Slow Cooker Jamaican Rice and Peas Soup is a traditional Jamaican dish made as a main dish soup using the Instant Pot Slow Cooker setting.
Slow Cooker Jamaican Rice and Peas Soup
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
My recipe of the day is about a favorite rice recipe, of which I have many. And I had many possibilities to choose from! However, I opted to go with this Jamaican rice and peas soup. Which is made in the Instant Pot using the slow cooker setting.
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The soup itself is a soup version of the heartier Jamaican rice and peas. I suppose you have seen many versions of this, including a Creole version called rice and beans which is quite similar and both evolved similarly.
What Kind of Peas or Beans Should I Use?
And while many versions use red beans or kidney beans in theirs, technically, you should be using pigeon peas or gandules. I used the dried version in this. Which when reconstituted are similar to beans. But you could also use something like black-eyed peas or purple hull peas as well. Or possibly crowder peas.
I think you’ll get a good flavor using any of those, but the pigeon peas will work best.
Other Ingredients
The coconut milk is a must though as I think it imparts the best flavor. I used leftover pork carnitas in mine and any cooked pork will do provided it is tender (and not smoked like pulled pork). But pork shoulder is preferred.
I hope you enjoy!
Looking Ahead
Join me Wednesday when I share an Oktoberfest recipe for Chicken Schnitzel with Dunkelweisen sauce. It is a specialty from a local German restaurant called Mecklenburg Gardens. Cincinnati is heavily German influenced. And has the largest Oktoberfest in the USA (Oktoberfest Zinzinnati). So you can know that we here in Ohio take that kind of food seriously, especially sauerkraut. Between rice and kraut I am a bit of a cooking queen with both. Now hey. There’s another idea for a recipe. Kraut and rice! Wait- been there did that with my cabbage rolls, which are covered in kraut. You should try those if you have not already.
Slow Cooker Jamaican Rice and Peas Soup

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Slow Cooker Jamaican Rice and Peas Soup

Slow Cooker Jamaican Rice and Peas Soup
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried gandules or pigeon peas
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 15-1/2 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 pound cooked pork or carnitas
- 6 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 teaspoon ground Jamaican allspice
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 ounce jar diced pimientos (drained)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Jamaican curry powder
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 1 teaspoon Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce
Instructions
- Cover pigeon peas with 2 inches water and soak overnight or bring to a boil, boil 3 minutes and shut off heat, letting them steep in the hot water, covered, for one hour. Drain peas afterwards either way.
- Place drained peas in the crock of the instant pot along with chicken broth, coconut milk, pork, garlic, onion, allspice, thyme, pimientos, salt, pepper, curry powder, stirring to mix.
- Set instant pot to sear for about 5-10 minutes and when mixture warms up, set to cook on the slow cooker setting for 3 hours.
- Stir in the cooked rice, chopped scallions and Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
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Such a tasty, flavorful soup! Perfect for those cooler evenings!
looks nice and yummy……
Soup is welcome here anytime! Love the flavors but I’d need to skip the hot pepper!
Loving the flavors in this tasty soup!
Look so flavorful! What a nice change of pace! Thanks for sharing it at our #crocktober linkup for Celebrate365