The diversity within West African cuisine speaks to the varied landscape - from the rugged Atlantic coastline to the tawny fringes of the Sahara, from the pulsing urban areas to the placid mountain plateaus - as well as to the region’s cultural abundance. With over 500 languages spoken across multiple distinct communities, West Africa is no monolith. However, there are commonalities in the cuisine. Neighbouring peoples have always exchanged recipes, and dishes transcend the colonial borders that cut across ethnic identities.
Trying food from around the continent is one of the best parts of travelling. Food is a window into people’s culture, natural habitat, and beliefs. A plate of food can tell you about the people who eat it. In each of the African countries I visited, there is always a dish or type of food that reached the soul.
Here are some of the region’s defining dishes.
1. Peanut Stew
Peanut stew can be found everywhere from Senegal (where it’s called maafe) to Gambia (domoda), with consistencies ranging from brothy to velvety.
Read also: Popular Music in Morocco
“This is our Sunday roast,” says Akwasi Brenya-Mensa, founder of Tatale restaurant, which recently wrapped up a year-long residency at London’s Africa Centre. He’s detailing the post-church ritual of diving into restorative bowls of nkatenkwan (also known as nkatsenkwan) - Ghanaian peanut stew.
The dish is built upon a base of fragrant seasonings such as onions, garlic and ginger, sautéed in oil, with fresh or pureed tomatoes. Peanut butter is folded in, giving the dish its distinctive sweet and earthy flavour and creamy mouthfeel.
“We were taught to eat [this dish] with our hands,” Akwasi says. “It’s only when you go to other places that you’re made to feel weird about that, but it’s how I’ve always enjoyed it.”
Believed to originate from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali - where it’s known as tigadegena - peanut stew is a dish, like many in West Africa, that crosses modern political borders.
Cooks will often add meat, such as chicken or lamb, and vegetables, all of which become tender and soak up the flavours of the stew as it simmers.
Read also: The African Sporting Landscape
Nkatsenkwan, as this dish is known in Ghana, is usually eaten with fufu (pounded green plantain or yam with cassava), but can also be served with boiled yams, cassava, rice or fried sweet plantain.
2. Akara
Beloved for their crisp, golden exterior and spongy interior, akara bean fritters originate from the Yoruba people, who live largely in Nigeria, Togo and Benin. However, akara are found across the region and beyond, having reached Brazil (where they’re known as acaraje) and the Caribbean (bollitos de carita in Cuba and cala in Aruba) due to the slave trade - and they’ve come to represent West Africa’s resilience and culinary influence.
Made from soaked and peeled black-eyed beans that are whipped into a thick batter and fried, akara vary in consistency from fluffy to dense. Today, they’re embellished with onions, peppers, chillies and, sometimes, smoked fish. However, historically, they relied on the earthy flavour of the beans alone.
“Beans are essential to West African cuisine,” says Aji Akokomi, founder of Michelin-starred restaurant Akoko and its sister establishment, Akara, both in London.
Read also: Explore South African Sports
“Our foods aren’t just sustenance,” adds Joké Bakare, founder of Michelin-starred restaurant Chishuru, in London. “They have specific meanings, like ewa ibeji - spicy beans cooked to celebrate twins.”
Yoruba people prepare akara to commemorate births, deaths and memorials, while “Muslims share akara at Asalatu, Sunday prayer meetings, or seven days after a person has passed,” says Joké. The dish is also made for celebrations such as the Olokun Festival in Ile-Ife, and offered to orishas (Yoruba deities) in Bahia, Brazil.
3. Thieboudienne
Senegalese 🇸🇳 Jollof Rice |Thieboudienne the ultimate jollof rice
Described as the original jollof rice - the ubiquitous red, fragrant West African dish - thieboudienne is a one-pot wonder of rice stewed with firm, fleshy white fish. It’s a Senegalese speciality, to which vegetables ranging from aubergine, okra, cabbage and peppers to chunky roots like carrots, squash and cassava add layers of texture. The tart pinch of tamarind and the peppery bite of green hibiscus leaves provide additional hits of flavour.
There’s also a lamb variety (thiebou yapp), and other meat versions, known as benachin, which are common in Gambia.
The dish - listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO - has its roots among the Wolof people. By oral tradition, broken rice is the base of more modern versions because of Penda Mbaye, a 19th-century cook in the fishing region of St Louis, who used fragmented grains imported by French colonialists.
“In my opinion, thieboudienne is the best jollof,” says Khadim Mbamba, founder of Senegalese restaurant Little Baobab, in London. “It’s a source of pride for the Senegalese community. You’ll find it everywhere - it’s our national dish. We cook it for any ceremony - births, deaths, weddings - but it’s also a daily meal, you never get bored of it.”
For him, the secret to a great thieboudienne lies in the nokoss, the dish’s explosive lime-green base made of blended spring onion, garlic, salt and black pepper. “That super fresh aroma of the nokoss as it hits the pan will tell you if it’s going to be good.”
4. Cassava Leaf Stew
Originating in Sierra Leone, cassava leaf stew combines the tender leaves of the cassava plant with meat (or smoked fish in coastal areas), and the savoury stock of the protein for added depth. Peanut butter or ground peanuts enrich the dish texturally while adding a nutty flavour.
“It’s a formidable delicacy because of how it’s seasoned,” says Maria Bradford, author of the cookbook Sweet Salone. “It’s flavoured with things like ogiri - fermented oil seeds with an intense miso-like taste. These ingredients work really well together, completely lifting these humble greens.”
Also known as saka saka or pondu, the stew is also made in various forms in Liberia and Guinea, as well as in Central Africa. The dish exemplifies the nose-to-tail, root-to-leaf philosophy that’s always defined West African cookery. Rather than being discarded, these unassuming leaves are developed into a meal of their own. And, while raw and unprocessed cassava leaves contain naturally occurring forms of cyanide, they’re perfectly safe to eat once boiled down.
“Cassava leaf stew also demonstrates our connection to our land and our tradition of experimenting with what it gives us,” says Maria. “Cassava is a constant feeder. Back home, my mum plants her own; it’s a reminder of how much the Earth provides.” She explains that plasas (leafy stews) are associated with the Mende people - one of Sierra Leone’s two largest ethnic groups - but cassava leaf stew is a daily staple across the country. “It’s so popular, people really eat it every day,” she says.
Here's a table summarizing some popular African dishes from various countries:
| Country | Dish | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Congo Brazzaville | Poulet Mayo | Chicken marinated in a sauce with spices, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and mayonnaise, grilled to perfection. |
| Senegal | Thieboudienne | Rice with spices, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, fish stock, vegetables, and fish (or meat). |
| Kenya | Tchapati | Soft and chewy flatbread eaten alone or with a side like a savoury sauce or tea with milk. |
| Nigeria | Okra Soup | Soup made with a mixture of proteins (meat) and fish, onions, peppers, spices, and vegetables. |
| Somaliland | Lahoh | Thin flat bread made with sorghum batter, cooked over a hot flattened iron. |
| Cameroon | Met de Pistache | Dish made with grounded pumpkin seeds, spices, salt, pepper, ground shrimp, fish, or cooked beef, steamed in cooking leaves. |
| South Africa | Kota | Half of an unsliced loaf of bread that is hollowed and filled with French fries, polony, vienna, sausage, fried egg, sliced cheese, onions, and tomatoes. |
| Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) | Cassava Leaf Sauce | Sauce made from grounded cassava leaves cooked with meat or fish, spices, onions, garlic, ground peanuts, and palm oil. |
| Ethiopia | Injera | Light fluffy flat bread made with fermented teff flour, water, and yeast, served with different sauces and vegetables. |
| Madagascar | Bambara Ground Nut Sauce | Sauce made from Bambara ground nuts cooked with onions, tomatoes, pork meat, and spices. |
| Niger | Kopto | Dish in which moringa leaves are steamed and then mixed with sliced onions, tomatoes, peanut butter, and spices. |
| Namibia | Kapana | Grilled meat sliced thinly into short meat strips, served with a side of tomato and onion salad and hot dried pepper. |
| Central African Republic | Sauce Koko | Leaves of Koko (Gnetum africanum) cooked in a peanut butter sauce with meat or dried fish. |
| Burkina Faso | Degue | Beverage made from thickened sour milk, sugar, and millet couscous. |
| Chad | Grilled Meat | Meat (beef, goat, camel) sliced into small triangular pieces, grilled on a slow fire, and served with a lemon and pepper sauce and slices of raw onions. |
