[1] Stew peas originated in Jamaica, and is a Caribbean Creole dish, created from a fusion of cooking techniques and ingredients— influenced by various ethnic groups that exist in the region.

The first European arrivals to the Americas, the Spanish, introduced pigs, cattle and other livestock to Jamaica and the rest of the New World.

[2] Kidney beans which are typically used in Jamaican stew peas, are thought to have originated in Peru around 8,000 B.C.,[6][7] and cultivars were dispersed throughout the Americas by indigenous Amerindian tribes,[8] like the Arawaks— then later the Spanish and Portuguese, who introduced them to other regions through the Columbian Exchange.

Along with the Spanish, Portuguese,[5] French,[11] English,[5] Dutch[12] and East Indians,[13] they contributed to the introduction and cultivation of rice in the region.

[19][20] In September 1992, the Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner, declared stew peas with rice as "the best dish made in Jamaica", in its Home, Living and Food Guide.

Additional ingredients include onion, garlic, escallion, scotch bonnet, herbs and spices.