Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
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Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
Tell every soup that's not this Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup recipe to move over! This soup pays great homage to the traditional, well-known Jamaican dish---Red Peas Soup filled with pork. Made with red kidney beans, coconut milk, handmade "spinners" aka dumplings, and veggies seasoned with traditional Jamaican spices. This bowl of goodness is completely velvety + savory. A kick of heat for those who enjoy a bit of spiciness. Entirely Vegan. Gluten-free + Slow-Cooker options.
This Vegan Red Peas Soup is a long overdo recipe that's been needed on the site. While, my Vegan Stew Peas recipe is rather similar and extremely popular amongst my readers-----I felt the need to create this deliciously creamy soup as a next level eating experience that was very much a part of my household growing up.
Jamaican Red Peas is a staple in the Jamaican culture and one that I remember eating a lot growing up. Traditionally, stew peas and red peas soup are made with pig's feet and beef chunks, which makes for the perfect combo of saltiness and savory. While I've had my fair share of both, I definitely wanted to share this vegan version that I've been enjoying lately!
Although I still enjoy traditional Jamaican dishes like this Stew Chicken or Curry Chicken, I really love creating meatless and/or vegan versions of some of my favorite eats (Like this Plant-based Jamaican Oxtail Recipe, Vegan Jamaican Ackee + Saltfish + others). But back to this red peas recipe: its hearty, velvety, filling, and perfect for a warm, comforting meal any night of the week!
Overall, you can enjoy this soup with traditional Jamaican sides like fried dumpling, crackers, or hard-dough bread. You can't have red peas soup without the 'spinners' (aka dumplings) which is just a skinny version of regular dumplings. They actually make for the perfect bite and are so easy to enjoy. The sweet potato are a beautiful tender bite and offsets the "heat" that you might feel from the scotch bonnet peppers. However, you cans substitute the sweet potatoes with pumpkin, butternut squash, etc.
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love This Vegan Red Peas Soup
- How to Make Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
- Tip for Making the Jamaican "Spinners" aka Dumplings
- Adding Bone Broth: The Extra Nutrients
- Best Tips for This Velvety Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
- Can I Use Dried Kidney Beans?
- What is Ground Provision?
- What to Eat with this Jamaican Red Peas Soup Recipe?
- Best Ingredients to Thicken Red Peas Soup
- Common Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup Q+A's
- More Flavorful Jamaican Recipes to Try this Season!
- MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
- Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Red Peas Soup
Here are just a few reasons that you’ll be making this hearty Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup on repeat:
- It’s full of flavor, thanks to the herbs, spices and veggies
- It offers essential vitamins + minerals, plus protein and fiber
- You can make it ahead of time (it’s even better the next day)
- It’s fully kid-approved for a family meal! Just reduce the spicy level.
- Truly hearty, warm + comforting, especially for those cooler months!
How to Make Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
An easy weeknight or weekend soup that comes together easily over the stove top and a few short steps. This is a rich and hearty recipe that takes just 30 minutes to whip together.
You’ll start by sautéing your garlic and onions before adding in the bell peppers, herbs + seasonings, sweet potatoes, coconut milk and veggie stock. Then finish everything off with homemade 'spinners' (aka dumplings) and let is simmer until fully cooked and thickened.
Ingredients
To make the red peas soup, you’ll need:
- Kidney beans. Can help reduce blood sugar levels. You can use dried beans or canned.
- Sweet Potatoes. Keep things traditional with sweet potatoes, however, you can use pumpkin, butternut squash, etc. for the best texture. Peeled + cubed is what you need.
- Scotch bonnet peppers. These pack some heat, so if you’re sensitive to spice, you can use habaneros instead.
- Onion. You can use white, yellow, or red. In a pinch, shallots will work.
- Garlic and scallions. Don’t skimp on these!
- Thyme. I recommend fresh, but if you only have dried, use a half teaspoon.
- Olive oil. I prefer the organic Extra virgin olive oil. You can also use grapeseed, avocado, or coconut oil.
- Vegetable stock. I use low-sodium stock that's organic!
- Bell peppers. You can use regular sized bell peppers, chopped small or mini sweet peppers.
- Pimento seeds. These look like "black peppercorn", but are also known as allspice, pimento berries, etc. Adds additional flavor.
- Thickener. This is optional. The dumplings and starch from the sweet potatoes should thicken the soup enough. But not-----feel free to thicken with all-purpose flour, regular starch, arrowroot, or tapioca flour, which all act as a thickening agent.
- Herbs + Seasonings. A great addition of flavor. You can purchase my On Everything All-Purpose Blend for the greatest ease and authentic flavor. You'll also need smoked paprika.
- Salt. You can use as little or as much as desired. I like to go a little heavier with sea salt in this soup to "mimic" the salty taste of the pigtails in the traditional soup.
- Jamaican Spinners. To make the dumplings, you only need a handful of ingredients like flour, salt, black pepper, + water.
Tip for Making the Jamaican "Spinners" aka Dumplings
The spinners are super easy to make and just use three ingredients. The one key is to not add all of your water at once. This will make a too-wet dough that will fall apart when you cook them. Making spinners is also a fun task for little ones to help with if you have kids in the kitchen.
SHOP MY FAVORITE TOOLS FOR COOKING, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS SOUP!
Here, I’ve curated a list of cooking + baking essentials that I use to achieve my favorite baked goods or cooked meals, especially with this Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup. Everything from my fave wooden spoons, dutch ovens, and more. SEE THEM HERE!
Adding Bone Broth: The Extra Nutrients
If you're not limited to a vegan diet, then adding bone broth is a great addition! I truly love adding bone broth to many of my soups for that extra nourishment and it really does do the trick! Incase you aren't familiar, bone broth is the clear, protein-rich liquid obtained by simmering meaty joints (in this case chicken or beef) and bones in water to pull the nutrients out. Much like regular stock, bone broth can be used as a great base for soups, stews, and risottos---although, I love drinking it warm in a mug whenever I'm sick or need some aid in my recovery. My fave brands are Bare & Bones as well as Kettle & Fire.
Breakdown of health benefits:
- Good for digestion and gut health
- May support immune function
- May support joint health
- May help promote sleep
Best Tips for This Velvety Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
Whipping together a creamy soup isn’t hard at all, however, it can be tricky when trying to figure out the right ingredients to use for both the perfect flavor + texture. This red peas soup is no exception. Therefore, I’ve rounded up a few tips + recommendations to help with understanding how to best make this soup, serve it, and everything in between:
- Don't skimp on the kidney beans. Feel free to use dried beans (pre-cooked first) or canned beans, where I suggest using 2 cans.
- Season, season, season. The bold flavor comes from the herbs + seasonings, especially with the salt (as long as it's safe for your health).
- Let it simmer. While you might be tempted to cook your soup on high for a faster cook time, it's definitely BEST to let everything simmer and allow the flavors to "fuse" together slowly.
- Make your own stock. If you can make your own or use water as your base with seasonings + herbs for a great taste. If using store-bought stock/broth, always purchase high-quality ones.
- Chop your veggies and ingredients into bite-sized pieces. This makes for greater ease when eating.
- ALWAYS sauté your veggies. You want to do this especially with the garlic, onions, bell peppers, etc.
- Always use a cream-based milk. If using the canned coconut milk instead of canned coconut cream, be sure to refrigerate overnight to make it thick.
- Let it simmer until creamy, thickened, and veggies are tender.
Can I Use Dried Kidney Beans?
Absolutely ---- When using dried beans, be sure to soak about 3-4 cups of red kidney beans in a pot or bowl covered with water overnight. To begin cooking, rinse the soaked beans and add fresh water to a pot along with beans. Boil for the first 10 minutes and then reduce the heat and let simmer for 50-60 minutes or until kidney beans are tender.
What is Ground Provision?
For many of you, this term might be new. However, in Jamaica "ground provision" refers to any starchy vegetable that grows underground and need to be dug up when harvested. Some common provisions include potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, pumpkin, butternut squash, etc.
In addition, there are other provision foods that Jamaicans enjoy as well which include plantains, green bananas, breadfruit, etc.
What to Eat with this Jamaican Red Peas Soup Recipe?
When it comes to pairing this Jamaican Red Peas Soup with a food, traditionally it's enjoyed with some sort of bread (crusty bread or hard dough bread) or crackers (soup crackers or water crackers).
Best Ingredients to Thicken Red Peas Soup
When it comes to thickening your vegan soups/stews in general, it can be done in various ways. Many recipes use yogurt, arrowroot starch, potatoes, or other starches. However, I chose to use coconut cream and sweet potatoes which adds a nice texture. You can use canned coconut milk as well, however, you would need to refrigerate it for 24 hours so that it thickens and becomes cream-like as well.
If you like a thick soup, you can add a thickening agent to it to elevate the thickness. Use 1-1 ½ tablespoons at a time mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to dilute. Then pour the mixture into the soup, simmering for an additional few minutes to activate the thickener.
Some thickening agents you can use are:
- Cornstarch (GF)
- Arrowroot starch (GF)
- Potato starch (GF)
- All-purpose flour
- Tapioca flour
Common Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup Q+A's
Leftovers can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, for optimal freshness. Can also be frozen for 4-6 months. To defrost, simply place soup in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature before re-heating on the stove top to serve. Add 1-2 cups of vegetable stock when reheating for a nice velvety texture.
Absolutely! When using dried beans, be sure to soak about 3-4 cups of red kidney beans in a pot or bowl covered with water overnight. To begin cooking, rinse the soaked beans and add fresh water to a pot along with beans. Boil for the first 10 minutes and then reduce the heat and let simmer for 50-60 minutes or until kidney beans are tender.
The dumplings and starch from the sweet potatoes should thicken the soup pretty well. However, if you need to thicken it more----you can use 1 tablespoon of the following (along with 2-3 Tbsps of water): cornstarch, all-purpose flour, arrowroot, or tapioca flour, which all act as a thickening agent.
Both work! Canned coconut cream makes things nice + creamy because of it's creaminess consistency; However, if using the canned full-fat coconut milk instead of canned coconut cream, be sure to refrigerate overnight to make it thick.
Yes! To make this stew peas gluten-free, simply substitute the flour for the dumplings with GF-friendly flour. Also, ensure that the coconut milk/cream is GF-friendly.
Of course! To make this soup in the slow cooker, simply sauté garlic, onions, and bell peppers before adding everything (excluding the dumplings until the remaining 30 minutes or so) into your slow cooker and cooking on a low setting for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Absolutely! In Jamaica, many recipes use other ground provision to add "body" to the soup. "Ground provision" refers to any starchy vegetable that grows underground and need to be dug up when harvested. Some common provisions include potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, pumpkin, butternut squash, etc. Any of these work great as an addition to this red peas soup!
More Flavorful Jamaican Recipes to Try this Season!
- 40+ Jamaican Foods You Need To Try
- Creamy Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
- Vegan Jamaican Power Bowl
- Baked Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings
- Oxtail Grilled Cheese
- Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
- BBQ Jerk Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Jamaican Immune-Boosting Green Veggie Swamp Soup
- Traditional Jamaican Green Seasoning
- Jamaican Vegan Peanut Punch
- Deconstructed Vegan Sweet Potato Bread Pudding
MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
If you tried this Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you.
Authentic Vegan Jamaican Red Peas Soup
Ingredients
SOUP:
- 2 Tbsps Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 (15 oz.) cans organic red kidney beans, drained + rinsed (See Notes for Dried Beans option!)
- 1 (14 oz.) can full-fat coconut cream/milk
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion, chopped (You can use yellow, white, or red)
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled + cubed into medium chunks
- 3-4 scotch bonnet peppers (You can also use habanero peppers if those are available)
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 stalks scallion [aka green onions], crushed
- 1-2 Tbsps pimento seeds
- 2 tsps On Everything All-Purpose Blend (You can purchase my On Everything All-Purpose Blend for authentic flavor or make your own blend----See Notes)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1-2 tsps sea salt (I increase the amount of salt since there is an absence of actual pork. Feel free to use as much/little as you'd like)
- 4 cups organic vegetable stock (You can also substitute with water)
JAMAICAN "SPINNERS" [AKA DUMPLINGS]:
- 1 cup organic all-purpose flour (See Notes for GF version)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- ¼-1/2 cup COLD water, as needed!
Instructions
TO MAKE THE RED PEAS SOUP:
- In a medium-sized dutch oven pot over medium high-heat, add the oil. Once heated, add the minced garlic and chopped onions and sauté until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chopped bell peppers followed by: the All-Purpose Blend, salt, smoked paprika, and pimento seeds and stir together until combined and veggies are coated with seasoning.
- Next, add the beans, cubed sweet potatoes, veggie stock, and coconut cream/milk, stirring everything together and bringing it all to a boil. Once it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and let everything simmer for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, make your dumplings.
MAKE THE JAMAICAN "SPINNERS" (DUMPLINGS):
- Start by adding the flour, salt, and black pepper to a bowl and whisk everything together. Slowly add the cold water and gently knead together until a stiff dough is formed. NOTE: Do NOT ADD ALL THE WATER AT ONCE; DON'T MAKE THE DOUGH TOO MOIST!
- Pinch off a small pieces of dough and gently roll dough into the palms of both of your hands together until a long, round-like dumpling is formed. Repeat until all dumplings are made.
- Add in the made dumplings and stir to incorporate.
CONTINUE TO SIMMER THE SOUP:
- Finally, add in the thyme sprigs, scotch bonnet (slitting them in the sides), and scallion (crushing them a bit with your hands to release the flavors), and stir again to incorporate.
- Let the soup continue to simmer for another 10 minutes and if it's not thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, add the thickener. NOTE: To thicken, add 1-2 Tbsps of flour (or cornstarch) and WARM water to a small bowl, mixing it together until it's smooth and "milk-like". Add it to the soup while stirring frequently until it begins to thicken. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Once the veggies (especially the sweet potatoes) and dumplings are fully cooked and tender, you're good to go!
- Remove from heat, discard of thyme and scallion, and serve immediately into prepared bowl(s) and enjoy with your favorite side (like Jamaican crackers, hard-dough bread, or fried dumplings) and garnish with chopped scallion, if desired.
- Bon Appetit!
Tips & Tricks
- STORAGE: Leftovers can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, for optimal freshness. Can also be frozen for 4-6 months. To defrost, simply place soup in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature before re-heating on the stove top to serve. Add 1-2 cups of vegetable stock when reheating for a nice velvety texture.
- DRIED KIDNEY BEANS: When using dried beans, be sure to soak about 3-4 cups of red kidney beans in a pot or bowl covered with water overnight. To begin cooking, rinse the soaked beans and add fresh water to a pot along with beans. Boil for the first 10 minutes and then reduce the heat and let simmer for 50-60 minutes or until kidney beans are tender.
- THICKENER: The dumplings and starch from the sweet potatoes should thicken the soup pretty well. However, if you need to thicken it more----you can use 1 tablespoon of the following (along with 2-3 Tbsps of water): cornstarch, all-purpose flour, arrowroot, or tapioca flour, which all act as a thickening agent.
- COCONUT MILK: Makes things nice + creamy; If using the canned coconut milk instead of canned coconut cream, be sure to refrigerate overnight to make it thick.
- GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: To make this stew peas gluten-free, simply substitute the flour for the dumplings with GF-friendly flour. Also, ensure that the coconut milk/cream is GF-friendly.
- SLOW COOKER OPTION: To make this soup in the slow cooker, simply sauté garlic, onions, and bell peppers before adding everything (excluding the dumplings until the remaining 30 minutes or so) into your slow cooker and cooking on a low setting for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
- SPICES/HERBS: If desired, you can reduce the amounts slightly. Please know that this recipe is bold in spice/herb flavor, so feel free to adjust based on your tastebuds.
- HOMEMADE ALL-PURPOSE BLEND: 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, + 1 teaspoon dried parsley.
- ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS: See FAQ for great ingredient options to add to this soup.
Nutrition
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I’m making this tonight!! This looks so good!!