Vegan Jamaican Bulgur Wheat & Peas (Rice & Peas Remix)

This Jamaican Bulgur Wheat & Peas dish is a delicious and healthier alternative to the traditional Jamaican Rice & Peas recipe. It’s full of flavour from the thyme, escallion, and garlic, with a touch of creaminess from the fresh coconut milk. It will give you the comforting taste of island cuisine, that’ll keep you coming back for more!

I mentioned in my previous blog post on Jamaican Rice and Peas that it’s a dish guaranteed to be at every Jamaican/Caribbean family function – whether holiday parties, birthdays, other milestone gatherings, and most definitely apart of the spread on Sunday! However, there’s been a plot twist – sub the rice for Bulgur and ta-da! A healthier alternative to the traditional dish! Just as delicious, just as yummy, same authentic taste and totally vegan!

What is Bulgar Wheat?

It is a whole grain cracked wheat that’s been cleaned, parboiled, or partially cooked (so that it can be prepared relatively quickly) and dried. Bulgur, when compared to rice, has fewer calories, less fat, twice the fibre and four times as much folate. It’s definitely a healthier alternative to rice, and one that the family and I enjoys!

Recipe Tips and Notes

I shared similar tips on my Jamaican Rice & Peas blog post, but I will share them below as well.

Soak Your Beans

There are many ways in which you can prepare your beans, for example, some soak while others use a pressure cooker. For this recipe, we soak. This will lessen the amount of time it will take for your beans to become tender when cooking.

Type of Peas

Dried Red Kidney Beans, this is what gives off the reddish tint.

Liquid to Bulgur Ratio

You can always add more water if you’re finding that all the liquid has absorbed but the bulgur is still not cooked. It’s better to have less and add more than to have too much and end up with mushy bulgur. When you have added your bulgur to the pot, the liquid should be about an inch (roughly the first marking from the tip of your index finger) higher when the bulgur has settled.

Don’t Burn the Bulgur

Once the bulgur has been added, you should only be cooking on a low heat, bringing mixture to a very slight simmer.

The Process

General Rule of Thumb(s)

• 1 cup bulgur to 2 cups liquid. There should be more liquid than bulgur when first added to the pot.
• If using Pure Creamed Coconut, break off 2 chunks to fill the middle of the hand – break off less than half the block if you’re using the Grace Brand.
• Use the back of a large chef/ butcher knife to crush the garlic and escallion
• Some beans are harder than others so if you see some floating to the top when boiling, add a tbsp or two of cold water to sink the beans. This will ensure all beans are evenly cooked through.

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out my Jamaican Rice & Peas recipe, or all my Jamaican recipes by clicking here.

Print Recipe

Vegan Jamaican Bulgur Wheat & Peas (Rice & Peas Remix)

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Side – Jamaican

By Taneisha Morris – Serves: 5-6 people

This Jamaican Bulgur Wheat & Peas dish is a delicious and healthier alternative to the traditional Jamaican Rice & Peas recipe. It's full of flavour from the thyme, escallion, and garlic, with a touch of creaminess from the fresh coconut milk. It will give you the comforting taste of island cuisine, that'll keep you coming back for more!

Ingredients

• Dry Red Kidney Beans (Prep)
• ½ cup Dried Red Kidney Beans rinsed and soaked overnight
• 1 cup Water
• 1 Stalk Escallion or Green Onion crushed
• 1-2 Cloves Garlic crushed
• 1 Sprig Thyme
• Jamaican Bulgur Wheat & Peas
• ¾ cups Fresh Water (enough to cover beans)
• 1 Whole Scotch Bonnet Pepper
• 3 Pimento Seeds (Whole Allspice Seeds)
• 1 tbsp Seasoning Salt or Vegetable Bouillon
• ½ can (200 ml) Coconut Milk
• 1 cup Bulgur
• ¼ tsp Salt or more to taste

Instructions

1

Rinse beans.

2

In a medium bowl (with a lid), add beans, water, thyme, and crush the escallion, garlic with the back of a knife and add to bowl. Cover and allow to soak overnight - see cooking tips section.

3

In a medium pot, add fresh water, scotch bonnet (omit if opposed to heat), pimento seeds, salt and pour in bean mixture (including the bean water, which is now infused with flavour). Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally. Ensure there is enough water to cover the beans - you may need to add about 1 additional cup of water at the halfway mark. The boiling process to cook the beans will take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how long your beans have soaked.

4

When beans are tender, stir in coconut milk, seasoning salt or chicken (non-vegan)/vegetable bouillon and allow it to come to a boil for 5-7 minutes.

5

Add bulgur then cover with lid and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a very gentle simmer - see notes section.

6

Remove from the heat, cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then discard the thyme, escallion, pimento seeds and scotch bonnet pepper.

7

Using a fork, fluff the bulgur and beans.

8

Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

Be sure to taste test your "pot" as Jamaicans say - check to ensure the right about the salt, and spice. Remove the scotch bonnet pepper at any point. // General Rules of Thumb are added above the recipe - be sure to read for additional tips!