Nigeria | Soup

Nigerian Pepper Soup

Name: Nigerian Pepper Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 5 bowls
Cuisine: Nigeria, West Africa
Ingredients: 1 kg goat meat or chicken, cut into serving pieces; 2 medium onions, one quartered, one sliced; 2 litres water, plus more as needed; 2 tbsp pepper soup spice or ground ehu; 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper, chopped or left whole; 1 tsp thyme; ½ cup scent leaves or uziza, sliced; salt, to taste

A hot, aromatic Nigerian broth made with goat, chicken, fish, or assorted meat, pepper soup spice, chile, onion, and scent leaves.

Country

Nigeria

Region

West Africa

Time

70 min

Serves

Level

easy

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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for cold evenings, celebrations, recovery meals, and small chops menus.. Plan on a easy cook and about 70 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

White rice, boiled yam, agidi, or served alone as a hot broth.

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

Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.

How you know it is ready

The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.

Pantry lane

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

Chef board

Build the table around Nigerian Pepper Soup

White rice, boiled yam, agidi, or served alone as a hot broth.

Best route from here

National party and street table

Collections to keep cooking

Nigerian Regional Table

Servings 5

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

Ingredients

For 5 bowls

Soup

Protein

1 kg goat meat or chicken, cut into serving pieces

Soup base

2 medium onions, one quartered, one sliced 2 litres water, plus more as needed

Spices

2 tbsp pepper soup spice or ground ehu 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper, chopped or left whole 1 tsp thyme (optional)

Finish

½ cup scent leaves or uziza, sliced

Pantry

salt, to taste

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

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

Back to Nigeria

4 steps 15 min prep 55 min cook 70 min total easy

Start the meat

Place meat in a pot with quartered onion, salt, and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.

Kitchen noteGoat and cow foot take longer than chicken or fish. Top up water as needed.

Simmer meat 45:00

Season the broth

Add pepper soup spice or ground ehu, scotch bonnet, thyme if using, and sliced onion. Simmer until the broth smells aromatic.

Season broth 10:00

Finish with herbs

Stir in scent leaves or uziza and simmer briefly. Taste for salt and pepper.

Finish 05:00

Serve hot

Serve immediately as a broth, or ladle over boiled yam, rice, or agidi.

Goat meat, chicken, catfish, assorted beef, cow foot, and yam versions are common. Scent leaf is preferred, while uziza or parsley may appear as substitutes.

Nigerian Pepper Soup

What to know before you cook

Build the table around Nigerian Pepper Soup

Step-by-step method

Cook around Nigerian Pepper Soup