Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Gozo with Groundnut Sauce
Smooth cassava fufu served with a rich, savory peanut sauce, an everyday plate across the Central African Republic.
Central African · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~486 cal · 14g protein · 61g carbs · 23g fat · 6g fiber · 9g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Gozo is the daily bread of the Central African Republic, a stiff, smooth pounded from that accompanies nearly every meal. Torn into pieces and used to scoop up sauce, it is the neutral, filling base against which the country's flavorful stews and sauces shine.
Among the most loved partners is a groundnut sauce, peanut butter loosened into a rich, russet gravy with tomato, onion, and chili. Peanuts are grown widely across the region and their toasty depth turns a simple pot into something comforting and satisfying. Together, gozo and groundnut sauce make the kind of unhurried, nourishing lunch that defines home cooking in Bangui and the villages beyond.
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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
2 cups flour (or fresh )
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red chili
Instructions
1
For the gozo, whisk the cassava flour into simmering water and stir hard until it stiffens into a smooth, firm paste, then shape into a mound.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep stirring the whole time; cassava sets fast and lumps if you slow down.
2
Soften the onion, garlic, and chili in a little oil, then add the tomato and cook to a pulp.
3
Whisk the peanut butter with a cup of water and stir it into the pot.
4
Simmer gently until the sauce thickens and the oil rises, about 15 minutes, and season with salt.
✎ Chef’s note
Stir often so the peanut sauce does not catch and scorch on the bottom.
5
Serve the groundnut sauce with the gozo alongside.
Central African home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bangui. Cassava is used at every stage. The root is dried and milled into flour for fufu, fermented and steamed into chikwangue wrapped in leaves, and the leaves are pounded and cooked separately again. The Oubangui river supplies smoked fish, and the pepper is added by whoever is eating.
🗺️
Central African Republic. Kanda is the country's real signature and it is not a peanut sauce: pumpkin or squash seeds toasted and ground, bound with okra and meat or fish into a dense stew. Some of the squashes involved are African natives rather than American imports, which quietly complicates the usual story about where squash comes from.
🌍
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 Central African Republic
Kanda ti NymaCentral African meatballs simmered in a nutty tomato-and-okra sauce thickened with ground pumpkin seeds.
BeignetsCentral African breakfast doughnuts: puffy, golden yeasted fritters fried fresh at dawn and dusted with sugar, eaten with sweet coffee.
Bouillie de ManiocA silky Central African cassava porridge, whisked from the national staple flour and sweetened, often enriched with a spoon of peanut paste.
Browse all Central African Republic recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Whisk.
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Make it a Central African Republic meal
Jus de TamarinDrink
Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters)Dessert
Kanda ti NymaDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Gozo with Groundnut Sauce?
Smooth cassava fufu served with a rich, savory peanut sauce, an everyday plate across the Central African Republic.
Where does Gozo with Groundnut Sauce come from?
Gozo with Groundnut Sauce is a Central African dish from Bangui, Central African Republic.
Can Gozo with Groundnut Sauce be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Gozo with Groundnut Sauce 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 Gozo with Groundnut Sauce 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 Gozo with Groundnut Sauce take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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