Callaloo Jamaican Style – A vibrant, healthy and fresh way of cooking leafy vegetables. Quick, easy and delicious!
Are you bored with spinach, or kale or looking for a new way to prepare it? Here is a vibrant and fresh way of making kale, spinach and definitely using this Amazing vegetable- Callaloo.
If you have never heard of Callaloo, I would say it is what some West Africans Countries call greens. That’s the only way, I ever heard anyone call these leafy vegetables until, I moved to the United States. And there it is disguised as Callaloo. Also widely known in the Islands as Callaloo in the Islands.
For those that are curious and want to know more it belongs to the Amaranth family.
Be on the look out! It is one of those vegetables that easily gets mixed up with other vegetables – especially cocoyam /Malanga leaves and even spinach.
I am super excited that it is readily available in most Caribbean Markets, and quite a few other markets . There is even an Indian market – walking distance from my place, that sells fresh Callaloo. Yeah, lucky me!
What I enjoy most is the different ways you can whip it up; in stews, soups, stir fry and even with rice – it is quite versatile.
Here it is prepared- Jamaican style, slightly steamed, quick, easy . Spiced up with , thyme, garlic and smoked paprika- Simple. And Simply delicious! Convenient for weeknight meal.
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Switch out the bacon for smoked turkey, chicken or omit completely , for a vegan meal.
Although Callaloo is usually serve with dumplings and boiled plantains, I prefer pan-fried plantains- a healthy variation on the usual fried plantains . Plantains are deep-fried in a significant amount of oil. This version is equally as delicious, without the excessive calories.
Enjoy!
Watch How To Make It
Callaloo Jamaican Style - A vibrant, healthy and fresh way of cooking leafy vegetables. Quick, easy and delicious!
- 1 bunch of fresh Callaloo kale, collard greens (about 11/2 pound)
- 2 thick bacon strips cut in pieces
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium onion
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 fresh tomato
- 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3- 4 ripe plantains
- cooking spray- or very little cooking oil
- Salt and pepper optional
- Cut leaves and soft stems from the callaloo branches, them soak in a bowl of cold water for about 5-10 minutes or until finish with prep.
- Proceed to slicing the onions, mincing the garlic and dicing the tomatoes. Set aside
- Remove callaloo from water cut in chunks.
- Place bacon on saucepan and cook until crispy. Then add onions, garlic, thyme, stir for about a minute or more
- Add tomatoes; scotch bonnet pepper, smoked paprika. Sauté for about 2-3 more minutes.
- Finally add vegetable, salt, mix well, and steamed for about 6-8 minutes or until leaves are tender. Add a tiny bit of water as needed. Adjust seasonings and turn off the heat.
- Using a sharp knife cut both ends off the plantain. This will make it easy to grab the skin of the plantains. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain; peel only as deep as the peel. Remove plantain peel by pulling it back.
- Slice the plantain into medium size lengthwise slices and set aside.
- Coat a large frying pan with cooking oil spray. Spray the tops of the plantains with a generous layer of oil spray and sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper.
- Let the plantains "fry" on medium heat, shaking the frying pan to redistribute them every few minutes.
- As the plantains brown, continue to add more cooking oil spray, salt and pepper (if needed) until they have reached the desired color and texture.
- Remove and serve with callaloo
Thanks for the recipe! I am Cuban and worked in Jamaica as a teacher. I never saw this plant here until yesterday! I just picked it and ran into internet for the recipe as I had almost forgotten how to cook it. Thanks, I found this site. Appreciated!
Awesome! Glad it was of help.
This was delicious! I used some frozen kale and habanero hot sauce in place of the scotch bonnet. I will definitely make this again.
Awesome! Thanks!
I found your site recently and have greatly enjoyed your recipes. They are clearly written and have given me a starting point for making these dishes when I’m craving Caribbean food and can’t make it home lol. My family is from Trinidad and Tobago. Callaloo is a fragrant soup often made with crab and served with rice.
So happy I could be of help. Thanks for taking time out to share your thoughts.
Your recipe is quick and easy. I use it and increase the amounts as I prepare it for a large party of 50+people. I’ve been using it for about 3 years and its always a hit. Thank you for having this trusted site.
Woow! Amazing! Thank you for letting me know and for the continued support. =)
Hi! I can only find canned Callaloo. Would that work?
Hi Stuart ,The texture would be off . It’s best to use fresh for this recipe.
I have made this with canned callaloo and it was AMAZING! I’ve never had fresh callaloo before, so if you have maybe Imma is right about textures but MY GOD it tasted so good I’m making it for the hundredth time tonight!
Stuart where do you find your canned Callaloo.
What does one look for when they purchase fresh callaloo.
I love it and can never find it.
Hi Rossann, just wanted to help out a little. Especially with the quarantine, Amazon has become my new best friend, they have canned and fresh callaloo. It might be worth a shot to try them out. Let me know what happens
Well I’m on my way to the market to try this delicious looking recipe! I can’t wait i”ll let you know how it came out and by the way your plantains looks delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Delicious!! My husband, who’s Jamaican, loved it too! Callaloo is not available in our small town in Ontario but we recently went to a big city where they had nice, fresh bunches. Yay! Thanks for this excellent recipe.
Wohooo! Glad it turned out great for you, Patricia.
Thanks so much for the recipe- I made this last week. I used cod fish after I soaked it a few times and spinach instead of the bacon and Callaloo. My family loved it. So good, I wish I made more. I’m making it again tonight and tripling the ingredients and will use kale instead of spinach. This might be the 4th recipe I’ve used from you. Love them!
Thank you for all the kind words, Lala! I love your own touch to this recipe. Keep it up!
Last night I hosted a Jamaican themed dinner for about 20 people. We go to JA yearly to work in Children’s homes and and this was a mtg to recruit more volunteers to go w/us next time.
I made your festival, callaloo (using collards,kale and spinach) mango colelsaw and plantains. I followed directions exactly as written and everything was absolutely perfect! I already had a tried and true recipe for chicken so didn’t want to try a new one with so many people but next time I will use one of your recipes. Thank you so much! So glad I found your site and can’t wait to try more recipes. Bless you!
Yay! So happy to hear this . Thanks Kellie
I bought it for the first time at a health store, just because it had nothing else except lettuce and pineapple. They call them (callaloo) vleeta in Greece. Now I went with my husband at his friends farm and they give me a huge hug of callaloo to take home. I am so happy! I just fry onions, garlic in a small amount of coconut oil and put in callaloo some tomatoes and eat it. I tries raw but dam, it’s bitter as raw. And i wonder if it helps with iron deficiency anemia because it does remind me of spinach. I will go look.
Thanks fro sharing your version with us. Feel free to share your findings with us. Thanks!
I had callaloo in Jamaica, lobed it. I heard of it from Dr. Sebi. Was at the market yesterday and found some. Cooking it now and using your recipe. I altered it a bit as I do not eat pork. I taste delicious. Thank!
Awesome! So happy it worked out well for you. Thanks for the feedback!
I made this for a friend today. I couldn’t find the pepper it called for, so I used a habenero pepper. I don’t think it was nearly the same, but it still tasted pretty good. I can’t wait to see what my friend things (she’s been craving callaloo).
Awesome! Can’t wait either. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts
This was delicious! Everyone had secounds! Two things suprised me with this recipe: Using collard greens it made a lot more that 3 to 4 servings. Second, the Scotch Bonnet pepper did not spice up the dish the way I expected. I may cut it next time. –Will definintly have again!! Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to provide me with feedback . Greatly appreciated.
Do you take out the scotch bonnet pepper before serving? I see you put it in whole…
It depends to whom am serving it to! Some people like to eat it and some don’t. But I always keep it just in case.
Need your Callaloo
Smiles
You can have it!!
I think Callaloo is the name of the dish itself which is served in Jamaica? The dish “Callaloo” uses leafy greens – normally being amaranth, taro, or Xanthosoma. Granted, amaranth is also called “Callaloo”. So I’m confused.
What are you confused about the name or the dish?
The actual plants is known as Callaloo, pair it with anything and it becomes ,e.g. Callaloo and cod Fish so it is versatile can be eaten by itself also. In Trinidad they have a dish named callaloo which is made from a different greens
Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
Wow. This looks amazing! I will definitely modify it for our vegan challenge next month. Those plantains look de-li-cious.
Thanks Amber!
I had Callaloo when I was in Jamaica.. It was so good, I decided to eat it whenever they served it. I don’t care for spicy foods, and not really fond of spinach, so I am going to try to fix this with kale, garlic, onion, etc.
You can come and cook for me anytime!
I love love love this method of preparing kale. I’ve cooked this twice already 🙂
I love collard greens so I would love to try callaloo. It is so interesting because the way that you prepare callaloo is similar the way Brazilians prepare sauteed Collard Greens a la Mineira with bacon and garlic. Like ours, your dish has soul!!!!
Thanks Denise- it definitely has soul.
Never heard of callaloo before… you learn something new every day! Definitely going to be trying the recipe out, I am always looking for new recipes to use Kale!
Whoa, I have NEVER heard of callaloo! I wonder if they have it at my international market.. I am ALWAYS up for some new greens!
Cheryl, they might just have it . Be sure to ask the Store Manager .
It’s the best.
If you have land, amaranth is easy to grow. Its wild or feral forms are pigweed. However there are colorful forms of Amaranthus tricolor (“Joseph’s Coat,” “Molten Magma,” “Summer Poinsettia”) that would be nice in any flower garden. However they will be weedy if you let them ripen seeds. They will also color the cooking water, but these pigments (same as in beetroot) are edible, so no worries. It is a known nitrate accumulator so don’t overfertilize. Amaranth is pretty similar to spinach or orach, so you can substitute those if you live in a chilly area or don’t garden. It has nothing to do with kale (a headless cabbage, basically milder flavored and more crinkly version of collards), so I am surprised to see it called “calaloo kale” here.
Hi Erik! Really appreciate you taking time out to share this with us . Thanks and God Bless!
Girl, you are making me homesick. I want some callaloo NOW!
Sara, I hear you!