Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Cassava Leaf Stew
Finely pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked with palm oil, beef, and smoked fish over rice.
Sierra Leonean · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 75 min
~627 cal · 30g protein · 56g carbs · 31g fat · 6g fiber · 8g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
leaf stew is among the most popular everyday dishes of Sierra Leone, leaves pounded very fine and slow-cooked with , onion, and a mix of beef, smoked fish, and sometimes chili until thick, dark, and deeply savory. It is a Freetown staple and a national favorite.
The fine pounding of the leaves and the long cooking in are essential, transforming a tough green into a rich, almost creamy stew. The layering of fresh meat with smoked and dried fish builds the deep, complex savoriness that Sierra Leoneans prize.
Always served over rice, the true staple of the country, leaf is the dish people cook for family gatherings and Sunday meals, and the one that expatriate Sierra Leoneans crave most. Generous and warming, it is the taste of home for the nation.
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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
1.5 lb leaves (or frozen), finely pounded
1 lb beef
4 oz smoked fish
5 tbsp smooth peanut butter (or ground groundnut paste)
2 eggplants, peeled and roughly chopped
1/3 cup red
2 onions
4 cloves garlic
1
2 Maggi cube
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Simmer the pounded cassava leaves in water for 30 minutes to soften and mellow them.
✎ Chef’s note
Cassava leaves must be finely pounded and cooked through. The long simmer softens them and cooks off the natural bitterness.
2
Simmer the beef (or jackfruit) with a little onion, the garlic, part of a Maggi cube and a splash of water until tender, about 25 minutes, and keep the liquid.
3
Blend the eggplant, the rest of the onion, the smoked fish (or tofu), and the Scotch bonnet with a little water into a smooth puree.
✎ Chef’s note
Blending the eggplant into the base is what gives Sierra Leonean cassava leaf its body. In Salone it is pounded in a mortar called a mata wodo; a blender does the same job in seconds.
4
Tip the puree into a pot with the remaining Maggi, the peanut butter, the red palm oil, and water, and simmer 30 minutes until the oil rises to the top.
5
Stir in the cassava leaves with the beef and its cooking liquid and simmer gently 30 to 40 minutes, until thick and the flavours have come together.
6
Season to taste and serve over plenty of white rice.
Freetown Sunday tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Freetown. Freetown is hilly and Atlantic-facing, raised on rice with cassava leaf stew, pounded fine and simmered long with palm oil and smoked fish. Groundnut soup, jollof, and fried plantain are everyday, and pepper is used generously.
🗺️
Sierra Leone. Cassava leaf is Sierra Leone's national dish but not its invention: the same preparation runs across the region as plasas, palava sauce, saka saka and pondu. What marks the local version is groundnut paste going in alongside the palm oil, and leaves pounded fine enough that the stew turns almost smooth.
🌍
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 Sierra Leone
Sierra Leonean Fry FryA plate of assorted fried things with a peppery gravy to dip them in, the Freetown street breakfast.
Krain KrainChopped jute leaves stewed with red palm oil and smoked fish into a savory green sauce, served over rice.
Benne CakesToasted sesame seeds set in crisp caramel, a simple, ancient West African sweet from Sierra Leone.
Browse all Sierra Leone recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Blender.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Sierra Leone meal
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Benne CakesDessert
Krain KrainLunch
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Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Dairy-Free Sierra Leonean Recipes
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Dairy-Free Dinners from Around the World
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Frequently asked questions
What is Cassava Leaf Stew?
Finely pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked with palm oil, beef, and smoked fish over rice.
Where does Cassava Leaf Stew come from?
Cassava Leaf Stew is a Sierra Leonean dish from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Can Cassava Leaf Stew be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Cassava Leaf Stew 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 Cassava Leaf Stew 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 Cassava Leaf Stew take to make?
About 100 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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