I am finally bringing you this UNREAL, UNBELIEVABLE and INCREDIBLY TASTY vegan jollof rice. This recipe comes to your screens just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving too, and can serve as a perfect side dish, or main dish to wow your loved ones.

But before I get into the recipe, DISCLAIMER!!! I am not here to contest and shame any country’s jollof rice. The greatness of the jollof depends on the cook.

Jollof Rice has a special place in my heart! If someone asked me what meals i will live on for the rest of my life, I will say Oatmeal and Jollof Rice. I think it is the perfect way to prepare rice; it is absolutely fragrant, rich in colour with different textures (the crunchy, slightly burnt bottom of the jollof is actually an important part of the jollof, which complements the soft, perfectly cooked rice); what else can a girl ask for? Jollof Rice is a staple in every Ghanaian celebration and there is no party without jollof Rice. However, party jollof is full of animal fat, high in salt and oil and is not good for you.

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A brief history about Jollof Rice

The name jollof originates from Senegal based on the Wolof people of Senegal. Legend has it, Penda Mbaye a chef hired in the colonial governor’s residence created Jollof. As a chef for the governor, she became familiar with foods that were brought from outside French West Africa. One day she was intending on creating a pot dish with barley, vegetables and fish but with a shortage of barley she could not complete this dish. So, she opted for an imported rice variety. Then the rest was history. Most people believe it spread across West Africa through trade. To read more check out this article (click here)

For this recipe, you are going to need

  • Oil: to caramelize the onions and fry the tomato sauce
  • Aromatics: Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Red Bell pepper and Scotch bonnet pepper are the most important base for any Ghanaian stew. Having the right balance of each gives the Jollof a really nice, rich flavour and most importantly the dark red colour, which you want
  • Tomato Sauce: This is essential for the stew. I mean it is a tomato based recipe so of course
  • Rice: In Ghana, we use perfume long grain jasmine rice (yes that is exactly how we say it), some people apparently use basmati but I do not even think I have had basmati rice jollof in Ghana before. Nigerians use par boiled rice. I know a lot of French West African countries like Senegal or Ivory Coast use short grain rice for their “jollof” which they call riz au gras or thieboudienne
  • Veggie Stock: this gives the rice additional flavour. The non-vegan version usually uses chicken stock to cook the rice so we are trying to emulate that process here

How to make the Perfect jollof rice

  • Caramelize onions: In a pot, you will sauté the onions in oil till it is nice and soft
  • Prepare the stew: Once the onions are sautéed, fry the tomato paste, add the blended aromatics and tomato sauce. Cook down the sauce till the sauce is dry
  • Spice it up: Add the spices along with the rice once the sauce is reduced,
  • Steam the Jollof: The key to flavourful and well cooked jollof is to steam the rice in the sauce. After adding the rice, keep the rice at low heat to cook the rice with the steam generated from the cooking of the sauce. This is what makes the jollof flavourful.

What you can serve this recipe with?

Spice Crusted Tofu
Suya Tofu Skewers
Kelewele

Want an recipe with an alternative grain for Jollof?

Brown Rice Jollof
Fonio Jollof
Quinoa Jollof

FAQ + Substitutions

Please read through it before attempting to make this recipe, ESPECIALLY if this is your first time making jollof. It is a technically challenging recipe and I really do want you to succeed.

  • What is the best pot to use? I use a deep pot that is non stick. The rice will triple in size so something that can contain all the rice is important. This also allows the rice to cook evenly.
  • Can I switch the spices? You are welcome to switch up the spices, just make sure to add enough. For this recipe I went a bit overboard with the spices because the rice will triple in size, and if you are too conservative on the amount you use, the rice might be bland.
  • Can I make this recipe oil free? You are more than welcome to sub the oil for water. But, oil does bring out the sweetness of the onions when sautéed. I have made it without oil and its tastes great
  • My rice did not cook evenly; what did I do wrong? There are few reason why the rice might not have cooked evenly. 1. The heat is not evenly spreading through the pot. I will suggest using a big pot to make sure that there is enough heat going through the rice to cook it well. 2. You did not fold/stir the rice well. Stirring and turning the rice at the bottom to the top ensures that the heat transfers easily in the pot and the bottom is not burned/cooked leaving the top raw
  • What is the perfect consistency of the final product? Well cooked pot of rice. You should see each grain separately. It is not mushy and evenly cooked. Please refer to the video
  • How can I avoid mushy jollof? To avoid mushy jollof, please do not add more water than specified. Please be patient with the recipe. The more time you allow the rice to cook at LOW heat, higher chance it will cook properly. Jasmine rice is quite starchy; if you do not wash it well, it will clump up and the grains will not separate well
  • Can I cook this in the instant pot? This recipe has not been tested for the instant pot and I will not recommend it. Jollof requires a lot of attention, which you cannot do using the instant pot. Plus the stew will not combine well with the rice and rather separate to the top of the pot
  • Can I use brown rice? This recipe has not been tested for brown rice. Since we are cooking it on the stove, the amount of water required to properly cook brown rice differs from the amount of water needed to cook white rice. Please do not substitute brown rice for this recipe as the results will be so much different, most likely the rice will not cook well. For a brown rice alternative (click here)
  • Can I use another type of white rice? To make this type of rice, I will only stick to long grain rice. Jasmine is a unique rice and one loved by Ghanaians (whoever told you Ghanaians make jollof with basmati is lying). It is a very starchy rice so even using another long grain rice might give a different outcome. This type of rice is readily available in many grocery stores but for the best quality rice, the Asian supermarket is your best bet. Please do not use short grain white rice or basmati rice; they require a different amount of water
  • My rice is taking a long time to cook, will it burn? Unlike simple plain white rice, jollof rice takes time and patience. Remember we are steaming the rice not boiling it so it will take time.
  • I do not have access to scotch bonnet pepper, what can I use instead? you can swap for habanero pepper or jalapeno. You can use cayenne pepper and adjust accordingly to your heat tolerance
Print Pin
Course Main Course
Cuisine Ghanaian
Keyword ghanaian recipes, jollof rice
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions 1 finely sliced to sauté, 1 roughly chopped for blending
  • 1 thumb sized ginger
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper more if you like spicy food
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 2/3 cup tomato puree I used the Kirkland Organic Tomato Sauce from Costco
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tbsp anise seeds ground
  • 1 tsp each of whole cloves onion powder, garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube I used the knorr vegetable broth powder**
  • 4 cups dry Jasmine Rice
  • salt to taste
  • water specific water measurements are outlined in the steps

Instructions

  • Before you start this recipe please make sure you have thoroughly reviewed the Questions and Answer section, especially if it is your first time making this recipe.
  • PLEASE ALSO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS VERY CAREFULLY; THIS IS A VERY TECHNICAL DISH
  • Blend together the tomatoes, red bell pepper, ginger, garlic, roughly chopped onions and the scotch bonnet in 1/2 cup of water
  • In a pot at medium heat, sauté the finely sliced onions with oil till brown. Add in a splash of water if the pot is getting dry
  • After, add in the tomato paste, 1/4 cup of water and sauté for 5 minutes.
  • After 5 minutes, add in your blended mixture and the tomato purée, plus 1/3 cup of water. Cover the pot very well and allow the sauce to simmer and reduce for 20 minutes at medium heat.
  • After 20 minutes, turn down the heat to low, and mix in the spices. We will be keeping the temperature at LOW (YOUR LOWEST HEAT SETTING) for the rest of the cooking process.
  • Once the spices have been mixed in well, add the rice (please remember to wash the rice very well) and 1 2/3 cups of water.DO NOT ADD ANY MORE WATER BEYOND THIS POINT
  • Make sure to taste the sauce for salt. You want it to be slightly salty because when the rice cooks it will dilute out the salt.
  • Cover the pot well, turn the heat to LOW and keep an eye on the rice.
  • After 10 minutes, fold over the rice (get the rice from the bottom to the top) to make sure it is not too burnt at the bottom, and place a parchment paper or tin foil on top of the pot before covering the pot. This traps steam in the pot and cooks the rice
  • Let the rice cook for 25 mins at LOW. The point is to steam the rice. You will be tempted to open and check, please do not check. Leave it alone so that it cooks well
  • After 25 mins, discard any water that has collected at the top of the parchment paper or tin foil and give the rice a quick turn. Cover let it cook at LOW for another 25 minutes.
  • Once the 25 minutes has passed, check the rice again to check how well cooked it is, again discard any water that has pooled on top of the parchment paper or tin foil. Cover it and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes or till the rice is cooked
  • The rice should be cooked in about an hour (calculated from the time you added the rice to the stew).

Notes

** If you do not have access to the veggie broth powder, you are more than welcome to use liquid veggie broth instead of water to give the same flavour. Low sodium is best because you can control the amount of salt in the rice