Spicy Rice and Peas
This slimming friendly Spicy Rice and Peas is a great side dish for anyone counting calories or following plans like Weight Watchers!
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NutritionPer Serving
- Calories234
- Carbs43g
- Protein9g
- Fat1g
- Saturates0.2g
- Sugars1g
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For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!
Our slimming friendly Spicy Rice and Peas is a fantastic side dish for anybody counting calories or following a plan like Weight Watchers.
Traditional Spicy Rice and Peas contains quite a lot of coconut milk which is pretty high in calories, so we’ve swapped this out for Alpro Coconut Drink instead which is much lighter but still packs a coconut punch.
If you’re wondering about the ‘peas’ in this recipe, they’re not what we would call peas. They’re actually dried beans, such as kidney beans or black eyed beans. In the Caribbean these beans are referred to as “peas” – hence the name.
We love these Spicy Rice and Peas served with a deliciously warming curry or stew.
What diets is this Spicy Rice and Peas recipe suitable for?
This Spicy Rice and Peas recipe is suitable for vegan, gluten free, vegetarian and dairy free diets.
Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.
Do you need any special ingredients to make these Spicy Rice and Peas?
We’ve used Alpro Coconut Drink in this recipe which you can find in your local supermarket.
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How many calories are in this Spicy Rice and Peas recipe?
There are 234 calories per portion in this Spicy Rice and Peas, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category.
This Spicy Rice and Peas recipe is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers.
As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.
Step 1
Add the drained kidney beans and the Alpro coconut drink to a large saucepan with the onion, garlic, thyme and salt. Bring to the boil.
Step 2
Meanwhile rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear.
Step 3
Once the coconut drink has reached boiling point add the rice and stir.
Step 4
Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins or until the rice is cooked. You may need to add a little water depending on the brand of rice you use.
What could I serve with this Spicy Rice and Peas recipe?
This Spicy Rice and Peas recipe is the perfect accompaniment for the following meals:
How do you know when your Spicy Rice and Peas are cooked?
You’ll need to cook your Spicy Rice and Peas for around 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked through.
Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe.
How long can you keep Spicy Rice and Peas in the fridge?
Once you’ve put it out, ideally you should eat it within an hour.
If you allow any leftovers to cool, make sure to refrigerate in a container with a lid and chill. You can keep leftovers of Spicy Rice and Peas in the fridge for a day.
As we all know you can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice, but, it’s not actually the reheating that can cause issues, it is, in fact, the way that the rice has been stored beforehand where the problem begins.
Rice can contain spores that are resistant to heat and can survive the cooking process.
If cooked rice is left standing at room temperature these spores can grow into bacteria. At this point, the bacteria can be destroyed by reheating the rice thoroughly.
You should remember to do the following if you’re going to keep leftover rice:
- Cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) then put it in the fridge immediately. You can split larger portions up into smaller batches to cool quicker.
- Reheat and use any leftover rice (stored in the fridge) within one day.
- When you reheat any rice, always check it is steaming hot all the way through.
- Don’t reheat cooked rice more than once.
Can I freeze this Spicy Rice and Peas dish?
Yes you can! This recipe can be frozen, but please remember to do the following;
- Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
Don’t forget to add a label with what it is, and on what date you put it in the freezer!
As when keeping rice in the fridge, make sure to do the following if you plan to freeze it:
- Cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) then freeze it immediately. You can split larger portions up into smaller batches to cool quicker.
- Freeze as soon as the rice is cold.
- When you reheat any rice, always check it is steaming hot all the way through.
- Don’t reheat cooked rice more than once.
How do I reheat these Spicy Rice and Peas?
From chilled: Place in a microwave proof container with loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.
From frozen: Allow to defrost, and heat covered in the microwave for 3-5 minutes then stir. Cook for a further 5-7 minutes until piping hot.
For more information about reheating rice please take a look at the NHS website.
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Spicy Rice and Peas
This slimming friendly Spicy Rice and Peas is a great side dish for anyone counting calories or following plans like Weight Watchers!
-
Prep Time
5 MINS
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Cook Time
20 MINS
- KCals 234
- Carbs 43G
Instructions
- Add the drained kidney beans & the Alpro coconut drink to a large saucepan with the onion, garlic, thyme & salt. Bring to the boil
- Meanwhile rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear
- Once the Coconut drink has reached boiling point add the rice and stir
- Cover, reduce the heat & simmer for 20 mins or until the rice is cooked. You may need to add a little water depending on the brand of rice you use
Looking for Slimming World Syns or Weight Watchers (WW) Points?
With ever-changing plans and point calculations, we have made the decision to remove WW Points from the website - referring to your individual plan or advice from your consultant is always going to give the most accurate results.
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8 comments
See what others have to say
GrantFriday 28th May 2021
Great dish and I’ve used the left overs to make some burritos! I’ll be omitting the dried thyme in future as it’s a little too overpowering for me.
HollyFriday 4th June 2021
Hey Grant, a burrito sounds like a great way to use up the leftovers of this recipe!
BethTuesday 5th January 2021
What is the weight per portion/serving?
HollyWednesday 6th January 2021
Hi Beth, we work out our recipes on the serving size not weight. This recipe serves 4 if you scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page there is a little arrow by servings and you can alter up or down to serve more or less people. Hope that helps!
Kim StantonSaturday 2nd June 2018
Hiya. Just made this an it was delicious. Got leftovers – do you think it’d be OK to freeze for another time?
RichardFriday 16th March 2018
I don’t really like coconut very much so is there a substitute that I can use other than just water? Also could I freeze this as I am cooking for one?
Jan WoodsMonday 24th July 2017
Hi there,
This was delicious but I found that the coconut drink was not enough liquid to cook the amount of rice in despite adding lots of water, it ended up burning the pan and just all sticking together, the small unburned bit I did try was lovely but unfortunately had to throw it all away.
I followed you recipe 100% so any ideas where I could have gone wrong please.
Many thanks & keep up the brilliant work
Jan
Emma TMonday 11th September 2017
Hi Jan,
It is probably to do with the temperature of your hob, perhaps you could try it on a lower temp ????
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