You’ll never want store-bought Jerk Marinade after making this super easy, no-fuss homemade version!
There’s nothing I like better than a big batch of Jerk Marinade, the quintessential Jamaican classic marinade, spiked with Scotch bonnet pepper, loads of aromatic ingredients and a hint of Sweetness.
Yes! Jerk maybe of my favorite marinades and always so excited when it comes to using it up in my kitchen.
I usually experiment with the spice mix to find that perfect balance of heat, spice and sweetness.
In all sincerity, it’s all based on preference and cultural background. And to a lesser extent- your mood swings. When am highly stressed and feeling the blues. I make sure it’s FIERY HOT! And sometimes, I turn to throw in more of the spices that I like.
This is my rendition on this famed marinade with some tropical fruits thrown in the mix.
Now believe me when I tell you that Jerk Marinade is quite easy to put together, can be made with pantry staple every day ingredients, easily adjustable to please discerning palates. AND even the little ones can enjoy this too!
Just adjust the scotch bonnet pepper to suit your guests or household.
With only a hint of Scotch bonnet pepper to fiery hot. 
Use this Jerk sauce to make this Jerk Chicken here and you’ll be happy you did
Enjoy!!!
Tips and Suggestions.
- If it is your first time working with Hot peppers use gloves.
- For a more intense Jerk Flavor leave out the fruits and use less than half of the onions.
- Since scotch bonnet pepper are hard to find here in the U.S. Substitute Scotch bonnet pepper with Habanero pepper. Or for am milder taste use habanero peppers and leave out the seeds.
- You can easily make this paleo by omitting the sugar and using honey and/ or coconut sugar instead
You’ll never want store-bought Jerk Marinade after making this super easy, no-fuss homemade version!
- ½- medium onion coarsely chopped
- 4 medium scallions green onions chopped
- 2-3 Tablespoons Fresh Thyme
- 1½ tablespoons fresh ginger chopped
- 8 Garlic cloves chopped
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon powder
- 1 Tablespoon Allspice coarsely ground
- 1 tablespoon coarsely white pepper
- ½ Tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Maggi Sauce or Soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon bouillon powder such as knorr
- 1 cup Fresh Mango, Pineapple(optional)
- 1 or more Scotch Bonnet Pepper adjust to taste
-
In a food processor combine all the ingredients. Adjust for taste and heat level with more or less spice. Refrigerate and use when ready.
- If it is your first time working with Hot peppers use gloves.
- For a more intense Jerk Flavor leave out the fruits and use less than half of the onions.
- Since scotch bonnet pepper are hard to find here in the U.S. Substitute Scotch bonnet pepper with Habanero pepper. Or for am milder taste use habanero peppers and leave out the seeds.
- You can easily make this paleo by omitting the sugar and using honey and/ or coconut sugar instead
What flavor boullion do u use?
I use chicken bouillon.
Just made this yesterday/today for a dinner party with friends. I couldn’t find scotch bonnets so settled with habanero and I added the mango as I had some on hand. Everyone loved it.. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know.
Scotch Bonnet and Habanero are the same pepper. Habanero is what they call the Scotch Bonnet in Latin American countries. Thanks for the recipe. I’m trying it right now!
Not true. They are two different peppers. But they are quite similar.
Correct, two different peppers, but “cousins” is the mos accurate categorization.
I know, well…because I grow them. There is distinct difference, most of which won’t be recognized, but the “trained” eye [and taste buds] can tell.
Thanks for sharing!!!!
I made the marinade and marinated the chicken for 24 hours, then I grilled the chicken using pimento wood chips to smoke the meat. DELICIOUS!
going to make this over the weekend, happened to find actual scotch bonnets at a local grocery store. do i seed the peppers or just throw it in the processor with the seeds? thanks !
Thank you for sharing this DELICIOUS recipe! I just made a batch using pineapple and it is by far the best jerk marinade I have ever made! I’m so glad it freezes well. I’ll be making a double batch next time for sure! This is my first time coming across your recipes. Can’t wait to see what else I find!
Keep on Cookin’
Hey, instead of doing it from scratch.. I have jerk seasoning, can I make paste using the jerk seasoning and some type of liquid maybe?
Thanks
Hi Richelle, I guess it would work . However, it’s not going to be as flavorful as freshly made Jerk .
Hello
Have you ever “canned” this and put it in the pantry. Or do you have to use it right away/in the fridge.
I was thinking of putting it in jars and canning it in hot water. Wondering if the heat will effect it.
Hi Kyle. I’m not knowledgeable enough in “canning” but this is what I do. Blend all the ingredients with very little water, then mix with any cooking oil. Make sure you add some more on top to cover the marinate. Store it tightly covered and put it in the fridge and it would last about a month or more. I also freeze some in ice cube trays and use as needed. Hope this helps.
I’m making this today for fish. When I was in Turks and Caicos this summer, we had this incredible jerk fish served in foil packets right on the beach. My kids and I have been craving it ever since. This marinade looks perfect!
Thank you. Oh how I want to be on the beach right now somewhere in the tropics!
Was this at the Jerk Shack at Beaches Resort? I stumbled into this place on accident when we stayed at the Palms about a 20 minute walk down the beach. I had the jerk fish in foil packets and it was served with whole okra cooked on top. It was super delicious. The server was nice enough to let us eat there even though we weren’t guests of the resort lol
Hey, thank you for this. I plan to try it in the next couple of days. If I want to turn this marinade into a sauce to smear on top when serving, do I just cook down the marinade with some water?
Hi, Dalia! No need to add water if you want to serve this marinade into a sauce. You just have to simmer the remaining marinade about 7 minutes. You can check out my Jerk Chicken recipe here served with this jerk marinade as a sauce. >>> https://www.africanbites.com/jerk-chicken/
You know I honestly don’t know why I bother looking for recipes anywhere other than your web site. Everything I have tried thus far has been a big hit, this one included.
It was wonderful. I did add a BUNCH of habaneros to give it the heat we like.
I have made this nearly every weekend for the past month. We have marinated chicken overnight and then grilled it the next day. YUM!!
Thank you so very much for sharing this recipe. I made it some time ago and my family loves it so much that I now keep some on hand always. We have used it with beef, chicken and pork that has been done on the bbq, in the oven, crock pot and pressure cooker. Has always been a hit!
Awesome, thanks for taking time out to share this with us.
God bless
Dear Imma,
I am about to make your jerk sauce but I have one question. Can I use bottled Scotch Bonnet sauce? I don’t have gloves at the moment and every time I attempt recipes using super hot chili’s etc it always ends with me in tears! Thank you for your help and your recipe I really look forward to making and trying it.
Charly
Hi Charly , Yes you can. Adjust pepper to taste.
I made Jerk chicken with this marinade tonight and have to say the hot frutiness of the marinade was delumptious! Used one Komodo Dragon Chilli which gave the right amount of heat. Can’t imagine what it would me like without the Mango, it’s a must. Thanks for the recipie 🙂
Appreciate your feed back Andrew ! Thank you SO MUCH.
I think I have made the best jerk chicken of my entire life using this recipe. Thank you so much for posting. So much better to make it yourself vs. bottled sauces. One morning I used the remaining jerk sauce to make jerk shrimp and grits. OMG…wonderful.
Wohooo! Kudos to you, Dessina! Glad you love this recipe.
Made this today and have a pork butt marinating over night. Cut up a ribeye and sautéed it with onion and green pepper. Spooned the sauce on with a bit of sour cream for a gravy. Was very good. I did use 1/2 a mango, 2 Tbl of molasses and no hot peppers. Still incredibly flavorful without the heat.
Thank you for sharing those thoughts to us, Kari. Glad it turned out great for you. 🙂
Just made my first batch of this with REAL Scotch Bonnets (homegrown) tonight. They are so much better than habaneros, glad I grew 6 plants this year. Thanks for the recipe, I’ll report back after I use it.
Oh my God just mixed some of this up for jerk chicken on the barbeque. So much better than the bottled stuff. Thank you!
Yaaay! I always go for homemade over store-bought. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback, Martin. Have good one!
I’m Scottish but my friends are carribean and I’m putting on a BBQ today (making the most of the good old British weather) wanted to cook to impress! Hopefully it will all go well and the food goes down a treat! I will keep you posted! The kitchen smelled amazing making it and its been marinating since yesterday so here’s hoping! X
Happy grilling, Kleo! Please do let me know how it turns out for you. 🙂
I didn’t even KNEW what foods was until I had an eat of this, but now Im eating all food all the time!
Thanks for the heart warming words, Brad! Happy cooking!
Can this be canned rather than freezing?
I haven’t canning so can’t say for sure.
If you added lime juice or something else acidic and tested it with a pH strip to make sure it’s at the safe pH level for canning I think it would be safe. It’s hard to guess but if you made it with pineapple it might already be acidic enough.
I absolutely love this marinade recipe, I just can’t get enough of it. I use it on chicken, shrimp, and yellow fin tuna. I’ve tried many other recipes, and what sets this one apart is the sweetness of the mango and the honey. I recently used this marinade to make jerk chicken chili for a pot luck contest at work and it went so fast people were complaining that I didn’t make enough. I would give it 6 stars if I could, absolutely fantastic!
Am SO Thrilled! Thank you so much!!! So happy to hear it was a hit.
Ok so I couldn’t find the jerk I used before in Abu Dhabi so I have been looking for a decent recipe to use in the event that we didn’t bring some from home… I had this saved for a while… but today is the day I discovered empty cupboards… this recipe is great. Didn’t use the fruits as if have to answer too many questions. Couldn’t find scotch bonnet so I used a pack of chilis instead…cheers and thanks
Awesome ! So happy it worked out well for you.
I love this recipe can’t wait to try it. I’m thinking of doing a Jamaica style food truck and this is the recipe I was waiting on. Thank you.
Awesome , glad to be of help. Good Luck with your food truck Business!
FWIW, mine was roughly a double batch and yielded around three pints. I’m freezing the excess. Ihope it survives.
It will ! Mine last a long time frozen.
Surely you’ve made a mistake: The two jerk sauces I could find in the supermarket _BOTH_had water and high fructose corn syrup as their first ingredients!
I sort of combined your recipe with an oldie I found in Vegetarian Times. Yours was more comprehensive, so I leaned more toward it. I made jerk chicken (it marinated for over 24 hours – overkill) last night with red beans and rice. I had some really good ginger ale as well as a cocktail made with rum and pineapple/coconut juice, playing a reggae station on the stereo. I’m in denial of the impending Minnesota winter.
Thanks!
OH BOY! That’s the ONLY way to enjoy it Kraig. What weather? Cheers!
Roughly how much (volume) does one batch make? Also, do you know if it’s possible to preserve it safely thru pressure canning?
It makes about 2 cups depending on ingredients used , maybe more . Not knowledgeable about pressure canning so can’t say for sure. Mine last for about a month in the fridge . With some oil on top of the Jerk sauce and tightly covered.
This picture looks like one from a recipe I lost a long time ago. You state it is two to three servings, but what is the quantity in cups? I am cooking for a large party soon and am excited to try it out!
It’ll yield about 1 to 2 cups depending if you use some fruits .
How much marinade per pound of meat?
About 1/2 cup per pound (adjust with a little less or more )
Hello Ms. Imma,
I am glad that I tried your recipe and it’s a sure Winner!! 🙂 I cannot believe how flavorful it turned out. I did use 1 whole ripe mango and I am going to make another batch tonight. I received so many praises from my friends and family. We all love it! Thanks to you.
Yay! Glad it worked out well for you.
What flavor of powered bouillon
Chicken is best!
Made it without without the pineapples and buillion (to avoid extra calories and sodium)… allowed chicken breast to marinade for five hours before grilling; I will never buy jerk chicken from the Caribbean store again!! Thanks for sharing!!
YES! Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback!
Why call it a marinade when you only describe a sauce? Marinating requires immersion of the chicken for a period of time in a mixture such as this so that it absorbs the flavours before cooking. But you give no instructions for this except as a condiment. I may attempt it as a marinade, and use it as a sauce as well.
It’s because I use it to marinade protein – It’s primarily purpose is for marinating and you can make a sauce out of it, if that’s what rocks you boat.
Happy Cooking!!!
Doug Williams: With regard to your question I find your statment misguided but that you have understood the methodolgy without actually realising it. 1. Based on European ‘cookbook’ terminology and method a sauce traditionally has a liquid consistency. 2. The photographs are clear, ingredients and contents of the article illustrate this. 3. To be correct as a West Indian recipe it would be termed as an all pupose ‘seasoning’. Depending on the ingredient mix …and liquid it can be used for meats as a stuffing, rub, marinade or sauce. If you refer to other recipes you will see she refers back to this recipe to be used in the appropriate context. 4. I assume the recipe was chosen due to previous requests from her audience. The comments reflect cooks who do not need to be told how to use the recipe. They have been given them a basic recipe upon which to make their own mark, which you yourself have stated you will do. ‘…I may attempt it as a marinade, and use it as a sauce as well.’ You show in few lines a journey from text book cooking to exploration. I am sure this is the best compliment she and her audience could have received. Welcome to West Indian cuisine.
I am so looking forward to making this recipe. I had jerk pasta chicken alfredo for the first time a few months ago and I am in LOVE but I live 36 miles from Jamaica Mi Irie restaurant. What flavor bullion powder do you use?
Hi Barbara! Chicken is the one that I use most often.
Has anyone actually made this recipe and provided some usefullfeedback?
Hi Petran! I have used this marinade in other recipes like this one here and here . Check it out and see what other readers are saying
We are all at different levels so I suggest only way to know if it works is to try it yourself.
This recipe is the best as long as you have a food processor!
Thanks!
I was thinking the same thing. We know it sounds good but how does it taste?
It’s spicy, slight sweet with some fruit undertones.
I am SO trying this!!! I can’t find any store bought jerk that compares to the stuff I fell in love with as a kid. I tried to ask my dad where to get it, but he said it is usually SO expensive that he waits for when he goes to visit family in NY to buy it. I’ve made my own jerk powder seasoning, which I typically add right before cooking. And I’ve bought both the cheap commercial marinade and the more expensive “authentic” looking stuff (still not what I remember my dad using). So far it has worked pretty well, marinating for a few hours in the expensive stuff, then adding the powder, then using the cheap stuff as a glaze in the last 30 minutes or so of grilling. Since the marinades are sub-par, I feel like using ALL of them is necessary LOL! But I typically LOVE making everything from scratch — free from additives and preservatives. Plus I think the addition of pineapple makes for a great tenderizer for chicken. I usually add pineapple juice when I marinade. AND I love your idea of freezing it in cubes; I do this with fresh herbs and even homemade bone stock. Soon I’m going to need a bigger freezer!!
Sorry for the novel but I am just SOOO excited!! Thank you so much for this recipe! <3
No apologies here. I can go and on when it comes to cooking too! I LOVE hearing back from readers. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. Happy cooking!!!
Imma,to be honest you make dishes so simple as ABC! Keep up the good work girl and THANKS.
You are too kind girl. Thank so you so much.
Hey Imma,
Awesome Recipe !
How long will it hold in the fridge ?
Does it spoil quickly ?
It doesn’t get bad quickly. This is what I do. Blend all the ingredients with very little water. Then mix with any cooking oil. Make sure you add some more on top to cover the marinate . Refrigerate and it would last about a month or more. I have some in the fridge and it’s been there for over 5 weeks now. Happy Cooking!!!
Great recipe, thanks for posting it. How long will it last in the fridge?
Thanks! I usually freeze it in ice cube tray and use as needed. However, I have a batch that has been in the fridge now for over two weeks. What I do is add enough oil to cover the marinate. Saving it for 4th of July.
I’m from the islands so I grew up being used to Jerk and loved it since the first time I had it and can feel the burn for days. Jerk sauce goodness. My Aunty I grew up with use to make it as we had a farm on the islands and she had all the ingredients. I never had a clue how she made it, but many the ingredients I knew like Allspice, Thyme, Brown Sugar, Scotch Bonnet Peppers which we grew on our farm. I wasn’t sure about rest of ingredients. Since leaving the islands I’ve used Jerk Sauce like WW which is really good, but never quite knowing how to make my own exactly. This recipe will save me from having to constantly buy jars of WW Jerk sauce and now make my own. And since I’ve got over 10lbs of Caribbean Scotch Bonnet peppers in my Freezer I can make plenty of this Jerk sauce with some variations. Thanks for the post!!
My Pleasure Henry! 10lbs of Caribbean Scotch bonnet peppers ? Oh Boy! I want some of that. In my neck of the woods they are so hard to get. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
Interesting recipe! Never heard of jerk marinade. Good to know. Would love to give it a try.
My husband tried jerk chicken once and said he loved it. This marinade sounds pretty straight forward and I think I can easily make one at home 🙂
You sure can.
I could practically feel my taste buds tingling from the chili peppers. I first tasted jerk chicken when I came to Dubai but have never found a marinade that comes to close to that taste. Your chicken looks just like it!
I have never tried a jerk marinade. I am noting ingredients I will need to make this!!
Sad to say that I am one of the people who buys Jerk Marinade from the store. SO over excited to find your recipes as I would love to make it myself.
Now you can Bintu it’s so easy to put together
How long can I store this in the fridge
Mine lasted about a month.