North America → Antigua and Barbuda → St. John's
🍽️ DINNER
Antiguan Saltfish
Salt cod soaked, flaked, and sauteed with onion, sweet pepper, tomato, garlic, and thyme; Antigua's savoury saltfish, the classic partner to fungie, chop-up, or ducana.
Antiguan · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min · plus 2 h hands-off time
~226 cal · 22g protein · 9g carbs · 12g fat · 2g fiber · 4g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Antiguan saltfish is one of the island's defining dishes, salted cod soaked to draw out the salt, then flaked and stewed down with onion, sweet pepper, tomato, garlic, and thyme until every piece is savoury and glossy with oil. In Antigua and Barbuda imported salt cod became a cornerstone protein in the plantation era and never left the table.
It rarely stands alone. The classic plate is saltfish with fungie, the cornmeal-and- staple, or with chop-up, a mash of boiled eggplant, spinach, and , and on holidays with ducana, the sweet potato dumpling wrapped in banana leaf. Saltfish, ducana, and chop-up together are close to a national breakfast, cooked slowly on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
The cooking is simple once the cod is desalted: a long soak and a gentle tame the salt, then the fish is broken into flakes and folded through sauteed aromatics with a whole hot pepper for perfume. What comes out is intense, oily in the best way, and unmistakably Antiguan.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 1 lb salted cod (saltfish)
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 sweet bell pepper, sliced
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 pepper, left whole
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- to taste black pepper
Instructions
- 1Soak the salted cod in plenty of cold water for several hours or overnight, changing the water two or three times to draw out the salt.✎ Chef’s noteTaste a tiny flake before cooking: it should be pleasantly salty, not harsh. A longer soak and a boil are the only cure for cod that is still too salty.
- 2Drain, cover with fresh water, and simmer gently for about 15 minutes until the fish flakes easily. Drain again, cool, and flake, discarding any skin and bones.
- 3Heat the oil in a heavy skillet and saute the onion and sweet pepper over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
- 4Add the garlic, tomato, and thyme and cook until the tomato breaks down, 3 to 4 minutes. Bury the whole scotch bonnet in the pan for aroma, taking care not to burst it.
- 5Stir in the flaked saltfish and cook, turning often, for 5 to 8 minutes until everything is well combined and lightly browned in places. Lift out the pepper, season with black pepper, and serve with fungie, chop-up, or ducana.
St. John's home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
St. John's. St. John's pairs fungee, a cornmeal and okra mash, with pepperpot stew as Antigua and Barbuda's national plate. Its Creole kitchen leans on saltfish, ducana sweet potato dumplings, and plenty of thyme, scallion, and hot pepper.
🗺️
Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda's national dish is fungee and pepperpot, cornmeal dumplings with a rich vegetable-and-meat stew. Saltfish, seafood, and tropical produce define a warm Eastern Caribbean table.
🌍
North America. Almost every regional cooking here records who arrived and on what terms. Enslaved West Africans brought rice, okra, black-eyed peas and the techniques behind Lowcountry and Creole food; Chinese railway labour and later Italian, Jewish, Mexican and Vietnamese arrivals built the way the cities eat; and Indigenous foodways sit underneath all of it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Antigua and Barbuda
Fungee and PepperpotAntigua's national dish: cornmeal fungee dumpling served with a thick stewed pepperpot of greens and meat.
Antiguan Fried Dumplings with CheeseGolden, slightly sweet fried dumplings split open around a wedge of sharp cheese, a simple, filling Antiguan breakfast.
DucanaSweet grated sweet potato and coconut spiced and steamed in banana leaves, a traditional Antiguan treat.
Browse all Antigua and Barbuda recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Skillet or frying pan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it an Antigua and Barbuda meal
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DucanaDessert
Antiguan Seasoned RiceLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Antiguan Saltfish?
Salt cod soaked, flaked, and sauteed with onion, sweet pepper, tomato, garlic, and thyme; Antigua's savoury saltfish, the classic partner to fungie, chop-up, or ducana.
Where does Antiguan Saltfish come from?
Antiguan Saltfish is an Antiguan dish from St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda.
Can Antiguan Saltfish be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Antiguan Saltfish recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Antiguan Saltfish safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Antiguan Saltfish take to make?
About 2 h 50 min in all: 20 minutes prep and 30 minutes cooking, plus 2 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 4.
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