Have a good time The Season With These Flavorful Caribbean Vacation Dishes

By Madelyn Herrera

Information Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Oct. 24, 2025: The Caribbean is understood for its sunshine, music, and hospitality and throughout the vacation season, the islands come alive with aromas that inform tales of heritage, household, and festivity. From savory stews simmering in a single day to candy breads baked with love, Christmas within the Caribbean is as a lot in regards to the meals as it’s in regards to the celebration. Should you’re planning your subsequent winter getaway, these iconic vacation dishes may enable you to determine which island to go to – one plate at a time. Or you may make these iconic Caribbean vacation dishes at house this season and convey the Caribbean to your desk.

Guyana: Pepper Pot

Guyana’s nationwide dish, Pepper Pot, is the guts of each Guyanese Christmas morning. This wealthy, slow-cooked meat stew – made with beef or oxtail, cassareep – a thick brown syrup from the Amerindians, comprised of grated cassava root, cinnamon, and scorching peppers, is historically served with do-it-yourself bread or cassava bread. The dish dates again to the Amerindian individuals and symbolizes togetherness, as it may be reheated and shared for days.

Recipe for Pepper Pot

Components:

• 2–3 lbs. stewing beef, oxtail, or cow heel (or a combination)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 massive onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1–2 scorching peppers (like wiri wiri or Scotch bonnet)
• ½ cup cassareep (obtainable on Amazon and in Caribbean shops)
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 3-4 cloves
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• Salt to style
• Water, as wanted

Technique

1. Warmth oil in a big pot over medium warmth and brown the meat in batches till seared.
2. Add chopped onion, garlic and scorching peppers. Stir and cook dinner for 2-3 minutes.
3. Combine in cassareep, cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar. Stir to coat the meat.
4. Pour in sufficient water to only cowl the meat and convey to a boil.
5. Scale back warmth to low and simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring sometimes, till the meat is tender and the sauce thickens.
6. Season with salt to style and take away from warmth.
7. Serve scorching with Guyanese plait bread for dipping-the dish tastes even higher the following day because the flavors deepen.

Jamaica: Curried Goat And Black Cake

In Jamaica, the festive desk isn’t full with out Curried Goat, a dish that blends Indian and African influences into a wonderfully seasoned celebration. Served alongside rice and peas, it’s a should at household gatherings. However dessert steals the highlight: Jamaican Black Cake, made with soaked fruits, burnt sugar, and a beneficiant pour of rum. It’s dense, decadent, and deeply conventional.

Recipe For Curried Goat

Components:

• 2 lbs. goat meat (minimize into medium items)
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, minced (optionally available for warmth)
• 1 tsp all-purpose seasoning or salt to style
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 cups of water

Technique:

1. Season the goat meat with curry powder, onion, garlic, thyme, scallions, pepper, and salt. Let it marinate for at the very least 1 hour, or in a single day for deeper taste.
2. Warmth oil in a Dutch Oven pot and add a small spoon of curry powder – toast for 30 seconds to launch the flavour.
3. Add the marinated meat and brown on all sides.
4. Add water to cowl the meat and convey to a boil.
5. Decrease the warmth and simmer for 1½–2 hours, stirring sometimes, till the goat is tender and the sauce thickens.
6. Alter seasoning to style and serve scorching with white rice or rice and peas.

Recipe For Black Cake

Components:

• 2 cups combined dried fruits (raisins, prunes, currants, cherries)
• 1 cup darkish rum
• 1 cup pink wine
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp combined spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice mix)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Recipe:

1. Soak the dried fruits in rum and wine for at the very least per week (or longer – the extra time, the richer the flavour).
2. Cream butter and sugar collectively till mild and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one by one, then add the blended soaked fruits and vanilla.
4. In one other bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and combined spice. Steadily fold into the fruit combination.
5. Pour batter right into a greased baking tin and bake at 325°F (160°C) for about 1½ hours or till a skewer comes out clear.
6. As soon as baked, brush the highest with additional rum whereas heat to maintain it moist.
7. Let cool earlier than slicing – it’s historically served throughout Christmas gatherings and reward exchanges.

Trinidad & Tobago: Pastelles And Sorrel

Pastelles are small cornmeal pies stuffed with seasoned beef, rooster, or fish, wrapped in banana leaves and these tasty treats are a Christmas staple throughout Trinidad & Tobago. Making them is a household affair, usually taking days of preparation. To accompany the pastelles and add to the Christmas spirit, locals sip Sorrel, a tangy pink drink brewed from hibiscus petals, spiced with cloves, cinnamon, and a touch of rum. Collectively, they outline a Trini Christmas.

Recipe For Pastelles

Components (for six–8 pastelles):

• 2 cups cornmeal (masa or superb corn flour)
• 1 cup of rooster or beef broth
• 1 lb. floor beef, rooster, or fish
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped (optionally available)
• Salt and black pepper to style
• Banana leaves (or parchment paper) for wrapping
• Oil for cooking

Technique:

1. Warmth a bit of oil in a pan and sauté onion, garlic, and Scotch bonnet pepper till aromatic.
2. Add floor meat or fish, tomato paste, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cook dinner till meat is totally cooked and the combination is dry.
3. Combine cornmeal with broth to type a mushy dough.
4. Minimize banana leaves into 8–10 inch squares and frivolously warmth to make pliable.
5. Unfold a spoonful of cornmeal dough onto the leaf, add a scoop of filling, and fold right into a neat packet. Safe with kitchen string if wanted.
6. Steam the pastelles for 30–40 minutes till cooked by. Serve heat together with your favourite chutney or sauce.

Recipe For Sorrel

Components (serves 6–8):

• 2 cups dried sorrel (hibiscus petals)
• 4 cups water
• 1 – 2 inches recent ginger, sliced
• 4–6 entire cloves
• 1 – 2 cups sugar (to style)
• 1 – 2 cups rum (optionally available)
• Cinnamon sticks for garnish

Technique:

1. Boil water with ginger and cloves for five minutes.
2. Add dried sorrel and simmer for 10-Quarter-hour till the liquid is darkish pink.
3. Pressure the combination right into a pitcher, discarding solids.
4. Stir in sugar whereas heat till dissolved.
5. Chill for a number of hours or in a single day. Add rum simply earlier than serving if desired.
6. Serve over ice, garnished with cinnamon sticks for a festive vacation contact.

Barbados: Jug Jug And Nice Cake

In Barbados, the vacations carry Jug Jug, a dish impressed by Scotland’s haggis however reimagined with Caribbean aptitude. It’s comprised of pigeon peas, guinea corn flour, salted beef, and herbs – and it’s served with baked ham or roasted pork. For dessert, Bajans take pleasure in Nice Cake, one other rum-soaked deal with that displays the island’s love of daring flavors and celebration.

Recipe For Jug Jug

Components (serves 4–6):

• 1 cup pigeon peas (or cut up peas), soaked in a single day
• 2 cups guinea cornmeal (or cornmeal)
• 1 lb. salted beef or pork, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp of butter or oil
• 1 tsp thyme
• Salt and black pepper to style
• Water, as wanted

Technique:

1. Boil pigeon peas in water till tender, then drain.
2. In a big pan, sauté onion, garlic, and salted meat in butter till aromatic.
3. Steadily stir in cornmeal, mixing effectively to keep away from lumps.
4. Add cooked peas and thyme, stirring to mix.
5. Pour in sufficient water to create a thick, porridge-like consistency.
6. Simmer on low warmth for 20–Half-hour, stirring sometimes, till thickened.
7. Alter seasoning to style and serve scorching with baked ham or roasted meats.

Recipe For Nice Cake

Components:

• 2 cups of combined dried fruits (raisins, currants, prunes, cherries)
• 1 cup darkish rum
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp combined spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Technique:

1. Soak the dried fruits in rum for at the very least per week for deep taste.
2. Cream butter and sugar till mild and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs one by one, then fold in soaked fruits and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and combined spice. Steadily fold into the fruit combination.
5. Pour batter right into a greased baking tin and bake at 325°F (160°C) for 1–1½ hours, till a skewer comes out clear.
6. Let cool earlier than slicing and serving; historically loved throughout Christmas gatherings.

5: Puerto Rico: Pernil and Coquito

Puerto Ricans know the way to have fun Navidad in fashion – and it begins with Pernil, a slow-roasted marinated pork shoulder with crispy pores and skin and tender meat. It’s often paired with Arroz con Gandules (rice with pigeon peas), and for a candy sip, there’s Coquito – the island’s well-known coconut-based vacation drink that rivals eggnog. Made with condensed milk, cinnamon, and rum, Coquito embodies Puerto Rico’s festive spirit.

Recipe for Pernil

Components (serves 6–8):

• 4-5 lbs. pork shoulder, pores and skin on
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp floor cumin
• Juice of two oranges (or use a mixture of orange and lime juice)

Technique:

1. Rating the pork pores and skin in a crisscross sample to assist crisp it throughout roasting.
2. Combine garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, oregano, and cumin right into a paste.
3. Rub the combination all around the pork, ensuring to get below the pores and skin the place doable.
4. Pour orange juice over the pork and let marinate for at the very least 4 hours or in a single day.
5. Roast in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 3-4 hours, basting sometimes with pan juices.
6. Enhance the warmth to 425°F (220°C) for the final 20-Half-hour to crisp the pores and skin.
7. Let relaxation for 10–Quarter-hour earlier than slicing and serving with rice and beans.

Recipe For Coquito

Components (serves 6–8):

• 2 cups of coconut milk
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• ½ cup white rum (alter to style)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp floor cinnamon
• ¼ tsp floor nutmeg

Technique:

1. Mix coconut milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk in a blender.
2. Add rum, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix till clean.
3. Chill within the fridge for at the very least 2-3 hours.
4. Shake or stir effectively earlier than serving, as elements might settle.
5. Serve in small glasses, garnished with a sprinkle of cinnamon on prime.
6. Retailer within the fridge for as much as per week; shake earlier than every serving.

6: The Bahamas: Guava Duff And Ham

Christmas in The Bahamas is incomplete with out Guava Duff, a rolled pudding made with recent guava, butter, and spices, then topped with a rum or brandy sauce. Bahamians additionally take pleasure in glazed ham, peas and rice, and macaroni pie on Christmas Day. The mix of candy and savory flavors captures the heat of Bahamian vacation hospitality.

Recipe For Guava Duff

INGREDIENTS

12 recent guavas.

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice, floor

4 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, overwhelmed

Rum/Brandy Butter Components:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp boiling water; sprint of salt

2 tbsp rum or brandy to style

METHOD

Peel guavas; minimize in half and take away seeds.

Cube the fruit and pressure to take away juice.

 Save juice to taste sauce if desired.

Put fruit in saucepan with water to cowl; add sugar, cinnamon and allspice.

Simmer till fruit is mushy.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt.

Minimize in shortening.

Stir in milk and egg to type a mushy dough.

Knead till clean.

Roll out like a jelly roll on a floured board.

Place the guava items on the middle of the dough and roll over till the dough is spiraled with guava.

Seal edges fastidiously.

Wrap dough in a cotton or linen bag, or foil and parchment paper, tie the highest securely and put into a big pot of boiling water for 1 hour or extra if essential to set the duff.

Rum/Brandy Butter Instructions:

Cream butter till mushy however not melted.

Beat confectioners’ sugar in progressively.

Add boiling water, salt and rum or brandy.

Beat till clean and fluffy.

Serving Ideas:

Minimize the guava duff loaf into one-inch broad slices and add a dollop a tablespoon of the rum/brandy butter excessive so it soaks into the steamed, candy duff.

Recipe For Ham

Components  

• 1 small skinless ham [2 – 2.5 kg or 4 – 5 lbs.]
• 150 grams brown sugar [approximately 5.5 ounces]
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 1 bottle pink wine [approximately 34 ounces]
• 1 massive inexperienced pepper rinsed, ribs and seeds eliminated, roughly chopped
• 5 bay leaves
• 1/2 bunch parsley chopped
• 10 cloves
• 1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
• 1 small can pineapple rings
• 5 glacée cherries halved

Technique

• Add pink wine to a big pot and convey to a boil. Add the ham, bell pepper, bay leaves, parsley, onion, garlic and brown sugar.  Scale back warmth and simmer for 1 hour.1 small skinless ham [2 – 2.5 kg or 4 – 5 lbs.],150 grams brown sugar [approximately 5.5 ounces],1 bottle pink wine [approximately 34 ounces],1 massive inexperienced pepper,5 bay leaves,1/2 bunch parsley,1 onion,5 cloves garlic
• Take away ham and let it sit for Half-hour.
• Preheat oven to 180°C [350°F].
• With a pointy knife, notch 10 small diamonds within the prime of the ham and insert a clove into every diamond.10 cloves
• Brush ham with the honey and cook dinner within the oven for 45 minutes.4 tablespoons honey
• Take away ham from the oven, take away cloves and garnish with pineapple rings and cherries. Cook dinner within the oven for an additional 10 minutes till the pineapple and cherries are good and shiny.1 small can pineapple rings,5 glacée cherries
• Take away ham from the oven and permit to chill for at the very least Quarter-hour earlier than slicing and serving.

7: Haiti: Diri Djon Djon and Kremas

In Haiti, the season brings Diri Djon Djon – black mushroom rice that takes on a wealthy, earthy colour and taste distinctive to Haitian delicacies. It’s usually served with fried meats and spicy pikliz. The vacation drink of alternative is Kremas, a creamy, spiced beverage made with coconut milk, condensed milk, nutmeg, and rum. Candy, robust, and festive, it’s the style of Haitian pleasure.

Recipe For Diri Djon Djon

Components (serves 6–8):

2 Cups of Dried Black Mushrooms (djon djon)

6 garlic cloves minced

1/4-cup olive oil

1 massive onion chopped

2 cups long-grain rice

2 teaspoons salt

1 tsp Black pepper

1 (12-ounce) frozen lima beans (or inexperienced peas)

1 to 2 thyme sprigs

1tsp chopped Scotch bonnet pepper

Technique

1: In a small pot, soak mushrooms in 4 cups water in a single day.

2: Pressure the mushroom water into one other container for later use. Throw out the mushrooms within the strainer.

3: In a big pot, sauté garlic and onions on medium warmth for two minutes.

4: Add the rice and stir for 3-5 min.

5: Add the mushroom water, salt and lima beans.

6: Carry the water to a boil and cut back the warmth, when many of the water evaporates (roughly 10-15 min).

7: Stir the rice and decrease the flame.

8: Add Scotch bonnet pepper and thyme.

9: Cowl the pot and steam the rice for Quarter-hour till executed.

Recipe For Kremas

Components  

• 2 cans sweetened condensed milk 14oz.
• 1 can evaporated milk 12 oz.
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white rum then add to style
• 1/2 can cream of coconut 15 oz

Directions 

Serve chilled. Take pleasure in!

METHOD

In a big bowl or pitcher, add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream of coconut, rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, almond, and vanilla.2 cans sweetened condensed milk,1 can evaporated milk,1 tsp lemon zest,1 tsp nutmeg,1 tsp almond extract,2 tsp vanilla extract,1/2 cup white rum,1/2 can cream of coconut,1 tsp cinnamon

Stir effectively.

Pour into glass bottles and chill in fridge.

8: Dominican Republic: Pastelón And Ponche

Within the Dominican Republic, households collect over Pastelón, a layered plantain and beef casserole, the island’s model of lasagna, and Moro de Guandules or rice with pigeon peas cooked in coconut milk. The pastelón is called the second hottest dish utilizing plantains and at all times part of the Vacation feast. Their festive drink, Ponche Dominicano, is just like eggnog however richer and spiked with native rum, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Recipe For Pastelón

Components (serves 6–8):

• 3 massive ripe plantains, peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 1 lb. floor beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheese (optionally available)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Technique:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and frivolously grease a baking dish.
2. Fry plantain slices in oil till golden and mushy; drain on paper towels.
3. In a pan, sauté onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Add floor beef, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook dinner till beef is browned and combination is dry.
4. Layer fried plantains on the backside of the baking dish, then unfold half the meat combination on prime.
5. Repeat layers, ending with plantains; sprinkle cheese on prime if desired.
6. Bake for 25–Half-hour till heated by and cheese is melted.

Recipe For Ponche

Components (serves 6–8):

• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup darkish rum (alter to style)
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp floor cinnamon
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg

Technique:

1. In a saucepan, gently warmth milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk, stirring always.
2. Beat eggs in a bowl, then slowly whisk in a small quantity of the nice and cozy milk to mood.
3. Steadily pour egg combination again into the saucepan, stirring always over low warmth till barely thickened (don’t boil).
4. Take away from warmth and stir in vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and rum.
5. Chill for at the very least 2 hours earlier than serving.
6. Serve in small glasses with a sprinkle of cinnamon on prime.