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Last Updated on March 8, 2026 by Tiffany
This vegan ackee recipe is an authentic Jamaican ackee recipe, but using chickpeas as the protein source instead of saltfish!
Made for mi ital people dem and other vegans alike, this recipe uses traditional Jamaican seasoning and herbs and tastes like home.
What you’ll need- Vegan Ackee
👩🏿🍳Ackee
👩🏿🍳Chickpeas
👩🏿🍳Roma Tomato
👩🏿🍳Garlic
👩🏿🍳Fresh Thyme Stem
👩🏿🍳Scallion
👩🏿🍳Onion
👩🏿🍳Bell Pepper
👩🏿🍳Scotch Bonnet
Dry Seasoning
👩🏿🍳Jamaican All Purpose Seasoning
👩🏿🍳Garlic Powder
👩🏿🍳Onion powder
👩🏿🍳No salt seasoning
👩🏿🍳Italian Seasoning
👩🏿🍳Black Pepper
👩🏿🍳Water
How to make Vegan Ackee
Step One:
Chop all your fresh herb (minus the scotch bonnet and thyme, into small pieces). The smaller they are chopped, the better it makes the ackee taste- trust me on this.
De-stem the thyme so you’re left with only the leaves and leave the scotch bonnet whole. Make sure to NEVER allow there scotch bonnet to burst as it is extremely spicy!!
Step Two:
Start to sauté your herbs in a bit of oil for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
While your herbs are sautéing, Using a from or potato masher, mash your chickpeas into little crumbles. This will allow the flavor to be absorbed easily and slightly give the appearance of salt fish.
Go ahead and add in the chickpeas as well as the water and let that steam for a few minutes.
Step Three:
Now, add your dry seasoning into the pan, you always want to season the dish before adding in the ackee because the ackee is extremely soft and will crumble quickly. Allow this to slightly cook down for about another 2-3 minutes.
Step Four:
Once the herbs and chickpeas are seasoned to your likeness, add in the chickpeas and gently stir, covering the pot and allowing to steam again for up to 5 minutes.
Serve warmed alongside boiled food and enjoy!
How to store Vegan Ackee
Ackee can store just fine in the fridge up to four days. I even feel like as the days go on, the flavors intensify as the seasonings seep into the food more. Basically, this vegan ackeee will taste even more delicious the second day!
I highly advise against re-heating in a pan as it often requires scrambling and will lead the ackee to become too soft. When you’re ready to re-heat, what I do is place a mason jar lid on the bottom of a large pan/pot, pour a small bit of water into the pot place my plate of food on top, and cover and allow that to steam for a few minutes.
This is one of the most natural, microwave free ways to reheat food, and it is most certainly ital and rasta approved.
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Check out these other Ital Jamaican recipes you’ll also love
Delicious Vegan Ackee
Ingredients
- 1 Can Ackee
- 1 Can Chickpeas aprx 1.5 Cups
- 1 Roma Tomato
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 3 Thyme Stem
- 3 Scallion
- 1/2 Onion
- 1/2 Bell Pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Water
Dry Seasonings
- 1.5 Teaspoon Jamaican All Purpose Seasoning
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon No Salt Seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- Black Pepper to taste
- ~1 Tablespoon Oil for sautéing
Instructions
- Chop all your fresh herb (minus the scotch bonnet and thyme, into small pieces). The smaller they are chopped, the better it makes the ackee taste- trust me on this.De-stem the thyme so you're left with only the leaves and leave the scotch bonnet whole. Make sure to NEVER allow there scotch bonnet to burst as it is extremely spicy!!
- Start to sauté your herbs in a bit of oil for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. While your herbs are sautéing, Using a from or potato masher, mash your chickpeas into little crumbles. This will allow the flavor to be absorbed easily and slightly give the appearance of salt fish. Go ahead and add in the chickpeas as well as the water and let that steam for a few minutes.
- Now, add your dry seasoning into the pan, you always want to season the dish before adding in the ackee because the ackee is extremely soft and will crumble quickly. Allow this to slightly cook down for about another 2-3 minutes.
- Once the herbs and chickpeas are seasoned to your likeness, add in the chickpeas and gently stir, covering the pot and allowing to steam again for up to 5 minutes.Serve warmed alongside boiled food and enjoy!
