The short answer
Senegalese food is the cuisine of Senegal in West Africa, widely regarded as one of the finest on the continent, famous for its national dish thieboudienne, a magnificent one-pot of fish and red rice. It centres on rice, fish and slow-cooked stews rich with onions, and signature dishes include yassa, tangy with onion and lemon, and mafe, a rich peanut stew. It is generous, deeply flavoured food, shared from a communal platter. In the UK you can find Senegalese and West African food and ingredients in cities with West African communities.
What to remember
- Senegalese food is celebrated as one of Africa's finest cuisines.
- Thieboudienne, a one-pot of fish and red rice, is the national dish.
- Yassa (onion and lemon) and mafe (peanut stew) are among its signature dishes.
- Rice, fish and richly cooked onions are at the heart of the cooking.
- Senegalese and West African food and ingredients are found across the UK.
For Senegalese people in Britain, food is bound up with teranga, the hospitality their country is known for. It is the great platter of thieboudienne shared on a Sunday, the tangy yassa with its collapsed onions, the rich, nutty mafé, and the bissap poured for a guest. Each dish carries the pride of a cuisine celebrated across Africa, and cooking them abroad keeps both the flavour and the spirit of generosity alive.
There is real artistry in Senegalese food, in the patient cooking of onions, in the balance of a good thieboudienne, and in the skill with fish and rice. When a Senegalese family in the UK cooks a one-pot to share, marinates chicken for yassa, or pours a glass of bissap for a visitor, they are keeping home close and offering teranga in a new place. That generous, flavourful, elegant spirit is the heart of Senegalese food.
What is Senegalese Food?
Senegalese food comes from Senegal, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, and it enjoys a reputation as one of the great cuisines of the continent, exported across the region and the world by Senegal's cooks and its famous hospitality, teranga. It is built on rice, fish and meat and on a mastery of slow-cooked, deeply flavoured onion-rich sauces, with influences from indigenous Wolof and other traditions and a French colonial legacy that shows in the bread and the coffee. It is food made to be shared, traditionally from a large communal platter with everyone eating together.
The Atlantic gives Senegal an abundance of fish, which is central to the cuisine, and the land gives rice, millet, peanuts and vegetables. The result is a cuisine of big, satisfying one-pot dishes and rich stews, elegant in flavour and generous in spirit. It sits within the wider world of West African food, with a character all its own.
Thieboudienne the National Dish
The heart of Senegalese food is thieboudienne, also spelt 'ceebu jen', which means simply 'rice and fish' in Wolof, and it is the national dish and a source of great pride, so important that it has been recognised by UNESCO. It is a magnificent one-pot meal: fish stuffed with a herb paste called 'rof', cooked with rice in a rich tomato and vegetable sauce until the rice turns a deep red-brown and soaks up all the flavour, and served with an array of vegetables such as cassava, carrot, aubergine and cabbage. Made well, it is a masterpiece of balance and depth.
Thieboudienne is the Sunday and celebratory dish, cooked in huge quantities and shared from a communal bowl, and it captures everything Senegalese food does well: rice, fish, rich sauce and generosity. There are variations, red with tomato or white, but all are beloved.
Yassa the tang of Onion and Lemon
If thieboudienne is the grand one-pot, yassa is its bright, tangy cousin and one of Senegal's most loved and exported dishes. Chicken yassa, or poulet yassa, is chicken marinated in lemon or lime, mustard and lots of onions, then cooked so the onions collapse into a savoury, tangy, golden sauce and served over rice. There is also fish yassa. It is simpler than thieboudienne but full of flavour, and it has become popular far beyond Senegal. You can read more in our guide to chicken yassa.
The magic of yassa is in the onions and the citrus, cooked patiently until they become a rich, sharp, savoury sauce. It is comfort food and party food at once and a brilliant introduction to Senegalese flavours.
Mafe the Peanut stew
Another signature is mafé, also spelt maafe, a rich, comforting stew built on groundnut, which is peanut, paste, one of West Africa's great peanut stews. Meat, often beef or lamb, or chicken, is simmered with tomato, onion and groundnut paste, sometimes with vegetables, into a thick, savoury, mildly sweet, nutty sauce served over rice. It is hearty, warming and beloved across the region. You can read more in our guide to mafe.
Because it is made with peanuts, mafe is not suitable for those with a peanut allergy, which is worth noting. Rich and nourishing, mafe shows the West African love of the groundnut, and it is one of the dishes that has carried Senegalese and regional cooking around the world.
Rice fish and Everyday food
Beyond the famous three, everyday Senegalese food revolves around rice, fish and satisfying sauces. Dishes include ceebu yapp, rice with meat, thiou, a stew, ndambe, a bean dish often eaten in a baguette for breakfast, and soupou kanja, an okra and seafood stew. The French legacy shows in the crusty tapalapa and baguette bread eaten with everything from breakfast spreads to bean stews and in strong coffee, including the spiced café Touba.
Fresh fish, whether grilled, stewed or in a one pot, is never far away, and the Senegalese skill with onions, tomato, fish and rice runs through the whole cuisine. It is food that is both refined and deeply comforting.
Sweets Drinks and Teranga
Senegalese food also has its sweet and refreshing side. Thiakry, or dege, is a sweet, chilled couscous or millet pudding with yoghurt, a beloved dessert, and there are sweet millet dishes and fruits. To drink, bissap, the deep red hibiscus drink, and bouye, made from baobab fruit, are refreshing favourites, alongside ginger juice and, for the French legacy, coffee.
All of this is served in the spirit of teranga, the Wolof concept of hospitality and generosity for which Senegal is famous. To share a platter of thieboudienne with a guest is teranga in action, and it is central to what Senegalese food means.
Where can I find Senegalese Food in UK?
The UK has growing West African communities, including Senegalese and other Francophone West Africans, so Senegalese and West African food is increasingly findable. London in particular has West African restaurants and food shops, and other cities are following. In them you will find dishes like yassa and mafe and the ingredients to cook Senegalese food, from broken rice, groundnut paste and dried fish to hibiscus, mustard and the right spices.
If you want to eat out, you can find African restaurants near you, or book a cook for a gathering through caterers near you. To cook Senegalese food at home, the ingredients are stocked by African food shops, and you can browse African food stores near you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national dish of Senegal?
The national dish of Senegal is thieboudienne, also spelt ceebu jen, meaning rice and fish. It is a magnificent one-pot of fish and vegetables cooked with rice in a rich tomato sauce until the rice turns deep red-brown, and it has even been recognised by UNESCO. It is the celebration dish, shared from a communal platter.
What is yassa?
Yassa is a much loved Senegalese dish of chicken, poulet yassa, or fish marinated in lemon or lime, mustard and plenty of onions, then cooked so the onions become a rich, tangy, savoury sauce served over rice. It is simpler than thieboudienne but full of flavour, and it has become popular far beyond Senegal.
What is mafe?
Mafe, also spelt 'maafe', is a rich West African peanut stew, made by simmering meat or chicken with tomato, onion and groundnut that is peanut paste into a thick, savoury, nutty sauce served over rice. It is hearty and comforting and beloved across the region. Because it contains peanuts, it is not suitable for those with a peanut allergy.
Why is Senegalese food so highly regarded?
Senegalese food is celebrated for its depth of flavour, its mastery of rice, fish and slow-cooked onion sauces, and its balance and generosity. Dishes like thieboudienne are considered masterpieces, and the culture of teranga, or hospitality, means food is shared warmly. Senegal's cooks have carried the cuisine and its reputation around the world.
Where can I find Senegalese food in the UK?
Look in cities with West African communities, especially London, where West African restaurants and food shops serve and stock Senegalese and regional food. You can find African restaurants near you and African food stores through the platform to eat out or to cook Senegalese food such as yassa and mafe at home.
