Bursting with exciting spicy Jamaican flavours, this simple One Pot Jerk Chicken, Rice and Beans is ready in well under an hour and creates very little washing up – my idea of the perfect midweek meal!
My idea of cooking heaven has always been a restaurant worthy dish with the minimum of effort – this is one such dish, it is quick and easy to prepare and all cooked in one pan, but the flavouring and spicing is out of this world!
To create this dish, I researched lots of different Jerk Chicken dishes, as I often do, looking for what they had in common – the essential ingredients in this delicious Caribbean dish – and then worked on combining them into a simple one pot format, to make the cooking and washing up that little bit easier. One pot cooking is not only a great way to ensure a meal is easy to make, but it is also a great way to ensure the flavours are maximised – for example in this dish, the chicken juices are absorbed by the rice giving it so much more extra flavour and deliciousness!!
So whilst this recipe may not be the most authentic (though I think it’s difficult to say what is truly authentic given the wide variety of recipes for Jerk Chicken on the internet!), it is certainly one of the easiest you will find and definitely doesn’t compromise on flavour!
Consequently, this easy Jerk Chicken recipe would be perfect for a midweek meal, but is so delicious, it could easily be made at the weekend or even for a dinner party.
One thing you will need to make this work is a really wide, shallow pan that can go on the hob and in the oven. I have used my lovely cast iron casserole dish (you can find similar wide, shallow, cast iron casserole dishes here), but if you don’t have one, then start this recipe in a wide frying pan and transfer everything to a wide oven dish or roasting tray covered with a lid or tin foil and it will still work just as well (though it will mean and extra pan to wash up – sorry!)
Please note, I have made this One Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Rice and Beans reasonably mild to ensure it is family friendly (i.e. my kids ate this fine!), but if you like things hotter, then by all means add extra chilli – either into the marinade or sprinkle some fresh chillies over the top afterwards. Conversely, if you want to make this even milder, you could reduce or remove the chilli entirely – it is still full of other great flavours!
What else can the Jerk Marinade be used for?
As well as in this recipe, you could also use this simple jerk marinade for all sorts of things, such as an easy marinade for salmon, steak or pork chops or even a whole roast jerk chicken! Or you could use it on sweet potato chips, as the flavour base for a Caribbean-style stew, or why not use it next time you have a barbecue instead of your usual barbecue marinade?
One Pot Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Rice and Beans
Ingredients
Jerk Marinade
- 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (more if you like things HOT!)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon thyme (ideally fresh, but dried will do)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Jerk Chicken, Rice and Beans
- 8 chicken thighs or legs bone in and skin on
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
- 4 spring onions sliced finely
- 3 garlic cloves grated or crushed
- 300 g rice
- 400 g tin kidney beans including the water
- 400 ml tin coconut milk
- 1 chicken stock cube (I use Kallo organic)
- Juice of 1 lime
- Extra limes and sliced spring onions to serve
- Fresh chilli sliced, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients for the jerk marinade in a large bowl, then add the chicken and coat thoroughly. Ideally marinate for 1-2 hours, if time permits. If not, simply carry on with the rest of the recipe.
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Heat up a large oven-proof frying pan (see notes) on high and add a little olive oil. Add in the chicken, skin side down and fry for 2 minutes on the skin side, then flip over and fry for 1 more minute on the other side. Remove to a plate.
- Put the frying pan back on the heat, turn the heat right down and add the spring onions and garlic. Fry for two minutes, then add the rice, kidney beans (including the water) and coconut milk. Crumble in the chicken stock cube and squeeze in the lime juice.
- Bring to the boil then add the chicken, skin side up. Cover with a lid or tin foil and place in your preheated oven for 15 mins, then uncover and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Scatter with sliced spring onion and serve with lime wedges. You could scatter over some fresh chillies too if you like a hotter flavour.
Notes
(2) If you don’t have an ovenproof frying pan, then start this recipe in a regular frying pan and transfer everything to a wide oven dish or roasting tray and cover with a lid or tin foil. Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Corina says
This is definitely my kind of recipe! It sounds delicious and would definitely be great for midweek or weekends. I love your pan too – it looks great! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina 😀 It’s a really versatile recipe. This pan is so great – I love how it can go from hob, to oven, to table – AND look so pretty in the photos. It’s like a Le Creuset, but from M&S so much cheaper!! Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
This is magnificent Eb! The marinade must be so aromatic and I just love the whole idea of this dish – full of fabulous flavours and it’s a one pot dish, which is always a bonus:) #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Monika! The marinade is really yummy – and so useful for all sorts of things…and yes, you know how much of a fan of easy one pot dishes I am!! Eb x
Mandy says
Now this is one thing that my kids actually like! They eat meat at school and regularly have jerk chicken. I’ve never actually seen what they get though but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t look as nice as yours!
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – that’s brilliant – one thing I would have assumed fussy kids would run a mile from! It is delicious though, they clearly have good taste…hmmm I wonder what a veggie version would look like? Maybe Jerk Cauliflower or Jerk Aubergine…Oooh now you’ve got me thinking. Well, I seriously hope the school version looks as good as mine 😉 – can you imagine? I really wish school food could be better – it ought to be part of the education, surely? I am always highly annoyed by the fact that my daughter doesn’t like my Macaroni Cheese, but loves the school Macaroni Cheese – how is that possible??? 😀 Eb x
Cliona Keane says
This looks like proper ‘happy food’! You know, one of those meals which you eat in total silence because it tastes so good and then just have that warm happy feeling afterwards? Love the flavours and how filling and satisfying it looks!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Cliona – yep I would totally agree with you there – this is definitely that kind of warm and happy, eat in silence ‘cos it’s so good kind of food! Definitely filling…slightly dangerous though as it is just so moreish! 😀 Eb x
Karen, the next best thing to mummy says
Oo this looks wonderful and so easy to prepare, as I love anything that can be cooked in one pot I will definitely give this a go#brilliantblogs@_karendennis
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Karen 🙂 It is such an easy one to make and yet looks fab and tastes out of this world! And all in one pot so hardly any washing up!! My favourite kind of meal. Do let me know how you get on if you try it. 😀 Eb x
Michelle says
This looks amazing, I’ve got to try it #brillblogposts
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Michelle! It really is pretty special – and yet soooo easy!! Let me know what you think if you try it 😀 Eb x
clare says
My kinda easy recipe – yum!!! #BrillBlogPosts easy peasy!!!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Clare – easy peasy recipes are the best!! 😀 Eb x
Mel says
I love a marinade you can use for a range of dishes! You’re the queen of one-pot dishes 🙂 Lime, chillies, chicken, ginger…. yumminess!
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha, thank you – that takes me up to 3 queen-doms! Mandy has crowned me the Queen of Traybakes and Monika recently crowned me the Queen of 30 minute meals!! Just off to polish my crowns now… 😉 Eb x
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Jerk seasoned foods are one of my favorites! There is just so much flavor there!
Eb Gargano says
Mine too! It’s such a fab marinade…and useful for so many things!! 😀 Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
I saw this dish on social media and swooned! It sounds utterly delicious Eb and right up my street! x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Kate – it has been getting a lot of love on social media – I was super pleased at how well the photos came out – and I promise you it tastes even better than it looks!! 😀 Eb x
Ari says
SO GOOD! I made this tonight and it was awesome. I used coconut oil, added a bit of salt, and I only had black beans on hand so I used those instead of kidney but it was still delish. Guys, make this dish asap.
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks so much, Ari, for leaving such a lovely comment!! It just totally makes my day when I get comments like this 😀 I am very pleased you liked it so much – I can just imagine how well this would go with black beans too. Good swap! I wish I could get hold of black beans more easily, but for some reason my local supermarket doesn’t stock them, which is really frustrating!! Eb x
Kayleigh says
I am keen to try this recipe but my partner will not eat anything with coconut or anything with a creamy consistency so the coconut milk is a no go. I am tempted to use extra stock or maybe chopped tomatoes instead, do you think this would work?
Thanks
Eb Gargano says
Glad you like the recipe! I would suggest just using water in place of the coconut milk…the recipe already has one stock cube in, so I think two would overpower this a bit…and it might end up a bit too salty. I personally wouldn’t go for tomatoes, but if you think that is a flavour you and your partner would enjoy, then you could try that instead. Whichever option you go for, I hope you and your partner enjoy it – I’d love you to drop me a line and let me know how you get on! Eb x
Julia says
Thanks for this recipe, I’ve never tried jerk chicken before but this looks super tasty. Looking forward to trying this recipe out this week.
Julia // The Sunday Mode
Eb Gargano says
A pleasure, Julia – I’d love to know how you get on! It’s a real favourite here. Eb 🙂
Canuck says
Is the rice cooked or raw when you add it to the pot?
Eb Gargano says
Hi there! The rice should be raw when you add it to the pot. Just for future reference, if I say ‘rice’ in one of my recipes it’s always raw. If a recipe calls for cooked rice, I would always state ‘cooked rice’. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Tai says
Thanks I was about to ask the same question ? loving that this recipe doesn’t have tomato (allergic) so will have a look at trying this in the next week ?
Can this be done in a similar way using chicken breast meat rather than chicken quarters?
Eb Gargano says
Hmmm – I’ve never actually tried it with chicken breast fillets, but I can’t think of a good reason why it wouldn’t work. Worth a try, at any rate. Let me know how you get on if you do give it a go! Eb 🙂
Jane McGuire says
Hiya, can you freeze this meal after its cooked and cooled?
Many thanks
Eb Gargano says
Yes, you can! Put the cooled food in a plastic lidded box and place in the freezer. (Ensure you get the food into the freezer within 2 hours of finishing cooking – this is important for food safety. Defrost in the fridge overnight (it will probably take 24 hours to defrost fully) then reheat in a lidded dish in the oven (preheated to 180C / 160C fan/ gas mark 4 / 350F) until everything is piping hot all the way through. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Annmarie says
I will not rate this recipe as it is not Jamaican Jerk.
I have no problem with cooks using their own personal interpretations of jerk but I do take issue with those who insist on using the word ‘Jamaican’ in front of ‘jerk”.
The ingredients listed are not in any way authentic.
At the very least, do your research beforehand; you could ask someone who is Jamaican or of Jamaican heritage what ingredients are actually used…just a thought.
Annmarie.
Eb Gargano says
Hi Annmarie, I am sorry you feel like that. I did actually do extensive research when developing my recipe. I did what I always do when I create a recipe like this and I scoured the internet for ‘authentic’ recipes – and what I found was there was almost as many different recipes as there are cooks! Then I did what I always do and made a simplified version of this classic, distilling what seemed to be the essence of the recipe – the things they all had in common – while making it as quick and easy to make as possible. I never claim my recipes are authentic, I simply claim that they are delicious and easy. Eb 🙂
Carl ford says
Ann marie you are rude . Thanks eb for this one pot wonder
Carl ford says
Loved this dish , thanks so much ?
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Paul, I am so pleased to hear you like this recipe so much! Eb 🙂
Carl ford says
Or even Carl lol
Eb Gargano says
Oh no! I am so sorry, I always try to get people’s names right, and usually double check the spelling too… I have no idea why I wrote Paul… I must’ve been having a ‘moment’ – so sorry! Eb 🙂
Carl ford says
Ha ha it’s cool , btw is it definitely 300g rice with just one tin of coconut milk ? As I thought it would the rice would need more liquid to absorb then that ? However I suppose the juices off the meat plus the liquid off the kidney beans adds to it ?
Eb Gargano says
Yep – and you are right: the juices and the kidney bean water add up to make up the rest of the liquid needed for the rice. Enjoy! Eb 🙂
Rae Bowdler says
Yeh love all things jerk!
What’s your advice on using skinless chicken? Would it be a problem?
Eb Gargano says
Yay! Yes, you can totally use skinless chicken if you prefer – works just fine. Eb 🙂