Ghana Recipes
Gold Coast kitchens built on plantain, cassava, and groundnut. Not sure what to eat in Ghana? Start with Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup), Jollof Rice, Nkate Cake and Hausa Koko and Koose. Here are 9 authentic Ghana recipes, each from a specific region, with cultural context and dietary substitutions for every table.
9 recipes
Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup)Ashanti, Ghana · easy · 1 h 10 minA silky, gingery peanut soup simmered with chicken and chilies, eaten with soft rice balls.
Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup) Red RedGreater Accra, Ghana · easy · 50 minBlack-eyed peas stewed in red palm oil beside caramelized fried plantains, named twice for its two shades of red.
Hausa Koko and KooseAshanti, Ghana · medium · 45 minA spiced fermented millet porridge with koose, crisp black-eyed pea fritters, Ghana's classic Ghanaian breakfast.
WaakyeGreater Accra, Ghana · easy · 1 h 15 minRice and beans cooked with sorghum leaves that tint it reddish-brown, the everyday one-pot lunch of Ghana.
Nkate CakeGreater Accra, Ghana · easy · 25 minA crunchy peanut brittle bound in dark caramel, a popular Ghanaian street sweet sold in cut slabs.
Jollof RiceGreater Accra, Ghana · medium · 1 h 20 minLong-grain rice steamed in a reduced, deeply spiced tomato-and-pepper stew until every grain is stained red and the base lightly caramelises.
Kelewele (Ghanaian Spiced Fried Plantain)Greater Accra, Ghana · easy · 55 minCubes of ripe plantain tossed in fresh ginger, onion, chili and warm spice, then fried until caramelized at the edges and eaten hot with roasted peanuts.
Yele Kakro (Ghanaian Yam Balls)Ashanti, Ghana · medium · 1 h 10 minMashed boiled yam mixed with a quick tomato and onion sauce, egg, thyme and ground red pepper, rolled into balls and deep-fried golden, served hot with shito.
Shito (Ghanaian Black Pepper Sauce)Greater Accra, Ghana · medium · 1 h 15 minOnion, ginger, garlic and tomato fried down in plenty of oil with dried chili, dried fish and dried shrimp until almost black, a fiery, savoury relish eaten a spoonful at a time with kenkey, rice and waakye.
📋 Teaching Ghana?A free, printable Country of the Week guide for the classroom: geography, a kid-friendly recipe, and discussion prompts.
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