Burkina Faso | Main dish

Benga

Burkinabe rice and beans plate, simple, nourishing, and usually finished with tomato-onion sauce or chili oil.

Country
Burkina Faso
Region
West Africa
Time
95 min
Serves
6
Level
easy
Explore Burkina Faso recipes Browse AfroKitchen
Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Benga means beans in Moore and the dish carries that simplicity proudly: beans, rice, sauce, pepper, and a pot that can feed a household.

What the dish tastes like

Burkinabe rice and beans plate, simple, nourishing, and usually finished with tomato-onion sauce or chili oil.

When to cook it

Best for everyday lunch, school-night cooking, and market plates.. Plan on a easy cook and about 95 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Tomato sauce, chili oil, fried onions, or grilled chicken.

Regional lane

Burkina Faso national table. A structured Burkina Faso dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs
  • Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
  • Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
  • The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Benga recipe from Burkina Faso
Benga finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Benga

Tomato sauce, chili oil, fried onions, or grilled chicken.

Best route from here

Burkina Faso national table

Collections to keep cooking
Vegetarian African Classics
Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Burkina Faso
4 steps 20 min prep 75 min cook 95 min total easy
1
Cook beans
Simmer soaked beans in water until tender.
bean simmer 45:00
2
Add rice
Add rinsed rice and enough hot water to cover. Cook until the rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
rice cook 22:00
3
Make sauce
Cook onions in oil, add tomatoes, tomato paste, pepper, and salt, then simmer into a spoonable sauce.
tomato sauce 18:00
4
Plate
Serve rice and beans with the sauce spooned over the top.
serve 02:00

Some households cook rice and beans together, while others serve tender beans over rice with sauce.

Keep exploring

Cook around Benga

Follow country, category, collection, time, and pairing paths without turning the recipe page into a link farm.

Riz Gras recipe from Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Main dish Riz Gras Burkina Faso's rich one-pot rice cooked in a meat and tomato broth with vegetables. The rice is "fat" from absorbing all th... Time70 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyMedium DietGluten Free RegionWest Africa Open recipe Gonre recipe from Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Side Gonre Burkinabe steamed bean cakes made from cowpea paste, peanut, leafy greens, and maize couscous. Time90 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyMedium DietVegan RegionWest Africa Open recipe Poulet Bicyclette recipe from Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Main dish Poulet Bicyclette Grilled free-range chicken marinated in a spicy mustard-lemon mix. Named after the free-range chickens that roam like bicyc... Time70 min ServingsServes 4 DifficultyMedium DietGluten Free RegionWest Africa Open recipe Babenda recipe from Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Main dish Babenda A nourishing porridge of millet flour and leafy greens simmered with dawadawa for umami depth. A staple of everyday Burkina... Time50 min ServingsServes 6 DifficultyEasy DietVegan RegionWest Africa Open recipe
Browse AfroKitchen Explore Burkina Faso recipes