West African cuisine is a general term for food eaten across a huge number of different tribes, countries and cultures which span Western Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. While many of these countries have a shared love for peppers like Scotch bonnets, swallows like ugali, fufu and kenkey and the much debated and beloved jollof rice, they are far from homogenous. Tiny Cape Verde’s cuisine is influenced by its proximity to the ocean and the history of Portuguese colonisation, while in southern Benin corn is king, and is enjoyed in amiwo and akassa.

Many regions use red palm oil (which is different from refined palm oil used in highly processed foods) and onions, tomatoes and chillies as the base of their dishes. Spices such as grains of paradise and ehuru (or Calabash nutmeg) as well as iru/dawa dawa (fermented locust bean) are also used across the region.

Check out some of our West African recipes below to learn more about this region’s cuisine.