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Ivorian Recipes

12 recipes

Ivorian cooking is built on starchy staples served with spicy sauces: cassava, plantain, yam and rice, each paired with a stew or grilled protein. Cassava becomes attiéké, a steamed, couscous-like side that is the signature of Abidjan, while plantain is fried as alloco or pounded into foutou. Palm oil, palm nut sauce, okra, eggplant, peanuts, tomatoes, onions and hot chili appear everywhere. The lagoons and the Atlantic coast supply fish, often grilled whole and heaped with onion and tomato, while chicken and beef are slow-cooked in sealed pots or grilled over charcoal in open-air restaurants called maquis. More than 60 ethnic groups share the kitchen, so regional dishes range from palm-based sauces in the south to millet and rice dishes in the north. Ginger juice is a favorite cold drink, and street food such as garba, fried dough and grilled skewers feeds the cities at every hour.

Staple ingredients

Main Dishes

Side Dishes

Snacks

Drinks

Common questions

What is Ivorian food known for?

Attiéké (steamed cassava couscous) with grilled fish, alloco (fried plantain), kédjénou (slow-cooked chicken) and foutou with palm nut or other sauces, plus grilled chicken and fish from open-air maquis restaurants.

What is the national dish of Côte d'Ivoire?

There is no official one. Attiéké with grilled fish is the pairing most often named, with foutou and sauce graine and kédjénou as strong contenders.

Is Ivorian food spicy?

Often. Fresh and dried chilies go into sauces and marinades, and a bowl of chili paste or sliced hot pepper with onion is usually on the table. Most dishes can be made milder by using less chili.