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.
I am making this for my father in law, but it is not as thick as yours? Any ideas as to why?
Nina, just remove the cover, mash some of the potatoes and cook longer until you get the thickness you like. Remember also it will thicken as it cools. Hope you enjoy!
I’m going to be making it today, great recipe. Looking forward to eating it
Made it tonight and loved it. Terrific recipe.
Richard, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you.
Thank you for such a great soup!!
This has quickly become my husband favourite. I make it Saturday afternoon and it’s gone by Sunday evening. We just keep the pot in a simmer. The dumplings are his favourite. Apparently it’s just as good as the shops.
Sophie, I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed it. I appreciate you sharing your feedback with us. Thank you.
Made this for dinner tonight. Pureed all the beans before adding the rest of the veggies–husband HATES beans. He was skeptical of the ingredients, but ended up enjoying seconds. Yummy, hearty soup on a cold winter night. Thank you for another great recipe!
Doreen, I’m happy you and your hubby enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for sharing your adjustments.
Even though the recipe says feeds 8, I will make more next time. We made some rice to serve it over so it would go further. Everyone raved about this soup…and they were all meat-eaters (I’m the only vegan in the family). And one of the diners is Jamaican! She was really impressed, but she also told me some variations I might like to try, i.e. using coconut milk instead of water in the dumplings and adding a pinch of sugar. And adding banana (plantain) as one of the veggies.
I cook a vegan meal every Sat. for my daughter and her family and when she asks for the recipe, I know it’s a winner and a keeper!!! Thanks, Michelle
Roberta, I’m so happy everyone loved it. That’s awesome. I had some yesterday with the green plantain added and my hubby didn’t care for it. I had extra green plantain after making plantain fritters which were excellent (please check the recipe out on my home page). I hope you will try more of my soup recipes. Blessing!
Hi Michelle,
I made this recipe over the weekend and I must say, there was no left overs. I did add some sweet potatoes and thinly sliced corn and my scotch bonnet popped but It was delicious and flavorful. I will definitely be making this again especially with winter approaching. I can’t wait to try more of your vegan dishes.
Toya, I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I love how you added sweet potato and corn, yummy. Oops, I’m sorry the pepper popped.
Thank you, Michelle. Another delicious recipe.
Anthony, you are welcome. I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Hi Michelle, what is/are pimento berries? I haven’t made this yet, but am trying to see if I have the ingredients on hand. It does sound good and hearty, altho I will probably make it without the dumplings. Also wondering as the directions mention allspice but I don’t see that listed in the ingredients. Thank you.
Denise pimento is allspice. It is an optional ingredient. I hope you enjoy it, it is one of my most popular recipes.
Thank you for this recipe! If using canned red beans, do you still use the measurements of water (10 cups, simmered for 45-60 mins)?
Ree, you can use less liquid, about 6-8 cups will be fine. You can cook for 30 minutes.
Hi Michelle. I’m so glad I discovered your website! My mom is from Jamaica so I grew up eating many of these dishes. I recently switched to a vegan diet so I am happy to find your vegan versions of these Jamaican classics. I just made the red peas soup and it was delicious. The coconut milk gives a rich flavor. My kids loved it and helped themselves to a second serving. Thank you!
Rachel, I’m so happy you found my website and my recipes bring back memories of your mom’s cooking. That’s awesome that your kids loved it too. Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it.