Jamaican Callaloo
I enjoy visiting my homeland Jamaica and eating locally prepared foods. Most locally prepared foods are mostly unprocessed and organic.
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Eating callaloo (Amaranthus Viridis) is so reminiscent of my childhood where I enjoyed this dish prepared in a variety of ways. It is eaten here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Callaloo is traditionally cooked by itself with onion, tomatoes, green onions, and Scotch bonnet pepper and thyme or cooked with salt fish or served with steamed fish, rice or fried breadfruit.
It is also added to soups, and used as a filling for a savory pastry called patty like my Jamaican Lentil Patties and even made into a drink.
What is Jamaican Callaloo?
Callaloo has been consumed for thousands of years, it is an ancient green leafy vegetable also known as amaranth. It is similar to spinach but has a stronger flavor,
Farmers grow callaloo seeds in Jamaica and sell the plant in the local markets. I love to grow my own, so I normally allow a few of my callaloo plants to seed. I then allow the seeds to dry and store them for after winter.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Jamaican Callaloo?
But this notorious weed is a valuable source of iron, calcium, folate, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, and Vitamin C. Purchase callaloo in the Caribbean, Asian, and /or International supermarkets.
1 cup of cooked callaloo provides:
- 90 kilocalories
- 6.9 milligrams of iron
- 1074 milligrams of potassium
- 602 milligrams of calcium
- 13 grams of fiber
- 484 milligrams of sodium
- 86 milligrams of vitamin C
- 7.2 grams of protein
Scotch bonnet pepper is also a key ingredient in Jamaican cuisine, its similar to habanero pepper, which may be substituted. It is extremely hot therefore I use it whole just for the unique and authentic flavor it imparts to the dish.
Callaloo is delicious served with Ackee, Vegan Rundown, Dumplings or Festival, Breadfruit or Yam.
How To Cook Jamaican Callaloo
- To prepare callaloo, first remove dead leaves, debris, and any hard stalks. I like to fill a large pot of cold water and add salt to it and submerge the callaloo in the pot for about 10 minutes, the salt will help to remove debris.
- Discard the water and rinse the callaloo. Strip the outer thin layer of the callaloo stems. Finely cut leaves and stem of callaloo and set aside.
- Saute, onion, garlic, spring onion, thyme, tomatoes in oil. Add chopped callaloo, salt, and Scotch bonnet pepper, cover, and allow to steam.Â
- At this time, you may add a little water, but not too much, as the callaloo will produce its own liquid during cooking.
Where can I purchase Jamaican Callaloo?Â
If you are not able to physically purchase this weed, Amazon does in fact have it for purchase.Â
Other Gluten-Free Vegan Callaloo Recipes To Try
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Below, I served my callaloo with Jamaican yellow yam, gluten-free, vegan boiled dumplings, Ackee, and roast breadfruit.
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Jamaican Callaloo
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups callaloo chopped and tightly packed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 green onions chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper whole or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Peel the outer membrane of each stalk of the callaloo and remove the old outer leaves. Place callaloo in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Place 1/2 tsp salt and set aside while preparing the remaining vegetables. Discard water, then rinse with water and drain. Chop callaloo
- Place oil in a large pot, add onion, garlic, spring onion, thyme, tomato, and scotch bonnet pepper on medium heat, and saute until onion is translucent. Add callaloo and water, and allow to simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes or until tender.
This Callaloo looks so yummy! Love a good greens side dish, and the tropical Jamaican take on this collards green dish sounds just wonderful!
Is callaloo. The same as collard greens. Seems to be prepared same way
It’s not the same, yes you can prepare it the same way.
Thanks for the great info on callaloo! Can’t wait to try it!
You are welcome Julia, I hope you enjoy!
I had never seen or heard of callaloo before, received a bunch from my organic food supplier today, found your recipe and wow. I didn’t have a tomato or a pepper on hand but substituted sliced zucchini and a bit of squash and the cayenne, and stuck to the rest of the recipe. Just amazing. I’ll hang on to your recipe and will be watching out for callaloo in the future.
Virginia, I’m so happy you found my recipe, I’m happy it turned out great with your substitutions. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
It’s funny how you “forget” about some things. My Bajan boyfriend searched for and planted Callaloo in our garden several years ago, and we haven’t had to replant since! (I can see how it could be considered a weed; those many tiny seeds are prolific!) We’ve provided callaloo to our Jamaican-born landlord and his brother, and a couple of other people– just come and pick it– for a few years now, but haven’t bothered with it ourselves..
Seeing this today, maybe I’ll pick some for us this year, and follow your recipe (which seems to be like I remember my other half made it before.) I’ll just skip the Scotch Bonnet — I am SUCH a wimp about hot & spicy foods.
That is so awesome, I have some growing from last well. I’m happy you get to share some of your bountiful harvests. I hope you enjoy my recipe!
When can I purchase Callaloo in Virginia?
Most Caribbean, Indian and large Chinese supermarkets carry it especially in Centreville, Virginia.
Today the market had this beautiful green leafy veg called callaloo. I couldn’t help but buy a bunch of it. Your recipe looks delicious and simple so I’ll be trying it soon.
Wow Kimberly, I would love it if my local farmer’s market sells callaloo, hope you enjoy my recipe.
This is my first time making callaloo and it turned out great. The scotch bonnet pepper gave it a great taste. I commented on the festival earlier but forgot to add that I did not have any flax seeds and wondered if that makes a difference in the texture.
I’m so happy it turned out great Pat, thank you for your feedback. Concerning the festival, when it comes to gluten-free recipes you definitely can’t treat it as trraditional recipes. You should at least use the exact ingredients as I have listed because I cannot guarantee a favorable outcome with your adjustments. Ground flaxseeds are necessary to bind the batter and hold it together.
Thanks Michelle. I picked up some ground flaxseeds for my raisin bran muffin recipe and will make sure to add them to the festival that I make this weekend .
Awesome, hope you enjoy, if the dough is dry, add more liquid if it’s too wet add more cornmeal or flour, hope you enjoy.
This recipe is a keeper. Easy to prepare and ready to eat in no time. Thanks so much for this healthy and delicious recipe,
Betsy, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you for sharing your feedback.
I’m eating this right now. It’s delicious! Thanks for your recipes!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, thank you for sharing how you enjoyed it.
I just love Callaloo and I cannot wait till my callaloo is ready for picking then I will be making this for sure.
Errol, I’m so excited for you. I just realize we haven’t sowed our callaloo seeds as yet, I need to get out in the garden soon. I hope you enjoy my recipe, I also have a callaloo pattie recipe on here.