guess opposites attract, eh?  What about you?  Are you an open book?  Or do you keep your cards close to your chest?  
Anyhow, back to the food!  Lately I’ve been just a little obsessed with coconut stuff.  I have been seeing recipes for all types of coconut cookies and desserts and every time I pin them with the thought that I will make them someday soon.  This, however, is a different type of coconut recipe…a savory beans and rice with island flare.  I served this crockpot coconut beans and rice with some Jamaican jerk chicken but it would also pair nicely with crockpot Hawaiian Chicken or the crockpot Caramel Chicken that I made last week.  The rice is creamy and filling.  I always use brown rice in the slow cooker because it holds up much better than white rice.  Plus it’s just what we eat…it’s more healthy and more filling.  I hope you like this as much as we did!  
Easy crockpot recipe for coconut rice and beans...perfect side dish to Hawaiian chicken or other island foods! #crockpotrecipe

Makes 4-6 servings
Ideal slow cooker size:  3 quart
Cooking time:  3 hours

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk (full fat is best)
1 cup brown rice
1 tsp minced garlic
1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/3 cup boiling water
1 lime, juiced
Green onion, for garnish (optional)

1.  Shake up the can of coconut milk and then open it and pour it in the slow cooker.  You may need to use a spatula to get it all out.
2.  Add the rice, garlic, beans, salt, sugar, coconut oil and boiling water to the slow cooker.  Stir a bit.
3.  Cover and cook on HIGH for about 3 hours, or until rice is tender.
4.  Squeeze fresh lime juice into the rice and gently stir.  Scoop onto serving plates and garnish with green onion, if desired.

Recipe inspired by Wishful Chef

P.S.  Want some more ideas for crockpot side dishes?  Try these 3 (click on the picture to get the recipe).
An easy crockpot recipe for lentil and barley pilaf. This takes about 5 minutes to make! It's chewy and full of flavor and fiber. #lentils #slowcooker #healthyslowcooker #crockpotRecipe for Crockpot Mexican Rice and Beans. Fast to make, delicious to eat!

Comments

  1. Julie says

    I made this in the past and loved the flavor. Is there a way to make it with white rice? I usually use medium grain. And it doesn’t matter to me if it’s in slow cooker, instapot or stove top? Would I just cook the rice just using the additional ingredients?

    Reply

    • Karen says

      Because white rice cooks much faster than brown rice, I don’t recommend cooking it the same way in the slow cooker—it can turn mushy. Instead, here are the best options:

      Option 1: Cook the rice separately (my favorite method)
      Cook the white rice on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot using water as you normally would. Then stir in the coconut milk, garlic, black beans, salt, sugar, coconut oil, and lime juice at the end. This keeps the texture perfect and still gives you all that great flavor.

      Option 2: Instant Pot (one-pot)
      Add the coconut milk, 1 cup white rice, garlic, beans, salt, sugar, coconut oil, and ½ cup water.
      Pressure cook on HIGH for 4 minutes, then do a 10-minute natural release. Stir in the lime juice at the end.

      Option 3: Stovetop (one-pot)
      Add everything (except lime juice) to a saucepan, bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 15–18 minutes, until the rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in lime juice at the end.

      So yes—you can absolutely just cook the rice with the additional ingredients, you just want to adjust the method since white rice cooks so much faster than brown.

      I’m so glad you loved the flavor of this one—it’s such a good, simple dish!

      Reply

  2. Bekah says

    Hi, Karen. I made this today and it was sooooo good! And so easy. I’d like to make it again, but quadruple the ingredients. I know I would multiply the rice, coconut milk, beans, and water by 4.

    Should I also multiply the salt, sugar, garlic and coconut oil by 4?

    Thanks so much, and thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Karen says

      I’m so glad you loved it! 😊 Yes—you can multiply everything by 4, but I usually recommend starting with about 3x the salt and sugar, then tasting and adjusting at the end. Garlic and coconut oil can safely be multiplied by 4. Seasoning to taste at the end is always the safest move when scaling up.

      Reply

  10. Judy says

    Sounds yummy! Do you know if you could throw some chicken breasts in it and make it a complete meal? I assume you'd cook it longer? Would you need to add any moisture to it?

    Reply

    • [email protected] says

      I'd put the chicken in the bottom of the crock and then follow the directions above. If the chicken is thawed 3 hours on high should be sufficient cook time for it! I bet that will be really yummy 🙂

      Reply

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