Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Riz Gras
Burkina Faso's "fat rice": rice simmered in a rich tomato-and-meat broth until every grain is stained red.
Burkinabè · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 60 min
~816 cal · 49g protein · 97g carbs · 24g fat · 6g fiber · 8g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Riz gras, literally 'fat rice', is a cornerstone dish of Burkina Faso, rice simmered in a rich tomato-and-meat broth until every grain is stained red and glossy with flavor. It belongs to the same broad family as jollof and thieboudienne, the one-pot flavored rices that anchor West African cooking.
The name comes from the generous oil and meat that enrich the pot, and the technique is similar to its cousins: aromatics and tomato cooked down into a deep base, then rice cooked in the resulting along with vegetables and meat. What marks it out as Burkinabè is a spoonful of , the pungent néré (locust bean) seasoning that gives the pot its deep, savoury backbone. The result is savory and satisfying.
In Ouagadougou and across Burkina Faso, riz gras is a favorite for gatherings and shared meals, cooked in big pots and served to a crowd. It is the celebratory, communal rice dish that families return to whenever there is reason to cook something special.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- 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
2 lb beef or goat, cubed
3 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
4 tomatoes
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp ( locust bean), or a seasoning cube
2 onion
1/4 head cabbage
2 carrot
1 eggplant
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger
1 a
Instructions
1
Brown the meat (or mushrooms) with the onion, garlic, and ginger in a large pot.
2
Add the blended tomato, tomato paste, and crushed soumbala and cook down until darkened and thick.
✎ Chef’s note
Cook the tomato base down properly until the oil separates. This is what gives riz gras its rich colour and savoury depth.
3
Pour in water to make a rich broth, add the vegetables, and simmer until the meat is tender.
4
Lift out the vegetables and set aside.
5
Stir the rinsed rice into the broth, cover, and steam on low until the rice is tender and has drunk up the broth.
6
Return the vegetables to the pot to warm through, then serve the red rice piled high.
Ouagadougou tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ouagadougou. The Sahel decides the staples. Millet and sorghum are pounded and cooked into to, a stiff porridge eaten with a leaf or groundnut sauce, and meat is grilled and dusted with pepper at roadside stands. Rice and tomato are the urban layer laid over that older base.
🗺️
Burkina Faso. To is the Sahelian dough, millet or sorghum flour worked into a firm mound and eaten with sauce, and it is the same food as Mali's and Togo's akoume under another name. It is a landlocked country of short rains, which is why the grains that tolerate drought, millet, sorghum and fonio, do the heavy work rather than rice or maize.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Burkina Faso
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.
Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert)Fine millet blended with tangy yogurt, baobab and ginger into a thick, cool spooning dessert, a Fulani speciality.
Browse all Burkina Faso recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Burkina Faso meal
Zoom KoomDrink
Gapal (Millet and Milk Dessert)Dessert
Babenda (Greens, Grain and Groundnut Pot)Lunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Riz Gras?
Burkina Faso's "fat rice": rice simmered in a rich tomato-and-meat broth until every grain is stained red.
Where does Riz Gras come from?
Riz Gras is a Burkinabè dish from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Can Riz Gras be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Riz Gras 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 Riz Gras 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 Riz Gras take to make?
About 85 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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