Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Grenadian Callaloo Soup
A creamy Grenadian soup of callaloo (dasheen) leaves and okra simmered in coconut milk with thyme and a whole hot pepper, blended smooth.
Grenadian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~324 cal · 9g protein · 21g carbs · 25g fat · 8g fiber · 6g sugars · 19g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
soup is a nourishing Caribbean classic, and Grenada's version leans creamy and green, built on , the leafy () green that West Africans brought to the islands, cooked down with into a smooth, comforting bowl. It is everyday comfort food, served as a light starter or a meal on its own with a piece of fried bake.
The greens and are simmered with onion, garlic, thyme, and green seasoning, then enriched with that blends beautifully into the leaves, and a whole is dropped in for aroma without heat. Many cooks blend the soup smooth so it turns velvety and deep green.
Some households add salt pork or crab, but a coconut-rich vegetarian pot is just as traditional and just as loved. It is the kind of soup Grenadians make to feel restored.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and 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 4
1 lb (/) leaves, or spinach, chopped
1 cup , sliced
1 1/2 cups
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp green seasoning (chive, celery, and thyme, chopped)
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pepper, left whole
3 cups vegetable or water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
to taste salt
to taste black pepper
Instructions
1
Soften the onion, garlic, and green seasoning in the oil in a pot for a few minutes.
2
Add the callaloo leaves and okra and stir until the greens wilt down.
3
Pour in the stock, add the thyme and the whole scotch bonnet, and simmer for about 15 minutes until everything is very tender.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the scotch bonnet whole and lift it out before blending; it perfumes the pot without turning the soup fiery.
4
Lift out the pepper, stir in the coconut milk, and simmer 10 minutes more.
5
Blend the soup smooth (or partly), season with salt and black pepper, and serve hot with fried bake.
St. George's home tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
St. George's. St. George's is a spice-port capital, and the nutmeg and mace Grenada exports run through its cooking generally. The national dish, oil down, is layered rather than spiced that way: breadfruit, salted meat, callaloo, and dumplings simmer down in turmeric-yellow coconut milk until the pot runs dry and the oil is all that is left.
🗺️
Grenada. Grenada is the 'Spice Isle,' and nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove perfume its cooking, from the national oil down (a one-pot of breadfruit, meat, and coconut) to cocoa tea. Fresh spice and Caribbean warmth define the plate.
🌍
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 Grenada
Oil DownGrenada's one-pot national dish: breadfruit, salted meat, dumplings, and callaloo cooked down in coconut milk and turmeric.
Cocoa Tea and Fried BakesSpiced local cocoa simmered into a rich, cinnamon-scented "tea," served with hot fried bakes, breakfast on the Spice Isle.
Grenadian Nutmeg Ice CreamA cool, creamy ice cream fragrant with fresh-grated nutmeg, showcasing the spice that defines the Isle of Spice.
Browse all Grenada recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven, Blender.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Grenada meal
Cocoa TeaDrink
Grenadian Nutmeg Ice CreamDessert
Grenadian Curried LambiDinner
Similar dishes from around the world
SpasArmenia
DovgaAzerbaijan
KholodnikBelarus
Tarator (Cold Yogurt and Cucumber Soup)Bulgaria
Sopa NegraCosta Rica
KulajdaCzechia
Cuisine
Diet
Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World
Vegan Recipes from Around the World
Gluten-Free Recipes from Around the World
Dairy-Free Recipes from Around the World
Egg-Free Recipes from Around the World
Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Vegan Lunches from Around the World
Vegetarian Lunches from Around the World
Gluten-Free Lunches from Around the World
Dairy-Free Lunches from Around the World
Egg-Free Lunches from Around the World
Frequently asked questions
What is Grenadian Callaloo Soup?
A creamy Grenadian soup of callaloo (dasheen) leaves and okra simmered in coconut milk with thyme and a whole hot pepper, blended smooth.
Where does Grenadian Callaloo Soup come from?
Grenadian Callaloo Soup is a Grenadian dish from St. George's, Grenada.
Can Grenadian Callaloo Soup be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Grenadian Callaloo Soup 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 Grenadian Callaloo Soup 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 Grenadian Callaloo Soup take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.