Nigerian foods are important to Nigerian food culture. It defines who we are. This is why wherever we find ourselves; we miss certain Nigerian dishes.

Nigeria Africa’s giant apart from food is widely known for its petroleum production and exportation.

Nigerian foods remind those living abroad of our fatherland and it is no wonder that they feel bad when a substitute food does not meet up with the real ones in taste or appearance.

Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes or food items from ethnic groups. The foods differ from one tribe to another, even though we have very popular foods.

Common foods in Nigeria include: rice, beans, Eba, soups, yam, maize, potatoes, moi moi, and porridge.

Similarly, Nigerian local dishes like other West African cuisine use spices and herbs with oil (palm or groundnut) to create deeply flavored sauces and soups

What Are The Best Nigerian Foods?

Here are some of the 27 best Nigerian foods to choose from. These are the popular foods in Nigeria that bond Nigerians together both at home and abroad.

We all miss these famous foods at one point or the other. I suggest you try as many of them as you can. Learn the ones you do not know and add to what you already know when you see a familiar recipe.

With Nigerian food recipes, there are a lot of possibilities. You never know you can pick up a thing or two.

Nigerian Foods under Rice Recipes

Party Jollof Rice

This signature jollof rice is famous Nigerian food. A Nigerian party is not complete without jollof rice! There is a theory that the Nigerian party jollof rice is unique.

Well, the food has a special taste and aroma that is different from ordinary jollof rice. Most Nigerians look forward to owanbe parties, to enjoy this delicious food.

Banga Soup (Ofe Akwu) With Rice

Ofe akwu as it is fondly called by the Igbo’s is a very important part of Nigeria food, banga soup is a kind of stew made from palm fruit, often eaten with rice.

Tuwo Shinkafa

Tuwo shinkafa is translated from Hausa language meaning – mashed rice. It is one of the most delicious foods in the northern part of Nigeria.

Tuwo is made of soft rice and spicy sauce. Most northerners from Nigerian living abroad love and miss this food.

Ofada Rice Stew

The dish is a stew that originates from western Nigeria and is commonly eaten with locally grown rice called ofada rice.

People go crazy over ofada rice and stew. Possibly because of the iru (locust beans) ingredient that makes the stew unique or the fact that it is made with just peppers and assorted meats.

Under Beans Recipe

Ewa Aganyin

Ewa aganyin is a delicious beans dish, popular for its softness and tasty sauce. It is usually eaten with Agege bread, boiled yams, and fried plantains and it tastes ah-mazing!

Akara and Pap

Akara and pap are one of Nigerian’s native breakfast foods. Pap is cornmeal made from wet corn starch while akara, on the other hand, is a processed ground bean, turned into a fried bean cake.

Akara is also a great street food as sellers can be found frying them at different hours of the day. It is popularly served with ogi (pap), bread and cornstarch (agidi or eko).

Moin Moin

Moimoi or moin-moin is a steamed bean pudding made from a combination of grounded-pealed beans, pepper, and onions.

It is a Nigerian staple food which is very rich in protein. Very delicious and tasty and native to Yoruba people of Nigeria

Nigerian Foods Under Native Soups

Soups are very essential to Nigerian food recipes. All Nigerian soups can be served with eba (garri), tuwo shinkafa, pounded yam, agidi, amala, semolina, or cassava fufu.

Amala and Ewedu Soup with Buka Stew

Ewedu Elegusi (Jute + Melon Seed) is a Yoruba food that is commonly served with gbegiri (beans soup) and or palm oil-based stew.

This mishmash is often set aside for amala (fermented yam dumpling) and served as daily lunch or during occasions.

Bitter Leaf Soup with Fufu

Bitter leaf soup is one of the most popular soups in Igbo land. The Igbo people of Nigeria refer to it as ofe onugbu.

The name bitter-leaf soup is derived from the fact that a particular leaf which is bitter (until washed) is used in cooking it. Serve with pounded yam, fufu, semo, wheat or garri.

Okra Soup and Eba

Okra soup is one of the cheapest and quickest Nigerian soups to prepare. This soup is known as miyan kubewa in Hausa.

Once you are through with cutting the okra, the soup cooks in no time at all. Serve with eba, or swallow of choice.

Edikang Ikong Soup

The Nigerian edikang ikong soup or simply vegetable soup is native to the Efik, people from Akwa Ibom and the Cross river state of Nigeria.

Prepared with a substantial amount of pumpkin and water leaves, this Nigerian soup recipe is nutritious in every sense of the word.

Pepper Soup

The Nigerian pepper soup is a common Nigerian soup recipe. It is such an adaptable recipe since it can be prepared with different types of fish and meat.

As a result, we have the catfish pepper soup (popularly known as point & kill), chicken pepper soup, the goat meat pepper soup, the cow foot pepper soup and the assorted beef pepper soup

Photo Image Source: sisijimamah.com

Otong Soup – Efik Style Okra Soup

The Efiks know this soup as Otong soup. The Yoruba’s know it as Ila asepo, the Igbos call it “Okwuru” and the rest of us know it simply as Okra.

Oha Soup

Ora (oha) soup is origin to southeastern Nigeria. It is a traditional soup comparable to the bitter leaf soup but prepared with ora leaves.

Ora (oha) soup is a special dish because the tender ora leaves used in cooking this soup recipe are seasonal not like their bitter leaf counterpart which can be found all year round.

Photo Image Source: www.mamadish.com

Ekpang Nkukwo

Ekpang nkwukwo is one of the Nigerian cocoyam recipes made with grated cocoyam, cocoyam leaves, water yam, and periwinkle.

It is a Nigerian food recipe origin to south southeastern Nigeria, the cross river and akwa ibom states of Nigeria.

Starch and Banga Soup

Banga soup is popular in the southern part of Nigeria. This delicious Nigerian soup can be served with starch. Who would not miss it?

Semolina and Efo Riro

Efo riro is a Yoruba delicacy that is native to Western Nigeria. Green vegetables like pumpkin leaves or water leaves are used in preparing the stew, spinach, can also be added to the ingredients.

Usually, eaten with semolina, this food combination is missed by Nigerians in the diaspora.

Afang Soup

Nigerian afang soup is similar to the edikang ikong soup. It is native to the Efik people of Akwa ibom and cross river states of Nigeria but enjoyed by all.

It is also very nutritious as the soup consists mainly of vegetables. This soup is cooked with a generous quantity of water leaves and the wild herbal okazi leaves.

Ofe Nsala

Ofe nsala (nsala soup) is a popular soup in the eastern part of Nigeria. It is also known as white soup because of its light color, due to the absence of palm oil.

The real nsala soup recipe calls for fresh whole catfish, which gives this soup its distinctive flavor. However, in the absence of catfish, catfish fillets or conger eel can be used.

Other Dishes

Suya

Suya is spicy meat which is enjoyed as a delicacy in West Africa. (also called agashe). Suya is usually made with skewered ram, beef, or chicken.

It is by tradition prepared by the Hausa people of northern Nigeria. Innards such as kidney and liver are also used.

Kilishii

Kilishii is a dried form of suya and a delicacy in Hausa land. It is made from cow, sheep or goat meat after the bone has been removed.

Kilishi can be kept for months without much change to its taste.

Abacha and Ugba

Abacha and ugba are known as African salad and it can be eaten as a meal or snack, people eat it as a meal because it fills up the stomach just like any other meal.

This meal is well-known and very popular in the eastern part of Nigeria, among the Igbos, and they love it.

Nkwobi

Nkwobi is a popular cooked spicy cow leg desserts in eastern Nigeria. Most Nigerian men visit Igbo restaurants to enjoy this special delicacy.

Ijebu Garri and Groundnut

Interestingly, nothing is as comforting as taking garri and groundnut with chilled water during a hot day.

The combination gives a kind of satisfaction that only Nigerians can understand. Ijebu garri can be enjoyed with groundnut or smoked fish.

Boli and Groundnut

Boli-roasted plantain is truly a mouthwatering snack for Nigerians especially when taken with groundnut or pepper sauce.

This snack is loved by Nigerians both within and abroad.

Puff Puff – Hearty Sweet Delicious Balls

A common West African street food that’s quick and easy to create with different variations. Nigerian puff puff is that spongy, deep-fried, round snack that is from Nigeria.

Ukwa – A Traditional Porridge

Ukwa also is known as breadfruit in English is a versatile meal and common in the eastern part of Nigeria. It could be eaten fried alongside with palm kernel or coconut.

Ukwa can be prepared with maize or the authentic traditional way which is to mash it up (ukwa agworoagwo).

After that, serve with the liquid (mmiri ukwa) that has scent leaf or bitter leaf being added to it.

FAQ’S About Nigerian Foods

What Is Nigeria Famous Food?

Rice stew, similar to maafe, is a stew made from goat, beef or chicken and cooked with a tomato, onion, pepper and groundnut sauce.

What Is The National Dish Of Nigeria?

The national dish of Nigeria is jollof rice. This is the most common food that is eaten all over Nigeria. A one-pot spicy rice dish cooked in tomato and broth.

What Is A Typical Nigerian Diet?

The traditional Nigerian food guide is a food pyramid divided into five food groups. At the bottom are bread, grains, and tubers, followed by vegetables and fruits.

Is Nigerian Food Spicy?

Nigerian pepper soup is among the nation’s preferred dishes due to its intensely spicy flavor and the range of meat, fish or chicken that can be used to cook it.

What Is A Typical Nigerian Breakfast?

Breakfast is the first and most vital meal of a day, most often eaten in the early morning. In Nigeria, breakfast foods choice ranges from light to heavy, depending on the type of food source.

Akara and pap, Ewa with agege bread, egg sauce are all examples of breakfast foods in Nigeria.

What Is The Staple Food Of Nigeria?

Staple crop production and consumption: Nigeria staple products in West Africa are yams, cassava, maize, rice, sorghum, millet, beans, and legumes.

What Food Do the Yoruba’s Eat?

Most Yoruba foods are usually a combination of different colorful food rudiments, it is always a pleasant sight to behold’, that’s the way the Yoruba’s like to eat, they like a blend of soups/stew/ assorted meat plus eba or pounded yam.

How Much Is Food In Nigeria?

Cost of living in Nigeria is relatively high when compared to countries like the United States of America. The cost of living is the amount of money needed to sustain a certain standard of living by affording basic expenses such as housing, food, taxes, and healthcare.

Nigerian Foods Near Me

Nigeria foods are sold everywhere in Nigeria. You can buy from the local markets, departmental stores like Shoprite and on the street! Enjoy.