Jamaica is a vibrant country and its food is extremely varied. Traditional Jamaican food is very tasty, from jerk chicken to ackee and saltfish. These are the 10 best Jamaican food recipes that you should try.
Blending African, Spanish and Asian influences, Jamaican cooking has developed its own unique style over the years. One of the most popular varieties of Caribbean food, Jamaican meals have become popular throughout the world.
Top Jamaican Food Recipes
These Jamaican recipes will give you a true flavour of this beautiful island. All dishes serve 4 people and are quick and easy to prepare.
Ackee and Saltfish
The national dish of Jamaica is ackee and saltfish. Although it looks a bit like scrambled eggs, ackee is actually a fruit.
Ackee wasn’t originally indigenous to Jamaica but now grows there abundantly. The fruit has to ripen on the tree before picking as the unripe fruit contains a toxin.
Once ripe, ackee has a number of health benefits due to the high number of nutrients it contains. To make ackee and saltifsh, fry salt cod, scotch bonnet pepper, tomatoes, onion, garlic and scallion with boiled ackee.
As Scotch bonnet pepper is over 40 times hotter than a jalapeno, you can always omit it or chop it very finely. We tried ackee and saltfish for breakfast at Kanopi House in Port Antonio, but it can be eaten at any time of day.
Here’s a simple ackee and saltfish recipe.
Ingredients
- 450 g salt cod, soaked overnight in water
- 450g drained canned ackee
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 chopped red pepper with seeds removed
- 1 chopped green pepper with seeds removed
- Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 chopped scotch bonnet chilli with seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons of frying oil
- Pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, then add the green and red pepper with the onion and fry for 4-5 minutes at a medium heat.
- Add the scotch bonnet chili and stir in.
- Drain the salt cod and rinse under water, then pat dry and add to the frying pan.
- Add the ackee and fry for 5 minutes or until both the cod and ackee are cooked. Use a wooden spoon to break the cod up during cooking.
- Season with the thyme and pinch of black pepper, stir and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 151
You usually serve ackee with fried dumplings, another popular Jamaican dish. Ackee is also used to make a sweet wine and as a herbal treatment for many ailments.
Jamaica Jerk
Whilst jerk chicken is the most popular Jamaican food worldwide, you can also try Jamaican jerk pork, sausage and even rabbit. The term jerk refers to the method of seasoning and cooking and the technique dates back to the 1600s.
At that period, runaway slaves who were known as Maroons escaped to the mountainous regions of Jamaica. There, they encountered the Taino and Arawak tribes who had developed specific ways of preserving meat by hanging it over a low fire.
It is thought that the covered pit used to cook jerk was a way of hiding any smoke from cooking, which might lead to their discovery and recapture. The village of Boston in Jamaica is considered to be the birthplace of jerk cooking, and if you visit today you can still try authentic jerk cooked on open pits.
The pimento wood logs give the jerk meat its unique flavour. As for the spiciness, it’s down to the Scotch bonnet pepper used in the marinade. The taste is quite fiery, so you may need to drink a lot of water with your meal.
Ingredients
- 1 large spatchcock chicken
- 1 tablespoon jerk seasoning
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2-3 deseeded Scotch bonnet chillies
- 5 peeled garlic cloves
- 5 spring onions
- Fresh thyme sprigs
- Zest and juice of 2 limes
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 100 ml lager
- Groundnut oil
Instructions
- Place all ingredients apart from the chicken and groundnut oil into a food processor until smooth.
- Coat the chicken in the mixture, then cover and leave to marinate in a fridge, ideally overnight but for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Heat the oven to 200C or Gas 6.
- Remove any excess marinade and rub with the groundnut oil. Wipe off the excess marinade and rub with oil.
- Barbecue or griddle the chicken with breast side down until skin is golden brown.
- Place onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 35 minutes.
- Check that the chicken is cooked by piercing the leg with a skewer.
- Remove from the oven and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes before carving and serving.
Notes
Jerk chicken is often considered to be the best Jamaican food and is traditionally served with rice and peas.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 271
We also made a milder version by omitting the Scotch bonnet pepper, on a culinary tour of The Great House in Yaaman Adventure Park, thanks to our friendly and knowledgeable instructor.
Take a look at the culinary tour here:
Jerk chicken is frequently served with rice and peas, like the delicious version we sampled at GoldenEye, the iconic resort in Oracabessa Bay.
Jamaican Patties
No visit to Jamaica would be complete without sampling traditional Jamaican patties. It’s thought that they derive from Cornish pasties, introduced to the Caribbean by colonialists from Britain.
These developed into Jamaican patties, filled with ground beef, chicken, shrimp or cheese. Vegetarians should be aware that some of the cheese patties actually have beef mixed in with them.
Many people eat them with cocoa bread in a sandwich as a real carb fest. A few of the most popular patty stores are Juici Patties, Mothers and Tastee.
Here’s a quick and easy Jamaican beef patty recipe.
Ingredients
- 250 g minced beef
- 500g pack of shortcrust pastry
- 1 egg
- 1 potato cut in 1 cm cubes
- 1 finely chopped small onion
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons tomato purée
- 2 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce (or use finely chopped scotch bonnet peppers)
- 2 tablespoons turmeric powder
- Drizzle of oil
- Thyme sprigs
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a pan over a low heat, then add the onion when it’s hot.
- Cook for 5 minutes, then increase the heat and add the beef and garlic and cook until the meat is browned.
- Add 200 ml of water, the potato, purée, thyme and half the turmeric.
- Cover the pan and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook for 5 minutes longer, then add the hot pepper sauce and remove from the heat.
- Heat the oven to 220C or gas 7.
- Roll the pastry out and use a small plate to cut into 6 circles measuring approximately 15cm.
- Add mince to one side of each circle. Mix the rest of the turmeric with the beaten egg.
- Brush some of it around each circle’s edge before folding the pastry over and sealing the edges with a fork.
- Place onto a lined baking tray, brush with some more egg and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 336
Run Down
One of our favourite Jamaican foods to try, run down is made from fish such as mackerel, tomato, onion, garlic, scallion, Scotch bonnet pepper and coconut milk. This popular Jamaican dish takes its unusual name from the fact that its cooked until it “runs down” or falls apart.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pickled or salted mackerel
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 thinly sliced onion
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- 1 chopped tomato
- 2 chopped spring onions
- 1/2 thinly sliced scotch bonnet pepper
- Sprig of fresh or dried thyme
- 8 cups of water
Instructions
- Remove any bones from the mackerel and chop into small pieces.
- Place in a bowl and pour boiling water over fish to cover it.
- Let it stand for 30 minutes then drain water.
- Pour the coconut milk into a pan and add garlic, tomato. spring onion, scotch bonnet pepper, onion and thyme.
- Let the mixture cook until onion is softened, then add fish skin side down, turn heat to low and let it simmer until the fish is fully cooked for around 10 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 207
Run down is eaten at all times of the day, and often served with baked breadfruit, plantains, boiled bananas or dumplings.
Fried Fish
You can enjoy some of the best food in Jamaica at Miss T’s Kitchen, an authentic Jamaican restaurant in Ocho Rios.
Ingredients
- 4 red snapper
- Cooking Oil
- 1 sliced onion
- 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper
- 2/3 cup white wine vinegar
- Fresh herbs to garnish (optional)
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Clean the snapper and remove scales, then season with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over high heat, then add fish and cook for 5 minutes on each side.
- Remove fish from the pan and dry with paper towel.
- Heat vinegar and 3 tablespoons cooking oil in a pan, add onion and cook until softened, then add scotch bonnet pepper.
- Pour the mixture over the fish to serve and garnish with fresh herbs.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 211
They do some great dishes including these fish bites and escovitch, which is topped with Scotch bonnet peppers, onions and pickled carrots.
Jamaican Oxtail Stew
Another of the best Jamaican foods that we tried at Miss T’s is oxtail stew, with butter beans, carrots and spinners, aka boiled dumplings. The meat is braised for several hours, making it extremely tender.
Ingredients
- 450g oxtail chopped into pieces
- 200 g can broad beans
- 1 thinly sliced spring onion
- 1 large chopped onion
- 1 cube beef stock
- 2 tablespoons all spice
- 2 crushed cloves garlic
- Sprig of fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 375 ml water
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- Salt and black pepper to season
Instructions
- Mix the oxtail, onion, spring onion, garlic, beef stock, thyme and soy sauce together.
- Season with salt and pepper and add the all spice.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan on medium heat, then add the oxtail and cook until brown for around 10 minutes.
- Place in a preheated oven and cook for 4 hours.
- Return to the frying pan and add the broad beans, simmering on medium heat.
- Dissolve the cornflour in 2 tablespoons water and add to the oxtail.
- Cook for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened, then serve.
Notes
Cooking time is just one hour in a pressure cooker
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 312
This Jamaican oxtail recipe makes a very tasty supper.
Callaloo
This popular Jamaican side dish is made with amaranth, also known as callaloo and cooked with onions, scallions and salt. It tastes a little like spinach and contains many nutrients like vitamin A, B and C, calcium and iron.
Ingredients
- 400g callaloo – available from specialist food stores or use fresh spinach leaves
- 100g butter
- 3 chopped tomatoes with seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon of freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to season
Instructions
- Melt the butter over a medium heat in a pan.
- Wash the callaloo in water, then add to the pan and cook until wilted.
- Add the nutmeg, chopped tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve with rice, jerk chicken or saltfish.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 85
Callaloo is often served with festival, a fried pastry made from cornmeal, flour and brown sugar.
Curried Goat
One of the most well known Jamaican dishes is curried goat. When slavery was abolished in Jamaica, many people came from India to work on the plantations and popularized curries on the island.
Ingredients
- 800 g goat thigh cut into pieces
- 1 lamb or chicken stock cube
- 1 juiced lime
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 5 crushed garlic cloves
- 80 g grated fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 scotch bonnet chillies, seeds and pith removed, finely chopped
- Can of chopped tomatoes
- Sprig of fresh thyme
- 400g tin black-eyed beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 150°C or Gas 2.
- Heat the oil in a casserole dish on medium heat, add the onion and fry for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the goat, chillies, curry powder, garlic and ginger.
- Season with salt and pepper, then fry for 5 minutes until the meat is brown.
- Add the thyme, stock cube and chopped tomatoes.
- Cover the casserole and place in the oven.
- Cook until the goat is tender, for around 2 ½ hours.
- Add the beans and lime juice then return the casserole to the oven without the lid on for 5 minutes more.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 310
If you get the chance, try curried goat in Jamaica as it’s braised for many hours and has a more subtle taste than you’d expect. This traditional Jamaican dish is usually served with rice and peas or boiled green bananas.
It used to be reserved for parties or other celebrations but is now more frequently consumed.
Brown Stew Chicken
A filling Jamaican dish, Brown Stew Chicken is very easy to make. Also known as fricassee chicken, this tasty dish is often served with boiled potatoes, dumplings, plantains or yams.
Ingredients
- 3lb chicken chopped into portions with skin removed
- 2-3 carrots
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 sprig of thyme or tsp dried thyme
- 1 stalk scallion (Spring onion)
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1-2 tomatoes
- 1 tsp pepper sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt, black pepper, crushed garlic cloves, brown sugar and chopped scallion.
- Marinate the chicken for at least one hour but ideally overnight, covered in the refrigerator.
- Heat the oil in a large non stick frying pan.
- Fry the chicken for a few minutes on each side, until brown.
- Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Fry the chopped carrots until brown.
- Add chopped tomatoes, hot pepper sauce, thyme and a cup of hot water to frying pan.
- Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the pan.
- Add another cup of hot water, reduce heat and cover the pan.
- Simmer for around 30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the brown sauce has thickened.
- Serve with white rice, fried plantains or yams.
Notes
You can replace the hot pepper sauce with Scotch bonnet pepper if available.
Jamaican brown stew chicken takes its name from the rich color of the sauce. This is achieved by frying the chicken until it goes brown.
Jamaica Rum Cake
You can’t leave Jamaica without tucking into the Caribbean rum cake. Here’s a Jamaican rum cake recipe which you’re sure to enjoy.
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons Jamaican dark rum
- 5 tablespoons strong brewed Blue Mountain or espresso coffee
- 180 g sugar
- 180 g unsalted butter
- 110 g flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon raisins or chopped dry fruits
Instructions
- Soak the raisins or dried fruit in half the rum.
- Cream half the sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl.
- Add the flour, coffee and eggs one at a time, with the soaked dried fruit.
- Mix well then pour the mix into a greased cake tin and cook in a preheated oven at 150C or gas mark 2 for 50 minutes.
- Check whether fully cooked by inserting a metal skewer which should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- Mix the remaining sugar, butter and rum with quarter of a cup of water in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Simmer for a few minutes, stirring to avoid burning.
- Make small holes in the cake with a toothpick, then pour the syrup over the cake.
Notes
If possible, leave the Jamaica rum cake overnight in order to let the flavour develop.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 300
This is definitely one of the top 10 Jamaican foods in our opinion. Other popular Jamaican desserts are gizzada, a mix of coconut flakes, brown sugar, flour and spices and plantain tarts.
Ice Cold Jelly Coconut
This isn’t a Jamaican food recipe, but don’t miss ice cold jelly coconut if you’re in Jamaica. It holds a special place in the heart of most Jamaicans and you will see lots of roadside stalls selling “ice cold coconut jelly”.
Ice cold coconut comes only from green coconuts, not the brown ones and is believed by many to help flush out the digestive system.
We don’t know about you, but all this talk of food has got us hungry. Don’t miss picturesque I Scream store at Errol Flynn Marina in Portland or the historic landmark store at Devon House in Kingston. Enjoy these traditional Jamaican dishes with a locally brewed Red Stripe beer, a cup of Blue Mountain coffee or the obligatory rum punch. Well it would be rude not to ;-).
Which of these Jamaican food dishes is your favourite? Have you tried cooking any of these?
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