Red Peas Soup
This hearty Red Peas Soup recipe is so flavorful and comforting and warming. It is perfect for chilly evenings. Red beans are cooked in a flavorful herb infused coconut broth with potato, carrots, yam, and dumplings to make a delicious Jamaican pea soup.
What Is Red Peas Soup?
This is my vegan and gluten-free version of Jamaican red peas soup. Red pea soup is traditionally cooked with salt beef, salted pig’s tail, or chicken feet. Like my Jamaican Stew Peas, this red pea soup has so many flavors that you won’t even miss the meat.
The rich flavors of this Jamaican Red Peas Soup are out of this world. It’s a warm and comforting bowl of goodness that’s perfect for chilly evenings.
This hearty soup is not only vegan and gluten-free but also packs a nutritious punch with red kidney beans, vegetables, and coconut milk. What’s more, it’s incredibly easy to make, and the flavorful herb-infused broth will leave you feeling satisfied and content.
Why You’ll Love This Red Peas Soup Recipe
- Hearty and flavorful: The Jamaican Red Peas Soup is packed with rich and inviting flavors that warm your soul.
- Comfort in a bowl: It’s the perfect comfort food for chilly evenings, giving you a cozy and satisfied feeling.
- Nutritious goodness: This soup is loaded with red kidney beans, vegetables, and coconut milk, offering a healthy and nourishing meal option.
- Easy to make: The recipe is straightforward and hassle-free, making it a go-to choice for busy weeknights.
Ingredients Needed
- Dried Red Kidney Beans: This will form the foundation for your red peas soup.
- Flavorful ingredients like onion, garlic, and green onions.
- Thyme: My favorite herb to use in Jamaican dishes.
- Vegetables like carrots, potato, and yams.
- Coconut Milk: This will keep the soup creamy and smooth.
- Pimento Berries: Also know as whole allspice.
- Vegetable Bouillon Cubes: You can substitute with your favorite bouillon cube or chicken-style seasoning or leave it out and just flavor with salt.
- Scotch Bonnet: This pepper can be found in West Indian supermarkets or you can substitute with cayenne pepper.
- Dumplings made with all–purpose gluten–free flour and salt.
FOR THE FULL LIST OF INGREDIENTS, SCROLL TO SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END.
How To Make Red Peas Soup
- Sort beans and soak beans in a large pot or bowl of cold water overnight or for 8 hours. The following morning discard water and rinse beans.
- Add 10 cups of water and bring to boil on medium-high in a large pot, reduce heat to simmer, and cook beans until tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, green onions, thyme, carrots, potatoes, yam, dumplings, coconut milk, allspice, vegetable bouillon, and Scotch bonnet pepper.
- Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender about 30 minutes.
- Discard Scotch bonnet pepper before serving.
Red Peas Soup
Expert Tips
- Soaking the dried red kidney beans overnight or for at least 8 hours is essential. This not only reduces the cooking time but also helps make the beans more digestible.
- The Scotch bonnet pepper adds heat to the soup. For milder heat, you can use less of it or remove the seeds and membrane from the pepper. Be cautious, as these peppers are quite spicy.
- Ensure you roll your dumplings into small, thin pieces. They will expand while cooking, so you don’t want them to be too large, or they might not cook evenly.
- If you prefer a thicker soup, you can remove a portion of the soup with beans and potato, blend it until smooth, and then stir it back into the pot. This will add thickness and creaminess.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add vegetables– Spinach, kale, okra, or bell peppers would all be great in this red soup.
- Add spices– Experiment with adding a touch of other spices to your Jamaican pea soup to change up the flavors. Curry powder, ginger, and cumin would all go great in this recipe.
Storage Tips
Storing Leftovers: Allow it to cool to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight container and store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: Use a freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bags. Remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. This red pea soup will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use canned kidney beans for convenience. Be sure to drain and rinse them before adding to the soup.
It’s commonly served as a hearty main course. You can enjoy it with traditional Jamaican side dishes like rice and fried plantains.
Yes, pimento berries and allspice are the same. Pimento berries are the dried, unripe fruits of the Pimenta dioica tree and are often called allspice due to their flavor resembling a blend of various spices.
Scotch bonnet peppers are often available at West Indian or Caribbean supermarkets. If not, you can substitute them with cayenne peppers found in regular grocery stores.
Other Delicious Jamaican Soup To Try
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Red Peas Soup
Ingredients
For The Soup
- 2 cups dried red kidney beans
- 10 cups water
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 green onions chopped
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 1 medium carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 medium potato peeled and chopped
- 1 cup yam peeled and chopped
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 6 pimento berries or whole allspice
- 2 cubes vegetable bouillons
- 1 whole Scotch Bonnet
- salt to taste
- 1 batch of Dumplings optional recipe below
Dumplings
- 1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour (I used Krusteaz brand)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For The Soup
- Sort and wash beans, soak in cold water overnight in a large pot or bowl for at least 8 hours.
- The following day, discard water and rinse beans, place them in a large saucepan with 10 cups of water and bring to boil, lower heat to simmer until tender for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Add chopped onion, garlic, green onions, thyme, carrots, potatoes, yam, dumplings, coconut milk, allspice or pimento berries, vegetable bouillon, and Scotch bonnet pepper.
- Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender about 30 minutes. Discard Scotch bonnet pepper before serving.
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 palm of hands to make long thin dumplings. Drop into simmering stew.
Hi There. You mentioned tomatos but I don’t see that in the recipe?
Bunny, I’m here search for the word tomato and cannot find it. Where exactly is it?
Hi, I am in Australia and would love to try your recipe but I cannot find yams. Do sweet potoatoes make a good alternative? Thankyou
Hello Mary, yes you can use sweet potatoes instead of yams
Love this recipe! I’ve made it several times, but was sad to see the list of ingredients and their amounts has disappeared. Very sad I can no longer access the amounts I need ☹️
Susan, we are currently having technical issues, please bear with us.
For The Soup
2 cups dried red kidney beans
10 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, chopped
3 sprigs of thyme
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup yam, peeled and chopped
1 cup coconut milk
6 pimento berries, or whole allspice
2 cubes vegetable bouillons
1 whole Scotch Bonnet
salt, to taste
1 batch of Dumplings, optional recipe below
Dumplings
1/2 cup all purpose gluten-free flour, (I used Krusteaz brand)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
For The Soup
Sort and wash beans, soak in cold water overnight in a large pot or bowl for at least 8 hours.
The following day, discard water and rinse beans, place them in a large saucepan with 10 cups of water and bring to boil, lower heat to simmer until tender for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Add chopped onion, garlic, green onions, thyme, carrots, potatoes, yam, dumplings, coconut milk, allspice or pimento berries, vegetable bouillon, and Scotch bonnet pepper.
Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender about 30 minutes. Discard Scotch bonnet pepper before serving.
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 palm of hands to make long thin dumplings. Drop into simmering stew.
Susan, I’m so sorry, we are having technical difficulties since the sudden passing of my brother who built and maintained the website. Please bear with us.
I have made this a couple times and I love it! I was first exposed to this soup on a trip to Jamaica. One question i have, my soup does not have that deep red colour of yours. The only ingredient that I didn’t have was the pimento berries (i used ground allspice). Any thoughts?
I’m happy to hear that you love the soup! The deep red color in traditional Jamaican Red Pea Soup comes from the use of Scotch bonnet peppers & tomatoes. The absence of pimento berries might contribute to a slightly different color, but using ground allspice is a good substitute.
After Two year working with healthier steps ,I knew to cook different recipes, thank you for your time ,may God bless you
May god bless you, Aswell! 😊
It looks so nutritious and very delicious
Oh wow! I’ve heard of green pea soup but never red. So interesting, and it looks delish!
Your vegan and gluten-free version of Jamaican red peas soup sounds amazing! It’s great to see that you were able to make a traditional dish healthier without sacrificing any of the delicious flavours. I’m sure it tastes just as good, if not better, than the original recipe.
Oh, this Red Peas Soup recipe sounds absolutely delightful! I can just imagine how comforting and warming it must be, especially on chilly evenings. I love the addition of potato, carrots, yam, and dumplings, which I’m sure add even more heartiness and texture to the soup.
very hearty, comforting, & delicious! especially in the winter. i come back to this dish a few times since it is so good! i hope you give it a try.
Nnnniiiccceeee….this is a new recipe to me! For a moment there, I thought I was looking at a favourite of mine; beans! I look forward to trying them out. Thanks for sharing their recipe.
I love that this dish can easily be prepared with just vegetables making it a great vegetarian or vegan dish as well!