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    "Home" » Rice

    Callaloo Cook-up Rice

    Published: Mar 13, 2013 · Modified: Mar 25, 2023 by Althea Brown · This post may contain affiliate links · 21 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Callaloo cook-up rice is often referred to as an Ital Cook-up in Guyana, referrencing rastafarian culture. When you add pumpkin to callaloo cook-up some people call it a dougla meaning that it is a mix of more than one vegetable. Dougla is a Guyanese term that means that you are mixed with both Indian and Black. Callaloo is a variety of green leafy vegetables. There are many varieties of callaloo in Guyana, but spinach is the closet substitution for the variety most often used in cook-up rice dishes.

    Callaloo cook up on a grey plate
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Step By Step Recipe Guide
    • Fresh Coconut milk versus canned coconut milk
    • For best results always fluff your callaloo cook-up rice with a fork!
    • How to serve your callaloo cook-up rice
    • Printable Recipe Card
    • Fish pairs really well with this dish. Try these popular fish recipes:

    Ingredients

    For this callaloo cook-up rice recipe I used frozen spinach and frozen pumpkin. Feel free to use fresh spinach and fresh pumpkin if you are fortunate to live in a place where those are readily available.

    Step By Step Recipe Guide

    I like to add my rice after sautéing the vegetables for a few minutes. Do you wash your rice. Growing up we always washed our rice, but when I came to the US I stopped washing rice, thinking that packaged rice must be clean. I was wrong. Wash your rice. Rice has high levels or arsenic and washing it helps to reduce the amount of arsenic you'll end up eating. The only rice that does not need to be washed is parboiled rice.

    Fresh Coconut milk versus canned coconut milk

    I'm not fussy about what kind of coconut milk you use, however for best results dilute the can coconut milk which is usually much creamier and fattier than freshly made coconut milk. Using the canned coconut milk without diluting it will gives you a very rich and sometimes clammy rice.

    For best results always fluff your callaloo cook-up rice with a fork!

    I always fluff my rice with a fork and highly recommend it. When my parents make cook-up rice, they stir and scrape that pot through-out the entire process. The cook-up is tasty and the burnt bits (bun-bun) on the bottom are the best part in my opinion. But who has time for that. I just reduce my heat to low, let my rice cook, then use a regular dinner fork to mix everything together at the end.

    How to serve your callaloo cook-up rice

    Printable Recipe Card

    Callaloo cook up on a grey plate

    Callaloo Cook-up Rice

    Rice, spinach and pumpkin cooked in coconut milk
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 45 mins

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
    • 2 Tomatoes diced
    • 4 green onions finely chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic grated
    • 1 bundle of spinach washed and chopped or 1 cup of frozen spinach completely thawed
    • 2 cups of diced pumpkin (calabaza squash) frozen pumpkin works well
    • 2 cups of Jasmine or long grain white rice washed and trained
    • 1 tablespoon of dried thyme preferably Guyanese thyme
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
    • 1 wiri wiri or similar chili pepper e.g. scotch bonnet. Used whole for flavor and not for heat
    • 1 cup of canned coconut milk diluted with 2 cups of water or 3 cups of fresh coconut milk

    Instructions
     

    • Bring a skillet up to temperature on medium heat, then add coconut oil
    • When coconut oil is hot and melted add tomatoes, green onions, and garlic
    • Sauté for a few minutes then add the spinach and pumpkin followed by the salt, dried thyme, and black pepper
    • Continue to sauté for two minutes mixing together all of the seasoning and other ingredients
    • Then add the rice, wiri wiri pepper and coconut milk
    • Mix together well and bring to a boil
    • Let boil uncovered for about 5 minutes then give it a good stir freeing any rice that may have stuck to the bottom
    • Then reduce the heat to the lowest possible heat, cover and let the rice simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is fully cook
    • Then remove from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork mixing together well
    • Serve as is or with your favorite protein

    Notes

    Before serving I like to cut open the wiri wiri pepper for some mild heat. For additional heat you can eat this rice with some pepper sauce.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Fish pairs really well with this dish. Try these popular fish recipes:

    Crispy Salmon Nuggets

    Oven Broiled Salmon

    Tuna Cakes

    « Sautéed Pumpkin (With Instant Pot Option)
    Banana Walnut Bread (with Dairy Free & Gluten Free Options) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. strandsbykaye says

      March 13, 2013 at 12:59 pm

      This looks really good. Loving the vegetarian recipes! My boys would love this even though they are carnivores like their daddy. I cook greens all the time and love callaloo and spinach. I can find callaloo without any trouble, but sometimes the leaves look wilted and sad! So I also substitute spinach or mix them together if I can only find one nice looking bunch.

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        March 13, 2013 at 2:02 pm

        You're lucky. I wish we had a west Indian Market. The African/Jamaican market we have is very over priced. So I have to pray that the HMart has something remotely close to what I am looking for.

        Reply
    2. schadah says

      March 13, 2013 at 7:15 pm

      i also don't have calaloo. I have frozen spinach. do you think it will work? Also do you think u can do bake recipe soon?

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        March 13, 2013 at 10:24 pm

        You can absolutely use frozen spinach. You'll just have to cook the spinach a bit longer since frozen spinach tends to be a bit tougher. Also I have a bake recipe on the site. It was one of te first things I posted. Check the recipe list. It's under Sunday brunch or alphabetically under B 🙂

        Reply
        • schadah says

          March 15, 2013 at 12:05 pm

          ok cool. thx

          Reply
    3. Chereece says

      March 14, 2013 at 7:24 pm

      Tried it for dinner tonight with the spinach, and ooh la la!! Mmm mmm good. Everybody looking at me like "where'd she get this from"?? Haaaa!!

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        March 15, 2013 at 5:22 pm

        Haha. Glad you tried it and loved it.

        Reply
    4. Priscilla says

      March 25, 2013 at 7:03 pm

      My husband loves callaloo cook-up so i will be trying this for lunch tomorrow.

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        March 25, 2013 at 10:23 pm

        Great. Let me know how it turns out.

        Reply
        • Priscilla says

          March 26, 2013 at 10:35 am

          Just wanted you to know it came out well. I did a slight modification though, I added about 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (as you probably know it good for a lot of things) and a little bit more salt. I served this with fry ripe plantains, cucumbers, lettuce and some fresh wiri wiri pepper sauce. My husband said he really enjoyed the food:) So thanks for this recipe.

          Reply
          • Metemgee says

            March 27, 2013 at 1:57 pm

            Happy it came out good. And the recipes are here for you to make them your own, so feel free to add or take away whatever ingredients you want. I do the same with recipes from other blogs and cooking site 😉

            Reply
    5. KT says

      September 28, 2013 at 7:18 am

      I made this recipe last evening with brown rice and it is was so delicious. This was my first time cooking callaloo cook up (I myself used spinach). Thank you for this recipe, can't wait to try the others.

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        October 06, 2013 at 2:21 pm

        Glad you liked it.

        Reply
    6. Neville says

      July 25, 2015 at 10:42 am

      Keep it coming. My Callaloo tastes neaarly as nice a what my mom cooked. I have to say I pimped your recipe by adding some schrimps as my mother cooked it so 🙂

      Reply
      • Metemgee says

        July 25, 2015 at 12:09 pm

        Dry shrimps would be really nice with this recipe. Glad you liked it.

        Reply
    7. Nikki says

      March 20, 2020 at 9:32 am

      I would love if you can do a instant pot version of this!

      Reply
      • Althea Brown says

        March 20, 2020 at 10:08 am

        This is on my list of recipes to update. I will be sure to include an Instant Pot Version when I do!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Lamb Stew {With Instant Pot Instructions} - Metemgee says:
      June 8, 2020 at 2:32 pm

      […] Callaloo Cook-Cook Up […]

      Reply
    2. Boneless Brown Stew Chicken - Metemgee says:
      July 22, 2020 at 8:14 pm

      […] Callaloo Cook-up Rice […]

      Reply
    3. Callaloo Cauliflower Cook-Up Rice - Metemgee says:
      January 30, 2021 at 8:28 pm

      […] Callaloo Cook-up Rice is one of my family’s favorite quick cook-up rice dishes. So it made sense that it was one of the first cook-up rice dishes I attempted to make Whole30 compatible. This version of a Guyanese classic has all the notes of the original version—callaloo or spinach, pumpkin (calabaza squash) and coconut milk—but it’s grain free. The traditional rice is replaced with riced cauliflower but the flavor and texture is very similar to the original version of the dish which is always my aim when I remix a recipe! […]

      Reply
    4. 1glisten says:
      January 12, 2022 at 4:12 pm

      3prefecture

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Althea! I have a real passion for cooking, especially traditional Caribbean recipes with deep roots! I was born and raised in Georgetown, Guyana and now live in Denver, Colorado with my husband and 3 kids. I am a Whole30 Certified Coach and love sharing wholesome remixes to traditional Guyanese and Caribbean dishes.

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