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Home » Recipe Index » Caribbean

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe

Published: Sep 16, 2021 · Modified: Aug 26, 2024 by Tanya · This post may contain affiliate links · 28 Comments

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This Jamaican Festival recipe is a homemade version of the popular Jamaican snack. Made with a few simple ingredients, this delicious fried sweet dough is the perfect side dish for your favorite Jamaican recipes. 

jamaican festival ina white bowl


 

This post contains affiliate links, please read my full disclaimer here.

The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.

When I say festival, I don’t mean a party. But then again, it’s always a party when I show up with my homemade festival! Ha! All jokes aside, this Jamaican festival recipe is the truth and I worked on it to make sure it was as delicious as the ones I had as a child. 

Jamaican festival is a sweet fried dough made with cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and milk. The dough comes together quite easily and all you have to do is deep fry it. It goes well with some of my favorite Jamaican recipes like rasta pasta, jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, or escovitch fish. 

How to make Jamaican Festival

First, gather your ingredients. You’ll want to start heating a heavy bottom pot of oil that has at least 3 inches of oil in it or use a deep fryer if you have one. Turn the heat over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

ingredients for festival

Prepare your festival dough by adding the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and stirring to combine.

dru ingredients for festival in a white bowl

Add the vanilla extract and milk and stir until the dough comes together. Then use your hands to lightly form the mixture into a ball. 

festival dogh rolled into ball

Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into long oval shapes. Make about 12 dumplings. 

festival dough rolled into long oval shape in hand

Once the oil has reached the temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, fry the dough on all sides, until golden brown. This should take about 4-6 minutes.

jamaican festival dough being deep fried

Remove dough and drain off any excess grease. 

fried festival draining on wire rack

Serve and enjoy. 

fried festival dough in plate with one broken to see inside

What does festival taste like?

Festival is like a combination of sweet cornbread and hushpuppies mixed together. It’s light and fluffy and sweetened to perfection. 

Notes on Jamaican Festival

  • Make sure your oil is set to the proper temperature for deep frying. I use a thermometer to ensure my oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Festival is best eaten when it's made. The dough can be made a day ahead.
  • The amount of milk added may depend on the brand of flour used. You may need a little more or a little less. Slowly stir in the milk until the flour is moistened and can easily form into a ball of dough. 
  • I don't recommend making festival in an air fryer. I tried and it was not as good.

Looking for other Jamaican recipes? Try these out:

  • Jamaican Fried Dumpling
  • Cornmeal Porridge
  • Oxtail
  • Curry Chicken
  • Curry Goat
  • Brown Stew Chicken
fried festival dough in plate with one broken to see inside
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4.91 from 20 votes

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe

This Jamaican Festival recipe is a homemade version of the popular Jamaican snack. Made with a few simple ingredients, this delicious fried sweet dough is the perfect side dish for your favorite Jamaican recipes.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Caribbean
Keyword jamaican festival, jamaican festival recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes minutes
Total Time 16 minutes minutes
Servings 12 dumplings
Calories 117kcal
Author Tanya
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup fine cornmeal
  • 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup milk a little less or more may be needed, see notes
  • Oil for deep frying*

Instructions

  • Heat a heavy bottom pot of oil that has at least 3 inches of oil in it or use a deep fryer if you have one. Turn the heat over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine.
  • Add the vanilla extract and milk and stir until the dough comes together. Then use your hands to lightly form the mixture into a ball.
  • Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into long oval shapes. Make about 12 dumplings.
  • Once the oil has reached the temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, fry the dough on all sides, until golden brown. This should take about 4-6 minutes.
  • Remove dough and drain off any excess grease. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

  • Make sure your oil is set to the proper temperature for deep frying. I use a thermometer to ensure my oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Festival is best eaten when it's made. The dough can be made a day ahead.
  • The amount of milk added may depend on the brand of flour used. You may need a little more or a little less. Slowly stir in the milk until the flour is moistened and can easily form into a ball of dough.
  • I don't recommend making festival in an air fryer. I tried and it was not as good.

Nutrition

Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
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Comments

    4.91 from 20 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Bina says

    December 24, 2024 at 6:04 am

    I only put in 1/2 pint of milk but too much.
    Does work too well with wholemeal flour but tastes fine.

    Reply
  2. Sarafina Braddy says

    October 20, 2024 at 10:21 am

    Hey, what I wanted to know was can you use coconut milk? A lot of people say to just use regular milk but me know seh some jamaican use the cocnut milk and it taste good as well

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      October 20, 2024 at 2:29 pm

      Hey Sarafina, you can use coconut milk. Some people even use water, but the coconut milk will add good flavor and keep them nice and fluffy.

      Reply
  3. Mary says

    October 04, 2024 at 10:56 pm

    Pefect

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      October 06, 2024 at 8:23 am

      Thank you Mary!

      Reply
  4. Eva says

    June 16, 2024 at 7:09 am

    Mine came out quite dense in the middle, what am I doing wrong please? Tasted amazing regardless!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      June 16, 2024 at 9:27 am

      Hey Eva, so happy you like the flavor. The denser result may be due to overmixing the dough, resulting in more gluten.

      Reply
  5. erikah says

    March 28, 2024 at 8:23 am

    amazing recipe.
    used fructose sugar instead of sucrose white sugar (i am sucrose intolerant) and they turned out SOOOOO good and fluffy!

    ...yes i did roll a few in cinnamon and fructose sugar....

    will make again!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      March 28, 2024 at 10:08 pm

      Thanks so much for the feedback, Erikah! I love love love the idea of rolling them in cinnamon sugar. I'll have to try that.

      Reply
      • Tanya says

        December 22, 2024 at 1:27 pm

        Hi my name is also Tanya, oddly enough my dad is Jamaican and his last name is Harris

      • Tanya says

        December 22, 2024 at 9:35 pm

        oh, so cool! Small world! Maybe we're related lol.

  6. PAUL DEABREU says

    December 25, 2023 at 1:08 pm

    Can I still make festivals without corn meal , should I substitute something in it’s place

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      December 26, 2023 at 6:38 am

      Hey Paul, for the taste and texture, you'll want cornmeal in this recipe.

      Reply
    • Rachel says

      April 18, 2024 at 1:05 pm

      @Tanya, I used cornflour as can’t get hold of cornmeal easily here and they were great

      Reply
      • Tanya says

        April 19, 2024 at 8:01 am

        Thanks so much Rachel! Good to know cornflour works just as well.

    • Lais says

      June 13, 2024 at 9:11 am

      @PAUL DEABREU, fine ground semolina or polenta as a substitute makes dumplings a bit heavier but works

      Reply
  7. Dayle says

    August 27, 2023 at 9:41 am

    If I make the dough ahead of time can I leave it out or should I refrigerate it?

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      August 28, 2023 at 10:02 am

      Great question! I would refrigerate it until ready to fry.

      Reply
  8. Van Escobar says

    May 01, 2023 at 8:27 pm

    This recipe is a show stopper! So easy yet so delicious. I used my deep fryer and it had the person amount of crunch but delicious and soft on the inside! My goodness!!!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      May 04, 2023 at 7:45 am

      Thanks so much Van! So happy you liked the recipe.

      Reply
  9. Julie says

    April 02, 2023 at 1:26 pm

    I made this recipe for my Jamaican husband this morning to accompany our traditional Jamaican breakfast of ackee and salt fish. I usually use the mix from the market, but we were out. Now he wants me to make homemade all the time! They came out perfect!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      April 04, 2023 at 9:34 am

      Thanks Julie! So happy you like the recipe 🙂

      Reply
  10. Gail says

    September 02, 2022 at 11:46 pm

    I love ❤️ ur site delicious recipes

    Reply
  11. Boris says

    June 22, 2022 at 10:59 pm

    Had to try it in the air fryer. Very Nice! You mek we proud. Gwaan through!

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      June 24, 2022 at 12:24 am

      Thanks Boris! Love that you made it in the air fryer. So happy you like the recipe 🙂

      Reply
    • Sharon says

      January 16, 2025 at 3:40 pm

      has anyone tried baking it? I try not to eat fried foods. 0

      Reply
  12. DiaKem says

    April 19, 2022 at 5:08 pm

    Great and simple recipe! Can’t go wrong with a dash of nutmeg 😉

    Reply
    • Tanya says

      April 20, 2022 at 9:55 am

      Thanks DiaKem! Agreed, love a dash of nutmeg.

      Reply

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Welcome to My Forking Life! Hi, I'm Tanya, attorney, busy wife and mom, and lover of quick, easy, and delicious meals.

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