Caribbean recipes
53 Caribbean recipes for a home kitchen, from 20 minutes. Have some of the ingredients already? Match them to what you have.
Dinner
25 min
Caribbean · dinner
Allspice shrimp with skillet plantains
Ripe plantain slices fried until golden, served with allspice-seasoned shrimp, scallion and lime. Sweet and savory with Caribbean warmth.
30 min
Caribbean · dinner
Chili lime roasted plantains
Ripe plantain slices roasted until sticky and caramelized at the edges, then hit with chili and fresh lime.
30 min
Caribbean · dinner
Pan-seared snapper escovitch
Crisp-skinned snapper topped with quick-pickled carrot, onion and pepper in a warm spiced vinegar. The vegetables stay crunchy.
35 min
Caribbean · dinner
Cuban-style beef picadillo
Ground beef simmered in tomato with salty green olives and sweet raisins, a savory-sweet Cuban dish served over white rice.
35 min
Caribbean · dinner
Garlic and oregano roast pork tenderloin
Pork tenderloin rubbed with a paste of garlic, oregano and citrus juices, then roasted until just cooked through. Orange and lime juice finish the sliced meat.
40 min
Caribbean · dinner
Jerk-glazed pork tenderloin
Pork tenderloin coated in a jerk paste of scallion, thyme, allspice and Scotch bonnet, then roasted and glazed with the reserved paste.
40 min
Caribbean · dinner
Puerto Rican mofongo
Fried green plantains mashed with garlic and chicharrón, molded into domes and served with broth.
45 min
Caribbean · dinner
Jamaican chicken curry with potatoes
Chicken thighs and potatoes simmered with Jamaican curry powder, allspice, thyme and onion in chicken stock. A warming one-pot curry in 45 minutes.
45 min
Caribbean · dinner
Fried red snapper with plantains
Whole snapper fried crisp with Caribbean seasoning, served with sweet fried plantains.
50 min
Caribbean · dinner
Yuca fries with cilantro-lime aioli
Cassava boiled until tender, cut into thick batons and fried until crisp outside and fluffy inside, served with a creamy homemade cilantro-lime aioli.
50 min
Caribbean · dinner
Trini callaloo
Smooth, rich Sunday soup-side of dasheen bush (or spinach), okra, pumpkin and coconut milk swizzled until silky.
60 min
Caribbean · dinner
Curried chickpea roti
Trinidad-style curried chickpeas and potato wrapped in soft roti.
60 min
Caribbean · dinner
Arroz con gandules
Puerto Rico's holiday rice with pigeon peas, sofrito, ham, olives and sazón, with a crispy pegao bottom.
60 min
Caribbean · dinner
Diri djon djon (Haitian black mushroom rice)
Haiti's celebratory rice cooked in an inky broth from dried djon djon mushrooms, with lima beans and epis.
70 min
Caribbean · dinner
Jamaican curry chicken
Chicken marinated in a homemade Jamaican curry blend, browned with the spices and simmered with thyme, scotch bonnet and potatoes until thick and fragrant.
75 min
Caribbean · dinner
Chuleta can-can (crackling pork chop)
A Puerto Rican thick-cut chop with the belly still attached, skin scored and crisped until it flares and puffs, while the loin stays juicy.
75 min
Caribbean · dinner
Jamaican brown stew chicken
Bone-in chicken seasoned overnight with herbs and spices, browned hard, then simmered in a rich, slightly sweet gravy with peppers, onions, thyme and scotch bonnet.
75 min
Caribbean · dinner
Jamaican rice and peas
Sunday-dinner rice cooked with kidney beans, coconut milk, thyme, allspice and a whole scotch bonnet.
75 min
Caribbean · dinner
Trini chicken pelau
One-pot Trinidad rice with chicken browned in caramelized sugar, pigeon peas, coconut milk and green seasoning.
90 min
Caribbean · dinner
La bandera with citrus-braised chicken and tostones
The Dominican lunch plate: caramelized citrus-braised chicken with white rice, stewed red beans, crisp twice-fried tostones and a simple salad.
90 min
Caribbean · dinner
Stewed chicken with roasted breadfruit
Caribbean browned stew chicken with roasted breadfruit (or potatoes) on the side.
90 min
Caribbean · dinner
Pastelón (plantain lasagna)
Layers of sweet fried ripe plantain and sofrito-seasoned picadillo, bound with egg and cheese and baked.
120 min
Caribbean · dinner
Jamaican jerk chicken
Half chickens brined, marinated in a pungent allspice-scotch bonnet jerk paste, then cooked low and finished over fire.
120 min
Caribbean · dinner
Soup joumou
Haitian Independence Day squash soup with beef, vegetables and pasta in a spicy, aromatic broth.
150 min
Caribbean · dinner
Red pepper curry goat in paratha roti
Bajan-style roti: tender curry goat cooked with a blended red pepper marinade, wrapped with a crunchy slaw inside a flaky, buttery paratha roti.
150 min
Caribbean · dinner
Haitian griot
Citrus-and-epis marinated pork shoulder simmered tender then fried crisp, served with pikliz.
150 min
Caribbean · dinner
Cuban black beans (frijoles negros)
Slow-simmered black beans with a sofrito of onion, green pepper, garlic, cumin and oregano, finished with vinegar.
180 min
Caribbean · dinner
Smoky spiced chicken leg quarters with butter finish
Leg quarters rubbed with an allspice, bird's-eye chili and mustard blend, cooked low and smoky, then crisped in butter.
180 min
Caribbean · dinner
Guyanese pepperpot
Dark, sweet-spicy Christmas stew of beef and oxtail braised in cassareep with cinnamon and cloves.
180 min
Caribbean · dinner
Braised curry goat
Goat braised low and slow with Caribbean curry, thyme, Scotch bonnet and potatoes.
180 min
Caribbean · dinner
Ropa vieja
Cuban shredded beef simmered with peppers, onions, tomato, cumin and olives.
240 min
Caribbean · dinner
Brown-sugar braised oxtail with green seasoning
Oxtail rubbed with toasted warm spices, seared in caramelized brown sugar and braised in a dark, rich gravy with Caribbean green seasoning.
360 min
Caribbean · dinner
Pernil (Puerto Rican roast pork shoulder)
Garlic-oregano marinated pork shoulder roasted low until tender with crackling skin.
Lunch & snacks
20 min
Caribbean · lunch
Haitian pikliz
Fiery pickled cabbage, carrot and scotch bonnet slaw—the essential condiment for griot and fried plantain.
30 min
Caribbean · lunch
Jamaican pepper shrimp
Jamaica's roadside snack: shell-on shrimp simmered in a fiery Scotch bonnet, allspice and thyme broth. Peel and eat.
30 min
Caribbean · lunch
Bahamian conch fritters
Crisp fritters packed with chopped conch (or clams), peppers and onion, with a spicy dipping sauce.
30 min
Caribbean · lunch
Cuban sandwich
Mojo roast pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and mustard pressed in buttered Cuban bread until crisp.
30 min
Caribbean · lunch
Tostones
Twice-fried smashed green plantains, crisp and salty, with garlic mojo dip.
35 min
Caribbean · lunch
Cod and scallion fritters
Flaked cod folded into a thyme and scallion batter and pan-fried into golden, crisp-edged fritters, with lime to squeeze over.
60 min
Caribbean · lunch
Salt cod fritters with Scotch bonnet aioli
Fluffy fritters of salt cod and potato lightened with whipped egg white, fried crisp and dunked in a hot, lime-sharp aioli.
60 min
Caribbean · lunch
Haitian fried snapper sandwich on plantain buns
Smashed fried green plantains used as the 'bread' around epis-marinated fried snapper, with crunchy, spicy pikliz.
Breakfast
40 min
Caribbean · breakfast
Los tres golpes with mangú
A Dominican breakfast of smooth mashed green plantains with pickled red onions, fried salami, fried cheese and eggs.
40 min
Caribbean · breakfast
Caribbean johnnycakes (fried dumplings)
Golden, fluffy fried dough rounds for breakfast with saltfish, eggs or butter.
45 min
Caribbean · breakfast
Ackee and saltfish
Jamaica's national breakfast: flaked salt cod sautéed with onion, peppers, tomato and scotch bonnet and folded with buttery ackee. Serve with callaloo, fried dumplings and plantain.
60 min
Caribbean · breakfast
Trini fry bake (floats)
Pillowy fried dough pockets eaten with saltfish buljol, smoked herring or cheese for breakfast.
120 min
Caribbean · breakfast
Trini doubles
Trinidad's street breakfast: two soft turmeric fried breads (bara) with curried chickpeas, tamarind and pepper sauce.
Baking & sweets
20 min
Caribbean · baking
Tembleque
Wobbly Puerto Rican coconut milk pudding with cinnamon—a Christmas staple.
30 min
Caribbean · baking
Jamaican fried dumplings (johnny cakes)
Simple flour dumplings, kneaded and shaped into rounds, fried until golden and crisp outside with a fluffy, bready middle.
30 min
Caribbean · baking
Festival (Jamaican fried dumplings)
Sweet cornmeal fried dumplings, crisp outside and fluffy inside—the classic side for escovitch fish and jerk.
45 min
Caribbean · baking
Guava and cheese pastelitos
Cuban bakery puff pastry turnovers filled with guava paste and cream cheese, glazed with syrup.
75 min
Caribbean · baking
Haitian-spiced pineapple upside-down cake (gluten-free)
Fresh pineapple caramelized in coconut sugar and maple with star anise, under a tender almond-flour cake scented with Haitian-style spices.
90 min
Caribbean · baking
Flaky Caribbean beef patties
Golden, crackly pastry folded around a spiced, thyme and Scotch bonnet beef filling, sealed like ravioli and baked or fried.
210 min
Caribbean · baking
Silky plantain flan with vanilla bean
A smooth baked custard made with very ripe plantain, evaporated milk and eggs, set over amber caramel and flavored with vanilla paste.
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