Sierra Leonean ginger beer

Name: Sierra Leonean ginger beer
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 8 h 20 min
Ingredients: 300 g fresh ginger, scrubbed and grated or blended; 2 l water; 10 cloves; 220 g sugar; 60 ml lime juice; 200 g pineapple, peel and core, chopped (optional); 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Vegetarian

A strong, sweet, peppery homemade ginger drink with cloves and lime, steeped overnight and served ice-cold. A fixture at Sierra Leonean parties, weddings and Christmas.

Sierra Leonean ginger beer is a Sierra Leonean cold drink, ready in about 8 hours 20 minutes and made with fresh ginger and cloves. It serves 8 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep: 15 min
Cook: 5 min
Rest: 8 h
Total: 8 h 20 min
Serves: 8
Level: Beginner
Calories: 111

Steep overnight for the strongest flavour.

Ingredients

8 glasses

300 g Fresh ginger (opens in a new tab), scrubbed and grated or blended
2 l Water (opens in a new tab)
10 (1 g) Cloves (opens in a new tab)
220 g Sugar (opens in a new tab)Adjust to taste.
60 ml Lime juice (opens in a new tab)
200 g Pineapple (opens in a new tab), peel and core, chopped (optional)Some families steep pineapple skins with the ginger.
1 tsp (4.5 g) Vanilla extract (opens in a new tab) (optional)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Blend the ginger with 500 ml of the water (and the pineapple (opens in a new tab), if using) until fine.
- 3 min
- Blender (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Bring the remaining water to the boil with the cloves (opens in a new tab), pour it over the ginger purée, cover and leave to steep overnight in a cool place.
- 5 min
- high heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
3
Step 3
Strain through a cloth, squeezing hard. Stir in the sugar (opens in a new tab), lime juice (opens in a new tab) and vanilla (opens in a new tab) until dissolved, then bottle and chill.
- 8 min
- Sieve / strainer (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Sierra Leone · Commonly attributedUnfermented ginger drinks like this are made across West Africa; in Sierra Leone it is called ginger beer despite containing no alcohol.Also popular in Liberia, The GambiaMore food from Sierra Leone
Dish: Snack · Cold drinks
Cooking method: Boiled, Blended
Taste: spicy (chilli heat), sweet, aromatic / warmly spiced, refreshing
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Without the optional extras: Alcohol-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Make-ahead · Festive & celebration · Budget-friendly
Cook more with: Fresh ginger · Cloves · Sugar · Lime juice
Techniques: Boiling · 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

111 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 288 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

Protein 0%
Carbohydrate 100%
Fat 0%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	111 kcal	39 kcal
Protein	0.1 g	0 g
Carbohydrate	28.8 g	10 g
Net carbohydrate	28.6 g	9.9 g
Sugars	27.6 g	9.6 g
Added sugars	27.5 g	9.5 g
Fibre	0.1 g	0 g
Fat	0 g	0 g
Saturated fat	0 g	0 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	6 mg	2 mg
Salt equivalent	0 g	0 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 24 mg
Calcium: 28 mg
Iron: 0.1 mg
Magnesium: 7 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 0 µg
Vitamin C: 2 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 1 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: pineapple, vanilla extract.
“—” 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

For a stronger kick, add a pinch of cayenne or a few grains of selim to the steeping liquid.

Common mistakes

Adding the sugar before steeping — it slows the extraction of ginger flavour; sweeten after straining.

Storage

Refrigerate in bottles up to 5 days.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & BlendCompare with

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

Fresh ginger, scrubbed and grated or blended300 g
Pineapple, peel and core, chopped (optional)200 g

Used in step 1

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

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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