Nigeria | Main dish

Jollof Rice

Name: Jollof Rice
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 65 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigeria, West Africa
Ingredients: 3 cups long-grain parboiled rice, washed until water runs clear; 6 medium Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped; 3 medium red bell peppers or tatashe, deseeded; 2 whole scotch bonnet peppers; 2 large onions, one blended, one sliced; ⅓ cup vegetable oil; 3 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tsp curry powder; 1 tsp dried thyme; 2 whole bay leaves; 1 tsp ginger and garlic paste; 2 whole seasoning cubes; 3 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, as needed; salt and white pepper, to taste

Nigerian party jollof rice cooked in a fried tomato-pepper base with stock, thyme, curry powder, bay leaves, and a smoky bottom.

Country

Nigeria

Region

West Africa

Time

95 min

Serves

Level

medium

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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 Nigeria

6 steps 30 min prep 65 min cook (check method) 95 min total medium

Reduce pepper base

Blend tomatoes, red peppers, scotch bonnets, and one onion. Boil down until thick and not watery.

Reduce base 30:00

Fry stew

Heat oil, fry sliced onion, then add tomato paste and cook until darkened. Stir in the reduced pepper base.

Fry base 15:00

Season sauce

Add curry powder, thyme, bay leaves, ginger-garlic if using, seasoning cubes if using, salt, and pepper. Fry until oil rises.

Season sauce 10:00

Add rice

Stir in washed rice until every grain is coated. Add enough stock to sit just below or level with the rice.

Steam rice

Cover tightly with foil and a lid. Cook low until the rice is tender, then fluff from the bottom.

Steam jollof 40:00

Smoke bottom

Raise heat briefly at the end to toast the bottom lightly for party jollof flavor, then rest before serving.

Toast bottom 03:00

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

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 and celebrations. Plan on a medium cook. Allow about 95 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Fried plantain, chicken, beef, coleslaw, moin moin, or suya

Follow the collection

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

Regional lane

National party and street table. The foods that cross state lines: jollof, puff puff, pepper soup, boli, small chops, and shared celebration plates.

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.

Pantry lane

palm oil, crayfish, iru or ogiri, scotch bonnet, melon seed

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

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

Jollof Rice recipe from Nigeria — Jollof Rice finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Jollof Rice

Fried plantain, chicken, beef, coleslaw, moin moin, or suya

Best route from here

National party and street table

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