Exploring can’t-miss food and drinks in Ghana

27.11.2024 - 23:31 / lonelyplanet.com

Nov 27, 2024 • 8 min read

While most visitors to Ghana will leap at the opportunity to try fufu (a ball of mashed cassava, yam or plantain), the West African country has plenty of other traditional foods and drinks for travelers to seek out too. 

From oily palm nut soup paired with starches like banku (cooked balls of fermented corn flour) to filling street snacks like rice water porridge, going hungry in Ghana will be the least of your worries. What’s more, the capital Accra has an ever-evolving dining scene that offers everything from top-notch sushi to gourmet burgers. Here’s a guide to the top food and drinks to try in Ghana.

Groundnut soup should be one of the first meals you try in Ghana. This warming, mild-to-spicy dish is cooked with peanut butter, ginger, and either fish or meat and is served at lunchtime or dinner. Like many Ghanaian soups, it’s usually eaten with a carbohydrate like fufu or banku. 

Where to try it: Most local roadside eateries, known as chop bars, will have this staple dish on the menu.

This soup, made from tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chili pepper and palm nuts, gets its  bright color from red palm oil. The hearty dish boasts a thick texture and can be eaten with an assortment of meats like beef and chicken. 

Where to try it: Aduanipa is a 24-hour restaurant in Accra that serves Ghanaian classics seven days a week. Palm nut soup is always available here.

You’ll learn quickly that Ghana is the home of stews and soups fused with flavorful spices, and red red is no exception. A bean stew normally served with fried plantain, red red is among the top food choices you should try in Ghana. The dish is a mixture of black-eyed peas, red palm oil, chili pepper and a host of other spices. It can sometimes include smoked meat or fish. 

Where to try it: Known for its authentic African meals, Buka Restaurant offers some of the best red red in Accra, according to many Ghanaians.

Mashed and mixed from cassava, plantain or yam to get its thick, sticky texture, fufu is Ghana’s national dish. The starchy accompaniment for many soup and stew-based dishes, fufu is a daily dish in many households and one of the top things to try in Ghana on the food front. You use the fingers on your right hand to separate pieces of fufu from their whole circular or oval shape and dip them into your soup or stew of choice. 

Where to try it: Bush Canteen at the University of Ghana is known as one of the most popular local spots to eat in Accra – and an even better place to enjoy some freshly-pounded fufu.

Used as another accompaniment for meals in Ghana, banku is a carbohydrate composed of fermented corn and cassava dough shaped into golf-sized balls. The qualities of banku and fufu are not too far off one another and can