Lately, I’ve been trading modern recipes for vintage gems. On a recent flip through a well-worn cookbook, I stumbled on something unexpected: a recipe for “Jamaican Rice and Beans” created by Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress.
Chisholm championed for her community and made history again in 1972 by becoming the first Black woman to seek the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Her campaign slogan, “Unbought and Unbossed,” still resonates today. Discovering a recipe with her name attached felt like uncovering a piece of culinary history connected to her trailblazing spirit.
As a fan, I was thrilled to cook a dish linked to Chisholm, but the food journalist in me had questions. Because of my Caribbean heritage, I grew up calling this dish rice and peas, not rice and beans, so the title alone gave me pause. Then there were the ingredients: Bacon and coconut aren’t typical in Jamaican versions of this dish—at least not in whole form. Chisholm didn’t have Jamaican roots, but her parents were from Guyana and Barbados, which made me wonder if those influences shaped her take on the recipe.
One final challenge came with the recipe itself: The clipping was incomplete, with key steps missing from the directions. To fill in the gaps, I drew on my Caribbean culinary background to bring the dish to life. Keep reading to see how Shirley Chisholm’s take on this classic came together—and to pick up a few tips I’ve learned along the way for making flavorful grain-based dishes like this one.
How To Make Shirley Chisholm’s Rice and Beans
Ashia Aubourg
The recipe clipping ends after the first step, so the rest of the directions are mine. The original ingredient list also calls for 2 cups of tomatoes, but I cut it down to a 1/2 cup. You’re welcome to add more, though! The diced tomato can also easily be substituted with tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry red kidney beans
- 1 quart boiling water
- Salt
- 2 pounds fresh coconut or 7-ounce package unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 quart boiling water
- 10 bacon slices
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup red or green peppers, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups white rice
- 1/2 diced peeled tomato
Directions
- Wash the red kidney beans and place them in a 2-quart saucepan. Add 1 quart of boiling water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Let the beans stand uncovered for 1 hour to soften.
- Return the beans to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour, or until tender. While the beans cook, prepare the coconut milk.
- To make fresh coconut milk, grate the coconut and combine it with 1 quart of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then strain the liquid through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer, pressing the coconut meat to extract as much milk as possible. (You can also use unsweetened coconut flakes and follow the same method.)
- In a large pot, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set it aside. Note: Since the bacon doesn’t end up in the finished dish, you can save it for another use (our most popular bacon recipe, perhaps?). Or skip it entirely and swap in a different fat like coconut oil or butter.
- In the rendered bacon fat, sauté the onions, peppers, and celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.
- For perfect rice, use a 2:3 ratio of rice to liquid. Measure out 2 cups of rice, then stir in the cooked beans along with their cooking liquid, and enough coconut milk to bring the total liquid to 3 cups. Add the rice and ½ cup of chopped tomatoes. Stir gently to combine, lightly crushing the tomatoes without mashing the beans.
- Bring the rice mixture to a boil. Once the water level drops below the surface of the rice, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has absorbed, about 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork and enjoy.
Tips and Tricks
Following this recipe resulted in rice that was fluffy, flavorful, and full of character. While the dish shares similarities with Jamaican rice and peas, it deserves to stand on its own. Out of respect for the traditional version, I wouldn’t call them the same—but Chisholm clearly understood how to build flavor.
If her version aligns with the one I tested, then using bacon fat to season the rice shows real culinary ingenuity. It added a layer of salty richness with minimal effort. Making fresh coconut milk was also a game-changer—the process came together quickly, and unlike canned versions, it kept the rice light and subtly creamy without the heaviness of extra fat.
Chisholm’s old-school rice and beans recipe brings plenty of flavor, but here are some tips to make it even better.
- Make a green seasoning. Many Caribbean cuisines rely on blended aromatic marinades, often made with a blend of green herbs and aromatics, to build flavor quickly and reduce prep time. Jamaicans use green seasoning, Puerto Ricans reach for sofrito, and Haitian cooks lean on epis. Keep a jar in the fridge and stir in a few spoonfuls instead of chopping fresh onions, peppers, and herbs every time.
- Let the liquid in the rice boil off. Rice used to be one of the trickiest dishes for me to get right—until I learned this simple technique. Start by boiling the rice uncovered until the liquid drops just below the surface of the grains. Once you see that, cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let it finish cooking. This method helps prevent mushy results and gives the rice a better texture overall.
- Add some heat. Many Caribbean rice recipes include a whole Scotch bonnet pepper. Just pierce it and drop it into the pot while the rice cooks. The pepper releases a gentle heat and distinct flavor without overpowering the dish.
I’m counting down the days until I can make Chisholm’s Rice and Beans again. It taught me new ways to approach rice in my own Caribbean cooking, and reminded me that even a short, clipped recipe can carry big meaning.
