
I can’t exaggerate how delicious this Instant Pot Jamaican Stew Peas recipe is! It is so delicious that my hubby requested it two days in a row. It is the Instant Pot version of my popular Jamaican Stew Peas with Dumplings (Spinners) recipe with minor tweaks. I have also perfected my Instant Pot Jamaican Rice and Peas recipe.
I enjoyed making this recipe in the Instant Pot because I basically added all the ingredients and set the pot and walked away.

How To Cook Instant Pot Jamaican Stew Peas?
The First Method With Dried Beans
- 1. To prepare this Instant Pot Jamaican Stew Peas, sort 1 pound or 2 cups of dried kidney beans removing debris and broken beans. Wash beans and cover with water at least 2 inches above beans.
- 2. Allow to soak for at least 6 hours or overnight, the following morning you discard water, Add kidney beans to Instant Pot with 8 cups of water and place the lid on sealing, cook on manual high pressure for 28 minutes. At the end of 28 minutes, use the Quick release method.
- 3. Make sure there are at least 3 cups of the bean broth in the instant pot along with the cooked beans. Add to the Instant pot the remaining ingredients, coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, green onions, carrot, thyme, allspice, salt, and dumplings.
- 4. Stir and close the knob (sealing) set the Instant Pot on High Pressure or Manual Pressure for 20 minutes. After the Instant Pot has beeped, allow it to Natural Release for 10 minutes then turn the knob to venting and Quick Release.
- 5 After it is finished releasing the steam, open the cover and remove Scotch bonnet pepper and thyme, then serve. It is delicious served with rice but it was so hearty I served it with a large salad.
The Second Method Uses Canned Beans
- Rinse and drain canned beans, place the beans in Instant Pot, add vegetable broth, coconut milk, onion, green onions, garlic, ginger, carrot, thyme, Scotch bonnet pepper, allspice, and salt
- To prepare dumplings, place gluten-free flour in a bowl, add salt and water, mix to form into a dough. Take pieces of dough and roll into the palm of your hands to form into cylindrical pieces or balls. Drop onto stew.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the knob to Sealing. Set Instant Pot to Manual mode, HP for 20 minutes.
- After finish pressure cooking, allow the Instant Pot to natural release for 10 minutes. Then Quick Release, turn the knob to Venting, placing a damp cloth over the vent. Be Careful.
- Remove lid and serv
Other Vegan Stews To Try
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Categories
- Categories: Gluten-Free, Instant Pot, Vegan
- Courses: Entrée, Main Course
Nutrition
(Per portion)- Energy: 335 kcal / 1400 kJ
- Fat: 5 g
- Protein: 17 g
- Carbs: 55 g
Cook Time
- Preparation: 35 min
- Cooking: 20 min
- Ready in: 55 min
- For: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 6 cups kidney beans, cooked, or 4 (15 ounce) cans drained and rinsed
- 3 cups bean broth, if using beans from scratch, or vegetable broth if using canned beans
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 medium carrots, cut into circles
- 2 sprigs thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 1/2- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 batch Dumplings, (recipe below)
- 1 cup gluten-free flour, ( I used Pillsbury Best Gluten-Free Flour Blend)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- water, to form dough
Instructions
- Place bean broth or vegetable broth and cooked beans in Instant Pot, add coconut milk, onion, green onions, garlic, ginger, carrot, thyme, Scotch bonnet pepper, allspice, and salt
- To prepare dumplings, place gluten-free flour in a bowl, add salt and water, mix to form into a dough. Take pieces of dough and roll into the palm of your hands to form into cylindrical pieces or balls. Drop onto stew.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the knob to Sealing. Set Instant Pot to Manual mode, HP for 20 minutes.
- After finish pressure cooking, allow the Instant Pot to natural release for 10 minutes. Then Quick Release, turn the knob to Venting, placing a damp cloth over vent. Be Careful.
- Remove lid and serve.
- I refer to bean broth as the liquid that remains after you cook soaked beans or aquafaba.
Notes

I made the Jamaican stew pea and it was amazing!! The only thing had to do was take it out of the instapot and put on the stove with some cornstarch just to make thicker, and I added sweet potato’s!!!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed making and eating the Jamaican stew pea, and that your modifications worked out well for you! It sounds like you added some delicious and nutritious ingredients with the sweet potatoes, which are a great source of vitamins and minerals. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us.
1) How would I alter this recipe for a 3-quart instant pot?
2) How do you get this recipe to not be ‘gassy?’ I have give kidney beans 2, sometimes 3 washes, and emptied off the water and it was still gassy.
Vanessa you could start by making half the recipe, hold the salt, and season to taste when finished. You will follow the same directions. Just cut the recipe in half. Some’s people’s digestive systems just cannot handle beans. Some people find that cooking beans in the Instant Pot make them easier to digest. Some people find that soaking beans overnight, then discarding the water that the beans were soaked in then proceeding with the recipe helps. Some people find that cooking their beans for over 2-3 hours on the stovetop helps or using a slow cooker, cooking on low for 6-8 hours helps.
Thank you
I’ve made this a few times with canned beans, and it’s really good. But mine never looks as dark and rich as your photo. Mine comes out sort of “pink” in color even though I do drain and rinse the beans. Anyone have a suggestion on what I need to do differently?
Natasha, thank you. Are you using dark kidney beans? It sounds like you are using light red kidney beans,
Also, if it’s still not the color you want sometimes I add 2-3 caps of browning to give that color.
The color comes from the dry beans pressure cooking
This stew peas is the best I ever had. I keep going back for more! I will be cooking this on a regular basis.
Absolutely delicious!! I made this without the dumplings and it still came out amazing! Thanks so much for this recipe.
Love love love. Will definitely do this again. No Jamaican roots necessary!!
That’s so wonderful Sha, I’m so happy that it turned out great and that it brings back memories of your friend. Thank you very much for sharing your feedback.