Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean)
Fresh okra cooked down with beef and smoked fish in a red palm oil broth into a thick, silky Freetown Saturday soup.
Sierra Leonean · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 50 min
~492 cal · 37g protein · 14g carbs · 31g fat · 5g fiber · 4g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
soup is a Saturday favourite in Sierra Leone, thickened by the natural mucilage of the pods into a lush, silky stew. Beef and smoked fish in a red broth, and the goes in to give the soup its signature body.
Served with rice or with made from , it is comfort food across Freetown and beyond. Cooks brown the briefly to tame the slipperiness, then let everything meld into a rich, spicy pot.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, 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
500 g , sliced
400 g beef, cut in pieces
150 g smoked fish, flaked
1/4 cup red
1 onion, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Simmer the beef (or chickpeas and mushrooms) with the onion, pepper and salt in water until tender.
2
Warm the palm oil in the pot, add the smoked fish (or mushrooms), and cook a few minutes to flavour the broth.
3
Stir in the okra and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until the soup thickens and turns silky.
✎ Chef’s note
Slice the okra just before adding it so the soup thickens without turning gluey.
4
Season to taste and serve with rice or fufu.
Krio home cooking, Freetown.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Freetown. Cassava leaf here is distinct from its neighbours: groundnut paste goes in alongside the palm oil, which makes it thicker and richer. The same dish runs across the region under other names, plasas or palava sauce nearby and saka saka or pondu in the Congos, so it is a national dish rather than an invention.
🗺️
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
Cassava Leaf StewFinely pounded cassava leaves slow-cooked with palm oil, beef, and smoked fish over rice.
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.
Browse all Sierra Leone recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean)?
Fresh okra cooked down with beef and smoked fish in a red palm oil broth into a thick, silky Freetown Saturday soup.
Where does Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean) come from?
Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean) is a Sierra Leonean dish from Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Can Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean) 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 Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean) 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 Okra Soup (Sierra Leonean) take to make?
About 65 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 50 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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