Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Hausa Koko and Koose
A spiced fermented millet porridge with koose, crisp black-eyed pea fritters, Ghana's classic Ghanaian breakfast.
Ghanaian · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 25 min
~496 cal · 25g protein · 93g carbs · 4g fat · 14g fiber · 7g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Hausa koko and koose is one of Ghana's favourite breakfasts, hausa koko, a spiced, slightly porridge flavored with ginger, cloves, and chili, served with koose, crisp fritters of ground black-eyed peas. The tangy, warming porridge and savory fritters together make a satisfying morning meal.
The dish is associated with Ghana's Hausa and northern communities, from whom it takes its name, and it has become a nationwide favorite sold from breakfast stalls in Accra, Kumasi, and beyond. The gentle spice and fermentation give the koko its distinctive character.
Buying a bowl of steaming hausa koko with a paper bag of hot koose on the way to work or school is a daily ritual for many Ghanaians. It is affordable, nourishing, and deeply comforting, the taste of a Ghanaian morning.
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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
1.5 cups flour ()
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 chili
1.5 cups black-eyed peas (for koose), soaked and peeled
1 onion
1
as needed oil for frying
to taste sugar
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Whisk the spiced fermented millet flour with cold water into a smooth slurry.
✎ Chef’s note
Mix the flour with cold water first, never straight into hot water, so it disperses smoothly instead of seizing into lumps.
2
Stir the slurry into simmering water and cook, stirring, until it thickens into a smooth, tangy porridge.
3
Blend the black-eyed peas with the onion and Scotch bonnet into a fluffy batter and season with salt.
4
Fry spoonfuls of the koose batter in hot oil until deep golden and crisp.
5
Serve the koko sweetened to taste, with the hot koose alongside.
Ashanti tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ashanti. Ghana's Ashanti heartland cooks fufu with rich groundnut and palm-nut soups, plus kontomire greens. Gold, kente, and a proud culinary tradition center on the pounded-starch staple.
🗺️
Ghana. Ghanaian cooking is built on starchy staples, fufu, banku, kenkey, paired with richly flavored soups and stews thickened with groundnut or palm nut. Jollof rice, red-red bean stew, and grilled tilapia with shito pepper sauce define its bold, warming plates.
🌍
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 Ghana
Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup)A silky, gingery peanut soup simmered with chicken and chilies, eaten with soft rice balls.
Red RedBlack-eyed peas stewed in red palm oil beside caramelized fried plantains, named twice for its two shades of red.
WaakyeRice and beans cooked with sorghum leaves that tint it reddish-brown, the everyday one-pot lunch of Ghana.
Browse all Ghana 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.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Hausa Koko and Koose?
A spiced fermented millet porridge with koose, crisp black-eyed pea fritters, Ghana's classic Ghanaian breakfast.
Where does Hausa Koko and Koose come from?
Hausa Koko and Koose is a Ghanaian dish from Ashanti, Ghana.
Can Hausa Koko and Koose be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Hausa Koko and Koose 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 Hausa Koko and Koose 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 Hausa Koko and Koose take to make?
About 45 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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