VEGAN JAMAICAN BOWL

Our Vegan Jamaican Bowl brings that island flavor! Our bowl is the perfect way to liven up your boring meal-prep routine.

Our Vegan Jamaican Bowl has got it all! Jamaican cuisine is one of our top favorites, so we created this Jamaican-inspired bowl as an ode to the flavors and aromas of that beautiful island nation. The jerk sweet potatoes, rice and peas, Caribbean collard greens, and mango salsa are a culinary dancehall party for your tastebuds. Our bowl has got sweet, heat, spice, and it’s loaded with nutrients. The best part is that the components require little active cooking, so you can set them and forget them!

🇯🇲 AN ABBREVIATED HISTORY OF JAMAICA

Anthony Bourdain suggested that “all history can be explained by what’s on your plate.” He wasn’t wrong. Jamaican cuisine is a complex and exciting case in point. It is an amalgam of European colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, and the cooking practices of the indigenous inhabitants of the island, as well as that of indentured Indian and Chinese laborers. Let’s take a brief step back in time, shall we?

The Taíno—an Arawak people—were the first inhabitants of Jamaica. They migrated to the island from South America between 5000 to 1000 BC. Fast forward to 1494, when douchebag of historic proportions Christopher Columbus became the first European to set foot on Jamaican sands. He claimed the island for Spain. In the ensuing 150 years, the Spanish managed to all but decimate the native Taínos through disease and enslavement. They also populated the island with slaves stolen from their homes in West Africa.

In the mid-1600s, Oliver Cromwell and the British kicked the Spanish out of Jamaica. After that, the introduction of sugarcane to the island prompted the British to bring even more enslaved Africans to the island over the next 150 years. The British finally abolished the practice in 1834. The sugar industry, however, was a labor intensive one. As a result, the British began to import laborers from Crown colonies of India and China, to do work the British would not deign to do. These laborers were brought to Jamaica under contracts of indenture. And Spoiler Alert: there isn’t a whole lot of difference between indentured servitude and slavery.

Jamaica gained its independence from Britain in 1962.

🍲 COMPONENTS OF OUR VEGAN JAMAICAN BOWL

Against this historical backdrop, let’s take a closer look at the deliciousness in our bowl:

1. RICE AND PEAS

Rice and Peas is the most eaten dish in Jamaica. Red kidney beans and rice are simmered together with onion, garlic, ginger, allspice, thyme, and coconut milk. The dish is an offshoot of Waakye, which is a rice-and-bean dish from Ghana. Rice is a staple in West Africa. To ease the horrors of their condition, African slaves recreated dishes that were dear to them, using Jamaican ingredients.

2. JERK SWEET POTATOES

What is jerk? Jerk traditionally refers to a complexly marinated meat that’s cooked low-and-slow over a fire or grill. Jerk seasoning comes in the form of a dry rub or wet marinade, and its primary ingredients include allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers. Jerk is probably a marriage of West African seasoning methods with Taíno cooking techniques. After the Spanish got the heave-ho from Jamaica by the British, they emancipated their African slaves. These newly freed slaves fled to the mountains to escape re-enslavement by the British. They became known as the Maroons, and their commingling with the remaining Tainos led to the absolute fire that is Jamaican jerk. We traded meat for sweet potatoes in our bowl, because heat and sweet is a way of life.

3. CARIBBEAN COLLARD GREENS

Indian indentured laborers brought curry with them to Jamaica, and it spread like wildfire. In India, curry is a dish as opposed to a spice blend. You won’t find curry spice blends in an Indian grocery store or household. Like the British, Jamaicans developed their own curry spice blend as a representation of Indian flavors, but suited to local tastes. Jamaican curry powder is milder in flavor to Indian curry. It contains a lot of turmeric, which is responsible for that characteristic golden yellow color. Some blends contain allspice. Our curried collard greens put a Caribbean twist on a Southern classic.

4. MANGO SALSA

Mangoes are probably the most loved fruit in Jamaica. Our mango salsa adds sweetness and brightness to our Vegan Jamaican Bowl.

🔪 RECIPE STEPS AND TIPS

• Preparing the bowl: Our Vegan Jamaican Bowl comes together pretty simply. The rice and peas and collard greens are simple one-pot dishes that you can have going simultaneously. Meanwhile, you can have the sweet potatoes roasting away and quickly throw together the mango salsa.
• Scotch bonnet substitute: Scotch bonnet peppers are traditional in Jamaican cookery. However, they can be tough to find in America, so feel free to sub in habanero peppers instead. Also, make sure to leave the hot peppers whole; do NOT be tempted to slice them. Leaving them whole will impart your rice and peas and collard greens with background citrusy, peppery notes. If you’re afraid the hot pepper will add too much heat, don’t be!
• Jerk seasoning brands and where to find them: Our favorite store-bought brands are Walkerswood and Grace’s, which are wet marinades. You can find them in the international section of your grocery store (if you live in a big city), at an Afro-Caribbean grocery store, or online.
• Wash your collard greens: Make sure to thoroughly wash your collard greens to remove any grit.
• Jamaican curry brand and where to find it: We used the Blue Mountain Country brand of Jamaican curry powder. You can find them in the international section of your grocery store (if you live in a big city), at an Afro-Caribbean grocery store, or online.

💕 MORE VEGAN CARIBBEAN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

👨‍🍳 DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN JAMAICAN BOWL?

Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️

👩🏽‍🍳 RECIPE

Vegan Jamaican Bowl

Plant-Based Passport

Our Vegan Jamaican Bowl brings that island flavor! Our bowl is the perfect way to liven up your boring meal-prep routine. Jamaican cuisine is one of our top favorites, so we created this bowl as an ode to the flavors and aromas of that beautiful island nation. The jerk sweet potatoes, rice and peas, Caribbean collard greens, and mango salsa are a culinary dancehall party for your tastebuds. Our bowl has got sweet, heat, spice, and it’s loaded with nutrients. The best part is that the components requires little active cooking, so you can set them and forget them! 

4.89 from 9 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course bowl, Caribbean, Jamaican

Cuisine Caribbean, Jamaican

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 batch of our Vegan Jamaican Rice and Peas
• ▢ 1 batch of our Caribbean Collard Greens

For the Jerk Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

• ▢ 3 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes
• ▢ 3 tablespoon neutral-flavored oil we used avocado
• ▢ 2 tablespoon jerk seasoning we used the Walkerswood brand

For the Mango Salsa:

• ▢ 1 mango peeled and diced finely
• ▢ ¼ cup red onion diced finely
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped
• ▢ 4 mini bell peppers or ½ a full-size red bell pepper diced finely
• ▢ Juice of 1 lime
• ▢ Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Instructions

 

Preparation Tip: 

• The rice and peas and collard greens are simple one-pot dishes that you can have going simultaneously. Meanwhile, you can have the sweet potatoes roasting away and quickly throw together the mango salsa.

For the Jerk Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together oil and and jerk seasoning. Evenly coat sweet potatoes in jerk mixture and arrange over a lined baking tray. Bake for 30-35 minutes. 

For the Mango Salsa:

• Combine mango, red onion, cilantro, and bell peppers in a medium bowl. Toss with lime juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Assemble the Bowls:

• Divide rice and peas, jerk roasted sweet potatoes, curried collard greens, and mango salsa evenly among six bowls. Enjoy!

Notes

• Preparing the bowl: Our Vegan Jamaican Bowl comes together pretty simply. The rice and peas and collard greens are simple one-pot dishes that you can have going simultaneously. Meanwhile, you can have the sweet potatoes roasting away and quickly throw together the mango salsa.
• Scotch bonnet substitute: 
• Scotch bonnet peppers are traditional in Jamaican cookery. However, they can be tough to find in America, so feel free to sub in habanero peppers instead. Also, make sure to leave the hot peppers whole; do NOT be tempted to slice them. Leaving them whole will impart your rice and peas and collard greens with background citrusy, peppery notes. If you’re afraid the hot pepper will add too much heat, don’t be! 
• Jerk seasoning brands and where to find them: Our favorite store-bought brands are Walkerswood and Grace’s, which are wet marinades. You can find them in the international section of your grocery store (if you live in a big city), at an Afro-Caribbean grocery store, or online.
• Wash your collard greens: Make sure to thoroughly wash your collard greens to remove any grit.
• Jamaican curry brand and where to find it: We used the Blue Mountain Country brand of Jamaican curry powder. You can find them in the international section of your grocery store (if you live in a big city), at an Afro-Caribbean grocery store, or online.

Keyword bowl, bowls, Caribbean food, collard greens, jamaican food, mango salsa, meal prep, rice and peas, vegan caribbean food, vegan jamaican food, vegan rice and peas

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