A Guide to Nigerian Food Restaurant Dishes

Dec 06, 2025 0

Nigerian cuisine is a vibrant tapestry of flavors, spices, and ingredients, reflecting the country's diverse ethnic groups and culinary traditions. From hearty stews and soups to savory snacks and refreshing drinks, Nigerian food offers a unique and satisfying culinary experience. Tackling Nigerian cuisine so early in the Here, Eat This series; Nigerian food is some of the most accessible “ethnic” food out there - or at least, it will be for anyone who grew up eating Cajun, Southern or soul food.

This article will guide you through some of the must-try dishes you'll find in a Nigerian restaurant, offering a glimpse into the rich and delicious world of Nigerian gastronomy.

Popular Nigerian Dishes

Here are some of the most popular and well-known Nigerian dishes that you are likely to find in Nigerian restaurants around the world:

Jollof Rice

Jollof rice is unarguably the most popular food in Nigeria, it is only number one because it is easy to make, anybody with a simple recipe could make a delicious pot of jollof rice in just minutes. Fried Rice is the second most popular rice dish in Nigeria; A must have at parties and a staple in most homes. The rice is cooked down with tomatoes, tomato paste, onions and red peppers.

From there, you can add nearly anything else - vegetables, meat, fish, spices - and make your jollof rice into a proper meal. Also, you don’t need any local spice or ingredients, you need just tomatoes, rice and chicken. This ingredients are available in any part of the world, other spices like curry, nutmeg and seasoning are also readily available. When you don’t find them you will always find an alternative.

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Egusi Soup and Swallow

Egusi soup is unarguably the most popular soup in Nigeria, it is always combined with swallow to serve. You will also most likely find this in major Nigeria restaurants around the world. Egusi is the classic example of an eating soup and my personal favorite. The thick stew is accessible in its basic flavors and comforting in its odd familiarity - yes, even if you’ve never eaten it before. The soft, fatty seeds of the egusi melon (a sort of wild African watermelon) thicken the tomato-based broth and add a sweetly nutty flavor to the greens and onions underneath.

There are different types of swallows in Nigeria, either eba, pounded yam or fufu is commonly served with egusi soup. Another thickener - okra - is also found in egusi, and its spider-silk strands will stretch playfully as you scoop up bites with your fufu. Don’t worry about making a mess; just lick it off your fingers (as Finger Licking Bukateria’s name would imply) and keep eating. Egusi soup is also easy to make since egusi (melon) seeds are sold in major supermarkets around the world. You just need to lay your hands on chicken or beef, palm oil, bitter leaf or spinach and then you can make a delicious pot of egusi soup.

Fried Rice

Fried rice is quite popular in Nigeria, albeit a little more expensive to prepare but it is quite delicious and will always be served in major Nigerian restaurants and eateries. Most wedding planners always include fried rice as the main food for every wedding reception. Nigerians love fried and will eat it every day if it doesn’t take so much time to prepare. It takes about 120 minutes to make a simple pot of fried rice.

Basmati Fried Rice is simply Nigerian Style Fried Rice made with Basmati instead of Long Grain Rice. This Ginger Coconut Rice is similar to the ever popular Nigerian Fried Rice with the main difference being incorporation of Coconut flavour and a potent Ginger accent.

Porridge Yam

Porridge yam is also quite popular, the recipes varies hugely across ethnic groups however. There are lots of different way to prepare yams in Nigeria and I have written an elaborate article about Yam recipes, a great resource I must add but there are yam recipes that are well hidden among different Nigerian ethnic groups.

Porridge Beans

Porridge beans is one of the most popular food in Nigeria, Usually, it is served with either cooked or fried plantain in our home. The Yorubas have a popular beans recipe that looks just like porridge beans.

Other Dishes to Try

Here are some other recommendations including:

Asaro (Yam Porridge): "[Asaro] is typically eaten for breakfast and it’s really savory. And yam sometimes has a sweetness to it and it’s delicious. It was the first dish when I was 15 years old in Nigeria, I learned how to cook. And so it has special memories to me.” - Amaka
Suya (Grilled Beef with Northern Yaji Spice): “Suya is something we enjoy as a family. We only ever get [it] at night and everybody sits in the parlor eating suya and just having so much fun.” - Zulaikha. Do you like kebabs? Then you’ll like suya. You’ll like them even better if you like Thai food and/or peanut butter. Ground peanuts and spices coat the chicken and beef pieces that are skewered onto long wooden sticks and grilled.
Zobo (Hibiscus Tea): “What I’m going to be recommending for you to try is a drink called zobo. And it is made of dried hibiscus leaves that have been brewed and then sweetened with sugar. When it’s served cold, oh my goodness, it’s the perfect drink for anything.” - Folakemi
Ila Asepo (Okra Soup): “[Ila asepo or ila alasepo] is made from lady fingers, or okra. Usually swallows are taken with like a soup and a stew. But when you mix those two together to make one big soup, it’s called ‘asepo.’ It literally means ‘mix’ in Yoruba. And it is delicious together with amala.” - Folakemi
Amala (Yam Swallow): “Amala is yam flour. So most times it’s eaten with the hands unless you want to be fancy and take it with, I dunno, fork or spoon. But most times it’s eaten with your hands, ’cause why not?” - Folakemi
Buka Sauce (Stew with Assorted Meats): “The next dish I’m gonna have you try is called buka sauce. Buka sauce is life. That’s all I’m gonna say. Let’s just start there. It’s made with this very deep-flavored, it’s called locust beans. And obviously some type of beef stock or chicken stock.” - Amaka
Akara: Wondering what Nigerians eat for breakfast? (Aside from scrambled eggs? Because: scrambled eggs, mostly.) This is one popular item, a fritter that’s made with ground black-eyed peas. Akara puffs up when it’s fried, and has the same texture and consistency of falafel, but with a very mild flavor. This breakfast pastry is fine on its own, but is at its best when dipped in akamu.

In addition to the dishes listed above, I also got tons of other recommendations including: Dundun (yam fries), Nkwobi (cow feat with spices), Fish Pepper Soup (whole fish with thin broth soup), Palava (shredded ewedu leaves), Gbegiri (red beans cooked with locust beans), and Bitter Leaf Soup (bitter leaf and smoked fish sauce with meat).

How To Cook Perfect Party Jollof Rice : Tips for Smoky Nigerian Party Jollof Rice

A Taste of Nigerian Stews and Sauces

Nigerian cuisine boasts a variety of flavorful stews and sauces, each with its unique blend of spices and ingredients:

Nigerian Buka Stew: Nigerian Buka Stew recipe is one of the most viewed recipes on this blog.
Ata Dindin: I’m sure some people are thinking Ata Dindin again? Yes, Ata Dindin again. You can’t have too much Ata Dindin preparation methods now, can you?
Gizdodo: Gizdodo is simply peppered Gizzard and Plantain. It’s the awesome fusion of Chicken Gizzard, Fried Plantain and Spicy Tomato Stew, what’s not to love? Gizdodo is an increasingly popular dish in Nigerian homes and parties.
Garden Egg Stew: I know some people are wondering, “but she’s already got a Garden egg Stew recipe on the blog nah. Yes, I do have one already.
Palm Oil Stew: Palm Oil Stew? I’m sure a lot of people are wondering if there’s anything different about this stew as I’ve got at least 6 different palm oil stew recipes on the blog already. Well, this is my mum’s recipe.
Locust Beans Stew: Locust Beans Stew also known as Obe Ata Iru is one of my favorite Yoruba Style Fred Stew recipes. It’s very versatile and can be eaten with pretty much anything, well, excluding “Swallow”. I particularly love it with Boiled Yam.
Nigerian Smoked Turkey Stew: Nigerian Smoked Turkey Stew is a pepper based Stew recipe made with Smoked Turkey as its main protein.
Nigerian Pepper Sauce: Nigerian Pepper Sauce is an incredibly versatile pepper sauce made with Sweet Bell Peppers. This sauce is so versatile, it can be paired with numerous dishes like Boiled rice, Boiled or fried Yam and Plantain, Potatoes, Pasta and even Bread.
Assorted Fish Sauce: Assorted Fish Sauce is simply a fried pepper based sauce I love to pair with Boiled or fried yam. This sauce is incredibly tasty yet easy to whip up.

Snacks and Sides

No Nigerian culinary experience is complete without sampling some of the popular snacks and sides:

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Scotch Eggs: Scotch Eggs are one of my favorite Nigerian snacks ever.
Nigerian Chicken Pies and Meat Pies: My absolute best are Nigerian Chicken Pies, followed quite closely by Nigerian Meat Pies.
Asun: So, I spent Boxing Day with my lovely friend, Anu. She had called to inform me she would be making Asun and I was sooooo game! Anu makes the best Asun, no jokes.

Drinks

Beer is a popular beverage in the country owing to its colonial heritage and the fact that a cold pilsner tastes really fantastic on a hot, humid day. Heineken basically runs the beer game in Nigeria.

Where to Start

If you're new to Nigerian cuisine, here are a few recommendations on where to start:

Finger Licking Bukateria: The “home base” for West Africans in Houston, operated out of an old Bennigan’s by the same people who also run two Nigerian community newspapers and Houston’s Nigerian Foundation. FLB turns into a full-on club with a DJ and drink specials by night and has awesomely late hours, but also a great breakfast.
Afrikiko: Afrikiko is about as close to a bona fide African experience (an experience, by the way, that usually includes soccer on the eatery’s satellite TV) as you’re going to get here in the States. Owned by a Ghanaian family, Afrikiko will tone down the spice if you’re an obruni (the Twi language term for “white person”) - so just ask if you want your food hot.
Suya Hut: Suya Hut specializes in suya, as the name would imply. But here, prepare for your mouth to be set afire with the sweetly spicy ginger-habanero marinade on the meat and order it with a side of jollof rice and plantains to keep your tongue from blistering.

Nigerian Food and American Cuisines

Nigerian cooking is the mother of many American cuisines. That said, Edebor advises that “it would be wise to start out with something familiar like rice with plantains and stew, because that’s a familiar thing to the palate.”

An interesting aspect of Nigerian cuisine is the vestigial English influence left from colonial British occupation of the country that lasted for more than 100 years (or only 60, if you’re being super technical about it). You’ll find that influence in everything from oatmeal to beer, and in the popular British snacks that are now as common in Nigeria as fufu. Meat pies, sausage rolls and scotch eggs are standard lunchtime dishes, and your British friends may be surprised to find that while few “British pubs” in Houston make any of these three from scratch, almost all of the Nigerian restaurants do.