Rice and peas, a one-pot Creole dish that originated in the Caribbean during the colonial era, includes a mixture of ingredients, cooking techniques and spices influenced by various ethnic groups that exist in the region.

They also introduced Asian rice to the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as, herbs and spices like garlic, thyme, onion, oregano etc.

[2][3] Kidney beans, another key ingredient, are thought to have originated in Peru around 8,000 B.C.,[4][5] and cultivars were dispersed throughout the Americas by indigenous Amerindian tribes by 500 B.C.,[6] then later the Spanish and Portuguese, who introduced them to other parts of the world.

[2] Similarly, the Amerindians cultivated pimento, and they spread Capsicum chinense cultivars throughout the region, including scotch bonnet and other peppers used in the dish.

Along with the Spanish, Portuguese,[3] French,[8] English,[3] Dutch[9] and East Indians,[10] they also contributed to the introduction and cultivation of rice in the region.

[21] The recipe is said to have spread throughout Central America, by enslaved and free Africans and Creoles who migrated to the area with British settlers— as well as, merchants and labourers, from Jamaica, between the mid-17th and 20th centuries.

[27] Other ingredients include scotch bonnet and pimento which are native to the island, long-grain rice, coconut milk, scallion, garlic, salt and pepper to taste and thyme.

Both side dishes resemble and taste similar to Jamaican rice and peas and Haitian diri ak pwa or kongo, however some of the ingredients are different.

[30] Other ingredients include onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato, bay leaf, cumin, oregano and salt.

The recipe originated from the Creole (Kriol)[34] population i.e. British settlers who arrived with African slaves from Jamaica (Baymen),[22] to cut logwood, in the late 1700s and 1800s—later intermingling with mestizos and indigenous peoples.

Other ingredients include garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, long-grain rice, paprika, onion and coconut milk.

[40] Other versions of the dish resemble Puerto Rican arroz con gandules, and ingredients include garlic, cubanelle, onion, cilantro, long-grain rice, celery, thyme, salt, oregano, sazon and/or tomato paste.

[44] It is made with rice, pigeon peas, sofrito and/or sazon, annatto oil, bell peppers, cubanelle, cilantro, onion, garlic, aji dulce, recao (culantro), oregano, bay leaf and tomato paste.

[58] Other ingredients include tomato purée, long-grain rice, garlic, coriander, onion, stock, butter / oil and dark soy sauce or ketjap manis.

[61] In the 1800s, Jewish Jamaicans, most notably the Lindo brothers[62] who were merchants and planters, migrated to Costa Rica and established businesses in agriculture (coffee, sugar, rice, banana and other produce).

[60] Further, the Jamaican Jews who arrived in the 19th century, integrated with the local population and settled in Cartago, San Jose and Puerto Limon.

[66] Many Afro-Jamaicans also went to Costa Rica to work in the construction of the Atlantic Railroad and port[23]— thus, they brought their culture, dialect and culinary practices with them,[67] including rice and peas.

[59] Panama Gallo pinto,[69] also called arroz con frijoles rojos[70] (rice and red beans) is also a Panamanian dish.

[87] Casamiento is considered to be a fusion of ingredients (beans and rice) from the indigenous Mesoamericans and Spanish respectively, with African influences in the preparation of the dish.

[87] Further, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Afro-Antilleans[90] from nearby Caribbean islands, such as Jamaica, were brought in to work on banana plantations and farms, primarily for the United Fruit Company, as well as, in the construction of railroads, and the whaling industry.

[96] The islands were occupied by mostly English Protestants, who first arrived from Barbados, in the 17th century, and slaves mainly from Jamaica who worked in lumbering, cotton and tobacco cultivation.

[97] By the 20th century, Anglo/Afro-Caribbean people had migrated to the islands, as well as, coastal Latin America for employment— thus, majority of the population (the Raizal) has a strong Caribbean heritage,[98] hence the dish's roots.

The dish which is from Antioquia and the Coffee Zone, is believed to be a colonial era dish—created by African slaves repurposing leftovers of their Spanish masters’ food.

[102] It resembles the American Hoppin' John, Brazilian baião de dois and Haitian diri ak pwa with black-eyed peas.

Other variations which are similar to rice and peas, called arroz con frijoles (rojos, negros and morados) are also made in coastal Colombia.

[104] It resembles Cuban moros y cristianos and arroz congri, as well as, other Greater Antillean and Central American variations of rice and peas / beans.

[105] The name is related to baião, a northeastern style of music and dance (for two), which is a fusion of indigenous Amerindian, African and European influences— like the dish.