Jamaican Stew Peas Recipe – This cozy Jamaican stew is a delectable mix of red beans, meat, and special dumplings called spinners. Cook it all up in an aromatic coconut milk broth with Jamaican spices for a hearty island stew! 🏝️
Despite the name, this stew does not contain peas at all. It actually has kidney beans, also called red peas in Jamaica. You can start by cooking dry red kidney beans from scratch, which takes some time, or just go with canned beans.
Spinners are a great addition, too, because stew peas aren’t the same without them. These tasty little Jamaican dumplings help thicken the stew, making it more substantial. They’re super easy to make and cook when dropped in the simmering stew broth.
Once everything is together, the stew simmers until all the ingredients meld beautifully. Simply put, Jamaican stew peas with spinners are the epitome of comfort food. The stew is outstanding, and the spinners make it all the more tempting. 😋
What Kind of Meat for Jamaican Stew Peas?
Traditionally, you’d make Jamaican stew peas with salted pork tails, often available in Latin and Caribbean markets. Yes, it does add some fatty goodness and distinct flavor to the stew peas.
However, I switched it out in place of smoked turkey. It’s readily available in most American supermarkets and adds another layer of flavor with a smoky, almost beef flavor—plus, it’s healthier. Other ideal substitutes include ham hocks, oxtail, or even beef. Use whatever works for you.
Recipe Ingredients
- Meat – Stew beef, smoked turkey, salted pigs’ tails, ham hocks, or any other meat you choose works with this stew.
- Kidney Beans – These red peas are what the stew is named after and why it’s such a hearty dish.
- Seasonings – Diced onion, minced garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper, plus plenty of spices like allspice, thyme, smoked paprika, black pepper, and bay leaves, add depth and layers to the overall flavor.
- Broth – Chicken or vegetable broth gives this dish its soupy stew consistency while adding flavor.
- Coconut Milk – Homemade coconut milk works great for this recipe—however, canned coconut milk and powdered coconut milk with water work. If using coconut cream, mix one cup with one cup of water for the two cups. It’s all good.
- Spinners – Flour, coconut milk or water, and a little salt are all you need to make the tasty Jamaican dumplings.
How to Make Jamaican Stew Peas
Assemble the Stew Peas
- Season the meat with salt and pepper, thoroughly covering all sides.
- Heat the oil in a large pot or oven-safe Dutch oven pan over medium heat. Next, add the meat or meats and sauté for 2-3 minutes per side until any beef slightly browns up.
- Add the onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, and allspice and sauté for another 3-5 minutes.
- Liquids and Peas – Pour in coconut milk, broth, beans, and a whole scotch bonnet and bring it all to a boil. Let it cook for about 40 minutes or more, depending on your choice of protein.
Make the Spinners
- Combine – While the stew is simmering, make the spinners. Combine water, flour, and garlic salt in a medium bowl-knead dough for about 30 seconds to a minute to form a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into 10-14 equal pieces.
- Form – Next, shape the dough by rolling each piece with your hands, as if you are making a log – somewhat like a sausage.
- Cook – Add the spinners to the stew about 15 minutes or more before the stew is ready. Gently drop the spinners into the pot and add more water or coconut milk if needed.
- Test – Let it cook until the dumplings are tender, for about 15-20 minutes. Taste your stew and adjust the seasonings as needed.
- Serve piping hot!
Recipe Variations
- Make it vegan! Skip the meat and use vegetable broth for the stew base for Jamaican stew peas that will appeal to vegetarians and vegans alike.
- Add extra vegetables. Veggies like carrots and bell peppers make welcome additions to this stew if you’re so inclined.
- Pea swap. Your dish will be a little less traditional, but you could swap out kidney beans for pinto beans, black beans, or any other bean you prefer. 🫘
Tips and Tricks
- If you use a tough cut of meat, let it cook until tender before you add the kidney beans.
- The scotch bonnet added whole won’t make the dish as spicy. It simply adds some nice flavor. Just make sure it isn’t bruised or damaged before adding it to the stew, use caution when stirring, and take it out along with the bay leaves before serving.
- If you do want your Jamaican stew peas extra spicy, cut up the pepper and saute it with the onion and garlic instead of dropping it in whole. 🔥
Make-Ahead Instructions
Stews and soups are great for making ahead. Cook up a pot a day or two in advance and let it cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to indulge, reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat.
While freezing might damage the dumplings, you could cool and freeze the stew without them. Freeze the dumplings separately and cook the stew and dumplings together after thawing overnight in the fridge. They should last for 3-4 months in an airtight freezer-safe container.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve Jamaican stew peas piping hot for pure comfort food.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days or freeze for 2-3 months. Reheat them on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through.
What Goes With Jamaican Stew Peas
Many folks like to serve this stew alongside a bed of steaming white rice or Caribbean rice and peas. You could also serve it over cornmeal coo coo. Try it with a side of callaloo or even some grilled pineapple. 🍍
More Savory Jamaican Dishes to Try
Watch How to Make It
This blog post was originally published in January 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Jamaican Stew Peas
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) canola oil or more
- 1½ pounds (680g) meat (stew beef, smoked turkey, oxtails, pork tails)
- ½ onion, diced
- 2-3 green onions or scallions
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper
- 2-3 teaspoons (6-9g) minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons (4g) allspice
- 2 teaspoons (2g) fresh thyme
- 1½ teaspoons (3g) smoked paprika
- 1 large bay leaf
- 4 cups (700g) cooked kidney beans or two or three 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups (470ml) coconut milk
- 3 cups (710ml) chicken broth or more (vegetable broth works, too)
- salt and white pepper to taste
Jamaican dumplings (Spinners)
- 1 cup (120g) flour
- 4 tablespoons (60ml) coconut milk or water (enough to form a soft dough)
- ¾-1 teaspoons (6g) garlic salt or plain salt
Instructions
- Season stew beef with salt and pepper to thoroughly cover all sides.
- Heat the oil in an oven-safe Dutch oven over medium heat. Add stew beef and turkey sauté (or choice of meat), and sear for 2-3 minutes per side until the beef is slightly browned.
- Add onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, paprika, and allspice and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Pour in coconut milk, broth, and beans, bring to a boil, and let it simmer for 40 minutes or more, depending on your choice of protein. If using a tough cut of meat, you may want to cook it before adding the beans.
- While the stew is simmering, make the spinners by combining water, flour, and garlic salt in a medium bowl. Knead the dough between 30 seconds and a minute to form a soft dough.
- Divide the dough into 10-14 equal pieces.
- Shape the pieces by rolling them with your hands into a log—somewhat like a sausage. Repeat the process until finished. Set aside.
- About 15 minutes before the stew is ready, gently drop the dumplings into the pot – add more water or coconut milk if needed.
- Let it cook until tender—15-20 minutes.
- Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, and serve piping hot.
Tips & Notes:
- If you use a tough cut of meat, let it cook until tender before you add the kidney beans.
- The scotch bonnet added whole won’t make the dish as spicy. It simply adds some nice flavor. Just make sure it isn’t bruised or damaged before adding it to the stew, use caution when stirring, and take it out along with the bay leaves before serving.
- If you do want your Jamaican stew peas extra spicy, cut up the pepper and saute it with the onion and garlic instead of dropping it in whole.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Deana says
What flour do I use – self-raising or plain?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Deana! You use plain flour .
Dal says
My issue it had too much allspice. Next time, I will try it with one teaspoon would have been more than enough.
As the flavor was overwhelmed by allspice I added cumin (1 tsp)
Imma says
Hello Dal. Glad you were able to make it work for you. Thank you for the feedback :)!
June Casselman says
I love this recipe. I’m cooking it today for the fourth time. Thank you
Imma says
Sounds amazing, Thank you for your love!!! Try more recipes I am sure you would like them also.
Cilinna says
This was lovely !
imma africanbites says
Thank you, Cilinna!
Treacle369 says
My go to recipe! I cook it in the Crockpot. Delicious
Sharon says
I made and loved this recipe, it was very tasty
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks so much.
Josephine says
Would I be able to make this vegetarian? Would it still work?
MHall says
I have tried a similar variation with no meat just the beans and coconut milk with dumplings
Audrey says
I jove the stew it taste delicious
Imma Adamu says
Thank you, Audrey!
E Chin says
Just made this dish and it was DELICIOUS!
Thank you for sharing your take on a much loved Jamaican dish !
ImmaculateBites says
I am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by!!
Annalise says
It irritates me to no end when people say its not the true Jamaican Way. There is no such thing when you have a vast amount of people. We all do not cook the same. I know people who use canned coconut milk to make rice and peas. Some people swear by the powder coconut milk mixture. People soak their peas or use the canned. Me personally I use coconut cream. And I soak my peas with garlic, thyme and seasoning salt. Boil it first too. My mom doesn’t boil it first.
Rant over now. Back to the recipe. How much ginger would you reccomend? I want to make one with and one without.
TerryAnn says
Totally agree!
Terry says
Totally agree!
Cc says
Do you have to cook the pigtails first?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, you do have to cook until tender , then and drain water first before adding it in.
UGUSA says
I made this dish for my Ugandan husband and one of our friends from Burkina Faso and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love that people from all over the world can come together over a great meal. This will be my “safe” dish to try out on my in-laws!
imma africanbites says
Very well said, hon. And it’s great how we most of us are gathered for the love of good food. Happy weekend! 🙂
UGUSA says
I made this dish for my Ugandan husband and one of our friends from Burkina Faso and it was AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love that people from all over the world can come together over a great meal. This will be my “safe” dish to try out on my in-laws!
Jodi says
I just found this recipe on Pinterest and I can’t wait to give it a go. My husband smokes a lot of meats and this sounds like a great way to use up the leftovers and make a completely new and tasty dish. Can you tell me how spicy it is with the Scotch Bonnet pepper? I like a little heat but not too much.
I can’t wait to explore your blog even more! Thanks!
imma africanbites says
Hi, Jodi. It isn’t that spicy, although that would depend on your heat tolerance. But do let me know how it turns out for you.
Dorina Sturza says
I love Jamaican food and I will cooking tumorow
Thanks for the recipes
ImmaculateBites says
The pleasure is mine, Dorina 🙂 . Do let me know how it turns out for you.