Caribbean cuisine uses herbs, spices and tropical fruits with African, Spanish, Latin American and Asian influences to create snacks, appetizers, main dishes and desserts that are unique to each region. Here, some of the Caribbean’s favorite chefs share dishes from their hometowns and childhoods, like Dominican bollitos, Jamaican callaloo and Trinidad and Tobago barbecue. From Dominican-inspired spare ribs with lamb and guava glaze to classics like rice and peas and specialties like arroz con pollo, these Caribbean recipes celebrate the diverse flavors and traditions that make the Caribbean islands such impactful culinary destinations. “The cultural identity of each Caribbean island is rich and telling,” says Brigid Ransom Washington. Get a taste here.
Guyanese Goja (Deep Fried Coconut Turnovers)
Blogger Alica Ramkirpal-Senhouse learned how to make Indo-Caribbean fried coconut hand pies from her grandmother. Freshly grated nutmeg and ginger are key ingredients in the warm, spicy coconut filling, which is best served hot out of the fryer for the best texture.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
The ways Jamaican jerk chicken is prepared are as varied as the cooks on the island, but most are made the same way: The chicken is coated in a seasoning that mainly consists of spices and chili peppers, then cooked on the grill. This version is spicy, smoky, and aromatic—everything you could want from the dish.
Caribbean Johnny Cakes
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling: Claire Spollen
Caribbean Johnny Cakes are small fried breads that are crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. They are light and slightly sweet and are often served as a breakfast or snack with cheese, salted fish or fish stew.
Lamb and Guava Glazed Spare Ribs
Greg Dupree / Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer and Melissa Gray / Prop Styling: Audrey Taylor
Chef Nelson German draws on his childhood memories from the Dominican Republic to create this barbecue sauce for spare ribs, a guava sauce enhanced with rum and flavored with dill pickle, mustard and Maggi seasoning.
Trini-style barbecued lamb
Greg Dupree / Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer and Melissa Gray / Prop Styling: Audrey Taylor
Inspired by the smoky barbecued lamb dishes he enjoyed as a child in Trinidad and Tobago, Chef Osei Blackett’s version features fresh lime juice, ginger and thyme, and a sweet, beer-based sauce adds the perfect balance of flavor.
Double chickpeas with tamarind and scotch bonnet pepper sauce
2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s take on the traditional Trinidadian double features curried chickpeas served on a turmeric-infused fried flatbread called bala, and two sauces for extra flavor: tamarind and scotch bonnet pepper.
Acra (crispy taro fritters) with caviar and remoulade
Jose Mandoyana
Haitian chef Gregory Gourdet makes his acra by finely grating fresh taro and mixing it with spring onions, garlic, chilies, herbs, and egg as a binder. Once fried, Gourdet serves them as fritters with a flavorful remoulade sauce and generous dollops of salty osetra caviar.
Niños embuertos dominicanos (Dominican cabbage rolls)
Made with a soffritto base, rice, and equal parts ground beef, pork, and lamb, and topped with a flavorful tomato sauce, these cabbage rolls are irresistibly delicious and deeply comforting.
Jamaican Rice and Peas
Diana Chistruga
The peas in this recipe refer to kidney beans, which are boiled with rice in a mixture of water, coconut milk, herbs and spices. This is the Jamaican version of the dish, but peas (or beans) and rice are common in much of the Caribbean.
Cuban Sandwich
Matt Taylor Gross / Food Styling: Barrett Washburn
Add even more flavor to your Cuban sandwich by using traditional Cuban mojo as a marinade or sauce. Like most Cuban mojos, this recipe from food writer Anya Von Bremzen starts with orange juice and adds complex flavors with cumin, garlic, oregano, coriander, and red onion.
Kingfish Escabeche
Greg Dupree / Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer and Melissa Gray / Prop Styling: Audrey Taylor
Escabeche fish was introduced to the Caribbean via Spain centuries ago, and is a beloved dish in the region where the fish is first cooked and then marinated in vinegar. Chef José Enrique’s version is charcoal grilled rather than fried, giving it a smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with the rice vinegar.
Jamaican black cake
Delicate hints of raw almonds (and almond extract), the warm spicy notes of allspice, and a generous amount of rum give food writer and recipe developer Brigid Ransom Washington’s Black Cake a distinctively Jamaican sensibility.
Jamaican Stew Peas and Spinners
Sweet, hearty and satisfying, this vegetarian stew pea dish is made with red kidney beans, herbs, coconut milk and Scotch bonnet peppers. Spinners are simple finger dumplings that add a rich, chewy texture. Serve over rice.
Pernil Asado (roasted pork shoulder with garlic)
Carla Cormack
Chef Jose Enrique’s flavorful Puerto Rican Traditional Roasted Pork Shoulder is marinated overnight in a blend of citrus, garlic and herbs and then slow-roasted in the oven until caramelized and crisp on the outside and can be served sliced, shredded or pulled into large chunks.
Bolitos de Papa y Elote (Potato Elote Bites)
Pastry chef Paola Velez fuses two iconic street foods together by stuffing Dominican borritos with Mexican elote to create a crunchy, cheesy, and slightly spicy snack. Garnished with lime-flavored crema and fresh coriander, the snack is as delicious as it is beautiful to look at.
Soup Jumou
Greg Dupree / Food Styling: Tory Cox / Prop Styling: Shel Royster
This hearty Haitian winter staple begins with an aromatic flavor base of épices, made from a puree of bell peppers, leeks, onions and garlic. This flavorful stew is accompanied by beef and pasta with a variety of vegetables, including pumpkin, cabbage and a variety of onions and root vegetables.
Cuban black beans
Maxwell Cozzi
Rather than pre-soaking the beans, they are soaked at the end of the cooking process. The mixture is allowed to “rest” overnight to allow the garlicky flavors to blend together. You can eat the beans as a main, serve them as a side dish, or enjoy them as part of a salad, breakfast burrito, or tostada.
Ropa Vieja
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling: Emily Neighbors-Hall / Prop Styling: Shell Royster
Ropa vieja is said to be Cuba’s national dish, and this version by Corey Morris features slow-cooked meat, melt-tender vegetables, and a smooth broth with deep flavor and tartness.
Red Chili Jerk – Spiced Roasted Sweet Plantain
Jose Mandoyana
Chef Gregory Gourdet roasts and grills plantains, smothering them in a bright, fiery jerk sauce that combines caramel-like sweetness with heat and spice.
Guava and cheese pastel
Popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico and other parts of the world, the sweet and savory pastry is stuffed with a traditional combination of cream cheese and guava paste. The treat is also known as a pastelito, pastello or turnover.
Jamaican Callaloo
“What to call it is a question that has long vexed Caribbean cooks,” says Kwame Onwuachi, who shares this recipe from his book. My AmericaIn Jamaica, the name refers to both the amaranth leaf vegetable and a dish made by simmering the leaves in soup with spices.
Curried Pumpkin and Bath Up Shut (Paratha Roti)
Fresh habanero chillies add a fruity heat to tender pumpkin chunks and softened callaloo leaves in this dish by chef Nina Compton, served with bust up shut, crinkly buttery roti that’s perfect for sopping up the flavoursome curry.
Caribbean Fish Stew
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling: Claire Spollen
Red snapper is braised in herbs, lime juice, Scotch bonnet chilli, thyme-infused tomatoes and fish broth for a bright, zesty flavour with a hint of heat, and the freshly grated ginger and garlic used to marinate the fish add an extra layer of flavour, inspired by the ginger-garlic puree often used in West Indian cooking.
Cracked shrimp with pineapple and habanero relish
Chef Carla Hall’s take on the dish replaces Bahamian cracked conch with shrimp, which are battered, deep fried and served with a spicy fresh pineapple relish that can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Jamaican braised oxtail with carrots and chilli
Novelist Brian Washington’s recipe for Jamaican Braised Oxtail pays homage to the dish his mother made, and it’s a fragrant dish with plenty of warm spices, hot Scotch bonnet chilli and fresh thyme, complemented by sweet carrots and creamy beans.
Arroz con pollo with avocado and green pea salsa
This recipe cooks absorbent bomba rice in a mix of chicken stock, pilsner, and dry white wine. It might seem like too much liquid, but the resulting rice is especially moist. Make the avocado salsa and hot sauce ahead of time for easy same-day prep.
