Caribbean provision soup is a hearty, comforting soup made with root vegetables, commonly called “provisions” in the West Indies, like cassava, yam, sweet potato, eddoes, and plantains. It’s boiled with pumpkin, herbs, dumplings, and either meat, seafood, or kept vegetarian depending on the cook.
Across the Caribbean, provision soup is enjoyed on weekends, rainy days, or anytime a nourishing meal is needed. My dad used to make this soup for us on Sundays, it was his way of helping us start the week off healthily!
Readers love the original recipe on the blog, which makes a much larger pot, but this version is scaled down for my Small Batch West Indian Cooking series, check it out on Instagram. Even though it sounds simple, this was actually one of the harder recipes to make into a small batch. Because fresh provisions are sold in varying sizes and weights, you can’t exactly buy half a cassava or a tiny plantain.
If you saw my Instagram reel with my dad while we tested this recipe, you probably heard him remind me that no matter how little vegetables you buy, the pot somehow still ends up full. He wasn’t wrong! But after testing it together, we were finally able to get it down to about 4 good generous servings, enough for a smaller household.
Testing the Recipe
We first made the soup in a shallow 5qt enamel cast iron pot. The vegetables filled the pot about halfway, but once everything started cooking, I felt the broth needed a little more liquid to feel like soup. So I retested the recipe and added additional water, which made the final version much better.
For one person, it may still feel like a lot, but this soup freezes beautifully. For a household of 2–3 people though, it’s perfect with very little to no leftovers. And truly, that’s the entire goal of small batch cooking:
- reduce food waste
- cook what we’ll realistically consume
- make traditional recipes feel more approachable
- and help people feel less intimidated trying West Indian dishes at home
The only real compromise with scaling down this provision soup is that you’ll likely need to freeze half of some vegetables during prep for another batch later, which is exactly what I did. We froze half the pumpkin, okra, cassava, and spinach. My dad prefers vacuum sealing the vegetables first to help prevent freezer burn.
I later used the frozen vegetable pack to make another batch in the Instant Pot, and it worked beautifully except for the okra. The pressure cooking softened it too much and it disintegrated into the broth, so if you’re using the Instant Pot method, I recommend adding the okra at the end along with the dumplings instead.
Why a Food Scale Helps
One thing that was especially helpful while testing these smaller recipes was using a food scale.
You can absolutely eyeball everything and simply cut a full batch recipe in half, but the scale made grocery shopping so much easier because provisions are sold in wildly different sizes and weights depending on the market.
Using a scale helped me know exactly how much to buy without overspending or coming home with far more vegetables than I needed. If you’re planning to cook more small batch meals, a food scale is honestly one of the most practical kitchen tools you can have.
Stovetop vs Instant Pot Measurements
One important thing to note is that the water measurements are different for the stovetop and Instant Pot versions.
For stovetop cooking, more water is needed because the vegetables are boiling and simmering over time, allowing liquid to evaporate as the soup cooks.
But in the Instant Pot, the soup cooks under pressure using condensed steam, so you don’t need nearly as much liquid. Be sure to pay attention to the different water measurements depending on which method you’re using so the broth doesn’t end up too thin.
Small Batch Caribbean Soup
This beloved Caribbean provision soup is made with root vegetables, chicken, herbs, and dumplings, and now you can make it in a smaller batch.
Ingredients
- 10-12 cups water for stovetop, 8 cups for Instant Pot
- ½ cup diced onion (half of a small onion)
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 5-6 stems thyme leaves
- 3-4 wiri wiri peppers
- 6oz whole pumpkin, or butternut squash, diced in 2 inch chunks
- 6oz eddoe, peeled and halved
- 6oz cassava, peeeled and chopped into large chunks
- 1 large green plantain, peeled and chopped in 2 inch slices
- 5-6 okras
- 2 oz fresh spinach leaves or 2 oz frozen leaves,
- 1 large boullion (about 2 teaspoons( or salt to taste
Chicken
- 2 heaping teaspoons Caribbean green seasoning
- 1 lb chicken legs , thighs, or diced breasts
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon casareep
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil
Dumpling
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch sugar
- pinch black pepper
- ½ teaspoon butter
- ¼ cup warm water
Instructions
Stovetop method
- In a medium bowl, season the chicken with green seasoning, seasoned salt, black pepper, paprika, and casareep. Mix well and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.
- Prepare the dumplings before starting the soup. In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, black pepper, and butter. Rub the butter into the flour mixture, then add warm water and knead into a soft dough. Divide into 10 small pieces and roll each into a log shape. Set aside.
- In a large pot, add 10 cups water, onion, garlic, thyme, wiri wiri peppers, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- While the soup comes to a boil, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned chicken and sauté for 15–20 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Once the pumpkin is tender, add the cooked chicken, eddoe, cassava, and plantain to the pot. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 35–40 minutes, or until the provisions are cooked. Add more water as needed if the soup reduces too much during cooking.
- Add spinach, okra, and dumplings to the pot. Cover the pot halfway with a lid and simmer for another 10–12 minutes, or until the dumplings are cooked through and the okra is tender. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- Remove thyme stems and serve hot.
Instant Pot Method
- Season chicken with green seasoning, seasoned salt, black pepper, paprika, and casareep.
Add 2 teaspoons oil to a skillet and cook chicken over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Set aside. - Add 8 cups water to the Instant Pot along with onion, garlic, thyme, wiri wiri peppers, cooked chicken, pumpkin, eddoe, cassava, and plantain.
- Secure lid and cook on High Pressure for 18 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully release remaining pressure manually.
- While the soup cooks, prepare the dumplings. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, black pepper, and butter in a bowl. Add warm water and knead into a soft dough. Divide into 10 small pieces and roll into log shapes.
- Open the lid and turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add spinach, okra, and dumplings. Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes until dumplings float and are cooked through and okra is tender.
- Taste and adjust salt if needed. Remove thyme stems before serving.
Notes
- The chicken can be seasoned ahead of time and refrigerated overnight for even more flavor.
- If using the Instant Pot, add the okra at the end of cooking because pressure cooking can cause it to overcook and disintegrate into the broth.
- If boiling on the stovetop, start with 10 cups water and add additional water as needed while simmering, up to two additional cups. The Instant Pot version requires less water because the soup cooks under pressure with very little evaporation.
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