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Ghanaian · West African

Waakye

Vegetarian

Rice and black-eyed peas cooked together until soft and tinted reddish-brown, traditionally by dried sorghum leaves. Ghana's favourite breakfast and street dish, served with a spread of toppings.

Waakye is a Ghanaian rice dish, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with black-eyed peas (dried) and long-grain white rice. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Waakye and stew
Photo: daSupremo / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
5 min
Cook
1 h 10 min
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
355

Plus overnight soaking of the beans.

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Drain the beans and boil in 1 litre of fresh water with the bicarbonate of soda (opens in a new tab) (and sorghum leaves, if you have them) until almost tender.

  2. Step 2

    Add the rice and salt, with enough extra water to cover by 2 cm. Bring back to the boil.

    • 5 min
    • high heat

  3. Step 3

    Cover, lower the heat and cook until the rice and beans are soft and the water absorbed. Rest covered 10 minutes, then fluff (remove any leaves).

    • 25 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Don't leave cooked rice at room temperature for long; cool and refrigerate leftovers within 1–2 hours.

About this dish

Origin
Northern Ghana, Ghana · Commonly attributedOriginated with Hausa communities in northern Ghana; the name comes from Hausa.More food from Ghana
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Rice dishes · Street food
Cooking method
Boiled, Simmered
Taste
earthy, mild, savoury
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Budget-friendly · Street food · One-pot · Meal-prep friendly
Cook more with
Black-eyed peas (dried) · Long-grain white rice · Baking soda
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

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

355 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 368 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 14%
  • Carbohydrate 83%
  • Fat 2%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy355 kcal96 kcal
Protein12.6 g3.4 g
Carbohydrate73.3 g19.9 g
Net carbohydrate68.9 g18.7 g
Sugars2.4 g0.6 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.4 g1.2 g
Fat0.9 g0.2 g
Saturated fat0.2 g0.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium650 mg176 mg
Salt equivalent1.6 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
447 mg
Calcium
82 mg
Iron
5.6 mg
Magnesium
83 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
1 µg
Vitamin C
1 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
469 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.
  • “—” 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

  • Look for dried sorghum leaves (waakye leaves) in African grocers — they give the authentic reddish colour and earthy flavour.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the rice before the beans are almost tender — the rice turns mushy while the beans stay hard.

Serve with

  • Serve with shito (pepper sauce), tomato stew, boiled egg, fried plantain, gari, spaghetti and salad, as Ghanaian vendors do.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat until steaming with a splash of water.

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

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

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

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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