Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Callaloo and Crab
Dasheen (taro) leaves simmered with coconut, aromatics, and land crab into a lush green one-pot.
Dominican (Commonwealth) · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 55 min
~320 cal · 28g protein · 16g carbs · 18g fat · 6g fiber · 4g sugars · 14g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
and crab is a treasured dish of Dominica, the lush Nature Isle, built on the () leaves that grow abundantly across its rainforested slopes. It is a lavish, verdant one-pot that celebrates the island's fertile land and surrounding sea.
The leaves are simmered down with onion, garlic, thyme, and until they collapse, then enriched with into a silky, deep-green stew. Land crab (or seafood) is added and cooked through, and the greens are mashed a little to thicken it.
Rich, earthy, and satisfying, it is served over rice or with ground . and crab reflects a Dominican cuisine rooted in coconut, , and the bounty of a green island, comforting and proudly local.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, 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 6
1.5 lb () leaves or spinach, chopped
1.5 lb land or blue crab (or crab meat)
1 can (14 oz)
1 cup
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
4 blades chives (or scallion), chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp turmeric
1
1 lime
Instructions
1
Simmer the dasheen (taro) leaves with the onion, garlic, chives, celery, thyme, turmeric, and okra with a little water until collapsed and soft.
✎ Chef’s note
Dasheen leaves must be cooked all the way through, as raw or undercooked leaves can be irritating to the throat. Give them the full simmer.
2
Pour in the coconut milk and the whole Scotch bonnet and simmer 15 minutes, until silky.
3
Add the crab (or hearts of palm and mushrooms) and cook gently until just done.
4
Mash the greens a little against the side of the pot to thicken and blend the callaloo.
5
Finish with lime and serve over rice or with ground provisions.
Roseau Creole tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Roseau. Dominica is steep, wet and forested, and the phrase for what grows there is ground provisions: dasheen, yam, tannia, breadfruit and green banana, boiled and serving as the bulk of a meal. River fish and crayfish come out of the many rivers running off the interior.
🗺️
Dominica. Dominica is the only Eastern Caribbean island with a surviving pre-Columbian Indigenous population, the Kalinago, whose territory on the Atlantic coast was set aside in 1903 and formally renamed in 2015. Cassava processing is still demonstrated there, and the island's rivers, rainfall and volcanic soil are what make ground provisions rather than sugar the basis of the cooking.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Dominica
Fried Bakes with ZabocaGolden fried bakes split and filled with seasoned mashed avocado (zaboca), a simple, satisfying vegan breakfast from the Nature Isle.
Dominica Guava CheeseA firm, chewy guava paste cooked down and cut into sugared squares, a confection traditional to Dominica.
Dominica BouyonA thick one-pot of ground provisions, dumplings, dasheen leaves, and salt beef simmered with coconut and Caribbean herbs.
Browse all Dominica recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Blender.
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 a Dominica meal
Bush TeaDrink
Dominica Guava CheeseDessert
Dominica BouyonLunch
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Callaloo and Crab?
Dasheen (taro) leaves simmered with coconut, aromatics, and land crab into a lush green one-pot.
Where does Callaloo and Crab come from?
Callaloo and Crab is a Dominican (Commonwealth) dish from Roseau, Dominica.
Can Callaloo and Crab be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Callaloo and Crab recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Callaloo and Crab 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 count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), 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 Callaloo and Crab take to make?
About 80 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 55 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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