Ghana is one of the 16 countries in West Africa. It is bordered by the Gulf of Guina and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, the Ivory Coast to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east.

The country covers an area of 239 567 km2, spanning diverse ecologies from coastal savannas to tropical rainforests. It is the second most populous country in West Africa, and the capital and largest city is Accra. Grasslands mixed with south coastal shrublands and forests dominate the country. Ghana is thus home to five terrestrial ecoregions, namely the Eastern Guinean forests, Guinean forest savanna mosaic, West-Sudanian savanna, Central African mangroves and Guinean mangroves.

The White Volta River and its tributary the Black Volta, flow south through Ghana to Lake Volta, which flows into the Gulf of Guinea. The climate is tropical with a wet and a dry season. The eastern coastal belt is warm and quite dry; the south-west corner is hot and humid and the north of the country is hot and dry.

Agriculture consists of various agricultural products, providing formal and informal employment. Crops include cocoa, yams, grains, oil palms, kola nuts and timber, which form the base of agriculture in Ghana’s economy. In 2013, agriculture employed about 54% of the country’s total labour force.

About 57% of Ghana’s total land area is classified as agricultural land area, of which 58 000 km2 is under cultivation, with 11 000 hectares under irrigation. The main food crops are maize, yams, cassava and other root crops. By 1983, Ghana was self-sufficient in only one staple food crop, namely plantains. Food imports rose from 43 000 tonnes in 1973 to 152 000 tonnes in 1981.

Livestock production is limited by tsetse fly in Ghana’s forested regions and by low-grazing vegetation elsewhere, and it is only of major importance in the relatively arid north. According to the latest statistics, there were an estimated 2,3 million cattle; 6 million sheep; 9,3 million goats; 293 000 pigs and 94 million chickens in Ghana in 2023.

With the prevalence of tropical ingredients such as maize, beans, millet, plantains, cassava, hot peppers and tomatoes, most dishes utilise at least one of these in their preparation. A starchy staple such as yams, maize
dough or plantain is typically served with a stew or soup along with meat or beans.

01 Staples

Banku is a thick mixture of slightly fermented maize and cassava dough that is stirred into boiling water until it has a smooth, white paste-like look, before it is kneaded into a dough and formed into balls. It is served with soup, okra stew or pepper sauce with fish. It is similar to fufu, which is made with plantain and cassava.

Jollof refers to rice cooked in tomato stew with onions, curry, garlic, ginger, beef cubes and frozen vegetables. It is typically served with chicken, goat or beef and a salad. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

Omo tua refers to sticky rice that is formed into balls, cooked and served with a variety of soups, such as groundnut soup. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

Jollof is a rice dish cooked in tomato stew with onions, curry, garlic, ginger, mixed dried herbs, beef cubes and
frozen vegetables. It is typically served with chicken, goat or beef and a salad. Omo Tuo refers to soft-boiled sticky rice that is formed into balls, cooked and served with a variety of soups, such as groundnut soup. The dish is often served at special occasions such as weddings, birthdays and festivals and is a symbol of family and community bonds and shared culture.

Kenkey is a dumpling made with maize meal, corn starch, salt and warm water. The ingredients are mixed into a smooth dough before it is placed in a dish and kept warm for two to four days to ferment. It is then cooked, cooled and shaped into balls, which are wrapped in maize leaves and tied with string. The kenkey is steamed for an hour and a half before it is served with fried fish, diced or ground red and green sweet peppers, or a black pepper sauce called shito.

Kenkey is a steamed dumpling made with maize meal, corn starch, salt and warm water. It is cooked and wrapped in maize leaves and enjoyed with fried fish. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

Shito, also known as shitor din, is a hot black pepper sauce generally prepared with dried fish or seafood, including prawns and crustaceans, cooked in vegetable oil, ginger, cloves, dried fish, tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers and many different spices. The ingredients are blended and prepared in vegetable or maize oil for more than an hour to make the sauce, which turns darker as it cooks.

Shito is a hot black pepper sauce generally prepared using dried fish, prawns and crustaceans cooked in vegetable oil with ginger, cloves, tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers and many different spices. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

02 Stews

Yam pottage is made with yams, which are boiled and cooked with tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers such as habanero, onions and garlic, herbs and palm oil, as well as either salt or stock cubes. Dried, salted or smoked sardines, tilapia or even crayfish may be added.

Waakye consists of white rice and beans such as black-eyed peas, cow peas or red beans, boiled with leaves and a bit of salt until soft. The leaves can be those of millet, sorghum or red hibiscus flowers, which are called sobolo in Ghana. The leaves turn the dish red. It is a popular street food as well as a lunch dish with boiled egg, spaghetti, meat or fish and fried plantains, and enjoyed with a hot sauce. It is sometimes served wrapped in banana leaves and served as a side to meat stew.

Red-red is a bean dish with a deep red colour made with dried or canned beans, fish, onions, tomatoes and plantain. (Source: https://www.africanbites.com/red-redafrican-stewed-black-eyed-peas/#recipe)

Red-red is a bean dish with a deep red colour. It is made from black-eyed peas and plantain. Fish, scotch bonnet peppers, onions and tomatoes are also added. The most common fish used are pilchards or mackerel. It is then often served with rice or fried plantain. Canned or dried beans may be used. The beans are cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, paprika, tomatoes and tomato paste. Sometimes crayfish is added, as well as hot chili sauce.

Kelewele is a side dish consisting of fried plantains seasoned with various spices and served on its own or with a stew. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

Kelewele is a side dish that consists of fried plantains seasoned with a variety of spices and served on its own or with a stew. It is typically spiced with raw ginger, garlic, onion, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, anise seed and salt, and fried in oil.

03 Sweets

Akamu, ogi or rice water is a traditional porridge made from water and fermented rice with sweeteners and spices, which determines the taste. The rice is soaked for at least four hours or overnight, before it is rinsed and blended with fresh water until smooth. It is then poured through a sieve, brought to a gentle boil and simmered for 15 minutes. Once chilled, it is sweetened with sugar or honey, ground nutmeg or cinnamon, and served cold.

Rice water is a traditional porridge made from water and fermented rice with sweeteners and spices, which determine the taste. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

04 Drinks

Emudro is a ginger-flavoured beverage made with ginger, water, spices and a sweetener. The ginger and spices are steeped in hot water, then removed and sweetened. It is served chilled.

Emudro is a ginger-flavoured beverage made with ginger, water, spices and a sweetener. It is served chilled. (Source: https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food)

Source references

Ghana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana

Ghanaian Food: 14 Traditional Dishes of Ghana (2025) Travel Food Atlas. https://travelfoodatlas.com/ghanaian-food

Agriculture in Ghana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Ghana

https://www.africanbites.com/red-redafrican-stewed-black-eyed-peas/#recipe