48 Caribbean Recipes That Are Full of Flavor

The Caribbean is an extremely diverse region in the Americas and includes island nations along with South American nations that border the Caribbean sea. People speak English, Spanish, French and Dutch, as well as local dialects and languages, like Patois, Papiamentu and Kreyòl. The cuisine is a fusion of European, African, Middle Eastern and Asian flavors and techniques and utilizes the rich, tropical bounty of the land (think, coconuts, cassava, plantains and more). From Jamaican beef patties and Puerto Rican sweets to Guyanese stews and curried goat, you'll find that every one of these recipes is nothing short of perfectly flavorful and delicious.

This is a popular, homey Cuban dish of ground beef in a savory tomato sauce. It's sometimes referred to as Cuban chili, although the flavors are quite a departure from American-style chili. It's also not spicy, making it a great dish for everyone at the table.

Mofongo is a mash of slow-fried plantains, garlic and olive oil. In this recipe, it becomes a cozy vessel for criollo-seasoned shrimp stew. I like to cook my shrimp sauce down with a light beer for a zingy twist of flavor, then add peas — like my mother does — to bring a nice burst of color and a touch of sweetness. The pork rinds in the mofongo are optional, but I encourage them as they provide an element of authenticity to this Caribbean favorite.

Roasted pork is a mainstay in many Latino Caribbean cuisines. In Cuban families, a whole suckling pig is typically roasted for special occasions. This is a more manageable recipe utilizing a pork leg, or pernil. The garlicky, citrusy marinade will make this one of your favorite pork dishes to prepare. Leftovers can be used to make Cuban sandwiches, which were invented in Florida (not Cuba).

Sancocho is a hearty soup or stew popular throughout Latin America and the Caribbean featuring a mix of meat and starchy vegetables. The distinctive flavor profile is built on a foundation of sofrito and sazón, creating a deeply savory and wonderfully aromatic broth.

These flaky, golden pastries filled with guava and cheese are inspired by the pastelitos de guava y queso you might find at a neighborhood panadería (bakery). Guava and cream cheese is a popular flavor combination throughout Latin America and particularly in Cuba and Puerto Rico. While the pastries are usually made with slices of cream cheese and a dollop of guava paste, this version uses whipped cream cheese and guava preserves for a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth filling that’s very easy to put together. Using store-bought puff pastry also speeds prep and gives this classic the perfect amount of buttery flavor to match the sweet and tangy filling.

Callaloo is so popular in Jamaica that this leafy green is often referred to as Jamaican spinach. Although it looks something like spinach, it has a sturdier texture that’s akin to collard greens. Believed to have traveled to the Caribbean from West Africa, callaloo is cooked in many ways throughout the islands, including in ways similar to Southern braised collards. In Jamaica, it’s often sautéed, particularly with bell peppers and other vegetables for a bit of sweetness. Herbs and spice are added for robust flavor that’s bound to please even those who aren’t greens fans. Fresh callaloo can be difficult to find so we use frozen leaves in this recipe. Serve the dish with rice, plantains or boiled dumplings for a full Jamaican experience.

Empanadas are hand pies that originated in Spain, where they are still a popular snack. They are perhaps even more popular in Latin America, including the Caribbean. These Latino-Caribbean empanadas are fried rather than baked (like many South American varieties) and have a savory ground beef filling perfumed with cumin.

Flavorful oxtails are popular in Caribbean cooking, and since they benefit from long, slow cooking, a stew like this curry is a perfect preparation. The oxtails cook to falling-off-the-bone tenderness and impart a wonderful richness to the sauce. Caribbean curries typically start with a green marinade that includes scallions, Scotch bonnet pepper, onions, garlic, ginger and culantro. Also known as shado beni, culantro is widely used throughout the Caribbean. This herb is similar to cilantro but more potent, making it better suited for long-cooked dishes, although cilantro can be used as a substitute. Jamaican curry powder is much like East Asian blends but typically has warmer notes from a good amount of nutmeg, cinnamon and clove, helping to build a robust island flavor to this stew. Enjoy this delicious, fragrant curry Carribean-style by pairing it with any combination of rice, plantains or roti.

Plantains are like bananas but bigger and starchier. You may not want to eat one raw, but once cooked, they are one of the most treasured ingredients in almost every Caribbean cuisine. This is a recipe for fried sweet plantains, called maduros in Spanish. When cooking sweet plantains, you want to make sure that the fruit is almost too ripe. Cuban-style maduros require completely blackened plantains, while other styles call for yellow or mottled plantains.

Recipe developer Widza Gustin says, “Also known as 'gâteau au rhum,' this cake is served during the holiday season throughout Haiti. My family recipe for it has been passed down from one generation to the next dating back 50-plus years with a few minor changes. Haitian dark rhum gives this cake distinctive flavor. Rhum is made directly from sugarcane, rather than from molasses as rum is. Sugarcane is a staple crop in Haiti, so it’s used in many ways. Sugarcane rhum gives you more of a punch with herby, earthy flavors as compared to the sweeter, more syrupy taste of rum. Evaporated milk is also one of the key ingredients in rhum cake and helps keep it super-moist. Some cooks opt for a rhum frosting on the cake, but in this recipe rhum is simply brushed on the bottom to intensify the unique flavor. All-in-all this cake will make a grand finale to a holiday dinner.”

Arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas) is a staple Puerto Rican dish so popular it’s sometimes called the island’s national dish. It’s usually served during holidays and special events alongside roasted pork (pernil), but it also makes for a great weeknight meal. You can serve it on its own or pair it with chicken, pork or fish. The dish is built on several layers of flavor, starting with achiote oil that contributes to the dish’s bright yellow-orange color, and including sofrito (recaíto), the aromatic seasoning base essential to many Puerto Rican dishes. Diced ham, olives and sazón spice blend give the rice an irresistible savory flavor. Note that the recipes for achiote oil, sazón and sofrito will make more than you need for this recipe, but all are staples of Puerto Rican cooking and easy to put away for future dishes.

Recipe developer Widza Gustin says, “Cremasse (sometimes spelled cremas or kremas) is a traditional Haitian drink that’s shared with family and friends, usually at the holidays. It’s similar to eggnog and other festive winter drinks but doesn’t contain eggs. After years of observing how my family made this drink, I decided to create my own version, incorporating some spices, like cardamom and tarragon, not well known in Haitian cuisine but that uniquely enhance the flavor of the cremasse. Although most recipes for this popular drink have you simply dumping all the ingredients together, I find infusing the spices into the cream at the beginning intensifies their flavor. And in case you’re wondering about the difference between rum and rhum: Rum is made from molasses, while rhum is made directly from sugarcane. Rum is typically sweet and syrupy, while rhum has more of a punch with herby, earthy flavors. Haitian rhum is often aged for as much as 8 years in oak barrels for even more flavor. I used rhum to both spike this drink and to make rhum-soaked raisins to add to it, a touch that’s not traditional, but gives you a nice boozy surprise at the bottom of your glass. Do seek out aged rhum for this festive drink for a true Haitian experience.”

The beloved Puerto Rican dish of pasteles consists of a unique masa (dough) of root vegetables and green banana filled with seasoned meat, then wrapped in banana leaves and boiled. They’re a beloved family tradition that blends indigenous Taíno, African and Spanish culinary influences.

This Caribbean classic is famous for its signature blend of aromatic herbs and spices. Ingredients for it vary from family to family but the stew typically involves marinating chicken pieces in spices and vegetables, then pan-searing it and stewing it in water or broth until it’s falling-off-the-bone tender. Depth of flavor and a touch of sweetness comes from molasses, brown sugar or browning sauce; in this version recipe developer Gabi Odebode use all three to help build the complexity of the dark brown gravy that’s a hallmark of the dish. Although the stew is often made with bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces we opted for just flavorful chicken thighs with the skin removed: They brown evenly and quickly in the pan and cook up particularly juicy for an unforgettable dish.

These handheld meat pies consist of ground beef seasoned with Jamaican spices and encased in flaky yellow pastry. Typically, the beef is sautéed with aromatics and spices, such as Scotch bonnet pepper, allspice and Jamaican curry powder, that add incredible flavor and a little heat. Curry powder (and/or turmeric) is also incorporated into the dough, giving the pastry its telltale hue. Enjoy a patty on its own or with sweet coco bread for a traditional pairing.

By some accounts, this is the national dish of Jamaica. It is the king of breakfast foods on the island and for good reason. Besides the spicy, full-flavored seasoning in this dish, it features two very special ingredients: salted cod and ackee fruit. Ackees are native to Jamaica and are actually poisonous when unripe. They are difficult to find fresh in the US, but most expats use imported canned varieties that are perfectly safe to eat. The ripe fruit has a neutral taste and a soft, custardy texture similar to scrambled eggs.

Kwame Onwuachi’s Jerk Chicken is a labor of love, but it’s well worth the effort. Sink your teeth into this iconic dish that is sweet, smoky and fiery all at the same time.

This popular Cuban dish goes by many different names, including Moros y Cristianos or just arroz moros. It’s a traditional dish of rice and black beans cooked together — not separately — versions of which are popular throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Although the ingredients for arroz congrí are simple, layers of flavor from smoky bacon, aromatic sofrito and spices infuse the rice as it cooks right with the beans for a deeply flavorful dish. It’s delicious and hearty enough to enjoy on its own but is often served with roasted or grilled meats.

This simple bread is easy to make and absolutely delicious, with richness from milk and butter and a hint of sweetness. It’s dense and chewy with a thick soft crust; the “hard” in the name refers to its sturdy, hearty texture, perfect for sandwiches, slathering jam or to serve alongside stews. Jamaicans tend to use evaporated milk in their baking, not fresh milk, and it gives the bread a little extra richness.

Sorrel is type of magenta flour that is wildly popular in the English-speaking Caribbean, as well as in Mexico, where it's called jamaica. It is is brewed in hot water like a tea and produces a ruby-red liquid with a tart, fruity flavor. It's often made with fresh ginger, giving it a spicy kick. While this recipe tops off the sorrel punch with rum, you can easily serve it without for a refreshing drink.

The dish known in the Caribbean as channa aloo came to the islands with immigrants from India. Channa is chickpeas cooked with curry and other spices and often includes potatoes (“aloo”). The curry flavor seeps into the chickpeas and potatoes as they cook for a delicious meal perfect for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. This recipe most closely follows the Guyanese style of the dish however recipe developer Gabi Odebode used canned chickpeas instead of the dried, soaked chickpeas that are typical. Channa is delicious by itself but is often paired with roti, rice and plantains.

Flan de queso (cheese flan) is a popular Cuban variation on the classic caramel custard popular throughout Latin America. The addition of cream cheese to the flan recipe prevents the custard from curdling during baking and gives it an almost cheesecake-like mouthfeel. It's no wonder it's sometimes referred to cheesecake flan.

Sofrito or recaíto is the aromatic base for many Puerto Rican dishes, including favorites like arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), pollo guisado (chicken stew) and many bean dishes. Recipes for sofrito vary from household to household, so feel free to make adjustments to this version as needed. For instance, ajicitos, a type of sweet pepper popular in the Caribbean, can be replaced with another bell pepper if they’re difficult for you to find. Culantro (recao), a common herb in sofrito, has a similar but more pungent flavor than its cousin cilantro but can be replaced with it in a pinch.

Rice and peas is a one-pot dish beloved not only in Jamaica but also across the Caribbean. Coconut milk and classic Jamaican ingredients like scallions, pimento (allspice), thyme and a habanero or Scotch bonnet pepper pack every bite with flavor. The peas in the classic version are red kidney beans, sometimes known as red peas in Jamaica, although pigeon peas (also called Gungo peas) are favored in some versions. The beans are first cooked until slightly tender, then further simmered with the rice, coconut milk and aromatics to infuse every bit of the dish. It’s often paired with oxtail, curry chicken or jerk chicken and plantains, but you can also enjoy it on its own.

In Haiti, it's a must to have pikliz with fried foods and pork. But this spicy, crunchy slaw-like condiment is also excellent with rice, meats, poultry — in fact it’s on the table for just about every Haitian meal. Recipe developer Widza Gustin even tops boiled eggs with it. The crunchiness of the vegetables and the sweet, tangy and fiery liquid is famous for heightening the flavors and cutting the fat of the foods around it. Pikliz is traditionally made with only green cabbage, and Scotch bonnet pepper is added to the mix and given time to sit. The twist in this recipe is the addition of purple cabbage, which is rarely used in Haiti, and blending the pepper right into the pickling liquid. Purple cabbage makes this version particularly colorful, and blending means that the pikliz is perfectly spicy almost instantly instead of needing several days to infuse and intensify. Widza suggests using a mandoline to make quick work of thinly slicing the vegetables, but you can use a sharp knife as well.

Coco bread is a mildly sweet bread eaten in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean. Pillowy soft and flaky, it is often used to hold savory Jamaican beef patties – but is just as delicious on its own. The dough, which has a slight coconut flavor from the coconut milk, is rolled into a circle, then folded in half before baking to make a half-moon shape with a pocket to hold whatever tasty filling you desire. Recipe developer Gabi Odebode prefers bread flour when baking bread, but feel free to substitute all-purpose flour if that is what you have.

The squash, beef and vegetable soup joumou is synonymous with Haitian independence. Some may put potatoes in it, some may prefer calabaza squash or butternut squash as a base or make other ingredient tweaks, but for over 200 years it’s remained the dish Haitians all over the world celebrate Haiti’s freedom from French colonial rule with. It was on January 1st, 1804, after a 13-year revolution led by the likes of Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe that Haiti won independence. Squash, a popular crop and a symbol of status, was cultivated during the 17th and 18th century by enslaved Haitians who themselves were forbidden to consume it. What better way to celebrate the first free Black republic than by eating a bowl of squash-rich joumou on New Year’s Day? This famously hearty, spicy soup gets intense flavor from a combination of beef, marrow bones, squash and other vegetables, and gets a fiery kick from Scotch bonnet peppers. Epis, Haiti’s foundational herb-and-seasoning blend, is easy to make in the blender and acts as a marinade for the beef. Freedom, flavor and tradition in one bowl.

When plantains are unripe and still green on the outside, they make for deliciously crunchy snacks, like these twice-fried plantains. These are extremely popular throughout the Caribbean and go by different names: patacones, tostones, bannann peze. You can make them as large as you like and even load them up with toppings.

Diri Djon Djon is one of Haiti’s most popular dishes and its name translates as black mushroom rice. Djon djon are inky, earthy black mushrooms handpicked in the mountains of Northern Haiti and then dried. The mushrooms have a unique flavor and aroma and give the rice its signature dark color. Djon djon are rare and a bit pricy — making this dish one that’s usually reserved for special occasions — but worth seeking out to experience this taste of Haiti. Along with the dried mushrooms, the flavor of the rice in this version is bolstered with dried shrimp and mushroom bouillon cubes for the deep umami flavor this famous dish is known for. Lima beans are often added, but here recipe developer Widza Gustin opted for green peas for a sweet note. And when you reach the bottom of your pot there is a tasty surprise: A layer of crispy caramelized rice.

The holidays call for coquito in Puerto Rico. This is the local equivalent of eggnog made with coconut and rum. It's sweeter than American-style eggnog but also not as thick. A hint of cinnamon rounds out the coconut flavor.

A trio of colorful bell peppers – red, yellow and green – adds a sweet twist to this creamy, vibrant pasta that’s popular in Jamaica and beyond. The noodle of choice for rasta pasta is penne, a cut that holds the sauce well and nestles along the sliced peppers, although the first iteration of the dish, credited to Chef Lorraine Washington of Negril, used linguine. The rich sauce in this version comes from half-and-half and mozzarella, while some recipes use a combination of Parmesan and cream. Habanero of Scotch bonnet pepper adds a nice kick while allspice lends earthy warmth. The mix of fresh vegetables, Caribbean spice and a rich cream sauce bursts with flavor and makes this quick and easy dish a crowd-pleaser.

The tender, flavorful fried pork called griot is one of Haiti’s national dishes and a favorite for parties, special occasions and holidays like Christmas. In Haiti, griot is almost always accompanied by pikliz, a tangy vegetable slaw, and fried plantains, or you might find it served on a platter of other fried foods known as fritaille. Citrus like sour orange and lime are used in a brine for the cubed meat, a classic Haitian preparation. The pork is then marinated in epis, Haiti’s beloved green seasoning base, for flavor and tenderizing. This recipe follows the traditional method of double cooking the pork by first boiling it, then deep-frying the cubes. The result is the dish’s famous crispy, caramelized exterior and meltingly tender interior. Pork shoulder is typically used in griot because of its deep flavor and excellent fat-to-lean ratio.

Metemgee is a stew from Guyana, which isn't an island in the Caribbean but rather a country in South America along the Caribbean coast in the north. This flavorful dish gets its creaminess from coconut milk in which a myriad of veggies simmer until tender.

Konfiti chadèk (known as confiture chadèque in French) is Haiti’s very popular sweet jam that is made with the pith of grapefruits and mildly flavored with warm spices. To tame the grapefruits’ distinctive bitterness, the pith is first rinsed and boiled several times. It’s then mixed with sugar and lemon and simmered until it becomes a delicious spread. Enjoy it on bread, toast or biscuits for breakfast or as a snack.

This is an incredibly popular breakfast or snack in Haiti: crisp, earthy cassava bread (kassav in Creole) spread with mamba, a creamy, fiery, freshly ground peanut butter. The flavor of the two together is absolutely delicious, especially if you’re a peanut butter connoisseur. Spicy Haitian mamba is traditionally made with peanuts roasted over an open fire and then ground by hand in a mortar and pestle — making it this way can be an all-day affair. Here oven-roasting them briefly and then blitzing them in a food processor means the work is done in minutes rather than hours and the flavor and texture are still excellent. For the cassava (yuca) bread, to replicate the stone plates used in Haiti to bake the thin bread over charcoal, recipe developer Widza Gustin uses a hot cast-iron skillet to make this cracker-like bread golden brown and crisp.

Oxtails (the tail of a beef cow) are a popular dish throughout the Caribbean, whether it's rabo encendido in Cuba or ke bèf in Haiti. If you love pork belly or slow-cooked brisket, you will love oxtails, which give this Jamaican-style stew a velvety, rich consistency.

These are another favorite type of Puerto Rican cuchifrito (fried snack) that is beloved among boricuas (Puerto Ricans). It features a tropical root vegetable dough stuffed with ground beef and then fried until crisp. They do take a little practice to get right, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be frying up these beauties like a pro!

This is an emblematic dish of Puerto Rico featuring rice (arroz) and pigeon peas (gandules). Both are cooked together in a rich, tomato-based sauce to make a mouthwatering sort of rice pilaf. The dish is also very popular in the Dominican Republic where gandules are called guandules.

This flavorful tea is a favorite holiday drink in Jamaica, where hibiscus (known there as sorrel or flor de Jamaica) grows in abundance. It gets its signature, rich burgundy color from a long steep of the hibiscus and aromatics. Dried pimento seed (the Jamaican term for allspice) and other warming spices are traditional, as is a spicy bite from fresh ginger. A full cup of minced ginger may seem like a lot, but it adds a brightness to this tea that can't be matched. The refreshing drink is typically served chilled (and spiked with optional rum) but can also be enjoyed heated on a cold winter's day.

This hearty Cuban stew in a zesty tomato sauce literally translates to "old clothes," as the shreddy beef looks like tattered garments when it's served. Bell peppers add some color and a distinctive flavor to this dish.

This recipe is inspired by the foods of two Caribbean islands--Jamaica and Trinidad. Salmon is baked in a spicy jerk paste and rolled in roti with spicy briny pickled vegetables--also known as escovitch. The atta flour produces a tender roti with a dough that is elastic enough to knead; Leaving the skin on the salmon protects the delicate fish from overcooking. Plus, the skin gets deliciously crispy in the oven. The combination of flavors will definitely bring island vibes to your dinner table.

Goat may be an uncommon meat choice in the US, but it is one of the most widely-consumed meats in the world and a popular protein in many Caribbean cuisines. It's leaner and not as gamey as lamb, but it requires a long cooking period to get it fork-tender. This Jamaican-style curry is a great introduction to goat if you've never had it before.

This modern version of grilled snapper is jam-packed with flavor. The foundation of the dish is epis, Haiti’s herb-and-seasoning blend usually made with sweet and hot peppers, onion, garlic, fresh herbs and a variety of spices and other flavorings. It’s used in countless Haitian dishes, from rice and beans to soups and stews; it’s also a favored marinade. This recipe makes the epis with a blender instead of mortar-and-pestle and grills the fish over charcoal or gas rather than over wood. Wrapping the fish in banana leaves before grilling seals in flavor and juices. Scotch bonnet peppers are one of the stars of this dish, adding a kick that’s sure to get attention at a barbecue.

Arroz con pollo, or chicken and rice, is a classic comfort food throughout Latin America. Each country prepares its own unique version. This recipe takes inspiration from Latino Carribean cuisines, like those of Cuba, Puerto Rico and The Dominican Republic. The rice is soft and tender — between a porridge and a fluffy pot of rice — and gets some acidity from green olives.

Fritas are the Cuban answer to the all-American hamburger. They were once common on the streets of Havana before the Communist Revolution but have now made a home for themselves in US cities like Miami, Florida. If you can't make it to Miami to have a frita, this recipe will recreate the flavors for you right at home. Just be sure to be generous with the papitas (matchstick fries).

The twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago has a huge Indian-descended population, and Indo-Trinidadians have greatly influenced the local cuisine. This recipe for Trini-style curry goat is not as aggressively spiced as the Jamaican version and features more nuanced flavors and a richer gravy. Give both recipes a try to determine your favorite variety!

Sofrito is the seasoning base in many Latin American cuisines, especially those in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Here Ingid Hoffman shows you how to make a quick and easy sofrito at home, which includes onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and cilantro.