This vegan ackee pasta is a new twist on a familiar favorite. This dish pairs linguine with creamy ackee, the national fruit of Jamaica. Ackee looks a bit like scrambled eggs when cooked, but it’s actually a buttery fruit. It’s beloved in Jamaican cuisine and brings a rich texture to savory meals. The pasta gets its flavor from jerk seasoning, thyme, black pepper, and sun-dried tomatoes.

The spicy marinade balances the mildness of the ackee, while the pasta water helps the sauce cling to the noodles. Sun-dried tomato oil brings extra flavor. It’s a comforting, plant-based dish that’s perfect for dinner. The mix of creamy, spicy, and tangy elements makes each bite exciting. The recipe comes from Island Vegan by Lloyd Rose, who grew up eating ackee in a Jamaican household in Canada.

Read more: Comforting Curried Veggies

A pasta dish you’ll come back to again and again

Creamy ackee meets spicy jerk seasoning in this fiery fusion pasta. Packed with heat, herbs, and silky ackee, it’s a flavor bomb you didn’t see coming. Serve it up for dinner or lunch the next day – just don’t forget the sun-dried tomatoes.

a bowl of ackee pasta with jerk marinade and tomato

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Servings

Ingredients

7½ oz (210 g) linguine pasta
1 cup (235 ml) pasta water
1 (19-oz [540-g]) can ackee
3 tbsp (45 ml high-heat cooking oil
½ onion chopped
1 tbsp (15 ml) Jamaican Jerk Marinade (store-bought or homemade)
1 tbsp (16 g) tomato paste
1 tsp all-purpose seasoning
1 tsp black pepper plus more to taste
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves removed from the stems
⅓ cup (70 g) sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbsp (30 ml) oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes
Salt to taste

Instructions

Following the package instructions, boil the pasta in salt water, 2 minutes shy of al dente.
Once boiled, reserve 1 cup (235 ml) of the pasta water, then drain the pasta. Drain and gently rinse the canned ackee under cold water, then set it aside.
Bring the oil to medium heat in a large skillet. Sauté the onions until translucent, then mix in the Jamaican jerk marinade and tomato paste for 1 minute, or until the tomato paste darkens.
Gently mix in the ackee, all-purpose seasoning, black pepper and fresh thyme.
Gently stir the pasta water in and allow the ackee mixture to cook for 5 minutes. Mix in the cooked linguine pasta, sun-dried tomatoes and oil until everything inside the pan is combined.
Turn off the heat, add salt and black pepper to taste. Enjoy it while it’s hot!

Reprinted with permission from Island Vegan by Lloyd Rose. Page Street Publishing Co. 2024. Photo credit: Shanika Graham-White.