Vegan Jamaican Stew Peas
Traditionally, “stew peas” are cooked with salted beef, oxtail, or pig’s tail, but here I present a vegan version that will please the palate of the most skeptical.
Beans, or peas, are a Jamaican staple because they are so versatile and flavorful; we incorporate beans in many of our Jamaican dishes, like my Jamaican Rice And Peas and Jamaican Gungo Peas Soup.
How to Make Vegan Jamaican Stew Peas?
Jamaican stew peas with dumplings (spinners) contain a Jamaican version of unleavened dumplings, also known as spinners, usually made with white flour, but regular flour will work. Also, try my Instant Pot Version.
I used whole scotch bonnet pepper for more of the authentic flavor and not the spicy heat. Coconut milk is an essential component of this stew and many other Jamaican dishes.
For another simple pea stew, check out my Chickpea Stew recipe. Serve your stew peas with Jasmine Rice.
If you are wanting to cook authentic Jamaican dishes, this dish is so easy to make. I have made this dish several times for my guests, and they tell me how amazing it tastes. Jamaican stew peas, an ultimate comfort dish, is my go-to recipe.
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When growing up in Jamaica, we tend to make our own coconut milk from fresh coconuts rather than the canned version. It was less expensive and resulted in more flavorful milk.
Now that I live in the USA and don’t usually have access to fresh coconut, I use canned coconut milk in my recipes. I usually purchase Thai Kitchen Unsweetened Coconut Milk.
Notes
. Since I made this recipe in 2012, I now only eat gluten-free dumplings. I have updated this recipe to include a recipe for Jamaican gluten-free dumplings.
. Substitute 2 cans of kidney beans for the dried kidney beans and omit the water.
. Use 1–14 ounce of coconut milk if you don’t have fresh coconut milk
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Vegan Jamaican Stew Peas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried kidney beans
- 6 cups water
- 1 (14-ounce) can of coconut milk
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 –2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 sprig of fresh
- 1 medium carrot cut into coins
- 1 whole Scotch Bonnet pepper stem intact or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or 6 berries
- 1 batch of dumplings/spinners
Dumplings/Spinners
- 1/2 cup flour: I used Krusteaz all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For The Stew Peas
- Sort and wash beans, and soak them in water (about 3 inches above the beans) overnight or for at least 8 hours.
- The following day, discard water and rinse beans, place them in a large saucepan with the 6 cups of water, and bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer until tender for about 1 hour.
- Add coconut milk, carrots, onion, garlic, and continue simmering. Add spinners and thyme and other seasonings, simmer for another 30 minutes or until sauce is thick. Discard pepper before serving. Delicious served with brown rice and a salad!
For The Dumplings
- Place flour and salt in a bowl. Add water and mix to make a stiff dough. Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll into the palms of your hands to make long, thin dumplings. Drop them into the simmering stew.
Thank you. Will definitely make. May I also substitute black beans for this recipe?
I hope you enjoy, yes I have substituted black beans many times.
I want to make this recipe, but, my son is allergic to coconuts. Have you ever substituted the coconut milk for another type of milk (almond or oat)?
Making this right now and I can’t wait for it to be done. The aroma through the house is amazing and mesmerizing.
That’s awesome, I hope you enjoy!
Following your recipes all the way from the UK!! Made this tonight – absolutely delicious. I used tin peas instead, so it wasn’t as dark, but it did develop a nice colour. I was worried about it being watery, so I turned the heat up towards the end to thicken it. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes ☺️
Hello Esther, Greetings to you! I’m happy you enjoyed it, yes you did the right thing to cook until it was thick enough to your liking. Thank you for leaving your feedback.
Thanks so much for this recipe. It was delicious. The coconut milk flavor was a bit strong but I don’t think I used unsweetened. I will try that next time and I think it will be perfect!!! I am not a good cook but this was very easy to make and I will definitely be making this again.
I’m happy you enjoyed it Tae, definitely use unsweetened coconut milk. Thank you for sharing your feedback
Thank you Michelle for this wonderful recipe. As a Jamaican who’s is slowly going vegan, I was so relieved to see my favourite dish vegan. To this recipe I added Caribbean 1 sweet potato, 1 cassava, and 2 green banana (all slices thick) to add flavour and help thicken the stew. Finally I used 2 cups of flour and a bit of cornmeal (1/4 cup) to make more spinners. I served this with steamed white rice. It was so delicious both my son and husband had 3 servings. They both agreed it tastes like the authentic Jamaican stew peas with oxtail and did not miss the meat.
Kisrene, that’s so wonderful to read. I love how you added the extra ground provision and green banana. I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. I really appreciate it.
I’ve made this several times now and I and my tween daughters love it bc it reminds them of Grandma’s authentic dish but this is faster! We double the spinners recipe too lol THANK YOU!
Carling, that’s so awesome, I’m so happy that you and your daughters enjoy it and that it brings back lovely memories of Grandma’s recipe, thank you so much for sharing your feedback.
Thank you for all of your delicious recipes!!
Lorri, you are welcome, thank you for leaving your feedback.
This was soooo good! My husband is jamaican so I was worried when he tried it but he was pleasantly surprised!
I made the recipe exactly with the instructions for using canned beans. The only thing is that for next time, I will need more dumplings than this, I only got about 5/6 of them. That wasn’t enough for my kids that wanted more dumplings :)
Karin, I’m so happy your family enjoyed it, yes you can always make more dumplings, I normally make tiny spinners style dumplings so I end up with a lot.
Hi just an update. You were right, my mother in law came over and said I had to make them smaller. LOL
I included this for thanksgiving dinner last monday (canadian) and my guests LOVED it! THANK YOU!
Sorry Michelle my own mistake! I just saw your note about omitting the water if using canned beans. Haha! Thanks for the recipe. I will do it again without the water. Live and learn :-)
Hi Michelle. I tried this recipe tonight and used canned kidney beans and double ingredients including water but it came out too watery. How can I adjust the water amount when using canned beans? It’s sitting now though and the flavors are coming out. Thank you :-)
Maura, all you need to is use less water next time and cook for longer now until you are satisfied with the texture. Enjoy!
Sorry Michelle my own mistake! I just saw your note about omitting the water if using canned beans. Haha! Thanks for the recipe. I will do it again without the water. Live and learn :-)
No problem, it happens but really some people like my hubby loves his more on the watery side, you will find as it cools it will thicken as well. Just remove the cover and cook stirring until you will the consistency you love, the flavor will intensify as well.