Ghana | Main dish

Ghanaian Jollof Rice

Name: Ghanaian Jollof Rice
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Ghana, West Africa
Ingredients: 3 cups basmati rice, washed; 400 g canned tomatoes or fresh tomato puree; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 2 medium onions, one blended, one sliced; ¼ cup vegetable oil; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 thumb fresh ginger, grated; 2 whole bay leaves; 1 tsp curry powder or dried thyme; 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper, left whole; 3 cups hot chicken stock or water; salt and black pepper, to taste

Ghanaian jollof rice with basmati rice steamed in a reduced tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, chile, and bay-leaf stew.

Country

Ghana

Region

West Africa

Time

80 min

Serves

Level

medium

Start cooking Explore Ghana recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

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

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Main dish

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Blender

Knife & board

Wooden spoon

Kitchen foil

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

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

Back to Ghana

5 steps 25 min prep 55 min cook (check method) 80 min total medium

Blend the sauce

Blend tomatoes with one onion, garlic, and ginger until smooth.

Fry the tomato stew

Heat oil, cook sliced onion, then fry tomato paste. Add blended sauce, bay leaves, chile, and optional curry or thyme. Cook until thick and glossy.

Reduce stew 20:00

Add rice

Stir in washed rice until coated. Add hot stock or water and season well.

Steam

Cover tightly with foil and a lid. Cook on low until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.

Steam rice 35:00

Rest and fluff

Rest off heat for 10 minutes, remove bay leaves and chile, then fluff gently.

Rest 10:00

Some cooks use curry powder, thyme, nutmeg, or stock cubes. The rice is often perfumed basmati or another long-grain rice.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for Parties, funerals, and Sunday meals. Plan on a medium cook. Allow about 80 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Shito, fried plantain, grilled chicken, salad, or kelewele

Follow the collection

One-Pot Wonders is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. One-Pot Wonders

Regional lane

Rice, beans, and street table. Waakye, jollof, kelewele, and lunch-counter plates with many sides.

Chef watch-outs

Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.

How you know it is ready

The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.

Pantry lane

shito, palm oil, sorghum leaves, fermented corn dough, groundnut

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Ghanaian Jollof Rice recipe from Ghana — Ghanaian Jollof Rice finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Ghanaian Jollof Rice

Shito, fried plantain, grilled chicken, salad, or kelewele

Best route from here

Rice, beans, and street table

Collections to keep cooking

Swallow and Soup Table One-Pot Family Meals

Explore more recipes