Beninese Recipes

Beninese cooking is built on maize, yam, cassava and rice, with sauces that carry most of the flavor. In the south, fermented corn dough is cooked into akassa or stirred into a paste called pâte, and eaten with tomato or palm oil sauces made with fish, chicken or smoked meat. Yam is pounded, boiled or fried across the center and north, and wagashi, a soft cheese made by Fulani herders, is a distinctive northern ingredient. Palm oil, peanuts, tomatoes, onions, chili and fish, fresh, dried and smoked, appear in many dishes. Fon, Yoruba, Bariba and other communities each have their own specialties, while French influence brings baguettes, omelettes and coffee to the morning table. Street vendors sell bean fritters, fried yam and grilled fish, and cooks take pride in slow, layered sauces. Meals are shared from a common bowl and traditionally eaten with the right hand, with a little crushed chili on the side for those who want it.

Staple ingredients

• maize
• yam
• cassava
• rice
• red palm oil
• tomatoes
• wagashi cheese
• chili peppers

• Main Dishes 5
• Side Dishes 1
• Desserts 1
• Snacks 1

Main Dishes

• Agoun (Beninese Pounded Yam with Peanut Sauce)BJ2 hMedium
• Amiwo (Beninese Red Cornmeal Paste with Chicken)BJ1 h 45 minMedium
• Atassi (Beninese Rice and Beans with Red Sauce)BJ1 h 55 minEasy
• Wagashi (Beninese Fried Cheese in Tomato Sauce)BJ45 minEasy
• Moyo (Beninese Fried Fish with Onion and Tomato Sauce)BJ1 h 5 minEasy

Side Dishes

• Akassa (Beninese Steamed Fermented Corn Dough)BJ1 h 10 minMedium

Desserts

• Akpan (Beninese Chilled Fermented Maize Pudding)BJ40 minEasy

Snacks

• Kluiklui (Beninese Crunchy Peanut Sticks)BJ1 h 15 minMedium