Trinidadian Corn Soup Recipe

Trinidadian Corn Soup Recipe: A Caribbean Comfort Classic

If you’ve ever visited Trinidad and Tobago during Carnival or ever left a party in the wee hours of the morning, chances are you’ve had a steaming bowl of Trinidadian corn soup. This iconic dish isn’t just soup, it’s culture in a bowl. Rich with fresh corn, pumpkin, split peas, dumplings, and island seasonings, this hearty and flavorful soup is a staple of Trini street food and home cooking alike.

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to make authentic Trini corn soup at home, plus share tips for variations, storage, and serving.

Why You’ll Love This Trinidadian Corn Soup

• Hearty & satisfying – packed with corn on the cob, pumpkin, carrots, and dumplings.
• Flavorful broth – seasoned with Caribbean herbs, garlic, pimento peppers, and fresh thyme.
• Vegan-friendly – this recipe is naturally plant-based, but still incredibly filling.
• Authentic taste of Trinidad – brings island comfort straight to your kitchen.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s a breakdown of the classic ingredients used in Trini corn soup:

• Fresh corn on the cob (cut into chunks)
• Yellow split peas (for a thick, creamy base)
• Pumpkin or kabocha squash (gives body and sweetness)
• Carrots, potatoes, and batata (sweet potato)
• Fresh thyme, scallion, and culantro (chadon beni or recaito)
• Garlic, onion, and scotch bonnet or pimento pepper
• Flour dumplings (small spinners or rounds)
• Water
• Butter
• Coconut Milk
• Canned corn
• Chicken bouillon cube
• Turmeric
• Flavored Soup Mix (Grace Cock flavored soup mix)
• Green Seasoning (Recipe here: https://thatnursecooks.com/2022/12/01/haitian-epis-caribbean-green-seasoning/ )

(Pro Tip: If you can’t find culantro (chadon beni or recaito), fresh cilantro is a good substitute.)

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp salted butter
• 1-2 Chadon Beni leaf, chopped
• 1 large spoonful of green seasoning
• 2 Idaho potatoes, peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 lb of Kabocha squash, peeled and diced into cubes
• 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• 1 Batata (sweet potato), peeled and diced into cubes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• Few sprigs of thyme
• 1 or 2 pimento peppers or scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 can of Whole Kernel Sweet Corn (strain and rinse)
• 1 can of Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 1/2 Chicken bouillon cube
• 1 tsp ground Turmeric
• 4 ears of fresh corn on the cob, sliced into chunks
• 1 cup of Yellow Split peas (dhal)
• 2 lbs of salted pigtail, sliced into chunks (salt must be boiled out first)
• 1 packet of Flavored Soup Mix (Grace cock flavored soup mix)
• 2 Liters of Water
• 1-2 tsp of All purpose seasoning (depending on your desire for flavor)
• 2 tsp of Onion Powder
• 2 tsp of Garlic Powder

Directions:

• The first step is to chop all ingredients. Potatoes and squash must be cut into cubes, carrots sliced into coins, onion, garlic, scallion, and chadon beni must be finely chopped
• If using salted pigtail, the salt must be boiled out first. Boil the pigtail for 20 minutes, throw off the water, catch fresh water, and boil again for another 20 minutes. Chop into cubes.
• To a large stock pot, or large dutch pot, place your flame on low/medium and melt butter. Next, add onion, garlic, chadon beni, scallion, green seasoning, and sauté for 1 minute.
• Add kabocha squash, potato, batata, turmeric, and stir.
• Add 1 can of coconut milk, sweet corn, and split peas
• Add water and thyme. Cover and boil for 30 minutes
• Make dumplings by adding 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup of water. Slowly & carefully add water and knead flour into a round mound of dough. Dough should not be sticky. If it’s sticky and moist, flour the counter and lightly dust your mound of dough. Pinch pieces off and roll between your hands. Drop them into the soup.
• Add fresh corn, pig tail, pepper, and flavored soup packet. At this time, you can add all purpose, onion & garlic powder. Stir and cover. Boil for 20-25 minutes. Serve and enjoy!