Jamaican chicken and pumpkin soup is an excellent fall recipe. It encompasses that autumn feel and crosses those elements with flavors from the islands. The combination is a mouthwatering fusion worthy of being repeated again and again. It will keep you warm during the winter months.
This soup has chicken and pumpkin(I used butternut squash) in it, of course, as the backbone. However, the list does not end there. Plantains are added to lend their potato-like flavor as well as carrots to round out the main ingredients making it a hearty chicken soup.
Guess what? The natural flavors of these vegetables meld beautifully and thicken’s the soup.
Getting the flavors right is easy, so put your focus on texture. Tender chicken is really simple while avoiding serious mushy vegetables is more challenging.
The way to prevent the mush is checking them every so often during the cooking process. Adjust to suit your preference.
Speaking of thickeners, here I used Grace flavored soup mix. A mix used throughout the Caribbeans to enhance soups and stews. It packs a punch of flavor. However, you can make this soup without it and still get good results.
Okay, this soup isn’t truly Jamaican without the bold flavors of garlic, green onions, allspice and scotch bonnet peppers. The garlic is pungent and sweet, the green onions are sharp, the allspice works so well with the pumpkin resulting in that signature element of warmth and scotch bonnets bring the heat.
OH YES! Bring it on!
You start by sautéing the aromatics with the chicken just for a few minutes to give it some added flavor then follow with the remaining ingredients and soon after, this classic soup is ready!
Traditionally, Jamaican chicken and pumpkin soup is served on Saturdays and it’s made with dumplings. I ditched the dumplings here. You can add dumplings if you’d like.
OH, you don’t have to wait till the weekend to make this recipe. It ‘s SOOO easy to make. AND can be made in advance, but you may need to add a little more chicken broth before serving because it thickens up as it sits.
Either way, the flavors and textures are simply delicious and it is sure to become a cold-weather favorite
So why not make a large pot and invite a few people over?
Enjoy!!!
Notes
- You can also use bone-in chicken thighs and/or chicken parts.
- Adjust vegetables to suit preference, some people like to throw fresh corn on the cob. Be sure to cut it in chunks.
- Chayote also known as Christophenes or Cho-cho is a green pear-shaped tropical fruit that resembles cucumber in flavor widely enjoyed throughout the Caribbean Islands and Mexico – it’s available in most supermarkets. Or you can substitute with yellow squash or zucchini.
- Sub plantains with potatoes if you’re not obsessed like I am.
Jamaican Chicken and pumpkin soup
Ingredients
- 3 pounds or more chicken thighs cut in chunks
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 Teaspoons Fresh thyme
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cups broth/water or more
- 2-3 Green Onions diced
- 1 teaspoon all spice
- 1 Chayote cut in large chunks
- 1 plantain cut in chunks
- 2-3 cups butter squash cut in large chunks
- 1-2 carrots cut in large chunks
- 2-3 Tablespoons parsley optional
- 1 flavored packet cock soup
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up a pot or Dutch oven with oil , then add onions, green onions, garlic, thyme, all spice, Bay leaf; scotch bonnet pepper or hot sauce to the skillet. Stir for about 3 minutes to get the aromatics going. Then add chicken, salt and pepper. Then stir for about a minute.
- Followed by water or broth to the pot.
- Then throw vegetables: plantains, squash, chayote plantains, carrots and cock bouillon, salt according to preference
- Cover and cook on for about 30 minutes.
- Remove and serve with bread
Nutrition Information:
Arnella says
I love this soup. It is easy to make, versatile and delicious. The chopping of veggies takes the most time. My only issue is the cock spice packet. It contains monosodium Glutamate which gives me headaches. Can I omit the spice packet or replace it with additional herbs?
Imma says
Yes you can do that, tell me how it goes once you try 🙂
Lysa says
My friend introduced me to this soup, she purchased it from a jamaican restaurant…FELL IN LOVE!!
I was determined to make it myself, I ran across yours and another one. Let’s just say I made your recipe twice Thee only thing I added was the pumpkin and chicken noodle soup mix (grace) couldn’t find the ghost pepper. Habenero was my go to just added half tsp of sugar. I haven’t been back to that restaurant anymore since I found this recipe. Thanks for sharing my WHOLE ENTIRE FAMILY LOVES IT!! I sincerely thank you so much.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Lysa! I am happy you liked it! 🙂
Parker says
Lemme talk loud enough for the back of the church! This recipe was so amazing and my family loved it. The next day there was 5 people I had to redirect to this website for the recipe. This will always be my Go To fall soup recipe. Also I have made the Goat and Oxtail entrée recipes and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have made me into an amazing cook with your easy step by step instructions. SO far all recipes are a Hit! Cant wait to try more
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Parker! I am so happy you get to enjoy the recipe! Yeah, this has been a winner fall soup for my family too!
Largo River says
Amazing recipe. I added a little bit of curry powder, because I love it. It was hard to find Scotch Bonnets and at first I used Habaneros – definitely not the same in this dish. I advice finding the bonnet peppers, it gives the soup a spicy fruity flavor that takes it over the edge! Making again next week. Thank you so much for this recipe
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you so much for sharing, Largo! 🙂
Jamie says
This is a fantastic recipe, well done.
Danielle says
Making this for the 2nd time and love this soup. I added 3 scotch bonnet peppers so that may have been a tad much, but I’m happily sweating.
I did not find any chayote and that is the only other change to the recipe. So delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
Oh Boy! You are a heat seeker- Glad it worked out well for you.
Ginger Johnson says
Excellent recipe & so easy to follow!! I didn’t have any plantain or cho-cho but substituted with potatoes and carrots and it still was amazing. Can’t wait to try it again following the recipe exactly as written. Thanks so much for sharing, can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
ImmaculateBites says
So happy to hear it worked out well.Appreciate your support. Thanks so much.
Jewel Fraser says
Love, love, love, I made this soup before and is about to make it again for the second time. Absolutely deliciousand easy to make. I definitely recommend.
Immaculate Bites says
Thank you, Jewel! 🙂
Drea says
Really delicious and fragrant! Loved the variety of veggies that I’ve never used in soup before. Def will make again
Imma Adamu says
Thanks for sharing, Drea! I’m glad you loved it!
Joan Mosco says
Amazing!!!! Our new go to soup. I stepped out of my comfort zone with the chayote, plantain and hot pepper. Three things I’ve never cooked with so impressed with the taste, smell flavors. I used beef instead of chicken. Just amazing! Thanks ❤️❤️❤️
Schuyler Taylor says
Came across this recipe this morning and cooked it this afternoon
ImmaculateBites says
That’s great! Thanks for giving it a try
Alicia Anderson says
Can you freeze this soup ?
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you sure can.
John Acorn says
Could I replicate this with beef instead? If so what kind would you recommend?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi John. Yes, you can use beef. The more tender the beef the better. If you have a tough cut of beef, you would have to boil it until tender before proceeding. Do let me know how it works out for you.
Nia says
So good I literally just made and ate it lol. Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Lol.Awesome !!! Glad you loved it, Nia :)!
Andrea says
Made today, super easy and super delicious, slight variation with veg, used what I had on hand
Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Andrea! I am so glad you liked it. Thanks for the feedback!
Rebecca says
Hi there, I got all the ingredients to make this soup and I’m excited to taste it.
One quick question, cooking time states 50 mins but when I add up everything in the instructions it’s 34 mins.
Please could you confirm how long I will need to stew it for?
Thank you
Rebecca says
And which broth should I use?
Imma says
I would recommend chicken broth but you can also use vegetable broth if you prefer 🙂
Imma says
Hi Rebecca, this soup is a fairly quick recipe. The time really just depends on how long you’d like the soup to simmer to allow the flavors to meld together.
Blessing says
This is too delicious and to think I underestimated it . Well done. I hope you have jerk chicken on here too love love
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Blessing,
Of course I do. Here’s the link https://www.africanbites.com/jerk-chicken/. Let me know what you think