Ghana’s cuisine is bold, flavorful, and deeply rooted in tradition. A food tour across the country is a journey through history, community, and creativity. Get a chance to explore Ghana and Ghanaian cuisine with Diaspora Affairs Tours
Traditional Ghanaian Foods
Traditional Ghanaian foods didn’t appear overnight; they evolved over centuries, shaped by geography, culture, trade, agriculture, and history. There are several delicacies to start your culinary adventure with. Amongst them are:
Waakye
Rice and beans cooked together, often served with sides like spaghetti, gari (cassava flakes), fried plantain, boiled egg, meat or fish, and spicy sauces.
Jollof Rice
Spiced rice cooked in tomato sauce, often served with chicken, beef, salad, or fried plantains.
Banku and Tilapia
Banku is a fermented corn and cassava dough; it’s usually eaten with grilled or smoked tilapia and hot pepper sauce.
Kenkey and Fried Fish
Kenkey is fermented corn dough, wrapped (often in corn husk), boiled, and usually eaten with fried fish, shito (hot pepper or chili sauce), and sometimes vegetables.
Fufu with Light Soup
Fufu is pounded cassava, yam or plantain (or a combination) dough. “Light soup” is a thin, spicy tomato-based or mixed vegetable and meat broth.
Kelewele
Spicy fried plantains, seasoned with ginger, pepper, and sometimes cloves. Often eaten as a snack.
Chinchinga
Ghanaian-style kebabs (meat such as beef, chicken, goat) grilled on skewers with spicy seasoning.
Koko with Koose
Koko is a porridge (usually millet or corn) often eaten for breakfast, sometimes served with koose (bean cakes or fritters).
Red-Red
A bean stew (usually black-eyed peas) cooked with palm oil, accompanied by fried plantain.
Main Dishes (Regional Favorites)
Ghana’s diverse climate and vegetation directly influenced what people could grow and eat. Below are some beloved regional dishes:
- Tuo Zaafi (TZ), Northern Ghana
Made from maize or millet flour cooked into a smooth, thick porridge-like dough. It’s eaten with ayoyo (jute leaf) soup, meat, or fish. It’s similar in texture to fufu but less elastic. - Aprapransa, Ga and Akan Regions
A dish made with roasted corn flour cooked with palm nut soup, fish, and meat. It’s rich, hearty, and very flavorful. - Akple, Ewe (Volta Region)
Similar to banku but made mainly with corn flour (without cassava). It’s usually served with okro stew or pepper sauce and fish. - Konkonte (a.k.a. “Face the Wall”), Ashanti & Northern Regions
A brown, dough-like food made from dried cassava flour. It’s usually eaten with groundnut (peanut) soup, palm nut soup, or light soup. - Gari Fortor, Southern Ghana
Made from soaked gari (grated cassava flakes) cooked in a spicy tomato stew, often mixed with vegetables, sardines, or eggs. - Abolo, Ewe (Volta Region)
A soft, slightly sweet, steamed corn dough, often served with fried fish or pepper sauce. - Ampesi, Akan Regions
Boiled plantain, yam, or cocoyam, served with palava sauce (made from kontomire leaves, egusi, and palm oil) or garden egg stew. - Angwamo (Oily Rice), Popular Nationwide
Rice fried in oil, often served with fried eggs, sardines, or sausages. It’s a simple but tasty comfort food.
Snacks & Street Foods
- Plantain chips, cocoyam chips, and other fried root snacks
- Boiled eggs with chili sauce (“Nkosua ne Meko”)
- Roasted plantain with groundnuts (peanuts)
- Sobolo (hibiscus drink)
- Pito (millet beer) for a local twist
- Agbeli Kaklo (Ewe cassava balls, crispy and slightly spicy)
Cocoa & Chocolate Tours
Ghana is the world’s second largest cocoa producer, and visitors can join farm-to-bar chocolate tours in the Eastern and Ashanti Regions a sweet way to end your food journey.
