How to Make Haitian Epis: The Seasoning That Starts Everything 🌿
A reader named Claudette asked me a question in the comments on my legume recipe. She wanted to know where I purchase my epis, or if I make my own.
Claudette. My love. Purchase?
Epis is the marinade we use in basically anything. We marinate our meat in it, we cook it into rice and beans, it goes in the bottom of the pot before almost everything else. My husband puts it on his eggs. It is not a sauce. He treats it like one.
It is never the same twice
I do not measure when I make epis. It changes every time depending on how much I am cooking, how big the peppers are, and what is ready in the garden that day. So the amounts in the card are a starting point. Taste it and adjust. That is how it is supposed to be made.
When I first learned, I made it by hand. Now I have been upgraded to a food processor. A blender works too. Use what you have.
What goes in
Peppers first. Green, yellow and red bell peppers, a few sweet peppers, and an onion. Then scallions and shallots. This is basically your complete seasoning, just fresh.
Then garlic, and the Scotch bonnets straight from the garden, the fresh thyme I just cut, and a handful of parsley. About two tablespoons of lime juice. The lime brightens everything and helps it keep in the fridge.
Blend it, then season it. A little all purpose seasoning, you do not have to overdo it. Some Better Than Bouillon. You can use Maggi or any bouillon you like. A splash of vinegar gives it enough liquid to blend smooth. And paprika, which I almost forgot in the video. Blend again and taste it.
A batch this size lasts a few days in our house. Not two weeks. A few days. We use it that fast.
Where to use it
Start with the Haitian Sunday dinner, where it goes on the chicken, into the sauce, and into the diri kole. Then try it in espageti and the legume.
Haitian Epis
Fresh peppers, onion, scallions, shallots, garlic, Scotch bonnet and herbs blended with lime and vinegar. The seasoning base for almost every Haitian dish.
These are starting amounts. I season by eye and it changes every batch, so taste and adjust.
Ingredients
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 3 to 4 sweet peppers
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bunch scallions
- 2 shallots
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves
- 2 to 3 Scotch bonnet peppers, to your heat
- A handful of fresh thyme, leaves stripped
- A handful of fresh parsley
- About 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 to 3 tbsp vinegar, enough to blend
- About 1 tsp all purpose seasoning, adjust to taste
- About 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon, or Maggi or your preferred bouillon
- About 1 tsp paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rough chop the peppers and onion. Add them to a food processor or blender with the sweet peppers, scallions and shallots.
- Add the garlic, Scotch bonnets, thyme, parsley and lime juice.
- Add a splash of vinegar so it has enough liquid to move, and blend.
- Add the all purpose seasoning, bouillon and paprika. Blend again until smooth.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, salt and heat.
- Store in a clean jar in the fridge and use within a few days.
Notes
Seed the Scotch bonnets, or use just one, if you are cooking for little ones.
Use a clean dry spoon every time you scoop so it keeps longer.
Making a big batch? Freeze some in an ice cube tray. One cube is one pot of food.
Recipe by Toni Jefferson · Rooted In J's
© 2026 Rooted in J's LLC. All rights reserved.
Please link back to this page instead of reposting the full recipe.
Half the jar walks in from the yard
Almost everything in epis grows easy in Florida. Peppers love our heat, Scotch bonnet especially. Thyme is happy in a pot all year. Scallions regrow from the root ends you would throw away. Parsley grows all through our mild season. Once it is all outside your door, you will make epis a lot more often.
Grow the jar, not just the dinner
The free Florida plant guide is 61 pages of what to plant and the month to put it in the ground, for all three regions of the state.
Get the Free Plant GuideWatch the VideoThe food processor I use is on my Amazon storefront. If you buy through it I make a small commission and it costs you nothing extra.
A recipe or a garden journal entry goes up every week on Patreon for five dollars a month.
Make a jar this week and tell me what you put it on first. And if your family's epis has something mine does not, I want to hear it. Nicely. We do not fight about epis here.
Mèsi, Claudette, for the question that finally made me write this down.
Toni