A few signature features, however, seem to define Ghana's cuisine across regions. Hearty stews and soups are popular everywhere and all are vibrantly seasoned. Flavorings such as ginger, onions, and native spices such as calabash nutmeg and alligator pepper are generously used, as are vegetables such as bell peppers, greens, tomatoes, and okra. Legumes such as black-eyed peas are also staples and appear in a variety of dishes. And no meal would be complete without a hearty starch to soak up all the flavorful sauce or broth - either rice or swallows, which are hearty, mild mashes of cassava, rice, corn, or a mixture of these.
In short, Ghanaian food offers plenty of opportunities for exploration. The distribution of food crops is a hallmark of traditional Ghanaian food. Due to the prevalence of tropical crops like corn, beans, millet, plantains, and cassava, most ethnic groups use these ingredients to create delectable dishes for their nourishment.
Jollof rice with chicken
Signature Ghanaian Dishes
Jollof Rice
To a casual observer, jollof rice may look like a simple bowl of rice stained red by tomatoes, but there's more to this popular dish than meets the eye. Enormously popular across West Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana all claim it as one of their national dishes. Good ideas tend to spread, and cooks in Nigeria and Ghana developed their own versions of jollof rice.
In these versions, however, tomatoes are highlighted while fish is optional. A few regional differences distinguish Ghanaian jollof rice from that of Nigeria: While Nigerian cooks use long-grain rice, Ghanaian cooks prefer basmati or jasmine rice for a more tender texture. This rice dish is Senegalese in origin and is often made with a protein of choice such as meat or fish, part of the main ingredients for this delectable meal is tomato sauce.
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This dish is often accompanied by your favorite salad and delicious baked or fried plantains You may find online arguments abound about which West-African nation provides the best Jollof. This is a popular meal served by street vendors and sometimes prepared over a wood fire or coal adding a smokey salivating experience for the taste buds. I’m sure you’ve heard about this internationally recognized food, which has its roots in Senegal and was adopted by several other African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, and Sierra Leone. There has been a lot of debate about who has the best Jollof rice, and I think Ghana Jollof can be ranked as one of the best (this is my opinion as a patriotic Ghanaian).This local dish is made with a rich combination of tomato sauce and rice, cooked on a stove or over firewood to give it a rich smoky flavor. Jollof can be enjoyed in any highly reviewed Ghanaian restaurant at a reasonable price. This local dish is usually served as lunch or dinner. I love to add some salad, fried plantains, and some proteins like eggs, chicken, beef, fish or sausage.
Waakye
Another dish that demonstrates how creative Ghanaians use rice is waakye. The recipe is a combination of beans and rice and was originally a Northern dish, but it can now be found anywhere on the streets of Accra.
For a dish that is equally at home for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, try the traditional Ghanaian dish waakye. The name waakye comes from the Hausa phrase 'shinkafa da wake' which translates as rice and beans - two feature ingredients of this dish. These two simple staple ingredients are infused with rich, complex flavors from the spices they are cooked in, creating a delicious filling dish that has numerous variations across the country. Common spices used include ginger, scotch bonnet chilis, and paprika, so it is not a dish for the faint hearted.
Though waakye itself may seem like a simple dish, it is the accompaniments that turn it into a feast, and they can be varied and plentiful. Though it can be eaten as a filling meal at any time of day, the people of Ghana love to eat waakye for breakfast. It is sold as street food, often on a banana leaf with the delicious layers piled high on top. Cooking the dish with sorghum leaves gives it the distinctive red hue to match the deep, smoky flavor.
“Waakye” is one of Ghana’s delightful meals. Although considered a heavy meal, it is loved by many as a breakfast meal which can keep you full for a long time, helping you save money from having to buy lunch again in the afternoon. It is prepared with a selective combination of black-eyed beans and rice cooked together with sorghum leaves which adds to its beautiful reddish color and spectacular taste.This popular morning dish is served with tomato gravy and shito (black pepper sauce). Additional side dishes for this meal can include plantains, spaghetti, gari (cassava flakes), salad and any protein of your choice. Waakye is one of my favorite local Ghanaian dishes. In fact, I had “waakye” this morning before writing this blog post.Tip from a local: I have found that waakye sold by Muslims and men usually is the best. Every neighborhood has a favorite waakye vendor.
Read also: Exploring Waakye
Fufu
Fufu
Ghana is one of many West African countries that claim fufu as its own, and some authorities believe it originated there. Regional variations of fufu abound. While Ghanaians typically make theirs with cassava and green plantains, other ingredients, such as West African yam, are used further north. Cooks in other regions enhance their fufu with additional flavorings, such as salt, pepper, garlic, and even fried pork belly.
Plain fufu is naturally cholesterol free, which makes it a good complement to balance out a rich, meaty stew or soup, and the fiber- and potassium-rich dish also aids in digestion. Fufu is a renowned delicacy throughout Ghana and its neighbouring countries. Fufu is made with a mixture of simmering tropical cassava and plantain or yam, and is served with a mild soup. Peanut butter soup, pounded-palm-nut soup and vegetable soup derived from spinach or cocoyam leaves are all good combinations for fufu.
If you grew up in Ghana, then you definitely know that the best Sunday meal is fufu in the afternoon, especially after church. This is a meal that brings the family together due to its strenuous method of preparation. I will not be exaggerating to say that every Ghanaian loves Fufu. Gladly there are new methods invented to make the process of preparing it easier without having to do the pounding. The fufu pounding machine gives you the same result a pounded fufu will get you just without the stress.Fufu is made from cassava, yam and unripe plantain. Fufu is enjoyed with light soup (garden eggs or eggplant soup) with as many proteins of your choice as possible. Fufu can also be served with palm nut soup, peanut soup and Green soup (cocoyam leaves soup).
Kenkey
To make the corn-based staple known as Kenkey, you will need fermented corn dough, which is formed into balls, then wrapped in drying corn leaves and boiled. Kenkey is served with your choice of seafood, including fried fish, octopus, crabs, and hot pepper sauce.
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If you have never tried the Ghanaian delicacy kenkey, you are in for a treat. Delicious dumplings made from fermented maize dough, they are often served alongside fried fish to make a substantial meal. There are two main types of kenkey - ga and fante. They originate from different tribes, and the main difference is that ga kenkey is fermented for two to three days before being wrapped in a husk of corn, whereas fante kenkey is fermented for a longer period of time and wrapped in plantain leaves instead.
The dumplings are then steamed to perfection, before being served with fish and a spicy sauce made with peppers. Both types of kenkey are delicious served with fish such as tilapia or red snapper, though they will work well with any type of fish. Kenkey is a dumpling-like dish made with a maize dough that is fermented over a number of days. Kenkey or komi is fermented corn dough wrapped in corn, originating from the Ga people of the Ga-Adangbe.
A variation on the dish originating from the Fanti people is called Fante dokono or Fanti kenkey, and is wrapped with plantain leaves that give it a different texture, flavor, and colour compared to the Ga kenkey. Kenkey is probably the most popular street food in Ghana. Made from fermented corn dough and cooked in corn husk, this popular Street dish is combined with grounded fresh pepper with tomatoes and fried fish together making it an incredible dish for an afternoon lunch. I love to add some avocados, shrimp and fried eggs. Give it a try and thank me later. For more about street food, check out our Foodie’s Guide to Ghana’s Street Food. Tip from a local: The best Kenkey is made by the Ga people of Accra, which is not surprising as it is their native delicacy. If you have a very low spice tolerance, then this is probably not for you.
Banku
Kenkey and Banku are similar. The distinction is that this meal is made by combining maize dough with cassava dough. Furthermore, it is not encased in a cornhusk. Tilapia seasoned in spices is frequently the type of fish being cooked on the streets. It goes well with Banku, which is eaten with chopped tomatoes, onions, and extremely hot peppers also used as a garnish.
Banku is a solidified mixture of fermented corn dough and cassava dough that is combined and swirled in boiling water. Banku is served with a variety of soups, stews, and sauces, ranging from peanut butter to pounded palm nut soup. Okra stew or soup, on the other hand, is the most famous soup that matches well with banku.
Ba mi ku or banku are balls of slightly fermented corn and cassava flour mix that are boiled in hot water. It is a traditional meal of the GaDangme (or Ga) tribe of the Greater Accra Region, and can be eaten with pepper sauces, stews, or any soup. Banku requires the use of a special preformulated watery material called "slightly fermented corn-cassava dough mix", which is cooked to a soft solid consistency called "corn-cassava dough AFLATA".[3] Sometimes only corn flour is used, but in many areas, cassava dough is cooked together with fermented corn dough in different ratios.
Banku is another popular Ghanaian food enjoyed with Okro soup. Banku is made from fermented corn and cassava dough cooked together and molded into round sticky balls. It’s usually served with Okro soup, a slimy tasty blend of okra, tomatoes, pepper, onions, crabs, fish, chicken, beef or goat meat. If you don't mind some spice, you can also have the banku balls with freshly blended pepper with tomatoes, black pepper sauce and charcoal grilled tilapia with some chopped vegetables.This delicious local dish can be found at any local Ghanaian cuisine restaurant. This is a heavy meal so it’s great for lunch but be careful not to overeat, it can make you feel drowsy.
Tuo Zaafi
Grain, herbs, and meat are the key ingredients in northern Ghanaian food as they are the region’s primary agricultural products. Tuo Zaafi is prepared by heating corn dough and including a small amount of cassava. It is like banku but is softer and less sticky.
Let's explore the ultimate in Ghanaian comfort food - in the hearty tuo zaafi. Referred to locally as TZ, it is a slow-cooked dish made from millet flour that is then served on top of a nutritious soup. The most common soup to serve with tuo zaafi is ayoyo, made from jute leaves. These bitter green leaves are highly nutritious, making tuo zaafi a meal that will fill you up and nourish you at the same time. If you want to make tuo zaafi at home, spinach leaves can be substituted for ayoyo.
Like most African food, ayoyo soup is filled with warming spices such as chilis, ginger, and star anise, giving it a deep flavor to accompany the hearty tuo zaafi. Tuo Zaafi, or TZ, is a popular dish amongst the people of Northern Ghana, particularly the Dagombas.
HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC GHANA PEANUT BUTTER SOUP- NKATEKWAN|GROUNDNUT SOUP RECIPE
Peanut Soup
Peanuts and other groundnuts (such as tiger nuts) have long been staples in African cooking and are used in many cuisines across the continent. A popular Ghanaian dish that showcases peanuts is peanut soup, a savory concoction of ground peanuts (or peanut butter) thinned with water or broth and seasoned with tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppers, and onions. The thick (but not completely smooth) soup is typically served with a choice of meat or seafood along with a starchy side, making it a substantial meal in itself.
Koko
In Ghana, cooks and eaters take breakfast seriously. While Ghanaians with desk jobs might grab a coffee and some bread on the way out the door, their compatriots with more physically strenuous jobs take care to fortify themselves with a substantial morning meal. Thick, hearty porridges are common choices. Among these, the fermented corn porridge koko is especially esteemed.
Adding to the nutritional power of this breakfast dish is its traditional accompaniment, koose - crunchy, spiced fritters made from soaked, puréed black-eyed peas seasoned with ginger and Scotch bonnet chiles. While koose is a popular snack across West Africa in its own right (it's known in other countries as akara), it's considered an indispensable partner to the tangy-sweet porridge.
Okra Soup/Stew
Okra is native to West Africa, and African cooks were the first to make use of it, making the slender green pods the star ingredient in a number of favorite dishes. Ghanaian cooks prepare okra in a number of ways, but one of their best-known preparations is okra soup or stew. While the name suggests a basic vegetable braise, this vibrant dish is a meal in itself. To make it, cooks stew tomatoes, onions, garlic, chiles, and other seasonings (such as bouillon cubes or shrimp flavoring) in palm oil until soft.
They then add broth and meat or seafood (beef is traditional, but smoked turkey, fish, or shellfish are other options) and simmer until the meat is cooked. Sliced or chopped okra is added last. If you dislike the slimy, viscous texture of cooked okra, you can avoid it by cutting the okra into large pieces and cooking it only briefly.
Red-Red
Another quintessential Ghanaian dish worth seeking out is red-red, a flavorful and colorful stew of black-eyed peas cooked with palm oil and tomatoes, along with other flavorings including onions, ginger, and garlic. The dish is said to get its name from the bright red color contributed by both the palm oil and the tomatoes. Red palm oil, a key ingredient in the dish, comes from oil palms native to West Africa and is considered an essential ingredient in Ghanaian food and other West African nations.
While fully vegetarian versions of red-red can be made, it can also be cooked with seafood such as crayfish or smoked meat for an extra hit of flavor. If you want to add smokiness without adding meat, a dash of smoked paprika will do the trick. Red-red is traditionally enjoyed throughout the day. “Gobe” or “Red Red” because of the reddish look it gets from cooking the base sauce of the beans stew with red palm oil and frying the plantains with red palm oil as well. It is prepared with black-eyed beans, onions, pepper and some spice, which is optional, but highly recommended to give it an added taste, and served with fried plantains. This dish is usually served as lunch by street food vendors.
Kelewele
Ghanaian cooks have a deep appreciation for carbs, and starchy, cooked plantains make regular appearances at the table. While plain boiled or fried plantains are commonly served alongside other, more assertively flavored dishes such as red-red or jollof rice, plantains don't always have to be bland background players in Ghanaian cooking. A case in point is kelewele, a favorite side dish and snack consisting of brightly spiced and fried plantain chunks.
To make it, cooks mix peeled chunks of ripe plantains with grated ginger, raw onions, and garlic, along with spices including cayenne, aniseed, nutmeg, and salt. After the chunks have absorbed the flavors (about 30 minutes), they're deep-fried until brown, then served hot. Finally, the icing on the cake, “Kelewele” (fried spiced ripe plantain), which is every Ghanaian’s favorite night treat. This aromatic night snack is made from ripened plantain mixed with some spice and then fried in vegetable oil until it turns golden brown. You must have it with some roasted peanuts (groundnuts), it is the best combination. Better yet, it will suit just about all dietary preferences!
Yam Pottage
It's time to settle the annual Thanksgiving debate once and for all: No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing. True yams are large, starchy, tubers from vines native to Asia, West Africa, and South America, and unlike sweet potatoes, (which are tubers of an unrelated plant) are not sweet or orange. Thus, when Ghanaian cooks refer to dishes with yams, don't expect anything sweet or orange to show up at the table. Instead, the true African yam commonly used in Ghanaian food will be white and starchy.
It's often simply boiled and mashed to be served as a neutral starch alongside stews and soups, but it can also be a starring ingredient in spicy dishes such as yam pottage or yam porridge, a savory stew of yam chunks cooked with onions, garlic, shrimp powder, habanero chiles, bell peppers, and smoked fish. Palm oil and sometimes tomatoes can be included, as well as bouillon cubes for extra flavoring.
Shito
People around the world love hot sauce, and many countries have their own regional variations. You can probably think of quite a few, no problem. Shito, or shitor din, is the Ghanaian version of hot sauce. It is a spicy pepper concoction (with a touch of sweetness), and, as it turns out, it's quite popular. Maybe it's because it can be used as a sauce or condiment on just about anything. Or, maybe it's just because people love a bit of heat. Either way, it is definitely a Ghanaian food you need to try at least once.
Shito is a dark, relish-like sauce that boasts a potent aroma and a deep, smokey, earthy flavor. Depending on how it's made, it can also have a fishy taste. In Ghana, every family has their own recipe for shito, but most recipes use a crayfish or smoked prawn powder to deepen and enrich flavor. Shito, also known as shitor din, is a Ghanaian hot black pepper sauce generally prepared using fish or vegetable oil, ginger, dried fish, prawns, crustaceans, tomatoes, garlic, peppers and many different spices.
Garden Egg Stew
Popular in Ghana, Nigeria, and other West African countries, garden egg stew is another hearty, brothy dish Ghanaian food claims as its own. As the name suggests, it is a stew made with garden eggs, but the fun doesn't stop there. Garden egg stew is also rich with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and ginger, giving it an abundance of rich, aromatic flavors.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, garden eggs may not be what you think - they certainly aren't eggs harvested from chickens living near a garden. Instead, garden eggs are a teardrop fruit similar to an eggplant or South American tomato. They can even have a pale color that makes them resemble actual eggs. If you are wondering why you've never heard of them or seen them before at the grocery store, it's because they are indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa. Still, you can easily make garden egg stew at home with small eggplants.
Other Dishes to Explore
- Wasawasa: Made from yam flour, similar to couscous.
- Nkatie: Peanut brittle, a simple and popular sweet treat.
- Angwamu (Oil Rice): A simple yet flavorful rice dish cooked with onions and oil.
- Bofrot: Small, round, fried yeasted doughnuts, a popular street food.
- Light Soup: A tomato and seafood soup with habanero peppers and onions.
