Grenada's one-pot national dish: breadfruit, salted meat, dumplings, and callaloo cooked down in coconut milk and turmeric.

Where does Oil Down come from?

Oil Down is a Grenadian dish from St. George's, Grenada.

Can Oil Down be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Oil Down recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Oil Down take to make?

About 115 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 8.

Oil Down — a St. George's, Grenada recipe

Name: Oil Down
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 115 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Grenadian
Ingredients: 1 medium breadfruit, peeled and cut in wedges; 1 lb salted pigtail or salt beef, soaked; 1.5 cups flour flour dumplings; 2 cans (27 oz) coconut milk; 1 bunch callaloo (or spinach); 1 tbsp turmeric; 1 tsp thyme; 1 scotch bonnet

North America → 🇬🇩 Grenada → St. George's

Oil Down

Grenadian · medium · serves 8

prep 40 min · cook 75 min

~503 cal · 20g protein · 38g carbs · 32g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

One-pot of breadfruit, greens, dumplings and meat in yellow coconut sauce

🇬🇩 St. George's

Oil down takes its name from the moment the coconut milk cooks away and leaves a fragrant "oil" coating everything in the pot. On the Spice Isle it is a communal, everything-in feast — breadfruit, salted meat, callaloo, and dumplings simmered together with turmeric and the island's beloved nutmeg until the liquid is gone.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 8 —

•

1 medium breadfruit, peeled and cut in wedges

•

1 lb salted pigtail or salt beef, soaked

•

1.5 cups flour flour dumplings

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2 cans (27 oz) coconut milk

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1 bunch callaloo (or spinach)

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1 tbsp turmeric

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1 tsp thyme

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1 scotch bonnet

Instructions

1

Soak and boil the salt meat to remove excess salt (skip for jackfruit).

2

Layer the breadfruit, meat (or jackfruit), and dumplings in a large pot.

3

Pour over the coconut milk with turmeric, thyme, and the whole scotch bonnet; do not stir.

4

Cover and simmer 45–60 minutes until the liquid cooks down and coats everything in golden coconut "oil".

5

Fold in the callaloo near the end and serve straight from the pot.

St. George's tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

St. George's. A spice-port capital that cooks the national oil down.

🗺️

Grenada. The Spice Isle, where the national pot cooks down in coconut.

🌍

North America. A collision of Indigenous, colonial, and immigrant tables.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →