Jamaican Beef Soup (Low Carb)

This is a low carb, modern version of Jamaican beef soup. It's made with a medley of low carb vegetables - okra, carrots, cho cho and corn. No dumpling or root vegetables making it perfect for weight loss.

If you are from the Caribbean or of Caribbean heritage then you will already know that Saturday is reserved for soup.

This is a principle that is ongoing and one that we love to embrace. You will find SO many variations of soup.

Ranging from mutton, turkey/lamb neck, chicken, gungo/red peas, conch, fish tea and so on. As you can see we have different versions of soup.

Also, we don't just serve soup when someone is sick nor is it completely pureed, soup makes a regular occurrence whether it's summer or winter.

It will normally consist of dumpling/spinners (a Jamaican term for long dumpling) and root vegetables aka ground provisions.

Adapting a low carb version

My version of Saturday soup is low in carbohydrates, rather then load my soup with ground provisions (dasheen, green banana, yam, cocoyam, breadfruit, potato etc...)

I am focusing on vegetables that are low in carbohydrates as this recipe has weight loss in mind.

I used enough pumpkin to create a beautiful rich colour with some texture to it without compromising my intentions.

Please be mindful that my version is NOT the traditional method. I have tweaked it to cater to island people who are looking to loose weight.

The best meat to use for this soup

The best type of meat to use for this recipe is beef that is lean. Lean beef is a good source of protein and has very little saturated fat which means fewer calories.

Ideally, you will want beef that is 5% fat or less, but do keep in mind that leaner meat is more expensive.

Another pro is that leaner beef won't take as long to cook, meaning you don't have to pressure cooker it unless you want to for whatever reason.

This choice of meat will save some time.

Other cuts of meat i.e chuck, round etc... are designed for slow cooking/braising therefore they should be pressure cooked to reduce the cooking time to yield a better texture.

The steps

• Place the beef in a medium sized bowl with the beef seasoning, coat and leave to infuse overnight or a few hours (this is an optional step, but recommended).
• Also have the pumpkin ready by boiling it until tender then mashing (can use a fork or pulse a few times in the blender, you don't want it to become liquid).
• Pressure cook the meat first if you need to (see the notes).

• Bring 8 cups of water to the boil.
• Once boiled, add the beef and allow to simmer on medium heat (covered for 45-50 minutes)(if the water levels drop add more hot water).
• Add the mashed pumpkin and stir.

• Add the cho cho, okra, corn, carrots, onion, scallion, garlic and soup mix pimento, thyme and scotch bonnet, 
• Allow to continue to simmer on low/medium heat, covered for 40-45 minutes or until the soup starts to thickens.
• If the soup isn't thick enough mix together 1tbsp of starch with 2tbsp of warm water and then stir it in.
• Do a taste test and adjust for salt/garlic/black pepper if needed.

Frequently asked questions

Notes and tips

• You will need my Cock Soup Mix if you are gluten free/wheat free and also my Beef Seasoning for the meat.
• As per Caribbean custom the meat is already washed with lime/vinegar.
• Use lean beef, for less calories, high levels of protein and reduced cooking time.
• To rid the slime of the okra, parboil in 2tbsp vinegar with 1tsp pink salt then strain off the water.
• Because the soup doesn't include ground provisions (excluding the pumpkin) the texture of the soup won't be as thick, you may want to add starch as referenced to thicken some more.
• If you aren't using lean beef than I would recommend trimming off any fat and pressure cooking your choice of meat first of all.
• You can add additional LOW CARB vegetables if you want to.
• Make sure to do a taste test and adjust the salt etc.. levels if needed as this will vary depending on what ingredients are being used with sodium already in them.
• Make sure to use a stock pot that holds at least 4 quartz/3 litres to avoid over spill.
• Keep an eye on the scotch bonnet, and make sure it doesn't burst or it will make the soup spicy, it's okay to remove it before hand.

More soup recipes

• Trinidad Corn Soup
• Mutton Soup
• Jamaican Chicken Soup
• Pumpkin Soup

More beef recipes to try

• Jamaican Stew Beef (Beef Stew)
• Jamaican Curry Beef (Beef Curry)
• Cuban Picadillo

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Jamaican Beef Soup (Low Carb)

This is a low carb, modern version of Jamaican beef soup. It's made with a medley of low carb vegetables - okra, carrots, cho cho and corn. No dumpling or root vegetables making it perfect for weight loss.

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Jamaican

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 403kcal

Author: Charla

Ingredients

For the meat

• ▢ 2½ lb lean beef (1.13kg) if using other beef see the notes
• ▢ 3-4 tbsp beef seasoning (44g) see notes

For the soup

• ▢ 1-1½ lb pumpkin (680g) pureed
• ▢ 8 cups water (1.8 litres)
• ▢ 2 cups okra chopped, see notes to de-slime it first, optional
• ▢ 2 cho cho chayote, christophine, chopped
• ▢ 2-3 large carrots chopped and halved
• ▢ 5-6 corn cobs
• ▢ 10 pimento berries (allspice)
• ▢ 10 sprigs of thyme tied together
• ▢ 1 small onion chopped
• ▢ 2 scallion whole
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves chopped
• ▢ 3-4 tbsp homemade soup mix (44g)see notes (use whole packet of cock / pumpkin soup mix if you're not using my homemade version)
• ▢ 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• ▢ pink salt, garlic granules and black pepper to taste

Instructions

For the meat/pumpkin preparation

• Place the was need in a medium sized bowl with the beef seasoning, coat and leave to infuse overnight or a few hours (this is an optional step, but recommended).
• Also have the pumpkin ready by boiling it until tender then mashing (can use a fork or pulse a few times in the blender, you don't want it become liquid).

To make the soup

• Pressure cook the meat first if you need to (see the notes).
• Bring 8 cups of water to the boil.
• Once boiled add the beef and allow to simmer on medium heat (covered for 45 minutes).
• Add the mashed pumpkin and stir.
• Add the cho cho, okra, corn, carrots, onion, scallion, garlic and soup mix pimento, thyme and scotch bonnet.
• Allow to continue to simmer on low/medium heat, covered for 40-45 minutes or until the soup starts to thicken
• If the soup isn't thick enough mix together 1tbsp of starch with 2tbsp of warm water and then stir it in.
• Do a taste test and adjust for salt/garlic/black pepper if needed.
• Remove the thyme stems and scotch bonnet before serving.

Video

Notes

• You will need my Cock Soup Mix if you are gluten free/wheat free and also my Beef Seasoning for the meat.
• As per Caribbean custom the meat is already washed with lime/vinegar.
• Use lean beef, for less calories, high levels of protein and reduced cooking time.
• To rid the slime of the okra, parboil in 2tbsp vinegar with 1tsp pink salt then strain off the water.
• Because the soup doesn't include ground provisions (excluding the pumpkin) the texture of the soup won't be as thick, you may want to add starch as referenced to thicken some more.
• If you aren't using lean beef than I would recommend trimming off any fat and pressure cooking your choice of meat first of all.
• You can add additional LOW CARB vegetables if you want to.
• Make sure to do a taste test and adjust the salt etc.. levels if needed as this will vary depending on what ingredients are being used with sodium already in them.
• Make sure to use a stock pot that holds at least 4 quartz/3 litres to avoid over spill.
• Keep an eye on the scotch bonnet, and make sure it doesn't burst or it will make the soup spicy, it's okay to remove it before hand.

Nutrition

Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 174mg | Potassium: 1611mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 13676IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 229mg | Iron: 9mg

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