What Is Palm Nut Soup? The Ghanaian Classic Explained
Palm nut soup is a rich Ghanaian soup made from palm fruit, known as abenkwan. Here is what it is and where to buy the ingredients.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Palm nut soup is a rich, hearty West African soup made from the fruit of the oil palm, much loved in Ghana, where it is known as abenkwan, and across the region. It is made by boiling palm fruits and extracting a thick, savoury, red-orange pulp, which is simmered with fish, meat, or both, along with tomatoes, onions, pepper and seasonings into a deeply flavoured, oily, satisfying soup. It is classically eaten with fufu, banku or rice. Related to Nigerian banga soup, palm nut soup is a beloved comfort food. In the UK the palm fruit, usually as tinned palm nut pulp or concentrate, is sold by African food shops.
What to remember
- Palm nut soup is a rich Ghanaian soup made from the fruit of the oil palm.
- In Ghana it is known as abenkwan, and it is related to Nigerian banga soup.
- The palm fruits are boiled and their thick pulp extracted, then simmered with fish and meat.
- It is a rich, savoury, red-orange soup, classically eaten with fufu, banku or rice.
- The palm fruit, often as tinned pulp, is sold by African food shops in the UK.
For Ghanaians and West Africans in Britain, palm nut soup is a rich taste of home. It is the red-orange abenkwan simmering on the stove, the hearty soup eaten with fufu on a Sunday, the deep, savoury flavour that says family and home, the comfort of a proper, filling meal. Cooking palm nut soup far from home brings back family kitchens and gatherings and the rich aroma of palm fruit and fish, the warmth of home in every hearty spoonful.
There is real heritage in it too, in a soup so tied to Ghanaian and West African food culture, each family with its own version. It reflects a whole tradition of rich, nourishing home cooking, and to make palm nut soup is to keep that alive. Cooking abenkwan for family who grew up on it, or introducing a friend to their first bowl with fufu, is a small act of welcome. That rich, savoury taste of home is the quiet gift of palm nut soup.
What Palm Nut Soup Actually Is
Palm nut soup is one of West Africa's great soups, a rich, hearty, deeply flavoured dish made from the fruit of the oil palm. In Ghana, where it is especially beloved, it is known as abenkwan, and it is closely related to soups made from palm fruit across the region, including Nigerian banga soup. The soup gets its character and its warm red-orange colour from the palm fruit itself: the small palm fruits are boiled until soft, then pounded and the thick, savoury pulp extracted and strained, giving a rich base quite different from a stew simply cooked in palm oil.
This palm fruit base is then simmered into a full soup with fish, meat, or both, and seasonings, resulting in a soup that is rich, oily, savoury and satisfying, with a distinctive nutty, fruity depth from the palm. It is comforting, filling and full of flavour, the kind of soup that means a proper meal. Palm nut soup belongs to the world of Ghanaian dishes we cover in our guide to Ghanaian food, a treasured soup that pairs beautifully with swallows like kokonte and other staples.
How Palm Nut Soup Is Made and Eaten
Making palm nut soup starts with the palm fruit. Traditionally the fresh palm fruits are boiled until tender, then pounded in a mortar to loosen the pulp from the fibres and stones, and warm water is worked through to extract a thick, rich, red-orange palm cream, which is strained. Many cooks in Britain use tinned palm nut pulp or concentrate, which makes the process much quicker. This palm base is then simmered with fish, such as fresh or smoked fish and sometimes shellfish, and meat, along with tomatoes, onions, chilli, and seasonings, until it thickens into a rich soup.
Palm nut soup is served hot and is classically eaten with a swallow or staple that soaks up its richness, above all fufu, and also banku, kenkey, kokonte or rice. A bowl of palm nut soup with fufu is a beloved, satisfying meal. This is general food information rather than dietary advice, and where shellfish is used those with a shellfish allergy should take care. Rich, savoury and comforting, palm nut soup is West African home cooking at its most nourishing.
Palm Nut Soup as a Comfort Food
Palm nut soup holds a warm place in Ghanaian and West African food culture as a rich, satisfying comfort food, the kind of soup made for family meals, Sunday dinners and gatherings, and enjoyed with real relish. Its deep, savoury, palm-rich flavour and its filling nature make it a favourite, and different cooks and regions have their own versions, with various combinations of fish, meat and seafood. It is a soup that says home and abundance.
For anyone exploring Ghanaian and West African food, palm nut soup is a wonderful, distinctive dish to try, especially with fufu, and tinned palm nut pulp makes it very achievable at home. This article is general food and cultural information rather than dietary advice. Rich, red-orange and full of flavour, palm nut soup is a treasured classic, comforting and nourishing, and a proud part of the West African soup pot alongside its relatives across the region.
Where to Buy the Ingredients in the UK
Making palm nut soup at home in Britain is very doable, as the key ingredient is available. African food shops sell palm nut pulp or palm soup base, usually in tins or jars, which is the quick and convenient way to make the soup without pounding fresh palm fruit, and they stock the fish, smoked fish, meat and seasonings that go into it. Tinned palm nut cream or concentrate is the thing to look for, and staff can point you to a good one.
If you want to make palm nut soup, an African food shop can point you to tinned palm nut pulp and to the fish, smoked fish and seasonings you need, plus fufu or banku to serve with it. You can find African food stores near you or look up Caribbean food stores near you, where palm nut pulp is a familiar item. Simmered from rich palm fruit with fish and meat, palm nut soup brings a hearty, savoury taste of Ghana to your table, especially served with fufu.
Frequently asked questions
What is palm nut soup?
Palm nut soup is a rich, hearty West African soup made from the fruit of the oil palm, much loved in Ghana, where it is known as abenkwan. The palm fruits are boiled and their thick, savoury, red-orange pulp extracted, then simmered with fish, meat, or both, along with tomatoes, onions, pepper and seasonings. It is classically eaten with fufu, banku or rice, and is related to Nigerian banga soup.
What is abenkwan?
Abenkwan is the Ghanaian, particularly Akan, name for palm nut soup, the rich soup made from palm fruit. Abenkwan and palm nut soup are the same thing, a deeply flavoured, red-orange soup made by extracting the pulp from boiled palm fruits and simmering it with fish and meat. It is a much loved Ghanaian classic, eaten with fufu and other staples.
How is palm nut soup made?
Traditionally, fresh palm fruits are boiled until tender, pounded to loosen the pulp, and warm water is worked through to extract a thick red-orange palm cream, which is strained. Many cooks use tinned palm nut pulp to save time. This palm base is then simmered with fish, smoked fish and meat, tomatoes, onions, chilli and seasonings until it thickens into a rich soup.
What do you eat with palm nut soup?
Palm nut soup is classically eaten with a swallow or staple that soaks up its richness, above all fufu, and also banku, kenkey, kokonte or rice. A bowl of palm nut soup with fufu is a beloved, satisfying Ghanaian meal. The rich, savoury soup and the soft staple make a perfect, filling combination.
Where can I buy the ingredients in the UK?
The key ingredient, palm nut pulp or palm soup base, is sold in tins or jars by African food shops, which is the quick way to make the soup without pounding fresh palm fruit, and they also stock the fish, smoked fish, meat and seasonings. An African food shop can point you to a good tinned palm nut pulp and to fufu or banku to serve with it. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you.