Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
Creamy, buttery, and satisfying Jamaican ackee and saltfish is a traditional dish that will broaden your breakfast horizons and give you a delightfully unique taste sensation. You may not be familiar with one or two ingredients, but believe me when I say this breakfast is fit for a queen (or king).
Ackee may not be very popular in the States, but it’s a legendary fruit in Jamaica—that’s right, a fruit. And I enjoyed plenty on my last trip to the island because this West African fruit grows all over Jamaica. Plus, it goes so well with saltfish (salt-preserved cod).
What Makes Ackee Special
This savory member of the lychee family has a creamy, delicate texture. At first glance, it looks like soft scrambled eggs, right? There are two types: butter and cheese. The buttery one is soft and mashable, while the cheese one holds its shape like curd. Both taste slightly nutty and take on the flavors of whatever they’re cooked with.
Unripe fruit is highly toxic, so if getting it fresh, please make sure it’s completely ripe. If you don’t live where it grows and don’t have a Caribbean market near you, Amazon is just a click away.
How to Make Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
- Drain the ackee, cut up the soaked saltfish, fry the bacon, and sauté the aromatics.
- Add the seasonings, tomatoes, bell peppers, Scotch bonnet, and cook for a few minutes. Add the saltfish, then add the ackee and cook gently. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- If you can’t find salted codfish (bacalao), use fresh tilapia or cod instead. Cut it into pieces and cook through before adding the ackee. You may also need to add more salt to your taste.
- Scotch bonnets are quite hot, so if you aren’t a fan of spicy dishes, replace the pepper with a milder pepper, like aji dulce, or leave it out altogether.
- Scrambled eggs, tofu, and steamed and diced cauliflower are delicious substitutes if you can’t find ackee.
- While you can’t legally get fresh ackee in the U.S. because it can be toxic if not fully ripe, canned ackee is considered safe.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
Ackee is best served fresh, but you can make it the day before if needed. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge, and heat it over medium heat on your stovetop when ready to eat it. The texture won’t be the same, but it’s still good.
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-3 days. I don’t recommend freezing it because the ackee can turn mushy.
What Goes With Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
This dish is delicious with festivals, Caribbean boiled dumplings, fried plantains, and callaloo. You could also opt for baked plantains. If making it for dinner, make rice and peas for a satisfying meal.
More Soul-Satisfying Jamaican Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in September 2015 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful images.
Jamaican Ackee and Saltfish
Ingredients
- ½ pound (226g) boneless salted cod
- 1 19-ounce can ackee, drained
- 4-6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon (3g) minced garlic
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 small bell pepper, sliced
- 1 teaspoon (2g) freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon (2g) paprika (optional)
- 1 Scotch bonnet, habanero, or ½ teaspoon ground cayenne
Instructions
- Soak salt cod in water overnight, drain, cut into cubes, and set it aside. Drain the canned ackee and set it aside.
- Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp (3-5 minutes).
- Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour out all but a tablespoon or two of the bacon drippings and save them for another recipe.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan, and sauté for about a minute, occasionally stirring to prevent burning.
- Add the thyme, green onions, and tomatoes, and continue cooking for about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the bell pepper, black pepper, paprika, and Scotch bonnet until thoroughly combined, and cook for another 5 minutes, adding water if needed.
- Finally, toss in the saltfish and cook for a few minutes. Add the ackee, cook for about 3 minutes more, and adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Remove from the heat, let it cool slightly, and garnish with the bacon.
Tips & Notes:
- Be careful when cooking ackee since it’s delicate and falls apart easily. Add it towards the end when only about 3-5 minutes are left, and avoid continuous stirring.
- Salted codfish is quite salty. Soak it in water overnight to rehydrate and remove excess salt. You can boil it to remove even more. But definitely don’t add any extra salt to this recipe.
- Take advantage of those bacon drippings left in the pan after cooking. You may want to remove some but leave 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan to sauté the other ingredients for an extra flavor boost.
- FYI, you can’t find fresh ackee in the U.S. because it can be toxic. However, the canned ackee has been inspected by the FDA and is considered safe.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
This is a great recipe.
This recipe reminds me of Palm Sunday morning and mother’s recipe with the exception of plantains which I’m going to incorporate to this recipe. It’s just simple succulent. Thank you for this recipe, truly appreciate it.
Thank you, Lester! I’m happy you loved this! 🙂
Simple and easy saltfish and ackee. (my rhyme lol) This recipe was delicious and easy. I love ackee and saltfish and haven’t made it in years. This really took the guesswork out and helped me connect so deep with all of the yummies in my tummy. Thanks for another banga Imma.
Glad you enjoyed it . Thanks for the feedback!
Real Jamaicans don’t use bacon
Leave it out , if it is not your thing .
Immaculate bites! If this is a recipe for kings and queens then you are officially a queen! Tastes just like how my family makes it. Made this for my boyfriend and he loved it.
YESS!!!
Perfect recipe, tastes just like when I get it from a restaurant! Thank you so much, simply love your recipes!
Thank you for the compliment. I truly appreciate it!
Delicious recipe! Thx for the bacon info.
It’s funny I never realized that for Ackee & Saltfish, but as a habit, I cook down a few pieces of bacon to get some of that flavorful grease in my cabbage & a few other recipes. So, I am very familiar with the value of this chef technique or step!.
The only thing your recipe is missing is the dumpling! I don’t like the fried one on the side. I love the wet dumpling cooked in with this dish. Any suggestions for that or maybe you’ll add an alternative recipe?
Last thing! I’m in NYC & usually have a frozen bag of salted fish. It doesn’t taste as good as the one my friends brings back from Jamaica. What’s the best salted fish I can use for this recipe aside from the frozen supermarket type? Thank you!
Thanks Michelle,
Would definitely need to try it out before offering any suggestions .As for the salted fish , I think it all depends on the quality of your salted fish . The one from the Caribbeans deftly taste much better, no comparison to the frozen ones here.
Love the ackee and saltfish I’ve been looking for jamaican /African dishes glad I’ve found your site
Love the ackee(where has it been all my life).
Thanks
Shout out from Canada! This recipe does this Jamaican national dish (one of many delicacies) great justice. I also like to add some fried okra to pan for a taste and texture…an addition a Kingstonian chef shared with me. I love your tip that it can be prepared in advance!
I’m so happy I found your website and this recipe! It’s one of my favorites and I no longer live in NYC where I could get it whenever I wanted. Thank you so much for posting. Looking forward to trying all of your caribbean recipes 😀
Glad to have you on board . So happy to hear the recipes are working out well. Thanks for the feedback.
Only reason I give four not five stars is cause my Jamaican mother-in-law gets the five, akee and saltfish with journey cakes ( Johnny Cakes ) for breakfast / brunch es mejor!
Hahaha. Okay, now I want to eat your mother-in-law’s own :). Thank you for stopping by, Stephen!
Have never tried this recipe with bacon but just the mention of bacon makes my mouth water!
Do we add the bacon back in at some point?
Yes you do, right before removing from the stove. You can also garnish with bacon right before serving .
Is Saltfish dried or fresh?
It’s dried fish. Soaked overnight
Where can I buy saltfish?
They are available at most international, Hispanic or Caribbean Markets .
Cold very Purewater can work well for desalting Saltfish as an option without having to do much boiling and having it shrink a bit. You will have to change the water a few times of course every couple hours after initially just washing the salt of the fish under the tap. The fish also shrink less due to no or less intense boiling. I often do this since I have a purewater system at my kitchen sink.
Do enjoy the dish very much though, looks so pretty.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen this recipe with bacon and tomatoes added to the dish which is the only way my mother prepared it. I always search the Internet to see if anyone has reinvented anything usually cook and I came across your dish because it looked so pretty and I know it tastes a delightful as it looks.
Thanks,
Lisa
Thank you! It sure does. And bacon makes everything taste so much better!!!
Great recipe and it looks delicious, however, i could do without the bacon.
Thanks . Leave it out , if it is not your thing.
I’m slightly confused. Is the ackee supposed to be boiled because my parents do that.
Yes, you have to boil the fresh ones which are not available here in the U.S. This is the canned version. It’s been boiled already.
Ooooohh! Really helpful. Thanks so much!
I live in Florida and many people, myself included have ackee trees. Fresh ackee is the best, but canned can work too. Just an FYI. : )
Yes and you can find fresh ackee in some Caribbean/specialty stores, like oxtails and foodtown as well
You do need to boil the canned ackee also for 10 minutes . Find even tin ackee not quite tender. . Love bacon addition.
**Drools** You did my national dish some justice girl, so proud of you. You have the thumbs up from me, I haven’t eaten ackee and saltfish since Easter, can you believe it?
Thumbs up from Charlene ? Yay!!! Now you have got to make some, how can you resist it for so long. Thanks Girl!!!
Thanks for pinning Bintu! You are so going to love it
You know I did not realise that Ackee was a fruit. i have pinned this as I want to make both this and the dumplings.
Oh Imma, I hear your pain! I love your new-look site though, the colour palette especially!! Stay patient, it will work out. Always does 🙂
Thanks Nagi! It’s working out already!!! And am excited for what’s to come.
Got your email concerning this recipe and your website update. Hang in there – website updates are rough! I updated mine this past summer and wow – about went crazy! Thanks for the terrific recipes and I LOVE your photos!
Hi Wendi! Thanks for taking the time to share your own experience. It’s just September blues… Am fired up for October