Peppery, smoky, and sweet, this homemade Low FODMAP Caribbean Jerk-Style Seasoning gives chicken, pork, fish, veggie and pasta dishes a delicious kick. While not a traditional jerk seasoning, this low FODMAP version still offers bold jerk-inspired flavors while being IBS-friendly. Paleo and refined sugar-free with options for Keto, low carb, and Whole30.
Please note: while low in FODMAPs, this homemade seasoning blend contains spicy ingredients, which can still trigger symptoms in some people with IBS.
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Is store-bought Caribbean Jerk Seasoning Low FODMAP?
Store-bought blends of Caribbean or Jamaican Jerk Seasoning may contain high FODMAP ingredients like garlic and/or onion, so it's important to check the labels of any spice blend you are considering buying for high FODMAP ingredients. They also often contain refined brown sugar, which some with blood sugar issues like me try to avoid.
What is Caribbean Jerk Seasoning?
Jerk-style cooking originates from the Caribbean island of Jamaica and has been practiced for centuries throughout the Caribbean. Vaughn Stafford Gray writes in Smithsonian Magazine that modern jerk is "a remnant from the era of slavery, when Maroons [escaped slaves in Jamacia] would transform tough cuts of meat into tender, delicious dishes" often using allspice berries, salt, and bird peppers as seasonings. Modern renditions of jerk are often marinated meats slow cooked over a fire pit or grill, and whose seasonings typically principally contain allspice, which is not a seasoning blend but made from the dried berries of the Jamaican pimento plant, and scotch bonnet peppers (aka habanero peppers), among other ingredients like thyme and nutmeg. Jerk cooking today varies widely in style, ingredients, and cultural traditions throughout the Caribbean.
My low FODMAP version of jerk seasoning is far from a traditional jerk seasoning. I do not have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Caribbean cuisine, but I appreciate the long history of this way of cooking in the Caribbean as well as the bold flavors it presents, and wanted to respectfully develop a Caribbean jerk-inspired IBS-friendly recipe.
Equipment
The equipment I use to make this Low FODMAP Caribbean Jerk-Style Seasoning include:
- Electric spice grinder - optional but highly recommended
- Small bowl
- Whisk
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
The ingredients I use in my Low FODMAP Caribbean-Style Jerk Seasoning include:
- Dried chives
- Dea salt
- Thyme leaves
- Ground cayenne - can still trigger symptoms in some people with IBS. Quantity can be reduced to make it less spicy.
- Ground cinnamon
- Whole black peppercorns (if grinding – see method #1 section below) or ground black pepper
- Maple sugar - optional - omit for Whole30, Keto, and low carb. I make this mix all the time without any sugar, maple or otherwise, and find it sweet enough. If you don't mind refined sugar, brown sugar can also used.
- Paprika
- Smoked paprika
- Ground allspice
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Ground cloves
Methods
Method #1: Electric spice grinder (Optional but highly recommended)
A couple years ago, when developing my Low FODMAP Cajun-Style Seasoning, I figured out how to grind dried chives into powder. While not necessarily a revolutionary discovery, grinding does make it a lot easier for the dried chives to adhere to meats and veggies when used as a rub or marinade. They are tricky to grind as they are so lightweight, but I discovered when you grind them along with a minimum of 1 teaspoon of whole peppercorns, due to physics I don't fully comprehend, the peppercorns "weigh them down" enough so that they can be ground. Otherwise, they just remain whole, floating aimlessly around the spice grinder.
Electric spice grinders can be fairly inexpensive, and I use mine all the time to make seasoning blends and rubs for meats.
To make this Low FODMAP Caribbean Jerk-Style Seasoning in an electric spice grinder:
Add dried chives and whole black peppercorns to an electric spice grinder.
Grind until spices become a fine powder, about 30-45 seconds, shaking the spice grinder every 10 seconds or so.
Remove lid, and if powder is not fine enough, grind again until it becomes fine.
Pour ground spices into a small bowl.
Add remaining spice ingredients to the bowl, and whisk...
...until combined.
Alternatively, add all the ingredients to a spice grinder and grind them all into powder. I don't typically do this as I like my spice blends to still have some texture, but that's also an option.
Method #2: No Electric Spice Grinder
Simply add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
How do I use this Low FODMAP Caribbean Jerk-Style Seasoning?
Use this Low FODMAP Caribbean Jerk-Style Seasoning as a seasoning rub or marinade for chicken, pork, fish, and veggies, or simply to add some delicious flavor to pastas, soups, and more. Use it in my Low FODMAP Instant Pot Caribbean Jerk-Style Pork Tenderloin.
Low FODMAP Caribbean Jerk-Style Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon dried chives*
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cayenne*
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, if grinding – see notes or ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon maple sugar, optional – omit for Whole30, Keto, and low carb*
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of ground cloves
Instructions
- {Option 1 – Highly Recommended} Add dried chives and whole black peppercorns to an electric spice grinder and grind until spices become a fine powder, about 30-45 seconds. Pour ground spices into a small bowl. Add sea salt, dried thyme, cinnamon, cayenne, maple sugar (if using it), paprika, smoked paprika, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves to the bowl and whisk until combined. Or, you can add all the spices to a spice grinder and grind them all into powder.
- {Option 2} Add dried chives, sea salt, thyme, cinnamon, cayenne, ground black pepper, maple sugar (if using it), paprika, smoked paprika, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves to small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Use to bring delicious flavor to chicken, pork, fish, veggies, pasta dishes, and more, like my Low FODMAP Instant Pot Caribbean Jerk-Style Pork Tenderloin.
Equipment
Notes
- Makes about 6 tablespoons or twelve ½-tablespoon servings.
- Dried chives: I highly recommend grinding the dried chives into powder using a spice grinder before mixing them with the other spices as they stick a lot better to meats that way. As dried chives don’t grind easily due to being lightweight, I grind them together with whole peppercorns which, due to physics I don’t fully understand, seem to “hold them down” long enough to be ground. See my Low FODMAP Cajun-Style Seasoning post for more info on this process.
- Cayenne: Although low FODMAP in small quantities, cayenne contains capsaicin, which can still trigger symptoms in some people with IBS. You can decrease the quantity of cayenne if you prefer it less spicy. Although highly subjective, as written, I would consider the spice level of this seasoning mix recipe to be “medium.”
- Maple sugar: I make this without sugar, maple or otherwise, all the time and find it sweet enough without it, but as many jerk seasoning recipes contain some sort of sugar, I have included it here. If you don’t mind eating refined sugar, you could also use brown sugar instead.
- Keto/low carb: without the maple sugar, this seasoning is only .5 grams of net carbs per serving (½ tablespoon).
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