Best Jamaican Cookbooks For A Taste Of The Caribbean

Enid Donaldson’s collection of 200 recipes, originally published in 1993, are authentic in style and flavor. The book showcases Jamaican home cooking at its finest – scotch bonnet-infused, artfully spiced. Many of the recipes in this book are delightfully close to the Jamaican dishes my mum makes (so I’ll stand by it).

It’s authentically Jamaican – just not in the way I expected. Whilst there are how-tos for a handful of familiar recipes (johnny cakes, curry lamb, ackee and saltfish), many of the dishes are novel moldings of island ingredients.

What follows – a deep-dive into barbecued meats – is even more interesting. And the additional sections dedicated to sides (steamed callaloo, rice and peas, fried plantains), desserts, and drinks (sorrel, rum punch, Jamaican ginger beer) make Jerk From Jamaica one of the best Jamaican cookbooks to pick up before a summer family get-together!

Provisions strides on innovative twists of long-time favorites. The meals listed are modern in approach, refined into a homey chic aesthetic, and have a quasi creme-de-la-creme restaurant air. With a neat set of 150 veggie-friendly recipes, this cookbook is proof that good Caribbean cooking can be done meat-free.

Ziggy’s cookbook lists loads of omnivorous recipes (mostly vegetarian and pescatarian) involving gluten-free and organic ingredients. You’ll see nods to his own brand of food products. But don’t worry, Ziggy notes substitutions as well (so Marley Organics, whilst nice to have, are not needed for each of the recipes).

Both of Harriott’s parents are Jamaican-born so it’s no surprise that this cookbook includes many traditional Jamaican dishes.

P.S. This is one of the prettiest Caribbean cookbooks on this list (the photography has a very professional and polished feel).

Since they grew up in London (and learned Jamaican cooking from their mum and nanny), the ingredients used in Original Flava are really accessible to those living outside the Caribbean (store-bought jerk seasoning? check. canned callaloo? check). And to boot, the recipes bring the same warmth and joy traditional Jamaican meals do.

Luckily, Kingston-based Yvonne McCalla Sobers’ Delicious Jamaica is chock-full of vegan recipes (it’s officially a vegetarian cookbook but contains more than a few vegan offerings). And with recipes drawn from a variety of regional influences, the book doubles as an ode to the diversity of Jamaica.

It’s bold. It’s brave. It’s fun. And it’s one of my favorite Jamaican cookbooks. What happens when you throw jerk chicken into lasagna? As you’ll learn from the dynamic and talented Rousseau siblings, only good things.