Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans)
Rice simmered with beans, onion, garlic and bay until glossy and tender, the everyday jag of the Cape Verde islands.
Cape Verdean · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 35 min
~503 cal · 15g protein · 106g carbs · 2g fat · 8g fiber · 4g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Jagacida, shortened by everyone to jag, is the everyday rice and beans of Cape Verde, a dish that carries both the Portuguese and West African threads of the islands' cooking. Onion, garlic and bay are cooked in olive oil, then rice and beans together in the seasoned pot until tender.
It stands alone as a quick lunch or props up a bigger plate across the archipelago. Cooks may add sausage, but the meatless version is just as traditional and just as loved, savoury with paprika and bay.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
2 cups cooked kidney or lima beans
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups water
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Soften the onion and garlic in the olive oil until golden, then stir in the paprika and bay for 30 seconds.
2
Add the rice and beans and stir so the grains are glossy and coated.
3
Pour in the water with salt, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on low about 20 minutes until the rice is tender.
✎ Chef’s note
Resist stirring once it simmers so the rice cooks evenly and stays fluffy.
4
Rest off the heat 10 minutes, remove the bay, fluff gently, and serve.
Cape Verdean home cooking, Santiago.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Santiago (Praia). Grogue is distilled from sugarcane at small mills called trapiches, mostly on Santo Antao and here on Santiago, and it is drunk neat or as ponche with honey and lime. The islands are dry and volcanic, so a great deal is imported, and what the sea gives, tuna above all, does much of the work.
🗺️
Cape Verde. Grogue is distilled from sugarcane juice at small mills called trapiches, mostly on Santo Antao and Santiago, and it turns up neat or in ponche with honey and lime. The islands are dry and volcanic, with little fresh water and a long history of drought and emigration, so much of what is eaten arrives by boat and the sea supplies the rest.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Cape Verde
CachupaThe slow-simmered national stew of hominy corn, beans, and meats, endlessly reboiled and always improving.
Cuscuz DoceA steamed cornmeal cake, faintly sweet, eaten warm with butter, honey, or milk for breakfast.
Pastel com Diabo DentroA crisp corn-dough pastry with a spicy tuna filling, whose fiery name means 'pastry with the devil inside'.
Browse all Cape Verde recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Cape Verde meal
PoncheDrink
Pudim de Leite (Milk Flan)Dessert
CachupaDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans)?
Rice simmered with beans, onion, garlic and bay until glossy and tender, the everyday jag of the Cape Verde islands.
Where does Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) come from?
Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) is a Cape Verdean dish from Santiago (Praia), Cape Verde.
Can Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Jagacida (Cape Verdean Rice and Beans) take to make?
About 45 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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