Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish is a traditional Jamaican dish that will broaden your breakfast horizons and give you a delightfully unique tastebud sensation. You may not be familiar with one or two ingredients, but believe me when I say this breakfast is fit for a queen (or king 😉).
Ackee may not be popular in the States, but it’s a legendary fruit in Jamaica—that’s right, a fruit. It’s a member of the lychee family, and its creamy, buttery texture is delicate and unique. At first glance, it looks like soft scrambled eggs, right?
What Is Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish?
The ackee and saltfish recipe is one of Jamaica’s national dishes. Ackee fruit is grown throughout the country, thanks to people from West Africa bringing it with them. It goes so well with saltfish (salt-preserved cod).
You may be able to find it in Caribbean and other international markets. If you can’t, it’s just a click away on Amazon. 📦
Recipe Ingredients
- Salted Codfish: You’ll want to soak it overnight to remove excess salt and rehydrate it.
- Flavor: Bacon, onion, garlic, thyme, scallions, tomatoes, a scotch bonnet, black pepper, bell pepper, and paprika add the classic flavor.
- Ackee: While the star of this show wasn’t originally used as food in my native West Africa, with proper preparation, it’s absolutely delicious.
How to Make Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
- Soak salt codfish in water overnight in a covered container.
- Sauté the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp; this may take 3-5 minutes. Then, transfer the bacon from the skillet to a plate.
- Remove all but 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the skillet.
- Add about two tablespoons of vegetable oil, if necessary, to the pan. (I love using just the bacon drippings.)
- Seasonings – Add the onions, garlic, thyme, and green onions. Sauté for about a minute, occasionally stirring to prevent burning.
- Add Tomatoes and continue cooking for about 3 minutes.
- Spice It – Add all the peppers (Scotch bonnet, white, black, bell, and paprika) and mix until thoroughly combined. Cook for 5 more minutes or so, adding water if the pan gets too dry.
- Saltfish – Toss in the saltfish and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add Ackee and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
- Serve – Adjust the seasoning to taste. Remove from the heat, serve, and enjoy your Jamaican ackee and saltfish!
Recipe Variations
- Salted codfish substitute. If you can’t find salted codfish (bacalao), use fresh tilapia or cod instead. Cut it into pieces and cook through before adding the ackee. You may also need to adjust the salt to your tastes.
- Heat level. Scotch bonnets are HOT, 🥵 so if you aren’t a fan of spicy dishes, replace it with a milder chili pepper. Or leave it out altogether.
- Ackee substitute. Scrambled eggs, tofu, and steamed and diced cauliflower are delicious additions if you can’t find ackee.
Tips and Tricks
- Be careful when cooking ackee since it’s delicate and falls apart easily. Add it towards the end when only about 3-5 minutes are left, and avoid continuous stirring.
- Salted codfish is, well, salty. Soak it in water overnight before preparing this dish, and if you find the level of saltiness excessive, boil it to remove excess salt. But definitely don’t add any extra salt to this recipe.
- Take advantage of those bacon drippings 🥓 left in the pan after cooking. You may want to remove some but leave 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan to sauté the other ingredients for an extra flavor boost.
- You can’t find fresh ackee in U.S. stores because it can be toxic. However, the canned ackee has been inspected by the FDA and is considered safe.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Ackee and saltfish is best served immediately, but you can make it the day before if needed. Follow the recipe instructions and store the dish in an airtight container in the fridge. Heat it over medium heat on your stovetop when ready to eat it.
A better way to whip up this dish in no time is to chop your veggies and prepare your saltfish the day before.
Store your ackee and saltfish ingredients in airtight containers in the fridge. Then, you can throw this exquisite dish together in just a few minutes.
Serving and Storage Instructions
I prefer to serve Jamaican ackee and saltfish piping hot. Plate it up straight out of the pan as soon as it finishes cooking and serve it alongside other traditional Jamaican dishes, like fried plantains.
You can store leftover ackee and saltfish in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-3 days.
Heat leftovers in a skillet on your stovetop over medium heat. Stir the dish occasionally but not too much; otherwise, the ackee will lose its delicate texture.
FAQs
Most definitely. Ackee is super rich in nutrients, including vitamin A and zinc. It’s also a great source of protein. 💪
Ackee has a unique texture and flavor you have to experience to understand. The best way to describe it is soft and creamy, with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The taste is quite mild and not as sweet as you might expect from a fruit.
Unripe ackee is toxic, with high levels of hypoglycin A that can be poisonous to humans. The FDA banned importing raw ackee in 1973, and the ban is still in place. However, when ackee is ripe, there’s no threat to humans, and it’s a real delicacy. The ackee you find in the U.S. is usually canned and totally safe. 😅
What Goes With Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
Ackee and saltfish is delicious with Caribbean dumplings, boiled green bananas or fried plantains, and callaloo. You could also opt for baked plantains. 😋
More Soul-Satisfying Jamaican Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in September 2015 and has been updated with additional tips
Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
Ingredients
- ½ pound (226g) salted cod (boneless)
- 4-6 slices bacon, chopped
- ¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil or more
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon (3g) minced garlic
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 small bell pepper, sliced
- 1 teaspoon (2g) black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon (2g) paprika, optional
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper)
- 1 18-ounce can ackee, drained
Instructions
- Soak salt cod in water overnight. Boil it if you don't want excess salt. Then, set it aside.
- Sauté the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp; this may take 3-5 minutes.
- Then transfer the bacon from the skillet to a plate.
- You'll have some tasty bacon drippings in the pan; remove and save for another recipe all but 1-2 tablespoons.
- Then add a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil to the pan, and add the onions, garlic, thyme, and green onions.
- Sauté for about a minute, occasionally stirring to prevent it from burning.
- Add the tomatoes, continue cooking for about 3 minutes, then add the black pepper, paprika, and hot pepper. Mix until the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Cook for about 5 minutes or more, adding water as needed.
- Finally, toss in the saltfish, cook for a few minutes, add the ackee, and cook for another 3 minutes or more—adjust the seasoning to taste. Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly. Garnish with the bacon.
Tips & Notes:
- You can prepare this a day in advance.
- Be careful when cooking ackee since it’s delicate and falls apart easily. Add it towards the end when only about 3-5 minutes are left, and avoid continuous stirring.
- Salted codfish is, well, salty. Soak it in water overnight before preparing this dish, and if you find the level of saltiness excessive, boil it to remove excess salt. But definitely don’t add any extra salt to this recipe.
- Take advantage of those bacon drippings left in the pan after cooking. You may want to remove some but leave 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan to sauté the other ingredients for an extra flavor boost.
- FYI, you can’t find fresh ackee in the U.S. because it can be toxic. However, the canned ackee has been inspected by the FDA and is considered safe.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Kristina says
Perfect recipe, tastes just like when I get it from a restaurant! Thank you so much, simply love your recipes!
imma africanbites says
Thank you for the compliment. I truly appreciate it!
Michelle says
Delicious recipe! Thx for the bacon info.
It’s funny I never realized that for Ackee & Saltfish, but as a habit, I cook down a few pieces of bacon to get some of that flavorful grease in my cabbage & a few other recipes. So, I am very familiar with the value of this chef technique or step!.
The only thing your recipe is missing is the dumpling! I don’t like the fried one on the side. I love the wet dumpling cooked in with this dish. Any suggestions for that or maybe you’ll add an alternative recipe?
Last thing! I’m in NYC & usually have a frozen bag of salted fish. It doesn’t taste as good as the one my friends brings back from Jamaica. What’s the best salted fish I can use for this recipe aside from the frozen supermarket type? Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Michelle,
Would definitely need to try it out before offering any suggestions .As for the salted fish , I think it all depends on the quality of your salted fish . The one from the Caribbeans deftly taste much better, no comparison to the frozen ones here.
William says
Love the ackee and saltfish I’ve been looking for jamaican /African dishes glad I’ve found your site
Love the ackee(where has it been all my life).
Thanks
Effie says
Shout out from Canada! This recipe does this Jamaican national dish (one of many delicacies) great justice. I also like to add some fried okra to pan for a taste and texture…an addition a Kingstonian chef shared with me. I love your tip that it can be prepared in advance!
Julia Bucy says
I’m so happy I found your website and this recipe! It’s one of my favorites and I no longer live in NYC where I could get it whenever I wanted. Thank you so much for posting. Looking forward to trying all of your caribbean recipes 😀
ImmaculateBites says
Glad to have you on board . So happy to hear the recipes are working out well. Thanks for the feedback.
Stephen Hughes says
Only reason I give four not five stars is cause my Jamaican mother-in-law gets the five, akee and saltfish with journey cakes ( Johnny Cakes ) for breakfast / brunch es mejor!
ImmaculateBites says
Hahaha. Okay, now I want to eat your mother-in-law’s own :). Thank you for stopping by, Stephen!
steve bailey says
Have never tried this recipe with bacon but just the mention of bacon makes my mouth water!
Do we add the bacon back in at some point?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you do, right before removing from the stove. You can also garnish with bacon right before serving .
Jack Bensinger says
Is Saltfish dried or fresh?
ImmaculateBites says
It’s dried fish. Soaked overnight
HTD says
Where can I buy saltfish?
ImmaculateBites says
They are available at most international, Hispanic or Caribbean Markets .
Urban @ Urbanskitchen.com says
Cold very Purewater can work well for desalting Saltfish as an option without having to do much boiling and having it shrink a bit. You will have to change the water a few times of course every couple hours after initially just washing the salt of the fish under the tap. The fish also shrink less due to no or less intense boiling. I often do this since I have a purewater system at my kitchen sink.
Do enjoy the dish very much though, looks so pretty.
LisaS. says
This is the first time I’ve ever seen this recipe with bacon and tomatoes added to the dish which is the only way my mother prepared it. I always search the Internet to see if anyone has reinvented anything usually cook and I came across your dish because it looked so pretty and I know it tastes a delightful as it looks.
Thanks,
Lisa
ImmaculateBites says
Thank you! It sure does. And bacon makes everything taste so much better!!!
Andrew says
Great recipe and it looks delicious, however, i could do without the bacon.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks . Leave it out , if it is not your thing.
Abigail says
I’m slightly confused. Is the ackee supposed to be boiled because my parents do that.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, you have to boil the fresh ones which are not available here in the U.S. This is the canned version. It’s been boiled already.
Abigail says
Ooooohh! Really helpful. Thanks so much!
Carol says
I live in Florida and many people, myself included have ackee trees. Fresh ackee is the best, but canned can work too. Just an FYI. : )
Lord Gort says
Yes and you can find fresh ackee in some Caribbean/specialty stores, like oxtails and foodtown as well
Ej says
You do need to boil the canned ackee also for 10 minutes . Find even tin ackee not quite tender. . Love bacon addition.
Charlene @ That Girl Cooks Healthy says
**Drools** You did my national dish some justice girl, so proud of you. You have the thumbs up from me, I haven’t eaten ackee and saltfish since Easter, can you believe it?
ImmaculateBites says
Thumbs up from Charlene ? Yay!!! Now you have got to make some, how can you resist it for so long. Thanks Girl!!!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for pinning Bintu! You are so going to love it
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
You know I did not realise that Ackee was a fruit. i have pinned this as I want to make both this and the dumplings.
Nagi@RecipeTinEats says
Oh Imma, I hear your pain! I love your new-look site though, the colour palette especially!! Stay patient, it will work out. Always does 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks Nagi! It’s working out already!!! And am excited for what’s to come.
Wendi says
Got your email concerning this recipe and your website update. Hang in there – website updates are rough! I updated mine this past summer and wow – about went crazy! Thanks for the terrific recipes and I LOVE your photos!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Wendi! Thanks for taking the time to share your own experience. It’s just September blues… Am fired up for October