Nigerian Beans Recipes

Like I said before, Ewa (beans) and bread is a very popular breakfast recipe in Lagos Nigeria and because I want to make this site as comprehensives as possible I don’t want to leave out any important food

The above image is not porridge beans, the recipe is completely different from other Nigerian beans recipes, you cook the beans separately and then make a special kind of stew. You will learn to make this stew the exact way it is made in Yoruba land where I live.


Here are the basic ingredients, although some other local herbs are used optionally in some cases.

Half cup of dry ground pepper
15cl of palm oil
A cube of maggi or knorr
1 bulb of onions
Ground ginger

Tomatoes are not used in making this special kind of stew, just ground dry pepper and red oil (palm oil), although some people eat the same food with the normal Nigerian Tomato Stew

Here is how to prepare stew for ewa (beans) in the Yoruba land.

Pour the palm oil into a pot and set on fire, allow to heat for about three minutes but don’t allow to bleach. Then add the ground dry peppers and fry for about ten minutes, just keep stirring occasionally for ten minutes.

Then add the onions, ground ginger, a cube of maggi, cook for another five minutes and you are done.
Serve with the beans,


Here is how to make yet another simple Nigerian food (Porridge beans), one of the different Nigerian beans recipes. Porridge beans in Nigeria are often cooked alongside yam or plantain. It could serve both as lunch and dinner.

This particular recipe is very popular in the south and eastern part of Nigeria, the Igbo tribe of Nigeria is very familiar with this recipe so if you want to make porridge beans the exact way an IGBO woman would like to make it, here is your best guide.

Ingredients (for 5 serving)
3 to 4 cups of beans
Red oil (10cl)
About 5 to 10 balls of tomatoes (cut to bits)
2 balls of onions
Vegetable (optional)
Potash (very small, about half baby spoon)(optional)(I don’t use it)
Crayfish (1 cup blend)
Knorr cube (2 cubes) or any spice of choice.
Salt and pepper to taste.

The last time I ate beans and yam was in my village, made by my mum, I think beans and ripe plantain is a better combination, partly because ripe plantain tend to add a natural sweetness and also because kids like it.

Here is how to prepare beans recipe in Nigeria:

Select the beans to remove impurities (sands) then parboil for about 5 to 10 minutes, wash and start cooking with just water.

At this point most people tend to add a little bit of potash to hasten the process but it is highly not advisable. I add about 2 balls of sliced onions at this point (after boiling for about 10 minutes alone.), this has shown to serve the same purpose as potash, although with a slightly slow impact.

Boil until it is soft for consumption or at least 95 percent done, you can check by taking some on your cooking spoon and pressing against the spoon, it takes about one hour or a little more to cook beans if you are doing it the natural way (without potash).

Add the blended crayfish, palm oil, knorr (2 cubes) salt and pepper.

Add a little water if necessary.

Sprinkle the sliced tomatoes/onions and vegetables on the top and cover to cook for 10 to 15 minutes and you have delicious bean porridge.

I like to add tomatoes and vegetable to porridge beans because they are both a good source of vitamins and also serves for decoration purposes.

There are so many other beans recipe in Nigeria,

If you have eaten bread and ewa before please use the comment box below to tell me about it.