Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot)
Bitter greens and rice simmered with pounded groundnuts and pungent soumbala into a thick, nourishing one-pot meal.
Burkinabe · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 40 min
~352 cal · 13g protein · 30g carbs · 22g fat · 6g fiber · 2g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Babenda is a Mossi dish from Burkina Faso, born in lean harvest years when families stretched foraged leaves with a little grain and water. Sorrel and African spinach cook down with rice, pounded groundnuts and , the locust bean that lends a deep, cheese-like pungency.
Today it is one of Burkina Faso's most emblematic dishes, a nutritious one-pot meal shared hot with a drizzle of oil or shea butter. The is what gives it its unmistakable, savoury funk.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
500 g sorrel and spinach leaves, chopped
1/2 cup white rice, rinsed
1/2 cup groundnuts (peanuts), pounded
2 tbsp ( locust bean)
2 tbsp
3 cups water
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Bring the water to a boil and add the chopped greens, simmering until they begin to soften.
2
Stir in the rice and the pounded groundnuts (or sunflower seeds) so they disperse through the pot.
✎ Chef’s note
Stir often once the groundnuts are in so they melt through the greens instead of sinking and sticking.
3
Add the soumbala and cook, covered, on low 25 to 30 minutes until the rice is tender and the mixture is thick.
4
Stir through the oil, season with salt, and serve hot.
Mossi home cooking, Burkina Faso.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ouagadougou. Ouagadougou simmers riz gras, rice cooked directly in a tomato and oil sauce with vegetables and meat so the grains take on its colour. Burkinabe cooking rests on millet and sorghum to, groundnut sauces, and grilled meat with pepper.
🗺️
Burkina Faso. Burkinabè food is Sahelian and grain-based, tô (millet or sorghum porridge) with rich sauces, riz gras, and grilled meats. Fonio, groundnut, and the welcome drink zoom koom define the table.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Burkina Faso
Riz GrasBurkina Faso's "fat rice": rice simmered in a rich tomato-and-meat broth until every grain is stained red.
MassaLittle fermented millet fritters, crisp and tangy, sold hot with a spicy or sweet topping in Burkina Faso.
Tô with Okra SauceA smooth, firm millet paste eaten with a slippery okra and tomato sauce, the daily staple lunch of Burkina Faso.
Browse all Burkina Faso recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Burkina Faso meal
Zoom KoomDrink
Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert)Dessert
Poulet BicycletteDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot)?
Bitter greens and rice simmered with pounded groundnuts and pungent soumbala into a thick, nourishing one-pot meal.
Where does Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) come from?
Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) is a Burkinabe dish from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Can Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot) take to make?
About 55 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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