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Dairy-Free Congolese Recipes

Every dish here is Congolese cooking that is naturally dairy-free, no swaps required, each tied to a real region and its culinary story. Prefer to wander wider? Toggle dairy-free on any recipe on the site and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional swaps.
12 recipes
Pondu (Saka Saka)Kinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 80 minCassava leaves pounded and simmered with palm oil, eggplant, and smoked richness, the Congo’s daily green.
Liboke ya MbisiBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo · medium · 65 minWhole fish seasoned and steamed in banana or marantacea leaves until fragrant and flaking.
MikateKinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 40 minSweet Congolese fried dough balls, golden, pillowy, and dusted with sugar, for breakfast with tea.
Beignets CongolaisBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo · medium · 105 minPuffy, faintly sweet fried dough balls sold hot on Brazzaville street corners and eaten with sweet coffee at daybreak.
Ngai NgaiBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo · easy · 50 minA tart roselle-leaf stew (ngai ngai means "sour sour") cooked down with onion, tomato, and red palm oil and served with fried fish and fufu, a Congolese staple.
MadesuKinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 105 minWhite beans simmered in a savory palm-oil, onion, and tomato sauce, an everyday staple of the DR Congo table.
FumbwaBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo · medium · 60 minWild forest greens simmered with groundnut paste, palm oil, and smoked fish into a deep, savory Congolese stew.
Ndizi wa Nazi (Plantains in Coconut Milk)Kinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 30 minRipe plantains simmered gently in spiced coconut milk until soft and creamy, a sweet from the DR Congo table.
Makemba (Sweet Fried Plantain)Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo · easy · 20 minVery ripe plantains fried until caramelised and dusted with cinnamon sugar, a simple Congolese sweet.
Poulet à la MoambeBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo · medium · 80 minChicken braised low in a glossy, rust-red palm-nut sauce until tender and richly savoury, the national dish of the Congo, served with rice, plantains or fufu.
Makayabu (Salted Fish in Tomato Sauce)Kinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 60 minSalt cod soaked back to life and braised with onion, tomato and pepper, a pantry staple across the DR Congo table.
Mbika (Pumpkin Seed Stew)Kinshasa, DR Congo · easy · 50 minGround pumpkin seeds simmered into a thick, nutty-tasting stew with smoked fish, greens and red palm oil, a Congo Basin staple.
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