20 Homemade Pantry Recipes to Save Money This Holiday Season
Blessings, family! Every dish we cook starts long before the stove. It starts with what is already in the pantry and the fridge, and in a Jamaican kitchen that means green seasoning, jerk marinade, browning, hot sauce and a good loaf of hard dough bread.
Below are 20 homemade pantry recipes from our own kitchen: sauces and seasonings, breads and doughs, and the wellness tonics we make on repeat. Want them all in one place? Every one of these recipes is in our Jerk Tavern Pantry Essentials ebook, a printable PDF you can keep on your phone or in the kitchen. Get the Pantry Essentials ebook.
Seasonings, Marinades & Sauces
Start here. These nine jars and bottles are the flavor base of our kitchen, and once they are in your fridge, everything else tastes better.
1. Caribbean Green Seasoning
The flavor base of a Jamaican kitchen: scallion, thyme, garlic and pepper blended fresh and kept in the fridge at all times.
2. The Best Homemade Jamaican Jerk Marinade
Scotch bonnet, pimento, thyme and lime blended into the marinade every Jerk Tavern recipe starts with.
3. Fried Chicken Marinade
A quick blender marinade of peppers, garlic and herbs that gives fried chicken its crust and flavor clear to the bone.
4. Homemade Browning Sauce
The deep, dark caramel that gives Jamaican gravies their color and backbone. Five ingredients and one pot.
5. Jamaican-Style Hot Sauce
Scotch bonnet, bell pepper and pimento simmered and blended into a bold, fiery sauce you can adjust to your own heat.
6. Homemade Jamaican-Style BBQ Sauce
Built on our homemade ketchup and thickened with molasses and smoked paprika until it is rich, glossy and unmistakably Jamaican.
7. Jamaican-Style Tomato Ketchup
Fresh Roma tomatoes, allspice and thyme simmered down into a ketchup with real Caribbean depth.
8. Homemade Mayo
Thick, silky and ready in five minutes with an immersion blender, the base for aioli, dips and dressings.
9. Jamaican Escovitch Pickled Sauce
A bright vinegar pickle of carrot, onion and sweet pepper, boiled until tender-crisp and poured on hot.
Syrups, Creamers & Milks
Small batches that make breakfast and coffee feel special.
10. Simple Jamaican Rum Syrup
Brown sugar and white rum reduced into a warm, spiced syrup for waffles, pancakes and Sunday morning.
11. Homemade Spiced Coconut Creamer
Full-fat coconut milk warmed with cinnamon, nutmeg and maple, a dairy-free coffee creamer worth waking up for.
12. How to Make Coconut Milk at Home
Fresh coconut meat blended and strained into rich, creamy milk, the base of half of Jamaican cooking.
Breads & Doughs
Sunday morning staples and a fried treat for the sweet tooth.
13. Jamaican Hard Dough Bread
Dense, slightly sweet and sturdy enough for a thick slice of butter, the Sunday morning bread of Jamaican homes.
14. Jamaican Bammy
Grated cassava pressed into discs, steamed, then soaked in coconut milk and fried for the crispiest edge.
15. Twisted Donuts
Soft, nutmeg-scented dough twisted into knots and fried golden, then glazed or rolled in cinnamon sugar.
Wellness, Tonics & Frozen Treats
From our kitchen to your daily routine, with a cool kisko for the kids.
16. Homemade Elderberry Gummies
Elderberry syrup set into chewy gummies the whole family will actually ask for.
17. Homemade Vitamin C Gummies
Fresh citrus, sea moss gel and collagen set into a daily gummy that tastes like candy.
18. Sea Moss Gel
A smooth, mineral-rich sea moss gel to keep in the fridge and stir into smoothies, tonics and more.
19. Turmeric Ginger Wellness Shot
Turmeric, ginger, orange and lemon blended into a bright daily shot to start the morning.
20. Ice Pop Freezes (Kisko)
The Caribbean corner-store freeze pop, made at home with lime, ginger and your favorite flavor.
Get All 20 Recipes in One Book
Our Jerk Tavern Pantry Essentials ebook gathers every recipe above, with full ingredient lists, step-by-step methods and a Tavern Tip on every page. Get the ebook on our shop, or browse all of our cookbooks on our ebooks page.
A Word of Wisdom
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have freedom. He set us free from the bondage of sin. Before we knew Him sin held us down. We were living lives of lawlessness not knowing that our end would be hell. But once we believed in Jesus Christ and live according to His will for our lives, we have been set free from sin, for His blood washes away our former self and we are forgiven for what we have done in our ignorance.
Therefore, we must live our lives for Him. Give Him all the glory, all the honor, all the praise. The things we now do in our lives as believers must all be done to the glory of God. We must not use our freedom to sow to the flesh but sow to the Holy Spirit he has given us.
While we were yet sinners Jesus died for us. We are saved by grace through faith. He lay down His life for us, so it’s only fair that we live the rest of our lives for Him. So whatever you decide to do after you received the gift of salvation, do it all to the glory of God.
From our kitchen to yours — walk good and eat well, family. 🌿
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