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!
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!
Great recipe! I made my own jerk seasoning (just Google searched) because I couldn’t find any at my Safeway. This was good because I was able to control the heat.
That’s awesome Katie! I make my own too, as I don’t use it enough!
If you are using canned pineapple, try cooking the peas in pineapple juice instead of water. It’s delicious!
Oh that’s a twist!
YAAAAAASSSSSS! This this this!!!!
This is fabulous!
This is amazing!
This is so dang good!!!
I used:
*lite coconut milk (still delicious and less fat/guilt)
*Sunny Caribbee jerk seasoning (which anyone who has been on a cruise and stopped at the BVI Tortola knows about) – 2TB worth.
*Riced cauliflower (because the guilt of the coconut milk made me rethink real rice)
Just yum. Another winner, Beth! You’re the best!
Thanks Jodi!!
This was delicious! And vegan, too! I made my own jerk spice mix by googling jerk spice mix. My son and daughter loved it, too. Followed the recipe as posted.
This is outstanding! I have made it a few times, and make it just as written except I eliminate the additional salt as my jerk seasoning has salt in it. I can’t emphasize enough how much the pineapple salsa transforms this dish. So good! We also add habanero hot sauce to the top for zing. This is a keeper!
This recipe was amazing and will definitely become one of my staple meal preps. I often find myself adding cheese (usually feta) to dishes that would otherwise be vegan (e.g. your grain bowl recipe). However, this was so rich and delicious (probably the coconut milk) that it didn’t even occur to me that this dish was vegan until after I’d eaten it. I’m always excited to find delicious ways to reduce my animal product intake.
I used crushed pineapple so that I didn’t need to chop it and did a whole onion and a whole bunch of cilantro and seemed to end up with the same amount of salsa that this recipe thought I would make (1/2cup per serving). I don’t know how the math on that works but I’m going to stick with it.
Thanks for another solid recipe. I really enjoy all the vegetarian options you have and the wide variety of flavours.
If you’re using canned peas, do you still follow the first step of adding water?
If you drain the peas first, I would still add the water.
I live in a small town, so I could not find Jerk Seasoning anywhere. The closest thing I could find was Cajun Seasoning at Walmart, so I figured I’d give it a try (even though it probably tastes nothing like Jerk Seasoning?).
I gotta admit, the first time I made this I wasn’t too thrilled. But the leftovers the next day were amazing! So I decided to give it another chance and made it again a couple weeks later (since I made the black eyed peas from a bag of dried ones and had lots of leftovers in the freezer to use up). I liked it better the second time.
I’ll have you know that I made it a third time a few nights ago, and I really, really like it now! Maybe the taste just had to grow on me ;) 5/5 Stars!
I’m so glad it still turned out so well for you! I can see how Cajun seasoning would still be great with this, great choice!
I made this last night and it was great! I couldn’t find jerk seasoning at the supermarket so I made it myself with the spices in the cupboard (googled the recipe) and it turned out great. I also added frozen peas towards the end. Delicious! My boyfriend commented on how the coconut milk added some nice sweetness. My only complaint is that I couldn’t find this recipe on the app to review it there?
This tasted amazing and I’m sure th leftovers will be twice as good! One thing to note, I made my own jerk seasoning and had to add a ton of it to the peas to get any flavor and had to add even more after the coconut milk was added.
This was absurdly delicious. Kinda reminded me of Hawaiian Haystacks. Next time I make it, I’ll cook up some shredded pork or chicken to layer on. I used brown rice instead of white and it tasted great.
This was soooo good!!! I made the recipe exactly and it was perfect.
Delicious meal with lots of flavor.
I have made this meal for a dinner party I hosted and there were no leftovers. It was a huge success!
I have made it again for myself and just diced two Serrano peppers and sauteed them with the onions and garlic. I’ve added ginger into the saute mixture as well. Lastly, I’ve swapped chickpeas for the black-eyed peas because I was using what I had in my pantry at the time. Turns out the chickpeas were a lot easier to smash!
So good! I wanted a little more “green” with my meal so I cooked some spinach w/ toasted sesame oil like for the bibimap recipe and mixed it in and it was sooooo good.
One of my go-to dinners. So incredible. I like to boost the spice with a healthy serving of red pepper flakes in this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/jerk-seasoning-recipe-1960400.