Africa

Fufu: Ghana's Pounded Cassava and Plantain Staple with Light Soup

Name: Fufu: Ghana's Pounded Cassava and Plantain Staple with Light Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ghanaian
Ingredients: 500 g Cassava (peeled, frozen, for home cooking); 2 (about 400 g edible flesh) Green plantains; 1/4 tsp Salt; 3–6 tbsp Water (boiled separately); About 2 L Water (for boiling the roots); 500 g Bone-in chicken thighs; 4 (about 400 g) Ripe tomatoes; 1 (about 200 g) Onion; 4 cloves Garlic; 15 g Fresh ginger; 1/2–1 Habanero or Scotch bonnet; 2 tbsp Tomato paste; 1.5 L Water; Up to 2 tsp Salt; 2 tbsp Dried shrimp; 1 Bouillon cube; 6 Okra; 2 Hard-boiled eggs; 1 Avocado

Ghanaian fufu is cassava and green plantain pounded smooth and eaten with soup. Learn the chicken light soup, how to get a lump-free dough, how taro and fufu flour differ, safe cassava handling, regional variations, fixes, storage and reheating.

Published: October 22, 2026Total: 1 hr 30 minLevel: Intermediate

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 7

Prepare the roots and aromatics

15 min

Peeled and cut cassava and plantain on a cutting board — Cut the cassava into roughly 3–5 cm pieces and the plantain into 3 cm rounds

This takes 15 minutes and uses no heat. Follow the product's instructions for thawing the cassava. Remove the tough fibrous core from the peeled edible cassava and, if it can be handled, cut it into pieces of roughly 3–5 cm. Peel the green plantains and cut them into 3 cm thick rounds; coarsely chop the tomatoes and thinly slice half the onion. Put the tomatoes, the other half of the onion, 2 cloves garlic, half the ginger and the chile into a blender and run it for 1–2 minutes, until you have a paste with no coarse chunks. To reduce the heat, use less chile. Another method is to simmer the chile whole and remove it, but don't combine that with the paste method.

STEP 22 / 7

Season the chicken

5 min, plus 10 min resting in the refrigerator

Hands rubbing seasoning into chicken in a bowl — Working the salt and aromatics evenly into the meat

This takes 5 minutes, plus 10 minutes in the refrigerator to let the flavors settle in. No heat is used. Sprinkle 500 g bone-in chicken thighs with 1 tsp salt, then grate in 2 cloves garlic and half the ginger and rub them in. Cut boneless meat into 3–4 cm cubes; use bone-in pieces as they were chopped when you bought them. Once the aromatics have coated the surface of the meat, don't leave the seasoned meat at room temperature for long; put it in the refrigerator. Wash hands and tools that have touched raw meat, and be careful not to place the finished fufu in an unwashed dish.

STEP 33 / 7

Simmer the light soup

About 40 min

Chicken and vegetables simmering in a red soup in a pot — Cook the chicken thoroughly and finish without over-reducing the broth

This takes about 40 minutes. Put the chicken and 1.5 L water in a pot, bring to a boil over high heat and skim off the scum. Reduce to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes with the liquid bubbling gently at the sides of the pot, then add the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute until it dissolves with no lumps. Add the vegetable paste, the sliced onion, the crushed dried shrimp and the bouillon, and simmer over medium to medium-low heat for 20 minutes. It's on track when the raw bite of the onion has faded, the broth has turned red and the meat is tender. If it reduces too much, add water 100 ml at a time. If using okra, cut it into 1–2 cm pieces, add it at the end and simmer for 3 minutes, until tender but still holding a little of its shape. Insert a clean thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken and check that it reaches 75°C (167°F) for at least 30 seconds. Don't let the tip touch the bone. Never decide the meat is cooked by color or juices alone. Add the remaining salt a little at a time, up to 1 tsp. Because of the salt in the bouillon, you may not need all of it.

STEP 44 / 7

Boil the cassava and plantain

25–30 min

Cassava and plantain rounds boiling in water, checked for tenderness with a fork — After cooking as labeled, confirm the roots are tender enough to crush all the way through

Plan on 25–30 minutes, but if your product has pretreatment or cooking instructions, those take priority over this guide. Bring about 2 L water to a boil in a pot, add the cassava and boil over medium to medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Add the plantain and boil for another 15–20 minutes. Keep the ingredients well submerged and the heat high enough to maintain a steady boil. They're done when a fork slides into the center without resistance and they crush when pressed. If they're still hard after cooking as directed, add 5 minutes at a time. Tenderness alone can't tell you whether the toxins have been removed. Discard the cooking water and have clean water boiled separately for pounding.

STEP 55 / 7

Mash and knead while hot

10 min

Hands pressing fufu dough together in a bowl — Mash and turn repeatedly to bring the dough into a smooth mass

Plan on about 10 minutes; as a rule, no heat is used. Put the hot, drained roots into a deep bowl and mash them with a masher or wooden spatula. Add 1/4 tsp salt, then add separately boiled water 1 tbsp at a time. The guideline of 3–6 tbsp should be adjusted according to the state of the dough. Repeat mashing, turning with the spatula and pressing to knead, and it will become a smooth mass with no visible lumps that springs back when pressed. Never add a lot of water at once. As long as lumps remain, keep mashing and kneading. Don't knead the hot dough with bare hands; use tools. Only press it together by hand once it's cool enough to handle.

STEP 66 / 7

Divide into four and shape

3–5 min

Wet hands rolling smooth fufu into balls and setting them on a plate — Smooth the seams on the surface and shape into 4 portions

This takes 3–5 minutes and uses no heat. Wet a clean small bowl with water and divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Once it's cool enough to handle, roll each portion with wet hands or by swirling it inside the bowl to form a ball about 8–10 cm across. It's ready when the surface is smooth and it doesn't immediately slump flat on the plate. While it's still hot, shape it with the bowl and spatula; don't put up with the heat on bare hands.

STEP 77 / 7

Serve with the soup

2 min

Fufu and chicken served in red soup in a deep bowl, with a hard-boiled egg — Serve the fufu, chicken and soup together, with egg if you like

This takes 2 minutes, with the heat off. Ladle hot soup into deep bowls and set the fufu in the center. Divide the chicken into 4 portions; if using eggs, allow 1/2 egg per person. Start with enough soup to cover the lower half of the fufu, and keep the rest on hand so everyone can add more. Don't put your hands into broth or dough that's too hot; wait until it's at an edible temperature and eat a little at a time.

0 / 0

Ingredients

1 / 3

Fufu

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Cassava (peeled, frozen, for home cooking)	500 g	About 1.1 lb. An edible product with heating instructions on the label. In the basic version, don't mix it with taro
Green plantains	2 (about 400 g edible flesh)	About 14 oz. Weigh after peeling. Don't substitute ordinary ripe bananas
Salt	1/4 tsp	Just enough to season lightly
Water (boiled separately)	3–6 tbsp	Add 1 tbsp at a time while pounding. Don't use the cooking water
Water (for boiling the roots)	About 2 L	About 8 1/2 cups. Enough to keep the roots submerged; discard after use

Tip

Before adding salt or water, pierce the roots with a fork. They're ready when no firmness remains at the center and they crush when pressed. Don't add all 6 tbsp of water at the start: mash first, then add 1 tbsp at a time while checking how the dough holds together. The soup carries the seasoning, so there's no need to add spices or sugar to the fufu.

2 / 3

Chicken light soup

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Bone-in chicken thighs	500 g	About 1.1 lb. Buy them already chopped into pieces. If boneless, cut into 3–4 cm (about 1 1/4–1 1/2 in) cubes
Ripe tomatoes	4 (about 400 g)	Or 400 g canned diced tomatoes
Onion	1 (about 200 g)	Half for the paste, half thinly sliced
Garlic	4 cloves	2 cloves to season the meat, 2 for the paste
Fresh ginger	15 g	Half for seasoning the meat, half for the paste
Habanero or Scotch bonnet	1/2–1	For less heat, 1–2 small dried red chiles. The heat and aroma are not the same
Tomato paste	2 tbsp	Ketchup adds sweetness
Water	1.5 L	About 6 1/3 cups. If it reduces too much, add 100 ml at a time
Salt	Up to 2 tsp	1 tsp to season the meat, the rest a little at a time at the end. Account for the salt in the bouillon
Dried shrimp	2 tbsp	Crush finely for savory depth. Optional
Bouillon cube	1	Check ingredients and sodium. If omitted, adjust with salt at the end
Okra	6	A home-style option added at the end. Leave out if you want a thinner broth

The "light" in light soup refers to the light body of the broth. It doesn't mean mild in flavor. The tomato, the ginger, the stock from the meat and the chile all stay in: a thin broth that keeps its aromatics is what defines this soup. Don't thicken it with starch, and don't overdo the okra. Prekese is an aromatic made from the fruit of Tetrapleura tetraptera, a plant in the legume family; it is not fermented lobster. It isn't required here, and the dried shrimp is used as a separate source of savory flavor.

3 / 3

To serve

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Hard-boiled eggs	2	Halved, 1/2 egg per person. Optional
Avocado	1	Sliced and served on a separate plate. Optional

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Thud, thud, scrape. In a wooden mortar, a pestle pounds freshly boiled starchy roots, and with every stroke another pair of hands quickly turns the dough. Over and over, until the lumps disappear and it becomes a glossy, smooth mass. At the end of this work, handed down in Ghanaian kitchens, is fufu (also fufuo). It isn't bread, and it isn't a sweet rice cake: it is a staple eaten with soup, a springy mound you dip into the broth as you eat.

The basic form is a mildly flavored mound of pounded cassava and green plantain, served with a red chicken light soup. In a home kitchen, three things tend to trip people up: the cooking instructions on edible cassava, the ripeness of the plantain, and mashing the dough until no lumps remain. For days when you can't get the ingredients, we also share a separate home-style formula using taro. If you use fufu flour, follow the cooking instructions on the package. When eating, we recommend that you tear off small pieces and coat them in soup; we don't recommend swallowing large pieces without chewing.

The sound of the mortar: fufu in Ghana

Dough in a wooden mortar being pounded with a pestle while another person turns it by hand — Traditional fufu making: pounding with mortar and pestle and turning the dough again and again

Pounding boiled roots and plantains is, above all, hard work. You crush with the pestle, turn, and keep gathering the dough until it develops a smooth spring. Household fufu is the version in which families have shared that labor.

What it's made from, though, isn't fixed. Eric Adjepong, a chef of Ghanaian heritage, explains that in his own Ashanti family, cassava and plantain are combined. He also gives regional examples, such as cassava among the Ga people and yam among the Ewe. You can't assign a single ingredient to an entire ethnic group, and it's more accurate to think that the ingredients change by region and household. Who invented fufu, when it originated, and whether there is a formula common to every region are all questions that can't be answered definitively.

Kwahu, in the Eastern Region, is a forested area spreading west of Lake Volta. Cassava, plantain, yam and cocoyam grow in its fields, and fufu pounded from yam or cocoyam is also popular there. Soups served with it include the leafy abunuabunu, as well as soups made with groundnuts or palm fruit. Both the crops and the soups differ from area to area, and the pairing of starch and soup doesn't fit a single template. What we've described here is only the Kwahu example, and it can't be extended into a custom shared by all of Ghana.

Did you know?

The basic Ghanaian version made here is simply boiled and pounded; there is no fermentation step at home. In Nigeria, on the other hand, a moist paste of fermented cassava is also eaten under the names fufu or akpu. Even when the same dish name crosses borders, the ingredients and the sourness aren't necessarily the same.

If you'd like to compare other Ghanaian staples, we recommend dishes made from flour or rice. Banku, made by cooking a fermented corn and cassava dough, is made by a different process from the pounded fufu here. The grain dumplings of the north and dumplings made from pounded rice are other staples from the same country.

How to make banku (in Japanese) — a Ghanaian staple made by stirring a fermented dough in a pot.

How to make tuo zaafi (in Japanese) — grain dumplings with leafy soup from northern Ghana.

Don't mix up your roots and flours when shopping

The base ingredient is peeled frozen edible cassava sold for home cooking, with cooking instructions on the package. Frozen does not necessarily mean precooked, so give top priority to the heating and thawing instructions on the product you buy. You can look for it at Brazilian and other imported-food grocers or at African grocers, but stock and prices at any particular shop on a given day are beyond what we can tell you. Raw roots of unknown variety, processing or cooking method are not covered by this recipe.

Caution

Cassava contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can produce hydrogen cyanide, so it must never be eaten raw. The treatment needed varies by variety and processing, and peeling and boiling for a typical length of time does not guarantee that every root is safe. Follow the labeling on edible products intended for home cooking, and don't use anything whose cooking method is unknown. The 25–30 minutes in this recipe is a guide for the step in which the roots become tender; it is not a time that guarantees the toxins are removed. Discard the cooking water rather than returning it to the dough or the soup, and use separately boiled water to work the dough.

For the basic version, use green plantains, about 400 g of peeled edible flesh. Ordinary ripe bananas differ in both sweetness and moisture, so we don't recommend substituting them in the same amount. If you have leftovers that you let ripen, frying them is one option. But the plantains used for pounded fufu are green, so treat ripe ones as a different ingredient.

How to make kelewele (in Japanese) — ripe plantains fried with aromatics and chile.

White pieces of cassava drying outdoors — Drying and processing turn cassava into an ingredient different from the fresh root

Search online for "cassava flour" and you'll find a long list of processed products with different properties. Fufu flour, cassava flour in general and tapioca starch can't be treated as the same thing. Farinha de mandioca torrada (tostada) is a toasted cassava product, and some sellers describe it as something to sprinkle over bean or meat dishes. When choosing a product, check whether it is labeled for fufu, what its ingredients are, and what water amount and cooking method are printed on the bag. The amount of water for fufu flour differs by product, so there's no common ratio.

Making it with taro is strictly a home-style alternative, and it can't be said to give the same flavor or spring as cassava. To replace everything with taro, add 1 tbsp potato starch and 3–6 tbsp separately boiled water to 600 g peeled taro, adjusting as you go. If only plantains are unavailable, there's another formula combining 500 g cassava with 200 g peeled taro. This one yields less than the basic version. The dried shrimp in the soup is an option for adding savory depth; it's not a substitute for prekese, the plant used for its aroma. If you'd rather make dumplings from rice than hunt for roots, try this instead.

How to make omo tuo (in Japanese) — rice cooked soft and pounded into balls to serve with soup.

Cassava and plantain boiling in a pot during prep — Boiling the roots, a separate task from making the tomato paste

Ingredients (serves 4)

This formula is adjusted for home cooking and makes 4 servings of staple and soup combined. Weigh the fufu ingredients after peeling, and use edible cassava with cooking instructions on the label. Measure the water added to the fufu and the water for the soup separately, and don't use the cassava cooking water.

Caution

The formula with dried shrimp contains shellfish (crustaceans). For anyone avoiding it, leave it out from the start and cook their portion separately. Bouillon ingredients vary by product, so check the allergen labeling. Swapping in bonito flakes (katsuobushi) doesn't make it safe for everyone; you also need to consider guests who can't eat fish. If you serve eggs, the dish contains egg, and check whether anyone avoids specific foods such as taro.

Method

Start the soup first so the fufu doesn't go cold waiting. While the soup simmers, boil the fufu ingredients in a separate pot. If the edible cassava's label calls for any pretreatment, do it beforehand. Have separately boiled water, a wooden spatula, a masher and a deep bowl ready, because the dough should be mashed as soon as it's boiled. There's no need to cut through bones yourself; buy the bone-in meat already chopped.

Tip

If you use a food processor, check the manual first to make sure it can handle sticky doughs and hot ingredients. Not every model can. Work in small batches with short pulses, and turn the dough with a spatula only after the machine has stopped. Never insert a spatula or your hand while it's running. If the motor starts to labor, stop, don't force continuous operation, and finish with a bowl and wooden spatula.

Tip

Store-bought fufu flours differ in ingredients and manufacturing, so give priority to the quantities, order of adding, heat level and cooking time on the bag. Knead until the raw-flour taste is gone and the dough is smooth. It can't be said that simply mixing with hot water, without cooking, is enough. And don't replace the basic version's 500 g cassava and 400 g plantain with the same weight of flour.

Shaping fufu into a round once it's cool enough to handle — Smooth the surface of the dough and check that it's firm enough to hold a round shape

Fixes for lumpy or too-soft fufu

Lumps in fufu won't disappear with seasoning. First, check whether you removed the tough core and fibers and whether the roots were tender enough. Mashing while hot also matters: pressing on dough that has cooled and stiffened won't get rid of the lumps. Check the core and tenderness first, then adjust the amount of water.

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Lumps of root remain	Tough central fibers, undercooking, not enough mashing	Remove the fibers. For hard roots, follow the label, then boil 5 minutes more at a time and mash
Sticky and won't form a ball	Too much water added at once	Return to a heavy pot and knead over low heat 1 minute at a time. Scrape the bottom and stop before it scorches
Crumbly and cracking	Dough has cooled, not enough moisture	Rewarm, add separately boiled water 2 tsp at a time, and knead again with a spatula
Soup is watery	Too much water, aromatics not simmered enough	Uncover and simmer over medium heat for 5–8 minutes. Keep enough broth to cling to the fufu; adjust salt last
Soup is too concentrated	Over-reduced	Add water 100 ml at a time and bring back to a boil. Taste and adjust salt
Too spicy	Too much chile	Add 100 g canned tomatoes and 100 ml water and simmer 5 minutes. This tones it down; it won't remove the heat entirely

To make it with taro, cut 600 g peeled taro into roughly 3 cm pieces and boil over medium heat for about 20–25 minutes, until tender to the center. Drain and mash, then dissolve 1 tbsp potato starch in 3 tbsp separately boiled water and mix it in. Continue cooking over low heat for 3–5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot, so that no raw-starch taste remains. Add more water only if it's too dry. You'll get a sticky root dumpling, but it won't have the same aroma or spring as cassava fufu. A substitute doesn't guarantee the same taste, so enjoy it as a different dish.

The table around fufu, and soups to try next

People around a large bowl of soup and fufu at a Ghanaian table — One example of a table where the staple is enjoyed together with soup

Fufu is eaten together with a soup. The pairings are many: thin tomato broths, groundnut, palm fruit, leafy greens. Picture a table where the staple and the soup are prepared together, and you eat by matching small bits of smooth fufu with orange tomato broth. Gathering around one large dish isn't a rule in every household, so individual bowls are fine too.

A word on how to eat it. If you eat with your hands, first wash them with soap, then tear off a small bite about the size of your thumb tip. Making a little dent in the piece and coating it with soup makes it easier to eat. Using a spoon is perfectly fine. Swallowing without chewing is sometimes described, but that is an introduction to a food culture, not something we're asking readers to do. Don't force yourself to swallow, don't suddenly make your bites bigger, and put temperature and ease of eating first.

Did you know?

Pounding in a wooden mortar is a different method from using a flour product or a labor-saving home recipe. Still, they share the same role alongside soup, and there's no need to dismiss the flour version as fake. Whatever method you use, check the ingredients and the specified cooking. The differences in texture can be enjoyed as different ways of experiencing the dish.

A comparison of white, yellow and purple starchy staples in bowls — The color and texture of the staple change with its ingredients and formula. Don't identify the ingredients by color alone

Once you're comfortable, try changing the soup rather than the fufu. Start with the chicken light soup, then branch out to a rich groundnut soup. As the Kwahu leafy soup example shows, regional differences in soups aren't determined only by the meat. Also, don't take the purple in the comparison image above as the color of cocoyam in general.

How to make groundnut soup (in Japanese) — a Ghanaian soup that pairs fufu with the richness of unsweetened peanuts.

Plantains also show up in other dishes at the same table. Fufu uses green plantains, but ripe ones can be fried and served alongside bean dishes. Red palm oil isn't a required ingredient in this light soup; think of it as belonging to the bean dish instead.

How to make red red (in Japanese) — bean stew with fried plantains, for another Ghanaian table.

Storage and reheating

Fufu is best freshly made, so wrap any leftovers one serving at a time in a clean container or plastic wrap. Divide the soup into shallow containers and refrigerate at 0–5°C (32–41°F) within 1–2 hours of cooking. The general rule for leftovers is to use them within 48 hours, but for texture we recommend finishing the fufu by the next day. If freezing, cool it and seal it promptly, and write the date on it. Two weeks is a home guideline for frozen fufu; this is for texture and is not a deadline that guarantees safety.

To reheat, sprinkle the fufu with 2 tsp water, cover loosely, and microwave at 600 W in 40-second bursts, checking as you go. These short intervals are for getting the texture right. Turn it partway through, reheat it all the way to the center, and use a thermometer to confirm that the center of the leftovers reaches about 74°C (165°F). Heat the soup in a pot until it comes to a boil throughout, and check the temperature at the center of the meat as well. Reheat only what you'll eat, once, and avoid reheating and cooling the rest repeatedly. Thaw frozen portions in the refrigerator and eat within 24 hours of thawing. Don't thaw at room temperature for long periods.

Frequently asked questions

What is fufu made of, and what does it taste like?

The basic Ghanaian example uses cassava and plantain, and some regions and households use yam or cocoyam. The staple itself is mildly seasoned; it's a dish in which you enjoy a smooth, springy texture together with the aromatics of the soup. The cassava and plantain formula here has no fermentation step.

Is fufu eaten without chewing?

Swallowing without chewing is sometimes described. If you're new to it, tear off small pieces, chew if you need to, and eat it whatever way is comfortable for you. Swallowing large pieces is not something required as etiquette.

Can I make it with any cassava flour or tapioca flour?

No. Fufu flour, general cassava flour and tapioca starch differ in processing and formulation. Toasted granular cassava products are sometimes sold for sprinkling and are not necessarily meant for fufu. Follow the instructions on a product labeled for fufu, using the water amount and cooking time on that bag.

What else goes with it besides light soup?

In Ghana, soups made with groundnuts, palm fruit or leafy greens are also examples of the pairing. In a home kitchen, a chicken tomato soup is a good place to start, but simply making it saltier won't bring it closer to the local flavors. The taro alternative can be served with the same soup, but it can't be called the same fufu as cassava.

Sources

Eric Adjepong, “Fufu”, Bon Appétit, published November 22, 2025. Ingredients by region and household in Ghana, and a labor-saving home method. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
Ghana Tourism Authority, “The People of Kwahu”, published April 18, 2025. Crops of Kwahu in the Eastern Region, fufu ingredients, and pairing with leafy soups. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
My African Food Map, “Ghana: Light Soup”. Recipe by Cynthia Prah, cooked by Gladys Ayipe and Cynthia Prah. An example of light soup made with chicken, tomato, aromatics and water. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
FAO, A cassava industrial revolution in Nigeria, “3. Processing and Utilization”, 2004. Description of the Nigerian fermented cassava products fufu/akpu. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Tetrapleura tetraptera, Plants of the World Online. Botanical classification of prekese. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
Niyis African Supermarket, “How to Use Prekese for More Than Just Tea (Soups & Marinades)”. A retailer's cooking guide to using prekese as an aromatic in soups. Its health claims are not used as a basis for this article. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
Food Standards Australia New Zealand, “Cassava and bamboo shoots”, updated October 2, 2025. Cyanogenic glycosides and the limits of reducing them through processing. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
CDC, “Preventing Food Poisoning”, November 24, 2025. Handwashing, preventing cross-contamination, internal temperatures for chicken and leftovers, and prompt refrigeration. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
Food Standards Agency, “How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely”, published December 18, 2017. Refrigerator temperatures, cooling in portions, using leftovers within 48 hours, and thawing. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)
GOV.UK, “Food hygiene for businesses: Cooking food safely”. The 75°C for 30 seconds cooking condition and cautions on reheating. (accessed and checked October 8, 2026)