The short answer
Sierra Leonean food is the hearty, richly flavoured cuisine of Sierra Leone in West Africa, built around rice, the beloved staple eaten at almost every meal, and an array of rich stews and sauces. It is famous for dishes like cassava leaves, or plasas, a rich green stew, groundnut stew, a peanut-based sauce, and jollof rice, along with pepper soups and fufu. Palm oil, groundnuts, greens, fish and plenty of pepper run through the cooking. In the UK you can find the ingredients in West African and African food shops.
What to remember
- Sierra Leonean food is built around rice, eaten at almost every meal.
- Cassava leaves, or plasas, a rich green stew, is a beloved national dish.
- Groundnut stew, a peanut-based sauce, is another much loved favourite.
- Jollof rice, pepper soups and fufu also feature, with palm oil and plenty of pepper.
- The ingredients are found in West African and African food shops across the UK.
For Sierra Leoneans in Britain, food is a warm link to home, and above all to rice. It is the plate of rice topped with rich cassava leaves, the groundnut stew spooned over rice, the jollof at a celebration, and the pepper soup that warms and comforts. Each dish carries the hearty, deeply flavoured, rice-loving character of Sierra Leonean cooking, and making them abroad keeps that flavour alive.
There is real heart in Sierra Leonean food, in the love of rice, the rich leaf sauces, the groundnut stews and the generous, communal way of eating. When a Sierra Leonean family in the UK cooks rice and cassava leaves, simmers a groundnut stew, or makes jollof for a gathering, they are keeping home close and sharing the warmth, richness and hospitality at the centre of Sierra Leonean cooking. That hearty, welcoming spirit is the heart of Sierra Leonean food.
What is Sierra Leonean
Sierra Leonean food comes from Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa, and it is hearty, richly flavoured, satisfying cooking with a deep love of rice. Rice is so central that many Sierra Leoneans feel a meal is not complete without it, and it is eaten at almost every meal as the base for a huge variety of rich stews, sauces and soups. The land and the Atlantic give rice, cassava, greens, palm, groundnuts and fish, which are the foundations of the cuisine.
The cooking makes generous use of palm oil, groundnuts, that is peanuts, leafy greens, dried and smoked fish, and plenty of pepper, giving deep, savoury, often spicy flavours. It is home-style, communal food, tied to family and hospitality, and it shares much with its West African neighbours while keeping its own character, especially its rice-centred meals and its beloved leaf sauces. It belongs to the wider world of West African food.
Rice and the Staples
Rice is the undisputed staple of Sierra Leonean food, and it comes in many forms: plain boiled rice as the base for stews and sauces, jollof rice, rice bread, and dishes like rice pap and akara for breakfast. The importance of rice runs deep in the culture, and a plate of rice topped with a rich sauce is the everyday Sierra Leonean meal. There is even a local love of the slightly crispy rice at the bottom of the pot.
Alongside rice, fufu, a soft, fermented cassava staple, and foo-foo, along with boiled cassava, yam and plantain, serve as staples eaten with soups and sauces. These staples carry the flavours of the rich stews and greens, and rice above all is at the heart of nearly every Sierra Leonean meal.
Cassava Leaves the Beloved Stew
One of the most loved Sierra Leonean dishes, often called a national dish, is cassava leaves, known in Krio as plasas. The cassava leaves are finely pounded and cooked down slowly with palm oil, onions, pepper, and often groundnut paste, along with dried and smoked fish and meat, into a rich, thick, deep green, savoury stew, served over rice. It is nourishing, hearty and full of flavour and a treasured everyday and celebration dish.
Because it often contains groundnuts, cassava leaves is not suitable for those with a peanut allergy where they are used. Other leaf sauces, or plasas, such as krain krain (jute leaves), potato leaves and okra, are also much loved, all cooked rich with palm oil, fish and seasoning. These rich green sauces over rice are the heart of Sierra Leonean home cooking.
Groundnut Stew and the Soups
Another Sierra Leonean favourite is groundnut stew, a rich, savoury, mildly sweet sauce made from groundnut paste cooked with tomato, onion, pepper, meat or chicken and sometimes fish, served over rice. It is a beloved comfort food and a cousin of the peanut stews found across West Africa, such as the groundnut soup and mafe of the region. You can read about the related dish in our guide to groundnut soup. Because it is made with peanuts, it is not suitable for those with a peanut allergy.
Sierra Leone also loves its soups and pepper soups, rich with fish, meat and pepper, and dishes like okra soup and pepper soup eaten with rice or fufu. These hearty soups and stews, spooned generously over rice, make up the satisfying, deeply flavoured Sierra Leonean plate.
Jollof snacks and Street food
Jollof rice, the celebrated one-pot of rice cooked in a rich, spiced tomato and pepper sauce, is much loved in Sierra Leone as well as across West Africa, a party and celebration favourite. Sierra Leone has its own take on this iconic dish, colourful and flavourful, served at gatherings and owambe-style celebrations.
For snacks and street food, akara, fried bean cakes, fried plantain, fry fry, roasted groundnuts, and pancakes and rice breads are popular, along with fresh fruit. Breakfast might be pap, akara or bread. This everyday street and snack food, simple and satisfying, is as much a part of Sierra Leonean eating as the great rice-and-sauce meals.
Drinks hospitality and Where to find it
To drink, Sierra Leone enjoys ginger beer, sorrel, that is hibiscus, drinks, fresh fruit juices, and, for adults, palm wine and local drinks, as well as tea and coffee. Food and drink are shared generously, and Sierra Leonean gatherings are known for their warmth, hospitality and abundance of rice and rich sauces.
The UK has a substantial Sierra Leonean and wider West African community, so ingredients and food are findable, especially in London and other cities. African and West African food shops stock rice, cassava leaves, palm oil, groundnut paste, dried and smoked fish, greens and the seasonings for Sierra Leonean cooking. If you want to eat out, you can find African restaurants near you, or book a cook through caterers near you. To cook at home, browse African food stores near you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national dish of Sierra Leone?
Sierra Leone is strongly associated with cassava leaves, known in Krio as plasas, a rich green stew of pounded cassava leaves cooked with palm oil, pepper, groundnut and fish, served over rice, which is often called a national dish. Rice with a rich sauce is the everyday national meal, and groundnut stew and jollof rice are also much loved.
Why is rice so important in Sierra Leonean food?
Rice is the beloved staple of Sierra Leone, so central that many people feel a meal is not complete without it. It is eaten at almost every meal as the base for a huge variety of rich stews, sauces and soups, and the importance of rice runs deep in the culture, with even the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot prized.
What are cassava leaves?
Cassava leaves, or plasas, are a beloved Sierra Leonean dish of finely pounded cassava leaves cooked down slowly with palm oil, onions, pepper, often groundnut paste, and dried and smoked fish and meat into a rich, thick, deep green stew served over rice. Because it often contains groundnuts, it is not suitable for those with a peanut allergy where they are used.
What is groundnut stew?
Groundnut stew is a rich, savoury, mildly sweet Sierra Leonean sauce made from groundnut paste (that is, peanut paste) cooked with tomato, onion, pepper and meat, chicken or fish, served over rice. It is a beloved comfort food and a cousin of the peanut stews found across West Africa. Because it is made with peanuts, it is not suitable for those with a peanut allergy.
Where can I find Sierra Leonean food in the UK?
Look in London and other cities with Sierra Leonean and West African communities, where African and West African food shops stock rice, cassava leaves, palm oil, groundnut paste, dried and smoked fish and seasonings, and some restaurants serve the food. You can find African restaurants near you and African food stores through the platform.
