Pd nanoparticles supported on ZIF-8 (PdNPs/ZIF-8) are described as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the aminocarbonylation of bromoarenes in the presence of phosphines and iodoarenes under phosphine-free conditions. The catalyst can be readily prepared and is air-stable. The palladium loading can be as low as 1 wt %, and the catalyst was recycled four times with negligible change in catalytic performance. A variety of pharmaceutically important amides was readily synthesized. A TON of 2540 was easily achieved in a batch reaction by scaling up to a gram scale. The catalyst reported can also be applied to the synthesis of cyclic and primary amides as well as an alkoxycarbonylation reaction to form an ester.