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
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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.
Arleta says
i’ve been making this the wrong way based on another recipe, yours turned out great! I love how you have the box to edit serving amount – very efficient 🙂
imma africanbites says
Thank you, Arleta! Glad it turned it great for you.
Kay says
hi,
thank you for your amazing website!!!!
How do you make a vegetarian version of this dish without meat?
Thank you!!!
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Kay! Just leave out the meat and adjust cooking time.
Rowena says
I am a vegan so I am trying it without the meat but just using all the recommended seasonings including a generous amount of garlic..I have it cooking now and so far it it looking good. I will serve this by itself with some dumplings…that will be enough for me.I use veggie stock and also powdered coconut milk which works just as effectively!!
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing.
Jamaicantillidie says
I love stew peas. I also tried it with a mixture of salted beef and stewing beef. You can use any meat you fancy. But it tastes best with the salted type.
I add fresh chopped tomatoes aswell this is how we do it in Jamaica.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing !!!
True ja says
I must say nice work… But your method is not the true jamaican way. We dont saute out meet before. But i guess you are using the American meet that cook easily. We use a number of meat At the same time Exp salt beef, pig tail, chicken foot and Turkey neck together. That how most us Jamaican cook it back home.
ImmaculateBites says
Browning the beef adds more flavor to it . Thanks for your input .
Lala's Baby says
I made it yesterday and it was a hit with my finicky eaters, and it was my first time cooking it! I love, love, love my aunt’s version and this one was very close in taste. There were a few variations because I only had one can of kidney beans so substituted the second can with cannellini beans and soaked a hand full of dried beans I had on hand overnight. Question: is that two teaspoons of ground or whole allspice? I used (about 15) whole allspice and it added a burst of flavor to the soup. It was my first time making spinners too and I used coconut milk, garlic powder and Himilayan salt. That was a good combination. The meat of choice was smoked turkey wings and stewed beef; a Yummy combo! I made a big pot and we’ve been eating it as soup (minus the rice) because it’s sooo savory. There’s barely three bowls left. I’ve stretched this into about six or seven servings for around $10. It’s a great value. Thanks for the recipe.
ImmaculateBites says
So pleased to hear it was a hit even with your little ones! Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a detailed feedback! So appreciated .
Val says
it’s sometimes difficult to get salted pigtails, only fresh ones. I boil my pigtails (or use a pressure cooker) with about 1.5 cups of salt. change the water and add another 1.5 cups of salt for the 2nd boil. not as good as actual salted pigtails but close enough. I then season them with lots of garlic, onions, thyme, green seasoning and a lil more salt and then cook them right away (soup, pelau etc) or freeze them for another day. don’t really like the taste of unsalted pigtails
ImmaculateBites says
Really appreciate you taking the time to share this with us Val. Am sure other readers would benefit from this. Thank you so much.
Sebastian Wahl says
This is excellent. Found smoked pigtail and pork neckbones at the local grocery store. We cant get salted pigtails or salt beef in the states, but we can get smoked pigtails, that is still pretty good and close to authentic i hope. I have made this dish before. One time as an undergraduate I cooked a pot of this along with sweet potato curry, tamarind balls and hard dough bread for a jamaican girl I loved. She didnt love me back hahahahaha. But I still love cooking west indian, south american ,mexican, haitian guadaloupe and martinique, mid eastern and west african food. Hopefully one day I find a lady like you that is a good fit ahem. hahaha. Im an Austrian American. My dad is from vienna and has a thick accent, I will give you some of his recipes if you want, they are good. I first made this stew from the “Complete Caribbean Cookbook” (that my guyanese chum introduced me to) they called for pureeing some of the beans and meat to thicken the stew. Not a bad idea. LAter. also at the local jamaican restaurant they blend up a potato into their chicken and goat curries to thicken it, they make a huge batch, i am not sure how many potatoes they blend up. malanga/taro/eddo/dasheen.cocoyam is also a good thickener. alafia
ImmaculateBites says
Hahaha! You will find your perfect match Sebastian – Don’t give up! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Fula says
You can find salted pig tail and beef in the stares you have to go to an Asian or Caribbean neighborhood to find. Some meat stores in Italian neighborhoods will also carry it. If you live in NYC it’s easy to find
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for sharing Fula.
Lydia Penn says
Hi Imma, how long should the stew cook for before adding the spinners and then how long after as well?
ImmaculateBites says
It should cook for about 30-40 minutes depending on the beef. About 15 – minutes more .
Ace says
Do you have a curry chicken recipes
ImmaculateBites says
Yes I do! Jamaican curry Chicken here https://www.africanbites.com/slow-cooker-jamaican-curry-chicken/
Warren Wilson says
What would be a good natural, free of preservatives, substitute for the unique flavor of pigtails? I shop at Whole Foods Market and they don’t carry pigtails that are organic. Please let me know. Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Two options that come to mind are pork belly and oxtails. A little goes a long way.
Sebastian Wahl says
we have a farmers market here, try and find a farmers market and get fresh meet from them. oxtails, pug feet or tail should work. belly would be really good too. i agree. u can mix meats. a bit of stew beef and a few pig feet would be nice.
ImmaculateBites says
I will be on the look out!
2pots2cook says
This is sooo great ! Thank you for this beauty !
Lesrene Grant says
I use chicken feet as substitute and it is really tasty
ImmaculateBites says
Nice! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Eno A. says
I am a 24 year-old Nigerian, and I am a huge fan of your posts.
However, with this particular dish, is it absolutely necessary to use the spinners as a thickening agent? Can I substitute it for another starch such as African Yams?
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can! I think the African yams would be a great substitute. Do let me know how it works out for you.
Thank you so much for trying out my recipes.
Happy Cooking!!!!
Mae Gabriel says
Comfort food is the best…but island comfort is to die for! Can’t wait to try it!
ImmaculateBites says
It sure is Gabriel ! Anytime of the year.
Urban @ Urbanskitchen.com says
Looks great. Been a long while since last had Island Stewed Peas. Having it with Salted Pigtail (Almost impossible to find), aren’t anything can beat that with its unique flavor. I like it with Beef as well and been a while since last had that too. Have to cook sometime. Yeah this is real Island comfort food.
You forgot to add Ginger from instructions line 3 to recipe list.
ImmaculateBites says
Nice catch urban! You really don’t need ginger- unless you want to
Annalise says
How much ginger would you recommend?
ImmaculateBites says
About 1-2 teaspoons minced ginger.