Nigerian Jollof Rice Recipe

Nigerian jollof rice recipe! This African dish is packed full of flavor, rich, grainy, smoky, delicious, and the best. It's a one-pot dish that is made with rice, tomato, peppers, herbs, and spices. Learn how to make jollof rice in easy steps.

What is Jollof Rice

Jollof rice is a rice dish that is popular in West African countries, and all over the world. It is a one-pot dish where rice is slowly cooked in a rich tomato sauce, herbs, and spices base. It is also sometimes referred to as Jolof rice.

There are different variations of West African Jollof rice including the Nigerian jollof rice, Senegalese, Liberia, and Ghana jollof rice.

According to Wikipedia, Jollof derives its name from the name of the Wolof people. In Senegal and Gambia, it is referred to in Wolof as ceebu jën or benachin. In French-speaking areas, it is called riz au gras.

" There are variations to the dish across the region, however, Jollof has spread along with the diaspora to become the best known African dish outside the continent" 

Nigerian Jollof Rice Recipe

This Nigerian jollof rice recipe is the best you will find on the internet. It is a detailed step-by-step process that simplifies the cooking process so that anyone be it a beginner cook or pro cook can cook it to perfection.

With this smoky party jollof rice recipe, you will get red (orangey) colored, flavorful, delicious rice that can be served for parties, or eaten as lunch, or dinner. In fact, no party is complete without jollof rice. It is always the star of the party.

This recipe makes enough to serve 12 people but you can half the recipe if you don't require that much or double it to suit how many servings you require. 

It is easy to make and makes use of simple ingredients.

This post answers the frequently asked questions and shares tips and best practices in making the best jollof rice recipe.

Related: Instant Pot jollof rice

Ingredients for Jollof Rice

These are the ingredients you'll need to make it. The detailed ingredient list, measurements, and directions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Rice

Bell peppers 

Tomatoes 

Brown onion 

Red onion

Tomato puree

Vegetable oil

Curry powder 

Dried Thyme 

White pepper

Bay leaves

Scotch bonnet 

Stock cubes

Chicken broth

Salt

Plum or salad Tomatoes

Butter

How To Make Jollof Rice

Here's a detailed step by step on how to cook jollof rice:

First, blend the bell peppers, plum tomatoes, scotch bonnet, and brown onion.

Place a pot on heat, add oil into the pot, then add in sliced onions. Sautee the onions till they are fragrant and translucent. This should take about 2 minutes. 

Next, add in the tomato puree/tomato paste. Fry for 5-10 minutes till reduced in quantity and doesn't taste tart.

Add in the blended peppers, curry powder, dried thyme, stock cubes, bay leaves, and salt. Fry till it is dark red and no longer raw. It will be reduced in quantity, thick and the oil floats to the top of the sauce. This takes about 10 - 15 minutes.

Then add in the chicken broth, and boiling water. Stir, add in the washed rice. Cover the pot tightly and cook the rice on low heat till it's almost tender. (About 25 minutes).

Add the remaining sliced red onion, sliced tomato, and butter.

Cover the pot and continue to steam the rice till it's tender.

Stir the rice and take it off the heat.

Serve and enjoy!

How Long To Cook Jollof Rice

On average, cooking jollof rice takes between 40-60 minutes depending on the quantity. The rice usually cooks at the same time either in small or large quantities, but it takes longer to fry the tomato/pepper base for a large quantity. Therefore it will take a shorter time for frying the pepper base for 10 servings than the pepper base for 20 servings.

To fry the sauce base takes about 10-20 minutes

While it takes about 30 minutes to steam the rice in the sauce base.

What To Serve With

Roast Chicken

Fried plantain

Fried Beef

Fish

Fried chicken

Turkey

Coleslaw 

Salad

Moin moin

Pan fried steak

How To Store

Leftovers should be stored in the fridge. Put it in an airtight container, label it, and put it in the freezer where it will last up to 4 days.

You can also freeze jollof rice but it's best to reheat from frozen and not thaw first. If thawed, it doesn't re when reheated.

To store in the freezer: Put in a freezer-safe and microwave-safe bowl (since you will be reheating from frozen), label with name and dates, then put it in the freezer where it will preserve well for 3 months.

How to reheat it from frozen, put the microwaveable bowl of Jollof in the microwave and heat on high setting for 4 minutes, stir then reheat at 1-minute intervals till it is well heated.

To reheat it from chilled: Put it in a microwave-safe plate, put it in the microwave and heat on a high setting for 4 minutes, stir then reheat at 1-minute intervals till it is well heated.

FAQs

Is Jollof rice healthy?

Yes, it is healthy if eaten in moderation as part of a healthy diet. You can make it healthier by using a lesser quantity of oil which in turn reduces the calories.

How do I make my jollof rice red?

By using a higher ratio of red bell pepper or paprika to tomatoes, and by using tomato puree. The rationing in this recipe works best for rich reddish Jollof.

How do I make my jollof rice smokey?

There are different ways such as adding bottled smokey flavor, placing charcoal in the pot, or naturally burning the rice. The first option of adding hickory smoke does not taste like the authentic smoky party jollof rice and I do not recommend it. With the second option, you will have to burn the coal to orangey glow before use which takes time and you will need to burn the charcoal outdoors for safety reasons.

The third option is by burning the rice. This is my preferred choice. When the rice is aldente, increase the heat to maximum and intentionally leave the pot to burn for 5 minutes. This burns the bottom of the jollof rice, the trapped smoke flavors the rice in the pot and you get smoky one. The best pot to use for this is heavy based aluminum pot.

What is the secret to great jollof rice?

Rich pepper sauce base, using the right herb and spices, and steaming the rice slowly in the sauce base.

What is the difference between Nigerian jollof rice and Ghanaian jollof rice?

Nigerian jollof rice is cooked with easy cook long grain rice or sella basmati rice but Ghanaian jollof is cooked with basmati.

How do you make jollof rice not soggy?

By not adding too much water. It needs steam and low heat to cook not a lot of water.

Tips

• You can roast the peppers before blending to give it smoky flavor. 

• It's best to use heavy based aluminium pot to cook the rice. 

• Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid to trap in the steam. 

• You can use foil paper to cover the pot before covering it with the lid if the lid is not tight fitting. 

• Cook rice on low heat.

• Don't use too much water to cook it as it mostly needs steam to cook. 

• Fry the tomato puree to prevent tart or sour taste. 

• Use Nigerian curry powder that is homemade or storebought ones like lions curry, or ducros curry powder.

• Use more chicken broth than water or equal ratio.

What rice to cook jollof rice?

The best rice and authentic one to use is easy cook long grain rice. In recent times Golden Sella basmati rice is being used and this also gives good results.

What seasoning to use?

It does not require a lot of seasoning. The herbs and spices used in Jollof are Curry powder, Dried thyme, White pepper, and Bay leaves. Some people add nutmeg, garlic, and ginger but I find it totally unnecessary and I do not add to mine.

More Easy Recipes 

Nigerian puff puff

Rice and peas

Deep fried chicken thighs

Air fryer fish

Curry goat

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