West African Cuisine
Traditional West African Food
West Africa is unique because the people remain deeply connected to indigenous culinary traditions. Here, you’ll find the grasslands of the Sahel and the roaming African nomadic pastoralists. They carry a unique indigenous food culture that stems from this way of life.
Includes: Benin / Burkina Faso / Cape Verde / Côte D’Ivoire / Gambia / Ghana / Guinea / Guinea-Bissau / Liberia / Mali / Mauritania / Niger / Nigeria / Senegal / Sierra Leone / Togo
“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… The people who give you their food give you their heart.” – Cesar Chavez
Traditional dishes include rice, millet, peanuts, beans, and root vegetables. Cassava is an essential starchy staple, most notably in the hugely popular fufu, a dough-like companion used for dipping. They’re served with Garden Egg Stew, made with a type of white eggplant, and a rich peanut stew called Maafe. Other side staples are Banku and Kenkey made from maize. Palm wine, made from fermented palm tree sap, is a popular drink in West Africa.
Find Local West African Shefs & Meals
When searching for “west african cuisine near me,” you’ll find Shef delivers West African food in the following locations:
- Seattle
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco (Bay Area)
- Chicago
- New York City
- New Jersey
Find your local home-cooked West African food today!