Africa → Burkina Faso → Ouagadougou
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Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers)
Small cubes of beef marinated in peanut paste, chili and oil, grilled over charcoal and rolled while hot in crushed koura-koura, the crunchy peanut cake of Kaya.
Burkinabè · easy · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 15 min · plus 1 h hands-off time
~371 cal · 37g protein · 3g carbs · 22g fat · 1g fiber · 1g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Brochettes are the street food of Burkina Faso, sold hot from charcoal grills in every town, and the town most famous for them is Kaya, in the centre-north of the country. Kaya's skewers are coated in koura-koura, a crunchy cake made from peanuts, and they are the town's pride.
Koura-koura is made by hand. Peanuts are shelled, roasted, rubbed free of their skins and ground at the mill into a paste; the oil is worked out of it, and the peanut cake that is left is shaped and fried in its own oil until hard and crunchy. Crushed to a powder, it gives the brochettes their nutty, toasty crust.
The skewers are small and cheap, a few coins each. The meat is mostly beef, which keeps costs down and suits customers who do not eat pork, though some grillers prefer mutton. It is cut small, marinated with peanut paste, chili and a little oil, threaded onto sticks and grilled for ten minutes or so. They are eaten hot from the grill, with sliced onion and more chili.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally 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 6
- 800 g (1 3/4 lb) beef rump or sirloin, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 3 tbsp unsweetened peanut paste (smooth peanut butter)
- 1 tsp chili powder, plus more to serve
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (about 120 g) koura-koura (kuli-kuli), crushed to a coarse powderHard to find? 1 cup (about 140 g) dry-roasted salted peanuts, ground coarse - richer and less crunchy than the fried peanut cake
- 1 onion, thinly sliced, to serve
Instructions
- 1Mix the peanut paste, chili powder, oil and salt in a bowl. Add the beef and turn it until every piece is coated. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for 1 hour.✎ Chef’s noteIf you use wooden skewers, soak them in water while the meat marinates so they do not burn.
- 2Light a charcoal grill, or heat a grill pan until very hot. Thread 5 or 6 small cubes of beef onto each skewer.
- 3Grill for 10 to 15 minutes, turning every few minutes, until the beef is browned and cooked through.
- 4Spread the crushed koura-koura on a plate and roll the hot skewers in it, pressing so the crumbs stick.
- 5Serve at once with sliced onion and a little extra chili for dipping.
Kaya street-food tradition, Burkina Faso.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ouagadougou. Riz gras belongs to the same family as jollof and Senegalese ceebu jen, and Benin, Ivory Coast, Togo and Guinea all make their own, so it is not Burkinabe alone. In the city it is celebration food, cooked in a wide pot for a crowd rather than for a single household.
🗺️
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: Grill or barbecue.
Storing it: Best straight off the heat. Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and reheat well in a hot oven rather than the microwave.
Make it a Burkina Faso meal
Zoom KoomDrink
Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert)Dessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers)?
Small cubes of beef marinated in peanut paste, chili and oil, grilled over charcoal and rolled while hot in crushed koura-koura, the crunchy peanut cake of Kaya.
Where does Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers) come from?
Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers) is a Burkinabè dish from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Can Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers) 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Brochettes au Koura-Koura (Burkinabè Peanut-Crusted Beef Skewers) take to make?
About 1 h 40 min in all: 25 minutes prep and 15 minutes cooking, plus 1 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 6.
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