Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Bouillie de Banane
A smooth Gabonese plantain porridge, gently sweet and spiced, to start a rainforest morning.
Gabonese · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 20 min
~235 cal · 2g protein · 61g carbs · 0g fat · 4g fiber · 27g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bouillie de banane is a smooth Gabonese breakfast porridge made from ripe or bananas cooked down into a creamy, naturally sweet gruel, sometimes enriched with a little milk or peanut. are a staple across Central Africa, and this porridge is a gentle, nourishing way to use them.
The natural sugars of the ripe fruit sweeten the porridge without much added sugar, and its creamy texture makes it soothing and easy to eat first thing in the morning. It is common in homes around Libreville and across Gabon's forested interior.
Warm and comforting, bouillie de banane is everyday food that turns an abundant local fruit into a satisfying start to the day.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and 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 4
4 ripe (or bananas)
2 tbsp cornstarch or rice flour (to thicken)
to taste sugar
a scrape nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups water
a pinch a pinch of salt
Instructions
1
Blend the plantains with 2 cups water until smooth.
2
Whisk the cornstarch into the remaining water.
3
Simmer the plantain purée, then stir in the slurry to thicken.
4
Cook gently until smooth and creamy, then add sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla.
5
Serve warm in bowls or mugs.
Libreville tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Libreville. Nyembwe is the palm nut itself, and the sauce is made by boiling the nuts and pressing the pulp off the fibre and stones, which gives a thick orange base rather than an oil. Chicken is the usual meat, though fish is common enough, and it goes with cassava sticks or plantain.
🗺️
Gabon. Nyembwe is named for the palm nut itself, the pulp boiled and pressed into a thick orange sauce, and it is the same preparation the Congos call moambe, so neither country invented it. Baton de manioc is the everyday starch beside it, fermented cassava paste rolled tight in leaves and steamed into a firm stick that keeps for days.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Gabon
Poulet NyembweGabon's national dish: chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce of palm-nut pulp with chili and greens.
Poisson BraiséWhole fish marinated and grilled over coals, served with fried plantain and a fresh tomato-onion relish, Libreville's classic lunch.
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)Bananas rolled in breadcrumbs, fried crisp and baked, then dressed with brown sugar and cool cream, a Gabon classic.
Browse all Gabon recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender, 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 Gabon meal
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)Dessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Bouillie de Banane?
A smooth Gabonese plantain porridge, gently sweet and spiced, to start a rainforest morning.
Where does Bouillie de Banane come from?
Bouillie de Banane is a Gabonese dish from Libreville, Gabon.
Can Bouillie de Banane be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bouillie de Banane 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 Bouillie de Banane 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 Bouillie de Banane take to make?
About 30 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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