Jamaican chicken soup is a hearty, flavorful one-pot meal that’s a staple in many Jamaican households. This soup brings together chicken, starchy vegetables, and robust seasonings for a comforting dish that’s perfect for chilly weather or whenever you need some warmth.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through how to make authentic Jamaican chicken soup from scratch, including tips for choosing ingredients, easy step-by-step instructions, and useful info to help you customize it to your taste Let’s get cooking!
Overview of Jamaican Chicken Soup
Jamaican chicken soup has its roots in the Saturday Soup tradition where families would gather around a pot of hearty soup on Saturdays. It brings together a medley of ingredients like:
- Chicken – typically bone-in for more flavor
- Pumpkin – provides color and body
- Yellow yam – adds starchiness
- Potato – gives substance
- Other veggies like chayote, carrots, and green banana
- Scotch bonnet pepper – essential for spice and flavor
- Aromatics like thyme, scallion, and garlic
- Grace Chicken Soup mix – builds depth of flavor
- Dumplings
This winning combo creates a rich, delicious soup loaded with tender chicken and veggies. The dumplings soak up the flavorsome broth, while the scotch bonnet pepper brings a touch of heat. It’s the ultimate comfort food.
Tips for Making Jamaican Chicken Soup
Here are some useful tips to ensure your Jamaican chicken soup turns out great
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Use bone-in chicken – Chicken thighs or drumsticks work well. The bones add extra flavor to the broth.
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Pick ripe, robust produce – Choose veggies that are fresh and firm for the best texture and taste.
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Add dumplings – Tiny fluffy dumplings are a must for soaking up the flavorsome broth.
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Use Grace soup mix – This imparts rich chicken flavor and color. Substitute with any chicken noodle soup mix.
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Don’t overcook – Cook until the chicken and veggies are tender but not mushy.
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Season well – Adjust salt, pepper, and Scotch bonnet to taste for optimal flavor.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these simple steps for authentic Jamaican chicken soup
Prep the chicken and wash
- Cut chicken into serving pieces. Thighs and drumsticks work well.
- In a large bowl, wash the chicken with water and lime juice. This removes impurities.
- Drain, rinse, and pat chicken dry. Set aside.
Prep the vegetables
- Peel, de-seed, and chop the pumpkin into 1-inch cubes.
- Peel the yam and chop into 1-inch cubes.
- Peel, de-seed, and dice the chayote.
- Slice the potatoes into 1-inch chunks.
- Chop the onions, garlic, scallions, and carrots.
- Peel bananas and cut into 2-inch chunks.
Start the chicken stock
- In a large pot, combine chicken, water, pimento, onion, garlic, and scallion.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add vegetables and dumplings
- Add the pumpkin, yam, chayote, potatoes, carrots, and banana to pot.
- Pour in more water to cover veggies if needed.
- Add tiny dumplings and stir gently.
- Simmer for 30 minutes until chicken and veggies start to soften.
Season and finish
- Stir in Grace chicken soup mix and Scotch bonnet pepper.
- Simmer 5 more minutes.
- Taste and add salt, pepper, and more Scotch bonnet to taste.
- Serve warm with chicken, veggies, and dumplings in each bowl. Enjoy!
Make Dumplings
No Jamaican chicken soup is complete without tiny dumplings. Here’s how:
- In a bowl, mix 1 cup flour, pinch of salt, and enough water to form a firm dough.
- Roll dough into a long, thin piece.
- Chop dough crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces.
Customize Your Jamaican Chicken Soup
Jamaican chicken soup is highly customizable. Feel free to:
- Use other veggies like corn, green peas, okra
- Add more or less Scotch bonnet pepper to adjust spice level
- Use chicken thighs, drumsticks, or boneless chicken
- Leave out the dumplings for a lighter version
- Stir in cooked rice for extra body
- Garnish bowls with scallion, lime wedges, spicy pickled veggies
- Serve with hard dough bread or fried dumplings
The beauty of this soup is you can tweak it to suit your taste and what you have on hand while still retaining the comforting Jamaican soul food factor.
Enjoy Your Jamaican Chicken Soup
There you have it – everything you need for making quintessential Jamaican chicken soup. This soulful one-pot wonder is well worth the modest effort. The incredible depth of flavors, hearty ingredients, and customizable nature make it a hit anytime.
For the full authentic Jamaican experience, invite family and friends over, whip up a pot of this goodness, and pass it around the table ladled into big bowls with slices of hard dough bread. Dig in and savor the melange of tender chicken, starchy veggies, warming spices and more in this ultimate comfort food.
A few notes about the ingredients…
- Chicken parts: You can use any piece of the chicken for this recipe – thighs, legs, wings and chicken breasts all work well. You can even use chicken feet.
- Vegetables: This Caribbean soup is eaten as a full meal and is loaded with roots and vegetables. You can add your preferred veggies to the soup. Other traditionally added vegetables to Jamaican chicken soup include plantain, cho cho/chayote, cassava and sweet potatoes.
- Scotch bonnet peppers: This adds some heat and its characteristic fruitiness to the soup. Depending on your heat tolerance level, you can exclude it or add more than one to the soup.
How To Make Jamaican Chicken Soup
- Chicken legs
- Onion
- Grated ginger
- Garlic
- Squash
- Salt
- All-purpose flour
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Corn
- Allspice
- Onion powder
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Oregano
- Scotch bonnet pepper
- Fresh thyme
- Spring onion
Jamaican Chicken Soup (saturday soup)
FAQ
What are the ingredients in Jamaican soup?
The essential ingredients for Jamaican beef soup include tender beef, vegetables like carrots and potatoes, okra, corn, and rich seasonings such as thyme, scallions, and allspice. These elements create a flavorful and hearty dish celebrated in Jamaican cuisine.
Do you cook the chicken before putting it in soup?
What are the basic ingredients for chicken soup?
These are the simple ingredients you’ll need for this chicken soup recipe: Chicken: This homemade chicken soup starts with a 3-pound whole chicken. Vegetables: You’ll need carrots, celery, and an onion. Seasonings: Simply season the soup with salt, pepper, and chicken bouillon granules (if you want).
Is Jamaican chicken soup healthy?
It’s a good source of protein and other nutrients
Caribbean style chicken soup is a great way to get both delicious flavor and important nutrients. It provides a good source of protein, which helps the body repair cells, build muscle, and keep the appetite satiated for longer periods of time.
How to make Jamaican Chicken Soup?
To make Jamaican Chicken Soup, begin by preparing the chicken and vegetables. Simmer the chicken in a pot with spices and water, then add ground provisions like yam, pumpkin, and green bananas, along with dumplings (spinners). The soup is seasoned with fresh thyme, pimento, and a whole Scotch bonnet pepper for a bit of heat.
What kind of soup is typical for Jamaicans to eat?
Jamaicans love a variety of soups! They enjoy chicken soup, beef soup, red peas soup, mannish water, fish tea, and chicken foot soup, among others. I’m excited to share my Jamaican chicken soup recipe with you. It is flavorful and hearty, truly a full meal all in one bowl.
Can you make Jamaican Chicken Soup without dumplings?
Yes, you can make Jamaican Chicken Soup without dumplings, but in traditional Jamaican households, dumplings (spinners) are commonly used. However, leaving them out will still result in a flavorful soup. 2. Which Chicken Soup Mix should I use? Grace Chicken Soup Mix is a popular option in Jamaica. It adds extra flavor and a rich color to the soup.
What can I add to Jamaican Chicken Soup?
Customizable: You can adjust the heat by adding more or less Scotch bonnet pepper, and you can include your favorite vegetables or leave out the dumplings for a lighter version (however, note that Jamaicans traditionally cook Jamaican chicken soup with dumplings).
How to make Jamaican Chicken Noodle Soup?
Making Jamaican Chicken Noodle Soup involves a similar process to traditional Jamaican Chicken Soup but with the addition of noodles. Start by simmering chicken with thyme, pimento, and scotch bonnet. Add vegetables like carrots, yam, and sweet potato. Once the chicken is tender, stir in your choice of noodles and cook until soft.
Can you eat Jamaican Chicken Soup in Canada?
Potatoes, squash, carrots and corn are available in abundance year round in Canada but we especially love to serve this savoury soup during Thanksgiving and the chilly winter season. Our Jamaican Chicken Soup recipe features plump Caribbean-style dumplings called spinners. The dough is simple, made of all purpose flour and water.