What Is Red Peas Soup? The Jamaican Classic Explained
Red peas soup is a hearty Jamaican soup of red kidney beans, meat and dumplings. Here is what it is and where to buy the ingredients.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Red peas soup is a hearty, warming Jamaican soup made from red kidney beans, called red peas in Jamaica, simmered with meat, coconut milk, provisions and dumplings until thick and rich. It is a deeply savoury, comforting soup, seasoned with thyme, scotch bonnet and pimento, and it is a much loved part of Jamaican home cooking, especially on the traditional Saturday soup day. In the UK the red kidney beans and the other ingredients are sold by African and Caribbean food shops.
What to remember
- Red peas soup is a hearty Jamaican soup of red kidney beans, called red peas in Jamaica.
- The beans are simmered with meat, coconut milk, provisions and dumplings until thick and rich.
- It is seasoned with thyme, scotch bonnet and pimento.
- It is a much loved comfort food, especially on the traditional Saturday soup day.
- The red kidney beans and other ingredients are sold by African and Caribbean food shops in the UK.
For Jamaican people in Britain, red peas soup is a comforting taste of home and of the weekend. It is the big Saturday pot of soup, the soft red peas and the coconut-rich broth, the pumpkin and the spinners, the bowl that warms and fills. Making red peas soup far from home brings back family kitchens and weekend soup days, the warmth and comfort of home in every thick, savoury spoonful.
There is real heritage in it too, in a soup so tied to Jamaican home cooking and the beloved tradition of the weekend soup. It reflects a whole culture of hearty, economical, nourishing food, and to make a good pot of red peas soup is to keep that alive. Cooking it for family who grew up on it, or introducing a friend to their first bowl, is a small act of welcome. That comforting taste of home is the gift of red peas soup.
What Red Peas Soup Actually Is
Red peas soup is a hearty, comforting Jamaican soup built on red kidney beans, which are called red peas in Jamaica, simmered slowly with meat and coconut milk until the beans are soft and the broth is thick and rich. It is a full, satisfying soup, more of a meal in a bowl than a light starter, filled out with starchy provisions and dumplings and seasoned with thyme, scotch bonnet and pimento. The coconut milk gives it a gentle richness that sets Jamaican red peas soup apart.
Red peas soup belongs to the world of Jamaican dishes we cover in our guide to Jamaican food. It is a close cousin of the thicker stew peas, which uses the same red kidney beans but is served as a stew over rice rather than as a soup, and it sits alongside the island's other beloved weekend soups.
How Red Peas Soup Is Made and Eaten
Making red peas soup begins with the red kidney beans, which are usually soaked and then simmered until soft, often along with a piece of salted or fresh meat such as beef, pork or cow foot for flavour. Coconut milk is added to enrich the broth, and the soup is built up with thyme, garlic, spring onion, pimento and a whole scotch bonnet for warmth and aroma. Some of the beans are often crushed or blended to thicken the soup naturally.
Starchy provisions such as yellow yam, pumpkin and green banana are added, along with spinners, the small hand-rolled flour dumplings, which cook in the broth. The soup simmers until everything is tender and the flavours have come together into a thick, rich bowl. It contains coconut, so it is worth noting for anyone with a coconut allergy. This is general food information rather than dietary advice. Thick, savoury and warming, red peas soup is Jamaican comfort food at its best.
Red Peas Soup in Jamaican Food Culture
Red peas soup holds a warm place in Jamaican food culture, part of the island's much loved tradition of hearty, nourishing soups. Saturday is the traditional soup day in many Jamaican homes, and a big pot of red peas soup is one of the classics, made to feed the family and stretch through the day. It is honest, filling, economical food, the kind of soup that brings comfort and gathers people around the pot.
Every cook has their own version, with their own choice of meat, provisions and seasoning, but the soft red peas, the coconut-rich broth and the provisions and dumplings are always at its heart. For Jamaican people, red peas soup is a comforting, nostalgic taste of home and of the weekend, and for anyone exploring Caribbean food it is a wonderful, hearty soup to try. This article is general food and cultural information. Rich, comforting and satisfying, red peas soup is a treasured Jamaican classic.
Where to Buy the Ingredients in the UK
Making red peas soup at home in Britain is easy, as the ingredients are available. African and Caribbean food shops sell red kidney beans, dried and tinned, along with coconut milk and the salted or fresh meat the soup often uses. These shops also stock the provisions, yellow yam, pumpkin and green banana, the scotch bonnet, thyme and pimento, and the flour for spinners, everything the soup needs. Good dried red peas, well soaked, give the best flavour.
If you want to make red peas soup, an African or Caribbean food shop can point you to the beans, coconut milk, provisions and seasonings. You can find African food stores near you or look up Caribbean food stores near you, where these ingredients are familiar items. Simmered until thick and rich, red peas soup brings a comforting taste of Jamaica to your table.
Frequently asked questions
What is red peas soup?
Red peas soup is a hearty Jamaican soup made from red kidney beans, called red peas in Jamaica, simmered with meat, coconut milk, provisions and dumplings until thick and rich. It is a deeply savoury, comforting soup seasoned with thyme, scotch bonnet and pimento, and it is a much loved part of Jamaican home cooking, especially on the traditional Saturday soup day.
What are red peas in Jamaica?
In Jamaica, red peas are red kidney beans, the same beans used in rice and peas and in stew peas. The word peas is used for beans across the Caribbean, so red peas soup is a red kidney bean soup. The beans are simmered until soft and often partly crushed to thicken the broth.
What is the difference between red peas soup and stew peas?
Both use the same red kidney beans, but red peas soup is a brothy soup, made with more liquid, provisions and dumplings and eaten as a soup, while stew peas is thicker and richer, served as a stew over rice. Both are seasoned with thyme, scotch bonnet and coconut milk and are much loved Jamaican comfort foods.
How do you make red peas soup?
The red kidney beans are soaked and simmered until soft, often with a piece of salted or fresh meat, then coconut milk is added and the soup is seasoned with thyme, garlic, pimento and a whole scotch bonnet. Provisions like yam, pumpkin and green banana go in, along with spinners, small flour dumplings, and it simmers until thick and rich.
Where can I buy the ingredients in the UK?
Red kidney beans, dried and tinned, along with coconut milk and salted meat, are sold by African and Caribbean food shops, which also stock provisions like yam, pumpkin and green banana, the scotch bonnet, thyme and pimento, and the flour for spinners. You can find African food stores near you for everything the soup needs. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you.