rice and beans

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Vegan Spanish Rice with Pigeon Peas

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Rice and beans, or in this case, rice and peas.

I had never in my life had a pigeon pea until my friend Yanira introduced me to them. She cooked them up in a big batch of Spanish rice, and oh my gosh, I could live of this dish.

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It is so easy to make and super inexpensive. And it can easily feed a family of 6 with a side salad, or as a side for taco night, and there are still leftovers.

This Spanish rice is so quick and easy to make. You can use any long grain rice, I normally just use basmati because it is what I have on hand.

You just need a can of tomato sauce, the peas, an onion, and few pantry spice staples. Thats it! So easy!

I can easily find canned pigeon peas in the international isle at my grocery store in the Hispanic section. I have no solid description of them other than delicious. If you have never had a pigeon pea, then trust me, you are missing out!

All I know is that if I am making rice and beans (peas) this is the recipe I am making. It cheap, filling, delicious, easy, and flavorful. So pretty much the perfect recipe!

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 small yellow onion, finely diced

  • 2 cups any long grain white rice

  • 2 tablespoons oil

  • 3 1/3 cups water

  • 15 oz can tomato sauce

  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

  • 2 teaspoons No Chicken, or Vegetable Better Than Bouillon ( you can also skip this and replace the water with 3 1/2 cups veggie broth)

  • 15.5 oz can pigeon peas

  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

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INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat with the oil. Once the oil is nice and hot toss in the onion and garlic and cook until translucent.

  2. Next add the rice to the pot and let it cook a few minutes until it begins to brown.

  3. Whisk the Better than Bouillon with the 3 1/2 cups of water and add it to the pot along with tomato sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper. Give it a good stir.

  4. Cover the pot and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse the can of peas and add them to the pot. Let simmer 10-15 more minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.

  5. Stir in fresh cilantro and serve.

If you like this recipe, then try these:

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