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Ghanaian · West African

Light soup

Non-vegetarian

A thin, peppery Ghanaian tomato broth with chicken or goat, made from blended boiled tomatoes, onion and chilli. Light in body but big on flavour, and the classic partner for fufu.

Light soup is a Ghanaian soup, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on, tomato and fresh red chilli. It serves 5 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
15 min
Cook
55 min
Total
1 h 10 min
Serves
5
Level
Easy
Calories
483

Ingredients

5 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the chicken in a pot with the sliced onion (opens in a new tab), ginger, garlic (opens in a new tab) and 1 tsp salt. Cover and let it steam in its own juices over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring once.

  2. Step 2

    Add the whole tomatoes (opens in a new tab), halved onion (opens in a new tab), chillies, eggplant (opens in a new tab) and 500 ml water. Simmer 12 minutes until the vegetables are soft.

    • 12 min
    • medium heat
    A sauce simmering in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Nanda Mends on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Lift out the vegetables, blend them smooth (peeling the eggplant (opens in a new tab) first) and pour back through a sieve into the pot.

  4. Step 4

    Add the remaining water, the tomato paste (opens in a new tab) and remaining salt. Simmer uncovered until the chicken is tender and the soup tastes rich, 25–30 minutes.

    • 28 min
    • medium-low heat

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C at the bone.

About this dish

Origin
Ghana · Well documentedMore food from Ghana
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups · Main courses
Cooking method
Simmered, Boiled, Blended
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), tangy, savoury, peppery
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Freezer-friendly · Everyday
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Tomato · Fresh red chilli · Onion · Fresh ginger · Garlic
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

483 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 701 g · recipe makes 5

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 33%
  • Carbohydrate 10%
  • Fat 57%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy483 kcal69 kcal
Protein39.3 g5.6 g
Carbohydrate11.9 g1.7 g
Net carbohydrate9.1 g1.3 g
Sugars6.3 g0.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre2.8 g0.4 g
Fat30.5 g4.4 g
Saturated fat8.7 g1.2 g
Trans fat0.2 g0 g
Cholesterol150 mg21 mg
Sodium857 mg122 mg
Salt equivalent2.1 g0.3 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
846 mg
Calcium
83 mg
Iron
2.5 mg
Magnesium
70 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
146 µg
Vitamin C
31 mg
Vitamin D
0.4 µg
Vitamin B12
0.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
43 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: eggplant.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Steaming the meat with aromatics before adding water is the Ghanaian way to build flavour.

Common mistakes

  • Adding all the water at the start — steaming the meat first, then blending the vegetables, gives the soup its depth.
  • Skipping the sieve: tomato skins and seeds make the soup gritty.

Serve with

  • Serve with fufu, omo tuo (rice balls) or banku.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Reheating

  • Bring back to a simmer until piping hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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