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Korean Sloppy Joes

These Korean Sloppy Joes are the perfect spicy twist on the traditional sloppy joe. Made with Korean spicy flavors and topped with a quick and yummy pickle topping. These are perfect for sliders, burger buns, lettuce wraps, or rice bowls.

Korean sloppy joes in a skillet with green onions on top
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Jamaican Inspired Sweet Potato Pudding

This Sweet Potato Pudding is inspired by a Jamaican recipe I grew up eating. Sweet potato, coconut milk, and fragrant spices make this the perfect pudding for any occasion. 

half eaten sweet potato pudding in baking dish with blender to the side

You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check out the blog post itself for extra tips and tricks!

One of my favorite Jamaican treats is a slice of sweet potato pudding. I didn’t get it every day, desserts were limited in our household growing up, but when I got it, it was amazing. 

I also love the fact that this recipe is vegan! No eggs, no milk, no butter.

You’re probably wondering why in the world I named this recipe Jamaican Inspired Sweet Potato Pudding. I did that for a few reasons:

  • Traditional Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding does not use the orange sweet potato typically found in US grocery stores. The sweet potato used in the traditional recipe has a white or light yellow flesh with a red outer skin. You can find it in most international grocery stores under the name “batata.” The batata potato is much firmer when made into pudding, making it easier to slice and serve that way. My recipe is more of a pudding-like consistency. If you’re looking for a recipe using batata potatoes, try this Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding recipe. 
  • The traditional recipe calls for grating the sweet potato on the side of a box grater with the smallest holes. I’ve done it that way but prefer to use my blender for a smooth consistency. Plus it’s much easier. 
  • I use canned coconut milk as it’s easier than using block coconut or fresh coconut. 

Now that I’ve cleared that up, let’s get into how to make this yummy pudding.

How to make Sweet Potato Pudding

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. We need it nice and warm to bake in. 

Then, you’ll grab 2 lbs of sweet potato. Wash, peel, and chop your sweet potato into large chunks. Then add the sweet potato to your blender with the coconut milk. Blend until your mixture is smooth. I tend to do 2 batches to ensure the mixture is blended smooth and there are no large chunks. 

sweet potato chunks in bender with coconut milk on bottom
pureed sweet potato and coconut milk in blender

Once your sweet potato and coconut milk are blended, add the puree to a large bowl. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, allspice, and nutmeg to the bowl and stir to combine.

sweet potato puree with sugar and spices in a bowl

Then add in your flour and stir to combine. I add the flour in my sifting it in but don’t stress if you don’t have one of these fancy tools. Sometimes I just skip the sifting as well. 

flour sifter over bowl of sweet potato puree
sweet potato puree in bowl sith spoon sticking out

Then pour the mixture into an 8x8 baking dish.

sweet potato mixture in 8x8 baking dish

Place in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean. 

baked sweet potato pudding in baking dish

Cool and serve and enjoy.

Pro tip: This recipe is good when eaten right away but is even more amazing when served the next day. 

Eat it as is or top with a scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

sweet potato pudding in glass jar with a scoop of ice cream in front of blender

Looking for more Caribbean recipes? Try these out:

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4.34 from 6 votes

Jamaican Inspired Sweet Potato Pudding

This Sweet Potato Pudding is inspired by a Jamaican pudding I grew up eating. Sweet potato, coconut milk, and fragrant spices make this the perfect pudding for any occasion. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 25 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: jamaican sweet potato pudding, sweet potato pudding
Servings: 10 people
Calories: 391kcal
Author: Tanya Harris

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs raw sweet potato peeled and chopped
  • 13.6 oz can coconut milk
  • 1 ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Dash of browning optional
  • 2 ½ cups flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add sweet potato and coconut milk to blender. Blend on medium speed for 30 seconds or until sweet potatoes are pureed.
  • Place puree in a large bowl and add the remainder of the ingredients and stir.
  • Pour into an 8x8 baking dish and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until pudding is set and toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool in baking dish and enjoy 🙂

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 477mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 12870IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg

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Jamaican Oxtails Recipe

This Jamaican Oxtails Recipe is fall off the bone tender and full of amazing flavor. It can be made in about an hour with your pressure cooker or cook it low and slow in a slow cooker.

jamaican oxtail in a white bowl with blue napkin in background

You’ll find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check out the blog post itself for extra tips and tricks!

If you ever ask me what my favorite Jamaican dish is, I’ll probably say oxtail. It’s a recipe that my mom would make for special occasions. I wish we could have eaten it weekly, but oxtail can be so darn expensive. So it became one of those special Sunday dinners or “let’s celebrate something” dinners. 

Oxtails usually take hours to cook. But wow, the flavor and the tenderness the oxtail brings are worth it. Lucky for me, I’m a pressure cooking fanatic and found that using a pressure cooker cuts the time of cooking oxtail by a ton.  For this recipe, you can use a pressure cooker or even a slow cooker.

Ingredients Needed

Ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions are on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

  • Oxtail - Choose beef oxtail that is medium in size and of a similar size. Try to choose oxtail pieces that do not have too much fat on them.
  • Marinade Ingredients - Brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and allspice.
  • Other Ingredients - vegetable oil, yellow onion, green onion, garlic, carrots, scotch bonnet pepper (or habanero), beef broth, thyme, cornstarch, water, and butterbeans.

How to Make Jamaican Oxtails and Gravy

First, I mise en place my ingredients by chopping my onions, garlic, and scotch bonnet or habanero pepper. Make sure to remove the seeds and membrane from the hot pepper, or your oxtail will be too spicy. 

Next, prepare your oxtails by cleaning them with a mixture of water and vinegar, then dry them off with paper towels. I know I know, they say not to wash your meat but my mom would cuss me out if I didn’t. So I do. 

raw oxtail pieces on a teal cutting board

Next, season your oxtails with brown sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, allspice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and browning. Use your hands and mix, ensuring that your oxtail pieces are fully covered. 

raw oxtails covered in seasoning in a bowl

Now you can decide at this point if you feel like marinating or not. If I’m pressure cooking or slow cooking, I usually skip this step, and the flavor is still pretty amazing. If you choose to marinate, marinate in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. 

Pressure Cooking Instructions

Turn the pressure cooker on the “high sauté” setting. If using an Instant Pot, select “Sauté and press the “+” button until it is the “more” setting. Once your Pressure Cooker is “Hot”, add your vegetable oil to the pot. 

Next, add your larger oxtail pieces to the pot, flat side down about ¼ inch apart, and brown on each side for about 2 minutes. Make sure you’re watching the oxtails at this browning stage, as you don’t want to burn the oxtail. If you do, your oxtail gravy will taste bitter later on. 

oxtail pieces in instant pot

You can choose to brown all your pieces of oxtails but I usually only brown the larger pieces of the oxtail. The smaller pieces usually don’t need browning. 

Once you’ve browned your oxtail, deglaze your pressure cooker by adding about 2 Tablespoons of beef broth to the insert. Take a wooden spoon and deglaze your pot by removing the brown bits at the bottom. Then add your yellow onions, green onions, carrots, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Stir and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions have softened. 

vegetables in instant pot insert

Add dried thyme, oxtails (and the liquid from the marinade), remaining beef broth, and ketchup to the pressure cooker insert. All the broth will not cover the oxtail. You don’t need it to. 

oxtails in insert of instant pot before cooking

Press “Cancel” on your pressure cooker. Cover with lid, making sure the valve is set to “Seal.” Set your pressure cooker to cook on High Pressure for 45 minutes. 

Once your timer goes off, allow the pressure cooker to naturally release. All this means is that you don’t touch it. If you’re like me, you may anxiously stare at the pressure cooker waiting for your oxtail goodness. After about 25 minutes, all of your pressure should have been released. Double-check by making sure that the pin button has dropped or switch the valve to “Venting” to ensure all the pressure has been released. Press “Cancel” on the pressure cooker and then open the lid. 

oxtails in instant pot after cooking

Remove the oxtail pieces and vegetables from the Pressure Cooker and place them in a bowl, and set aside. I use a spider strainer for this step.

strainer removing oxtail pueces from instant pot

Then press the “Sauté button on your pressure cooker.

Once your liquid starts to boil, make a cornstarch slurry by whisking the cornstarch with water in a separate bowl. Slowly stir the slurry into the pressure cooker. Add drained butter beans to the pressure cooker as well and stir them in. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened a little and the butter beans are warmed.

corn starch slurry over instant pot
butter beans over instant pot

Return oxtails and vegetables to the pressure cooker. Serve and enjoy.

finished Jamaican oxtails in instant pot

Tanya's Notes on Pressure Cooker Oxtails

  • It’s best if all your oxtails are medium-sized oxtails that are similar in size. If you can’t get them the same size, no worries. It’ll still work. 
  • Oxtail that is too fatty will lead to fatty gravy. You want some fat, just not too much fat. If your oxtail is extremely fatty, use a paring knife to remove some of the excess fat. 
  • Scotch Bonnet is typically used for this recipe. If you can’t find a scotch bonnet, a habanero can be substituted. You could also use about 1-2 teaspoons of this scotch bonnet pepper sauce. 

Looking for recipes to serve this Jamaican Oxtails with? Try these out:

Other popular Jamaican recipes:

Find the full video tutorial on YouTube. Don't forget to click the thumbs-up button and subscribe for more recipe videos.

If you've made this oxtail recipe or any other recipe on the blog, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave a comment below. Your feedback is always appreciated!

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4.83 from 712 votes

The BEST Jamaican Oxtail Recipe

This Jamaican Oxtails recipe is the perfect Caribbean stew for dinner. Delicious and tender oxtail and butter beans that is cooked to perfection. Make it in the Instant Pot or any electric Pressure Cooker. Stove top and slow cooker instructions also included.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Caribbean
Keyword: jamaican oxtails
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 876kcal
Author: Tanya Harris

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2.5 lbs oxtails
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 teaspoon browning
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 4 green onions chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon garlic chopped
  • 2 whole carrots chopped
  • 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper seeds and membrane removed and chopped
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 Tablespoon ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 Tablespoons water
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 16 oz can Butter Beans drained

Instructions

  • Rinse oxtails with water and vinegar and pat dry. Cover oxtails with brown sugar, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, allspice, and browning and rub into oxtails.
  • Set Pressure Cooker on High Sauté and once hot, add vegetable oil. Next, add your larger oxtail pieces to the pot, flat side down about ¼ inch apart, and brown on each side.
  • Remove oxtail after browning and place in bowl.
  • Deglaze your pressure cooker by adding about 2 tablespoon of beef broth to the insert. Take a wooden spoon and deglaze your pot by removing the brown bits at the bottom. Then add your yellow onions, green onions, carrots, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Stir and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onions have softened.
  • Add dried thyme, oxtails (and the liquid from the marinade), remaining beef broth, and ketchup to the pressure cooker insert.
  • Press “Cancel” on your Instant Pot. Cover and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Once timer is done, allow pressure cooker to naturally release.
  • Once all pressure has released, open lid and remove oxtails and vegetables, leaving liquid behind. Turn Pressure Cooker on sauté. Once liquid begins to simmer, create a corn starch slurry by combining corn starch and water to a separate bowl. Stir into simmering liquid. Add drained butter beans into pressure cooker and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes, until liquid is slightly thickened and butterbeans are warmed.
  • Add oxtails and vegetables back to the pressure cooker. Serve and enjoy 🙂

Slow Cooker Instructions

  • Prepare the recipe as instructed up until the oxtails need to be browned. Brown oxtail over medium-high heat on the stovetop in a skillet. Once oxtail are browned, deglaze skillet by adding 2 tablespoon of beef broth. Add onions and carrots to skillet and stir until onions have softened. Add these ingredients to the slow cooker as well as all remaining ingredients, except the butter beans. Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or until oxtail is tender. 30 minutes before serving, create a cornstarch slurry by combining corn starch and water to a separate bowl. Stir into slow cooker along with the drained butter beans.

Stove Top Instructions

  • Follow the instructions above and then rather than placing in a slow cooker or pressure cooker, cook it on the stove on medium low heat for about 3 hours, stirring occasionaly or until oxtails are tender. Add the butter beans when there is about 30 minutes left on the cook time.

Video

Notes

Notes on Pressure Cooker Oxtails
  • It’s best if all your oxtails are medium sized oxtails that are similar in size. If you can’t get them the same size, no worries. It’ll still work. 
  • Oxtail that is too fatty will lead to fatty gravy. You want some fat, just not too much fat. If your oxtail is extremely fatty, use a paring knife to remove some of the excess fat. 
  • Scotch Bonnet is typically used for this recipe. If you can’t find a scotch bonnet, a habanero can be substituted. You could also use about 1-2 teaspoon of this scotch bonnet pepper sauce. 

Nutrition

Calories: 876kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 90g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 312mg | Sodium: 2882mg | Potassium: 297mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 5261IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 13mg