Caribbean Oxtail Soup Recipe

Bowl of Caribbean oxtail soup with tender oxtail, corn on the cob, dumplings, cassava, plantain, and sweet potato in a golden split pea broth, garnished with thyme and a wiri wiri pepper

Caribbean Oxtail Soup Recipe

Summary: This Caribbean oxtail soup is loaded with fall-off-the-bone oxtail, split peas, cassava, sweet potato, plantain, corn, and dumplings in a rich, seasoned broth. Cook the oxtail in the Instant Pot or on the stove, then finish everything in one big pot.

Course Soup

Cuisine Caribbean, Guyanese

Keyword caribbean oxtail soup, how to make oxtail soup, instant pot oxtail soup, oxtail soup recipe, oxtail soup with dumpling

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 35

Total Time 1 55

Servings Generous Servings

Calories 875kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

For Oxtail

3 lbs Oxtail (cut into 1 1/2 - 2 inch pieces)
1 tbsp McCormick steak seasoning (or similar all purpose seasoning)
1 cup yellow split peas (rinsed)
6 cups water (enough to cover the oxtail)

For the soup base

Water (enough to cover, about 8 cups total, added in two stages)
1 lb cassava (frozen or fresh)
3 ears corn (cut into 1½- 2 inch rounds, goes in with the cassava)
1 large yellow onion (diced, divided)
6 cloves garlic (chopped, divided)
1 bunch fresh thyme (divided, or 2 tsp dried Guyanese thyme)
1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)

To Finish

1 lb sweet potato (peeled and cut into 1- to 1½-inch pieces)
1 lb white sweet potato (peeled and cut into 1- to 1½-inch pieces)
2 firm yellow plantains (peeled and cut into chunks)
2-3 wiri wiri peppers (or 1 Scotch bonnet)
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder

For the dumplings

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose)
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp butter (room temperature)
¾ cup warm water (plus more if needed)

Instructions

Trim the thick outer fat from the oxtail, then season the oxtail with the steak seasoning.
Pressure cooker: When cooking is complete, turn off Keep Warm and let the pressure release naturally (about 20 minutes). If your Instant Pot has a release setting, choose Natural Release; otherwise, leave the valve on Sealing. Open the lid only after the float valve has dropped completely, then skim any visible fat.
Stovetop: simmer covered over low heat for 2½ to 3 hours, until tender.
Stovetop pressure cooker: add enough water that it won't cook dry, and cook until tender.

Meanwhile Prep the other Ingredients

While the oxtail comes to pressure, make the dumpling dough (see my Guyanese Duff recipe) and set it aside to rest.
Peel and prep your veggies. If using fresh cassava peel and cut into 1.5 inch chunks. Peel the sweet potatoes and plantains and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Then soak in water so they don't dry out or brown.

Start the Soup Base

When the Instant Pot cycle completes and is in its Natural Release stage, start the soup base. AAdd the cassava, corn, the remaining onion, garlic, and thyme, and 1 tsp salt to a large, deep pot. Pour in just enough water to cover the cassava and corn. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat (about 10 minutes), then cook for 5 minutes.
If you’re using frozen cassava and it comes in large chunks, cook it for 5 minutes first (it’s easier to cut once softened), then lift the chunks out, carefully remove the inner vein with a fork, cut into manageable pieces, and return them to the pot.
Drain the sweet potatoes, then add them to the pot with the cassava. Add more water if needed, enough to cover the provisions with room to boil. Then add in the onion powder and garlic powder to season it.

Bring it Together

When the cassava and sweet potatoes are fork-tender, add the plantains and keep cooking until tender. Some of the provisions will melt into the broth, and that's what you want.
At this point the oxtail should be ready. Remove the thyme stems from both pots. Add the tender oxtail and all of its broth to the pot with the ground provisions, then stir in the wiri wiri peppers and more salt if needed. Reduce the heat to medium.

Add the Dumplings

Shape the rested dumpling dough (made during prep; see my Guyanese Duff recipe) into tablespoon-size dumplings (round, or strips like spinners). They'll swell as they cook.
For light, fluffy dumplings, drop them on top of the soup without stirring. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and steam for 10 minutes, then gently stir them in. For dense, chewy dumplings, stir them into the broth as you add them.
Taste, adjust the salt, and serve hot.

Notes

Don't fill your pressure cooker more than ⅔ full. Pressure time stays the same if you scale the recipe.
This makes 8 hearty servings, enough for a family of 5 with leftovers, the way Caribbean soup is meant to be made. Leftovers taste even better the next day. The recipe halves easily if you're cooking for fewer people (keep the pressure cooking time the same), or just make the full batch and freeze half for a gloomy day.
For a paleo version, skip the split peas and dumplings and thicken with pumpkin or eddoes. If you're gluten-free like me, make the dumplings with gluten-free all-purpose flour.
More Caribbean soups: try my Caribbean Chicken Soup and Chicken Split Pea Soup.

Nutrition