Callaloo is the national dish of Trinidad and Tobago. It is a thick stew with the consistency of a soup. Callaloo is made from dasheen leaves and cooked with an assortment of herbs and spices. Traditionally, crabs are included in Callaloo, but meats such as chicken and salted pork can also be incorporated in the stew. Callaloo can be eaten on its own, but it is also commonly served with macaroni pie, a Caribbean pasta dish.

Callaloo reflects the multicultural history of the Caribbean, particularly the influence of West African culinary traditions combined with Indigenous and later Caribbean ingredients. Leafy-green preparations brought through African food traditions evolved throughout the Caribbean into several distinct dishes called callaloo.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the dish developed its own recognizable character through the use of dasheen leaves, coconut milk, okra, thyme, chives, garlic, and hot pepper. Crab is a particularly traditional addition and contributes a pronounced seafood richness.

Directions for Preparing Callaloo Crab Soup

1. Remove the skin from the dasheen leaf stalks and discard.
2. Rinse the leaves and stalks, then chop them into bite-sized pieces.
3. Place the leaves in a large pot.
4. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, pumpkin, coconut milk, and okra to the pot.
5. Pour a cup of water into the pot and add the whole habanero pepper.
6. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat for thirty (0:30) minutes.
7. Remove the lid, then add the crabs.
8. Stir the ingredients, but do not puncture the habanero pepper.
9. Replace the lid on the pot and allow the Callaloo to cook for another thirty (0:30) minutes.
10. Remove the habanero pepper and discard it.
11. Season with salt and chives.
12. Use an immersion blender to puree the stew, excluding the crabs.
13. Stir well, then turn off the heat.
14. Serve the Trinidad Callaloo with macaroni pie.

Ingredient Substitutions

Flavor & Texture Notes

Overall Flavor & Texture

Traditional Trinidadian callaloo has a deeply savory and vegetal flavor, with earthy dasheen leaves balanced by creamy coconut milk, sweet crab, aromatic herbs, and fruity Scotch bonnet. Okra is important not only for flavor but also for creating the dish’s characteristic body.

The finished consistency should fall somewhere between a thick soup and a loose vegetable purée—smooth enough to spoon easily but substantial enough to hold alongside rice and other dishes.

Other Festive Dishes

Special Christmas foods include appetizers like pastilles (called hallaca in Venezuela, where they originated), pholourie, saheena, baiganee, kachori, and chicken or pork pies. Entrees include garlic ham (carne vinha-d’alhos, a Portuguese dish), baked ham, baked turkeyor chicken, macaroni pie, fish pie, garlic roasted potatoes, grilled or barbecued meat (chicken, shrimp, fish, or lamb), corn, pigeon peas, Christmas (also called Spanish or festive) rice, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, Chinese roast chicken, pepper shrimp, different types of curries (chicken, goat, duck, fish, shrimp, crab, baigan, channa and aloo), roti, and dal Bhat (rice).

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