Jamaican Gungo Peas Recipes (You'll Love)

Have you heard of Jamaican gungo peas? I’ve had these kinds of beans so many times before I even knew they were popular in Jamaica. I’m half Puerto Rican and I’ve had gungo peas so many times in my family’s Puerto Rican arroz con gandules. You see, gungo peas, also known as pigeon peas, are a kind of legume that’s very common in Asian, African, and Latin American cuisines. I personally enjoy eating these very much and I think you will, too. Stick around to learn more about Jamaican gungo peas and where you can use them in Jamaican recipes.

(Scroll toward the bottom of the page for recipes using gungo peas).

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What Are They?

The botanical name for gungo peas is Cajanus cajan and they are a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae (bean family).

In Jamaica, these beans are called gungo peas because they come from the congo pea plant which was very popular in Sub-Saharan Africa.

One of the good things about gungo peas is that they are a great source of protein and they contain many essential nutrients. This is great for those of us who are trying to incorporate a more balanced diet into our lives.

Furthermore, cooked gungo peas provide you with many essential minerals that are good for your body, too.

Take a look at the list below to find out what one cup of cooked gungo peas provides:

¼ of the daily requirement for phosphorus (a key component for building bones).
⅕ of the daily requirement for magnesium (protects muscle and nerves).
⅓ of the daily need for iron in men.
1/10 of the daily need for zinc in men.
13% of the daily need for iron in women.
15% of the daily need for zinc in women.
1/7 of the daily need for potassium in men and women.

(This information came from the news source: SF Gate).

[FYI, if you’re interested in seeing what fresh organic gungo beans look like, take a look at the YouTube video below by My Village Food Recipes]:

How to Cook and Eat Them

The easiest way to cook and eat gungo beans, or pigeon peas, is to buy them canned and just dump them into whatever stew or recipe you’ll be using them in.

[I always buy the Goya brand since it’s the only kind I can find around the area where I live. If you can’t find them anywhere near you… no need to worry! You can easily find them on Amazon].

However, if you choose to go the non-canned route, you can also buy dried pigeon peas and cook them on the stovetop (let them soak overnight first) or Instant Pot.

(I HIGHLY recommend using the Instant Pot because you don’t have to soak them first, they cook a lot faster, and you don’t have to keep a constant eye on them while they’re cooking).

Check out these Instant Pot Pigeon Pea instructions by Very Veganish if you want to use the Instant Pot to cook your dried pigeon peas.

Also, for your information, here is a list of some of the dishes from around the world that use gungo peas or gungo beans or pigeon peas (all the same thing):

Moro de guandules (Dominican Republic)
Arroz con gandules (Puerto Rico)
Rice and peas (Jamaica)
Pelau (Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada)
Sopa de guandú (Colombia)
KBL (Kadyos–Gungo pea, Baboy–pork, Langka–Jackfruit) (Philippines)
Dhal (India)

FAQs Related to Gungo Peas

Here are some frequently asked questions related to Jamaican gungo beans.

Is Gungo peas the same as pigeon peas?

Yes, gungo peas are the same as pigeon peas. Another common name for gungo peas is gandules, such as in the Puerto Rican dish arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas).

Is green peas the same as Gungo?

No, green peas are not the same as gungo peas with the one major difference being that gungo peas are starchier than green peas and take a longer time to cook. In other words, green peas are sweeter and don’t take as long to cook.

What are Gungo peas?

Jamaican gungo peas, also known as pigeon peas or gandules (in Latin American countries), are a kind of legume that’s very popular in Caribbean, Asian, and African countries. They’re consumed similar to how one would consume green peas, except gungo peas are starchier and take longer to cook.

Jamaican Gungo Peas Recipes

Now, here are some Jamaican recipes that use gungo peas [or Jamaican pigeon peas].

Jamaican Rice and Peas with Canned Pigeon Peas

Here is the first recipe using canned gungo peas.

Healthier Steps provides a GREAT canned pigeon peas and rice recipe that’s super easy to follow.

In fact, you’ll be happy to know that there are only 3 steps!

Before I go further into explaining the recipe, I must begin by mentioning that Michelle Blackwood is the content creator who developed this recipe on Healthier Steps. Michelle is also a nurse who shares vegan and gluten-free recipes on her blog.

So, since this is a healthier version of Jamaican pigeon peas and rice, the recipe does ask for brown rice.

However, I followed this recipe and I used white jasmine rice and it turned out FANTASTIC!

I only had to cook the rice for about 20 minutes instead of the 40 minutes the recipe requires for the brown rice.

Anyway, some of the main ingredients you’ll use for this Jamaican rice and pigeon peas recipe include:

Jasmine brown (or white) rice
Coconut milk
Canned pigeon peas
Onions
Allspice
Thyme
Bonnet pepper

This recipe was SO, SO, SO good!

I HIGHLY recommend you try it for yourself!

😀

Now, here is a second Jamaican gungo peas recipe using canned gungo peas and canned coconut milk.

This recipe by Yardie Belly TV is SO easy to follow and the narration is great, too.

These are the ingredients you’ll need for this easy Jamaican gungo peas and rice recipe:

Parboiled Basmati Rice
Canned green pigeon peas
Coconut milk
Scallions
Garlic
Ginger
Thyme
Allspice
Salt
Sugar
Scotch bonnet pepper

You can see for yourself how to follow this recipe in the YouTube video below:

Jamaican Rice and Gungo Beans with Dried Gungo Peas

Here is the first recipe using dried gungo peas.

Chili Pepper Madness provides a GREAT recipe for Jamaican rice and peas using dried gungo peas.

In this recipe, you’ll be using coconut milk, scotch bonnet peppers as well as other seasonings that are popular in Jamaican cuisine (such as allspice).

More specifically, here is the full list of ingredients you will need for this recipe:

Gungo peas
Chicken or vegetable stock
Water
Coconut milk
Long grain rice
Onion
Scallion
Garlic
Scotch bonnet peppers
Fresh thyme
Allspice
Brown sugar
Salt
Pepper

Now, here is a second Jamaican gungo peas recipe using dried gungo peas and canned coconut milk.

This Jamaican Rice and Pigeon Peas recipe by Very Veganish is another one you’ll have to check out that uses dried pigeon peas.

(As mentioned earlier, you can use Very Veganish’s Instant Pot pigeon peas recipe which you can also find a link for on the page in the link above).

What I like about this recipe is that it only takes about 25 minutes to make AND they use creole seasoning salt, too (yummy).

More specifically, these are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Coconut milk
Broth from pigeon peas
Water
Cooked pigeon peas
Onion
Garlic
Dried thyme leaves
Garlic powder
Salt
Creole salt
Black pepper
Scotch bonnet pepper powder
White basmati rice

That doesn’t sound too bad, right? However, I recommend you take a look at the Notes section for some great information on ingredient substitutions. 😉

Jamaican Gungo Peas Soup

This is an easy Jamaican gungo peas soup recipe by How to cook CHANNEL. What makes this soup different from other gungo bean soup recipes is that they use smoked turkey legs (lots of recipes ask for pig tails).

Also, although she uses dried gungo peas, she speeds up the process by cooking them halfway through in the pressure cooker.

I must say, this video does a GREAT job of explaining how to do everything for gungo peas soup.

I REALLY recommend you watch it all the way through.

Ok, so what if watching someone make a recipe on YouTube is not you’re thing?

Well, if you’d like to print out a gungo peas soup recipe, you should consider this one by Taste the Islands TV.

(By the way, if you’re not already aware of this, Taste the Islands is a Caribbean food cooking television series).

In this recipe, you can use pig tails OR ham hocks.

The other ingredients are similar to the Jamaican gungo peas soup recipe Youtube video above.

Turn Cornmeal

So, what exactly is Jamaican turn cornmeal?

It’s a very popular Jamaican dish that you make with refined yellow cornmeal. You cook it in coconut milk with herbs and spices.

Yuuummmyyy… am I right??

Although gungo peas aren’t the main ingredient, they’re listed as a “mix-in option”.

Take a look at this recipe by A Younique Journey to see how to make turn cornmeal. It’s definitely worth considering.

How to Serve Jamaican Gungo Peas

There are so many ways you can serve Jamaican gungo peas whether you choose to use them in Jamaican rice and gungo peas, Jamaican gungo peas soup, or even Jamaican turn cornmeal.

However you choose to make gungo peas, you can definitely serve them alongside any of the following dishes:

Jerk chicken or pork
Coconut curry shrimp
Oxtails
Brown stew chicken
Curry Goat
Escovitch Fish
Jamaican fried chicken

Final Thoughts

And that’s a wrap! I hope you seriously consider making at least one of these Jamaican gungo peas recipes. Did any of them stand out to you? Which ones? If so, please let me know in the comments below!

Jamaican Gungo Peas Recipes (You’ll Love)

What Are They?

How to Cook and Eat Them