Jamaican Main

Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners

Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners is a rich Jamaican red-bean stew with salted beef or pork, coconut milk and hand-rolled flour dumplings called spinners. This version uses measured ingredients, clear visual cues and the traditional flavour balance that makes the dish distinctive.

Jump to recipe More Jamaican food
30 minsPrep time
2 hrCook time
Serves 6Servings
MediumDifficulty
Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners
About this dish

Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners: the story on the plate

Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners is a Jamaican main with a clear sense of place. Jamaican stew peas is a hearty red-bean stew often made with salted meat and coconut milk. The flour dumplings called spinners are rolled long and thin by hand. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Historical background

Jamaican stew peas is a hearty red-bean stew often made with salted meat and coconut milk. The flour dumplings called spinners are rolled long and thin by hand.

Why it is famous

Despite the name, the central pulse is commonly red kidney bean rather than garden pea. It is deeply rooted in Jamaican home cooking and one-pot comfort food.

Cultural significance

Despite the name, the central pulse is commonly red kidney bean rather than garden pea. It is deeply rooted in Jamaican home cooking and one-pot comfort food.

Nutrition

Estimated nutrition per serving

These figures are estimates per serving. Actual nutrition can vary with the brands and exact amounts you use, how much oil, dressing or sauce is absorbed, any substitutions or added extras, and the portion size served.

A practical guide for comparing recipes and planning meals.

690Calories
32gProtein
83gCarbs
31gFat
Ingredients

What you need

  • 350 dried kidney beans, soaked overnight
  • 500 salted beef or salted pork, soaked to reduce salt
  • 400 coconut milk
  • 160 onion, chopped
  • 80 Spring onions, chopped
  • 12 Garlic, crushed
  • 4 fresh thyme, sprigs
  • 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, whole
  • 0.5 ground allspice
  • 220 plain flour, for spinners
  • 110 water, for spinners
  • 0.5 fine salt, for spinners
Method

Step-by-step method

Follow the recipe in order, tasting and adjusting seasoning where needed.

  1. Drain beans and soaked salted meat. Cover both with fresh water in a large pot and simmer 60–75 minutes until the beans are nearly tender and the meat has softened.
  2. Add coconut milk, onion, spring onion, garlic, thyme, allspice and whole Scotch bonnet. Simmer another 20 minutes.
  3. Mix flour, salt and enough water to make a firm dough. Pinch off small pieces and roll between your palms into thin tapered spinners about 7 cm long.
  4. Add the spinners one by one to the simmering stew so they do not stick together. Cook 15–18 minutes, stirring carefully from the bottom.
  5. Remove Scotch bonnet. Check the salt only now because the cured meat continues seasoning the broth. Simmer uncovered until the beans break down slightly and thicken the coconut gravy.
  6. Serve in deep bowls with rice if desired, making sure each portion gets beans, meat and several spinners.
Cook smarter

Tips, storage and serving advice

Shopping tips

Use whole allspice when you can, fresh thyme, real Scotch bonnet and good coconut milk. For ackee, use reputable canned ackee unless you are experienced with properly ripened fresh fruit. Check labels on compound ingredients such as sauces, spice blends, stocks, kimchi, fermented pastes and prepared breads when cooking for allergies.

Ingredient quality

For Jamaican Stew Peas with Spinners, prioritise fresh or properly stored versions of dried kidney beans, salted beef or salted pork, coconut milk, onion; speciality seasonings should smell vivid rather than stale.

Common mistakes

Failing to desalinate meat can ruin the stew, and adding salt early makes control difficult. Large spinners stay raw in the centre.

Chef’s tips

Keep spinners slim and add final salt only after the cured meat has simmered for a long time.

How to know it is cooked

Beans are creamy, meat tender and a cut spinner shows cooked dough with no floury core.

Plating advice

Use deep bowls and leave the pale spinners visible among the dark beans.

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