how to make callaloo Archives

I know there will be a few who will want to take me apart for using somewhat unconventional ingredients (keep in mind I’m based outside the Caribbean) and the fact they didn’t see any crab or salted meats used in the making of the Callaloo. With that last part in mind, here’s proof you’re not dealing with a Vikey Vai recipe… Crayfish Callaloo, Smoked Turkey Callaloo, Lobster Callaloo, Shrimp Callaloo, Salted Pigtail Callaloo and the classic Crab Callaloo!

You’ll Need…

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion (sliced)
6-8 loves garlic (smashed)
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1/2 lb diced pumpkin
1/3 lb diced sweet potato
3/4 lb Okra (trimmed/chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lb spinach (rough chopped)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons veg stock powder
6-8 cups water (adjust)

Notes! Please follow along with the video below as much more about the recipe is explained within. Yes, the recipe is a bit unconventional as I wanted to show how easy it would be to replicate the flavors of a traditional callaloo, without traditional ingredients.

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil on a medium flame, then add the onion, garlic and black pepper. Turn the heat down to low and after 3 minutes, add the green seasoning. Cook for a further 2 minutes on low.

Add the pumpkin (or butternut squash) along with the sweet potato and stir well. Top with the salt and continue cooking on low for 2-3 minutes. The sweet potato and pumpkin may seem strange for traditionalists, but you need to trust me. Besides the lovely sweet undertone they will add, they will also assist in giving the finished Callaloo a lovely texture.

Mix in the okra (say ochro) and spinach. In the video I discussed the best okra, and spinach to use if you’re like me and cannot source baby dasheen bush (taro) leaves. If you find that the spinach is piling up, in a few minutes it will wilt and you can keep adding more.

Top with the vegetable stock powder, Scotch Bonnet pepper (optional), coconut milk and water (start with 7 cups and add more if necessary). Should you have pimento (aka seasoning peppers), add 3 chopped.

Bring to a boil, so you’ll need to turn the heat up.

As it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for between 1 hour and 15 minutes to 90 minutes.

If you prefer to use liquid vegetable stock instead of the powder, replace the water with it. Be mindful though, that most stock will have a high sodium content.

Stir every 10-15 minutes and add more water should you find that it’s needed (overly thick).

Once everything has broken down, it’s time to use your swizzle stick (see image above or the video) and work it until it’s the consistency you want. If using a stick blender, please pulse or you will end up with a frothy callaloo.. you don’t want that.

Taste and adjust the salt to your liking and get ready to enjoy the most delicious vegan / vegetarian callaloo you’ve ever had. As a soup or a side to rice and Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken (not for vegans), you can thank me after dinner! Make sure you have boiled plantain and a side salad, even if it’s just sliced cucumber. Freeze the leftovers!

The Ultimate Crayfish Callaloo.

March 14, 2022March 2, 2022Leave a Comment

Over the years I’ve shared several types of Callaloo (the soup) recipes with you, including Crab (the classic), Lobster, Shrimp, Salted Pigtail and Smoked Turkey, to name a few. With leftover Crayfish from when I purchased for making the Curry Potato With Crayfish recipe, I thought I’d give you yet another TASTY version of Callaloo.

You’ll Need…

1 1/2 lb crayfish (meat only)
2-3 tablespoon salted butter
1 medium onion (diced)
1 green scotch bonnet pepper (sliced)
2 pimento peppers (aka seasoning pepper)
6 cloves garlic (smashed)
3 sprigs thyme
2 cups water (in total)
1 cup seafood stock
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
1/3 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb baby spinach
15-20 okra (cut 1 cm)
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1-2 cups pumpkin (cubed)

Note! I’m based in Canada so sourcing Dasheen (taro) leaves is almost impossible, so the next best thing = Baby Spinach. If doing this recipe gluten free, be sure to go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your gluten free dietary needs.

Get your soup pot on a medium heat and heat the butter, then add the crayfish (washed and drained) and stir well. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside for later.

In the same pot, add the onion, scotch bonnet and pimento peppers, turn the heat to low and gently soften. Add the thyme, garlic and black pepper.

4 minutes later add the okra (stir well) and the Caribbean Green Seasoning. Go in with the seafood stock, turn the heat to medium and bring to a boil.

Add the pumpkin, coconut milk, salt and bring back to a boil.

It’s time to add the baby spinach (washed) and the water. It may look like a lot, but it will wilt down as it cook.

Here’s where we’ll need to have some patience. Let it gently cook (lower your heat so you have a simmer) for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Add more water if you find it’s getting too thick. I added the extra cup of water mentioned in the ingredient list. (2 cups in total)

Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Here’s where I used a traditional swizzle stick to break things down so it’s a bit smooth (watch the video below). You may use a whisk or stick blender. If using a stick blender, pulse or risk getting it frothy.

Add the pre-cooked crayfish, bring back to a boil (2-3 minutes), taste and adjust the salt again and BOOM.. you’ve got a wicked Crayfish Callaloo.

This is an excellent side dish to rice, steamed potato, boiled ground provisions or roasted breadfruit. Or, do as I do and enjoy a piping hot bowl as a soup. Now you know how to make an incredible pot of crayfish (say crawfish?) callaloo.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

Meat & Poultry

Salted Pigtail Callaloo Recipe.

May 27, 2025October 8, 2017Leave a Comment

While I’ve shared several versions of Callaloo, the classic soup-like dish prepared in the Southern Caribbean, this is one of those versions mom would make when she didn’t have access to fresh ocean crab. I still remember mom would have to hide the fact that there were piece of salted pig tails in the Callaloo or my sisters wouldn’t ever touch it.. but my brother, dad and I were quite excited to get those tender pieces of pork on our plate on a Sunday.

You’ll Need…

1 lb salted pigtails (prepared)
1 tablespoon coconut oil (veg or olive oil is ok)
1 lb baby spinach
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups water
1 medium onion (diced)
2 scallions (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (smashed)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil (any oil will work)
2-3 wiri wiri peppers (or any spicy pepper you like)
1-2 cups pumpkin (cubed)
15-20 small okra (chopped)
4 sprigs thyme
*salt – adjust

Get your butcher to cut the pieces of salted pig tails into 1 inch pieces as it can be tough to cut with your basic kitchen knife. Rinse, then put in a pot of water to boil. As it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes. This step will help to remove the excess salt it was cured in (or the dish will be too salty) and to help tenderize the meat itself. The goal at the end is to have the meat fall off the bones. Then drain and set aside.

In a deep pot heat the coconut oil on a medium flame, then add the scallion, garlic, onion, thyme and black pepper and reduce to a low heat and cook gently for 3-5 minutes.

Wash and drain the spinach, then add it to the pot.

Now it’s time to add the pumpkin, okra and the prepared pieces of pigtails. Give it a good mix, then turn the heat up to high. Put the wiri wiri peppers whole (any pepper you add).

Immediately add the coconut milk and water and bring to a boil.

When it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover the pot and allow it to cook for about an hour and 20 minutes. Please be mindful to NOT break the peppers, or the dish will turn out spicy. However, in my case I wanted the heat.

There are 2 ways to personalize this.. taste for salt and adjust (we didn’t add any as the remaining salt in the pigtails should be enough) and remove/discard the peppers before we move to the next step. Then you can remove the pieces of pigtails from the pot and using a swizzle stick (as seen in the pic) or a wire whisk.. whisk until relatively smooth. If you prefer to use an immersion blender, you’re free to do so. However I’d recommend ‘pulsing’ or it will change the texture and go frothy.

Add back the pieces of pig tails, check one more time or salt and adjust. Additionally, if this was done traditionally you’d add a teaspoon of ‘salted butter (Golden Ray), but I no longer use that in my recipes due to health concerns. Turn off the stove and serve.

As mentioned in the video below, traditionally mom would use the baby leaves of the dasheen plant (say dasheen bush leaves), but I’m not based in the Caribbean where it’s readily available, thus the use of baby spinach in this callaloo recipe. I must also mention that if you don’t have freshly made coconut milk, the canned stuff will work quite well. I wouldn’t recommend using stock instead of water as I believe it will change the overall taste of the dish (not to my liking).

If you don’t already know, this can be enjoyed as a soup or as a side to a typical Caribbean Sunday lunch with stewed or oven roasted meats, rice, macaroni pie, boiled sweet potato, salad and plantain.

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Gluten Free Seafood

Trinidad Callaloo Recipe, The True Spirit Of The Islands.

April 12, 2021December 14, 200947 Comments

What would Sunday lunch (the biggest meal of the week on the islands) be without a healthy serving of Callaloo, rice, stew chicken, macaroni pie and slices of fried plantains? Not to be confused with Jamaican callaloo, callaloo is an actual dish and it’s not made from the bush/plant that our Jamaican friends call callaloo. The main ingredient in our callaloo dish is the tender baby leaves of the dasheen plant (also called dasheen bush) or in my case (couldn’t find dasheen leaves) I used tender baby spinach. Living in North America means there are times when we must find substitutes for traditional ingredients used in many of our dishes as it’s hard to source the ingredients normally used.

Though the recipe I’m about to share with you is not the traditional way of making callaloo, you’ll find that it’s very tasty, similar in texture and appearance to the real deal.

You’ll Need

2 cans (400 ml) coconut milk
Water (see below for amount)
6 cloves garlic
2 lbs Spinach (baby leaves work best)
1 lb ochro (okra)
1/2 onion sliced
2 crabs (split into 2 pieces each)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 sprigs of thyme
1 green habanero or scotch bonnet pepper (add any pepper you like)
1 teaspoon Goldenray butter (optional but makes a big difference)

Important: If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free diet.

Before we get to the actual steps in making the callaloo I must mention that if you can’t source (like me) tender dasheen leaves, it’s important that you not use ordinary spinach leaves, but do try to get baby spinach. Not only is it tender, but it’s not as strong in flavour as normal spinach. Regular spinach may over-power the dish and you won’t achieve that wonderful taste that a good callaloo will have. I must also mention that crab meat or imitation crab will not give it the true unique savoriness as would actual crab in the shell.

Start by placing a deep pot on a medium heat and pour the 2 cans of coconut milk into it, then using one of the cans, add 2 cans of water as well (so you have 4 cans of liquid in the pot). As it comes to a boil, wash the spinach leaves and start adding to the pot. If it’s fresh harvested spinach, you may have to rinse a few times as they can have a lot of dirt/sand between the leaves.

It will seem that all the spinach will not fit in the pot at the start, but as it wilts in the hot liquid you’ll have tons of room. The next step is to wash and trim the ochro (okra) by removing the stems and discarding. Then slice each one into 1 inch pieces (see pic below). Add the sliced onions, garlic, ochro and hot pepper. Leave the hot pepper whole at this point. You can also add the salt, thyme and blackpepper to the mixture.

Cover the pot, bring the heat down low to a gentle simmer and allow to cook for about 1 hour or until everything is tender and starts to melt together. Be sure to stir every 15 minutes or so and check to ensure that it’s not sticking at the bottom of the pot. This will be an indication that your heat is too high.

Now that it’s been cooking for 1 hr, it’s time to add the crab to the pot. I usually season it a bit first with some green seasoning and allow it to marinate for about 15 minutes before adding it to the pot with the callaloo. After you’ve added the seasoned crab (seasoning is optional) allow the callaloo to cook for another 15 minutes.

The final step is to break everything down. Luckily enough I have a swizzle stick (wooden one) that someone from the islands sent for me a few years back. If you don’t have one you can use either a whisk or one of those electric puree sticks. If you are using an electric one, I suggest you pulse a few times and not use a continuous action or it will make the callaloo very foamy and it can harm the finished product.

If you’re using a whisk, simply whisk until everything is broken down into a soup like consistency. Before you whisk you can remove the pepper (remember I mentioned to put it in whole) if you’re worried about the heat content.

The very final step is to add the GoldenRay butter, stir it around and turn off the heat. Enjoy!

Side Note:There are many variations of cooking this classic Trinbagonian dish, but I assure you this is a great start that you can customize as you get better at preparing it.

* From the recipe above you should have enough left over to freeze and enjoy at a later time. Just pour into a freezer style bowl and it usually last a couple months in the freezer. To thaw, all you have to do is empty the contents of the bowl into a pot with a couple tablespoons of water on very low heat and allow to melt. Or stick in the microwave.

how to make callaloo

Delicious and Nutritious Vegan Callaloo.

The Ultimate Crayfish Callaloo.

Salted Pigtail Callaloo Recipe.

Trinidad Callaloo Recipe, The True Spirit Of The Islands.

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