Pigeon Peas Soup

A hearty soup, with a deep earthy flavor of pigeon peas with ground provisions and dumplings. Always a crowd pleaser, pigeon peas soup is a favorite for soup Saturday.

There are some soups that just make you smile when you put that first spoon in your mouth. And that for me is pigeon peas soup.

Each spoon is filled with a deep, flavorful broth, and topped with dumplings, meat, and a host of ground provisions including sweet potato and plantain. And this soup does not miss that mark.

It is everything you want in a soup whether it’s cold winter or not.

Caribbean people just loved soup which is why “Soup Saturday” is a huge thing.

And if you just looove pigeon peas like I do, my stewed pigeon peas are just as good as this soup.

What Does Pigeon Peas Taste Like?

Pigeon peas have these nutty or as I refer to them, an earthy taste.

When you bite into them there’s a crisp casing, then a soft inside.

Though we call them “peas”, they are really beans that are round and small and grow in a pod. They are referred to as peas just because of their size and shape.

The color of a pigeon pea pod can be from bright green when it is young to brown (sometimes brown and splotchy) to dark brown as it matures. The inner pea itself can be bright green to a lighter yellow.

How To Make Pigeon Peas Soup

Ingredients

Though the peas are the main star of the show, like we do with all our soups, it’s accompanied by ground provisions and fresh herbs and spices.

All these flavors just really create a great soup that works perfectly on a cold day or even great on a hot day.

• Pigeon peas (fresh, if available)
• Garlic, onions, chive, celery, and fresh thyme
• Pumpkin, sweet potato, Irish potato, carrots, and plantain
• Stock, coconut milk powder, and a pinch of cloves
• Scotch bonnet pepper, sugar, salt, and oil
• Flour for thickening
• Smoked turkey neck (optional)
• Water

Instructions

1. Prep the Dumplings: Mix flour and water for dumplings, set aside. For variety, try cassava or cornmeal dumplings.
2. Sauté: In a deep pot, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté garlic until brown, then add frozen pigeon peas. Stir for 5 minutes to prevent sticking.
3. Cook Peas: Add 2 cups of water to cover peas, and cook until tender. Add more water if needed.
4. Add Smoked Turkey: Add turkey neck (if using), 2 cups hot water, and cook until the meat is tender and peas are soft enough to mash.
5. Add Remaining Ingredients: Add the remaining water, coconut milk, and all provisions (pumpkin, carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, and plantains). Shape dumplings into spinners and drop them in. Boil for 20 minutes.
6. Season: Stir in sugar, cloves, salt, and black pepper. Continue boiling until provisions are tender and dumplings float.
7. Serve: Enjoy hot!

Tips

• If using frozen pigeon peas, use them from frozen. There is no need to defrost those pigeon peas.
• If using dried pigeon peas (from the pack), soak them overnight with a teaspoon of baking powder to aid with the soaking. After overnight soaking, boil the peas with garlic until soft.
• You can use canned pigeon peas also. Just adjust the time to cook to get tender to less time since they are basically already split pigeon peas.

Substitutions

I know everyone has their favorite type of things they like in their soups. Don’t like this type of ground provision or don’t like this type of meat. So here are some alternatives that you can switch out.

• Other types of ground provisions: Sweet potatoes (also known as yams in some US stores); cassava (yucca), dasheen( taro root) or tannia are other great options. Green bananas are also good additions.
• Alternative meats: Instead of the smoked bones, some like pig tails or beef (with or without bone). If using pigtails, you must boil the pigtail prior to cooking.
• Omit the meat: I love adding the smoked turkey but you can make a meat-free version.
• Broth: If you want to add additional levels of flavor, you can use broth instead of water. Any type of broth can be used vegetable broth or beef are good ones.

Storage & Reheating

This soup can be stored in the fridge for up to two days in an air-tight container.

It also is a great soup to freeze. And is good for up to a month. I would not make it stay longer there due to the dumplings.

You can portion the soup out into individual serving sizes so that you can reheat it as wanted.

Reheating

• To reheat from the fridge: the best method, like with most soups with provisions, is to put on the stovetop on medium heat, add a little warm water and bring it to a boil and let it simmer
• To reheat from frozen: Remove soup from the fridge and let it defrost overnight. Then continue to warm up as mentioned above.

More Saturday Soup Options:

• Corn soup
• Oxtail soup
• Conch soup
• Fish soup

Frequently Asked Questions

Recipe

Pigeon Peas Soup

A hearty soup, with a deep earthy flavor of pigeon peas with ground provisions and dumplings. Always a crowd please Pigeon peas soup is a favorite for soup Saturday.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Caribbean

Calories: 365

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

For Dumplings

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup water

For Soup

• 28 ounces of frozen pigeon peas
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 stalks of celery chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cubed pumpkin
• 1 cup cubed sweet potato
• 1 cup diced Irish potato
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced green plantain
• 6 cups water
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1-2 hot pepper
• Coconut powder milk mixture 1 cup water + 4 tablespoons coconut powder
• 2 stalks of fresh thyme
• 4 cloves
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method

 

For Dumplings

1. Add water to flour and mix
2. Separate into small balls or long thick logs

For Soup

1. On medium heat add oil to the pot then add garlic until it starts to brown.
2. Add frozen peas to the pot and stir for five minutes. Stirring constantly so it does not stick.
3. Add two cups of water to the pot and let the peas boil until it starts to get tender.
4. Once tender, add the smoked bones and an additional two cups of hot water.
5. Continue to cook until the meat is cooked and you can mash the peas with a spoon until tender.
6. Once the meat is tender, add the remaining ingredients: carrots, celery, pumpkin, plantains, onions, and potatoes. And continue to boil for about 20 minutes
7. Add dumplings and clove to the pot.
8. When dumplings have floated to the top add sugar and salt and pepper to taste
9. Serve hot

Nutrition

Calories: 365kcal

Notes

If using green plantains, adding oil to the water helps your pot from getting stained.

You can boil with the skin off if you wish.

You can cut the plantain into chunks so that it fits better in your pot if needed.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!