Caribbean food is my favorite food. Specially authentic Belizean and Jamaican foods. I would say my biased lies in the fact that I’m Belizean on my mother’s side and Jamaican on my father’s side. But if you’ve ever eaten a traditional Belizean or Jamaican dish you more than likely agree with me. One of my favorite sides to prepare with my authentic Jamaican dishes is Jamaican steamed cabbage. It pairs perfectly with most Jamaican dishes if I’m honest.
I first started teaching myself how to make this Jamaican steamed cabbage by watching my sisters’ Dad cook when I was growing up. Between those years I’ve done more taste testing at Jamaican restaurants to perfect the flavors I want on my own steamed cabbage dish. This was the hardest part because if you know anything about Caribbean cooking, nobody measures ANYTHING. The expert family cooks just know when to start and stop. It’s truly a gift. A gift I’ve been working on myself. However, in admiring that gift, I realized I wanted to do my best to share an authentic Jamaican steamed cabbage recipe with you.
One of my favorite dishes to prepare this Jamaican steamed cabbage with is bully beef and rice. Or, corned beef, as most people know it. It’s quick, easy, and tastes like you were in the kitchen cooking for hours. This combo is also one of my favorite comfort foods. It just fills your heart and soul up in a way I can’t fully explain.
With many trials and errors and testing of this recipe, I have finally created a taste test worthy steamed cabbage I feel confident to share with others. As always, you can adjust the seasonings to your liking. To get started you will need:
Jamaican Steamed Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1/2 Head of Cabbage
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1/2 Sweet Onion
- 1/2 Bell Pepper any color you prefer
- 6-8 Baby Carrots
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Seasoned Salt
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme or 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper *optional: VERY SPICY PEPPER*
Instructions
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Roughly chop your cabbage and rinse the chopped cabbage in a strainer. Set to the side.
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Dice or slice your carrots, onion and bell pepper. Sit it to the side as well.
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Over high heat add your olive oil and 1 Tbsp of butter to a medium-large pot. (A pot big enough for your ingredients)
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Once the butter has melted in the oil add the minced garlic to the pot and quickly stir the garlic to release the fragrance and not burn the garlic.
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Add your bell peppers, carrots, and onions to the pot and stir well to mix the ingredients together in the pot. Once it's combined let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.
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Now add your chopped cabbage to the hot pot of ingredients. Add your last Tbsp of butter, sprigs of thyme, onion powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, and paprika on top of the cabbage.
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Pour the water into the hot pot. There should be a sizzle of steam and place the lid on the pot. Let it cook on high for a minute or two then turn it down to a medium-low. Let it cook for another 10 minutes.
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Stir the ingredients in the pot together until they're well combined.
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You can let it cook for another 10 minutes if you like your cabbage with a slight crunch. If you want it to be cooked until it's softer, you can let the cabbage simmer in the pot for an additional 10-15 minutes.
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Remove the sprig of thyme (and scotch bonnet pepper if you added it).
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Plate and enjoy!
Super delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing this piece of your heart with us ❤️ I made this for dinner, and I was hoping for a flavor similar to a childhood memory. Pretty dang close!!!!!!!
I was wondering, does the scotch bonnet add only heat? The recipe I had was from a small restaurant, and I remember a vinegary taste too. Have you ever had this dish with vinegar?? Would the scotch bonnet give that flavor??
Thank you again, I can’t wait to try more of your dishes!!! Stay well and safe -K
Thank you for sharing! I’m so happy you enjoyed the steamed cabbage! The scotch bonnet pepper only adds heat. However, I do know some people add a dash of vinegar to their steamed cabbage for the taste you remember. I would put a teaspoon in next time you make it to see if that’s the taste you’re thinking of.
Hi, The Scotch Bonnet pepper has a unique flavor, however it’s not vinegary. Some recipes will add a bit of vinegar, tomato or lemon to the recipe.
Do you put the scotch bonnet in whole or cut up?
I recommend whole then taking it out at the end of cooking. Scotch bonnet is super spicy so if you love spice then you can cut it up if you prefer.
So the scotch bonnet adds a distinct flavor and a little heat, but it can be made without the scotch bonnet if you don’t like the flavor of the pepper. In my culture, we add the pepper in whole while it cooks so that it imparts the flavor without making the dish too spicy, but if we want the heat, we’ll chop it up and add it into the pot, but that wouldn’t be too good for the ppl who can’t handle the heat, so instead if you put it in whole of someone likes heat, they can just grab the pepper and mush it into their plate of food for the heat. In my culture (I’m south Asian/bengali) we use bhut jolokias, naga peppers and the like which taste similar to scotch bonnets and habaneros (like different varieties of apples).
Hello,
I plan to cook this for a Sunday dinner dish but in the list of ingredients, i see baby carrots but i don’t see in your directions where or when to use them. Did i overlook it? Thanks
Hi Charlestina, thank you for noticing this detail! I just updated the recipe to add the instructions for the carrots. Please let me know how it turns out 🙂
When do you add the scotch bonnet pepper? Do you think subbing it with jalapeño would be okay to get a little heat but not as hot as the scotch bonnet, or just leave out any pepper all together?
Hi Christina! I would add the scotch bonnet for the last 5-10 minutes for a lighter taste of heat. However, it will still be much spicer than jalapeño which is a great substitute.
Hi. The recipe says add olive oil, but olive oil isn’t listed in the ingredients list. How much is needed?! I’m guessing 1 tbs, to match the 1 tbs of butter melted?
Hi Tanya! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will fix it now! And you’re correct, 1 Tbsp 🙂
This sounds so yummy and your intro caught my eye as I am also Belizean(mom) and Jamaican(dad). I cannot wait to try this recipe!!
It’s great to meet another Belizean and Jamaican person! Hopefully you enjoy the recipe if you make it! 🤗
Delicious followed all steps added 1 teaspoon of vinegar came out perfect
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing! ☺️
We make this for dinner often and it never disappoints! Wish I could give more stars!
I’m so happy you enjoy the recipe! Thank you for the kind words ☺️
I just tried this tonight. Amazing
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! ☺️
So good. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for trying the recipe and sharing! ☺️
I’m fully Belizean and was so happy to see this post because I LOVE Jamaican steamed cabbage! The places I get it do have a hint of “tang”, which I suspect is vinegar. There’s also a slight sweetness but I’m not sure if that’s from the natural sweetness from the carrots.
It’s definitely one of my favorite vegetable sides! Yes the tang is usually vinegar which you can add 1/2 tsp to the recipe if you prefer. If you caramelize the carrots in the pot with the onions it might give a sweeter taste. Thank you for checking out the recipe ☺️
On the stove cooking now, along with rice and peas and herk chicken. Looks smells tastes great. I’m not normally a cabbage cooker, but this was a great addition to tonight’s Jamaican themed dinner!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the cabbage! Dinner sounds like it was delicious! 🤗
I tried cabbage at a Jamaican restaurant and LOVED it. So I went looking for a recipe that might be similar. This recipe did not disappoint! Who knew cabbage could be this good!!?
Hi Kristie, I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I couldn’t agree more about cabbage being so good! 😊