The last apartment I lived in was on a super cute street in Mid-City New Orleans. I had the best group of neighbors and our entire block would often hold impromptu cookouts on the weekends. One of my neighbors was from Trinidad and his jerk peas became something of a legend within the group because we could never get enough of them. We’d hover around the pot until they were ready to eat, and then they’d be gone in the flash of an eye. He never gave me the recipe for those jerk peas (I don’t blame him), but I do know that the peas swam in a broth made of full fat coconut milk and a healthy dose of jerk seasoning. I’ll probably never be able to recreate those famous peas, but these Coconut Jerk Peas are about as close as I can get!
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Season Your Jerk Peas to Taste
The one thing you want to be aware of, though, is that jerk seasoning varies a lot from brand to brand, so you’re best adding the seasoning according to your own taste buds. You can add some before the peas cook and then spice up the whole pot at the end with more, if needed.
Where to Find Jerk Seasoning
I’ve included a photo of the brand I used, which I got at Whole Foods. Sometimes you can also find it sold in the bulk bins. This spice blend contains a lot of ingredients and some items that I don’t keep on hand, so it’s just one of those blends that I find easier and more logical to buy pre-mixed. Of course, if you want to mix up your own spice blend, a quick Google search provides plenty of recipes.
The best part about these peas is that they are insanely simple. You can make these on Sunday afternoon while you’re relaxing or doing other chores, and you’ll have lunches ready for the week.
Coconut Jerk Peas with Pineapple Salsa
Servings 4Ingredients
COCONUT JERK PEAS
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 lb. frozen black eyed peas or purple hull peas ($1.99)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 1-2 Tbsp jerk seasoning* ($0.60)
- 1 14oz. can coconut milk ($2.19)
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste ($0.02)
- 4 cups cooked rice ($0.75)
PINEAPPLE SALSA
- 2 cups chopped pineapple** ($0.67)
- 1/4 red onion ($0.17)
- 1 lime ($0.34)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.21)
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste ($0.05)
GARNISH
- 2-3 green onions, sliced ($0.20)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add both to a medium sauce pot with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Add the peas to the pot along with the water and 1 Tbsp of jerk seasoning. Stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat to medium-high, and allow it to come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes, or until the peas are very tender.
- While the peas are simmering, prepare the pineapple salsa. Chop the pineapple into very small pieces. Finely dice the red onion. Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems and give them a rough chop. Combine the pineapple, onion, cilantro, juice from half the lime, and salt in a bowl. Stir to combine, then taste, and adjust the lime or salt if needed. Set the salsa aside.
- Once the peas are very tender, turn the heat down to low, and add the coconut milk. Stir and heat through. Smash some of the peas against the side of the pot to help thicken the mixture. Taste the peas and add more jerk seasoning and salt until they are very well seasoned. You want the peas to be heavily seasoned because once they’re poured over the plain rice, the seasoning will seem diluted.
- To serve, place a cup of cooked rice in a bowl and add about 1 cup of the jerk peas with the coconut broth. Top with 1/2 cup of pineapple salsa, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions. Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Coconut Jerk Peas – Step by Step Photos
Before we begin, I just want to show you which type of jerk seasoning I used. All brands are different, so you’ll have to go by your own taste buds for this one. If you don’t have an international market near you that carries it, check Whole Foods, Cost Plus World Market, or perhaps The Fresh market.
These are the peas that I used, but you could also use purple hull peas. Frozen is definitely better than canned, but if you must use canned, make sure to drain them well before adding to the recipe.
Begin by dicing an onion and mincing 2 cloves of garlic. Add them to a medium sauce pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
Add 1 lb. frozen peas (I did not thaw them first), 1 cup water, and 1 Tbsp of the jerk seasoning. The water will not fully cover the peas, but that’s okay. Stir to combine, then place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let the pot come to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
While the peas are simmering, prepare the pineapple salsa. Combine 2 cups finely chopped pineapple, 1/4 of a red onion (finely diced), and 1/4 bunch cilantro (roughly chopped) in a bowl, along with the juice from half a lime (about 1 Tbsp) and 1/2 tsp salt.
Stir to combine and then taste and adjust the lime or salt if desired.
Once the peas have simmered and are tender (test a pea or two to make sure), add a 14oz. can of full-fat coconut milk.
Stir everything to combine and heat through. Smash some of the peas against the side of the pot to help thicken the liquid. Taste the peas and add more jerk seasoning if needed and a bit of salt. You want the peas to be heavily seasoned because once you ladle them over the plain rice, that seasoning will seem somewhat diluted.
To serve, place a cup of cooked rice in a bowl and ladle the peas and coconut broth over top. Finish it off with about 1/2 cup of the pineapple salsa and a few sliced green onions.
I never get sick of “beans” and rice!
Can this be frozen? I made it tonight and it was so good!!
Yep, this one freezes great!
This recipe is amazing and had quickly become one of my house’s favorites! Would love to see it in the app so I don’t have to continue Google searching for it ☺️
I made this tonight and it was delicious, but I would make a few changes.
So I couldn’t find frozen beans, but I found dried beans and cooked them this morning in my InstantPot, so while they weren’t canned, they definitely weren’t frozen. I think with fresh beans I could’ve skipped the whole cup of water part, as the results were wayy too soupy for my liking. I look forward to making this without that step and seeing how they compare.
I also used canned pineapple as that was what I had on hand and it made a great salsa.
Lastly, I use a DIY jerk seasoning as I ran out of my store-made some a week or two ago and it was great (I used the recipe from Allrecipes.com). Overall, a 4/5 but might be a 5/5 next time!
Do you think I could substitute pigeon peas for the black eyed peas?
Probably
Very flavorful! I used the Pictsweet Farms frozen peas and it took about 45 minutes for them to soften. Plenty of time to prep the salsa and rice. :-)
I had the same issue with that brand. After about 25 minutes I added the coconut milk and simmered them in the sauce. I also used a jerk seasoning paste/marinade rather than dry seasoning and the flavor was great!
I have fresh purple hull peas. Do I need to make any adjustments from the recipe? Can’t wait to try this!
I’ve actually never cooked them from fresh, so I’m not sure. The frozen variety are blanched first, so I’m sure cooking time is longer for fresh.
I don’t know if we even have frozen black-eyed peas in Canada! Were the frozen ones partially cooked or would it work the same with dry?
You’d definitely need to cook the dried beans. The frozen peas are fresh, not dried, so they don’t require all the liquid you’d need for dry beans.
Thanks! I had to add a lot more water and time to cook the peas as directed, but it still turned out delicious!! Maybe next time I will try to look for the frozen!
Amazing! And I used canned beans bc it’s all I had, but I bet it’s even better with frozen. So delicious and satisfying and pleasing to every picky eater at my table. My mother in law has A LOT of food allergies (dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, and nuts) so finding stuff she CAN eat and that the rest of us WILL eat is tricky. Everyone gobbled this right up and said it was a keeper. No easy feat. Also I can confirm this is as good with pineapple salsa as it is with watermelon salsa.
It looks like there’s green onion in the picture, but I don’t see it in the recipe. Is it instead of or in addition to the cilantro?
Thanks for catching that!! I’m going to add that in now.
I am making this right now. The recipe says to cook the 1lb frozen peas in 1 cup water for 15 minutes. The package says 2 cups water for 45 minutes. I went with the recipe but the beans were not done. I keep adding water and more time waiting for the beans to soften. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Did I do something incorrectly?
I just finished cooking and eating. Wow! This is delicious! Just took longer to cook the black eyed peas.
It sounds like you may have a different type of pea than what I used. I would always go with what is on the package just in case you have something different.
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it this weekend! I had no idea that Whole Foods sold frozen beans – what an amazing time saver.
Pretty tasty but will be adding more jerk seasoning next time!
there used to be a button where I could add the recipe to my big oven app. had it moved and I’m just missing it? :( I’m new to this cooking thang and that option was a real life saver
Unfortunately I had to switch to a new recipe card plugin (the thing that displays the recipes on the page) because the old one hasn’t been supported in years and it was starting to create a lot of problems. The Big Oven button was only available with the old plugin. :(
Hi Beth,
Can I do this with dried black eyed peas? And if so, what adjustments would I need to make?
Thanks!
You’ll likely need to boil the peas in a lot more water to make sure they soften and they’ll probably need to cook longer as well. I’ve never cooked this type of bean from dried, so your best bet is to check the package instructions to find out how much water they’ll need and how long to boil them. Oh, also, one pound dried will probably be about 3x as much beans as the one pound frozen that I used.
I did this with dried peas. I cooked and drained a pound bag of dried peas according to the directions on the bag. It gave me 2 pounds 10 ounces of cooked peas. I froze the ones I didn’t use (in a 1 pound portion and a 10 oz portion) and then made the recipe with no adjustments. I made the recipe again tonight with some of the leftover peas.
This is delicious! Made it for my lunches this week and I’m so glad I did – it’s a nice change from what I usually make. I also feel like this is something that tastes even better as leftovers as the flavors have time to stew. I’ve never made anything jerk-seasoned before, but now that I have the mix I’ll be experimenting with it more. Since I hadn’t used this seasoning before, I started with 1/2 tbsp during the simmer and then gradually added more after I mixed in the coconut milk. By the end, I’d probably added the full 1 tbsp of jerk seasoning, so if I make this again, I’ll just start with the full 1 tbsp. I also added maybe 1/4 tsp of salt at the end (I eyeballed it in my hand before adding it). I used canned (drained) pineapple tidbits in juice like you suggested, and I didn’t chop them any further because I was lazy. At first I thought the pieces might be too big and considered going with crushed pineapple next time, but I actually liked the larger pieces of pineapple. The flavor is more pronounced when the pineapple is chunkier and it adds a nice texture, and I think both of those things would be lost if I went with crushed pineapple.