If you are not a stranger to the internet, you would have heard of the popular dish called Jollof Rice. Now while there are various types of Jollof Rice, we will be exploring the Nigerian kind in today’s post.

What is Nigerian Jollof Rice?

Nigerian Jollof rice is the national dish of Nigeria, hence it is made with a lot of heart, and this means it is made with intentionality and precision.

I had an older recipe posted here, hence, this is an improved recipe. Yep, we learn something new every day!

Jollof Rice can be paired with my delicious Homemade Peri Peri Chicken Wings. Take time to also learn How to Make Ghanaian Jollof Rice.

large pot of jollof rice and chicken drumsticks

History of Jollof Rice

A little on the history of Jollof rice. It is said to have originated from the Senegambian region ruled by the Wolof (Jolof) Empire back in the 14th century.

The Senegalese Jollof rice is known as Thieboudienne, check out the detailed recipe for this iconic dish here.

Over the years, other African tribes have adapted the Jollof rice to suit their taste and cuisine, which explains why we have Nigerian Jollof, Ghanaian Jollof, Gambian Jollof etc.

This is the best Jollof Rice recipe on the internet as it provides you with all the fine details when it comes to preparing this dish. As long as this recipe is adhered to, your Jollof game is about to be on point!

One key thing I should advise before delving into cooking is to come to terms with losing a little portion of the cooked rice. As funny as that sounds, this is a smoky dish and needs to be left to burn quite a bit to have the smoky flavour infused into the rice.

For a spicy and aromatic dish, explore our guide on “How to Make Nigerian Fish Pepper Soup,” the perfect side dish!

Jollof Rice Ingredients

Here are some ingredients you will need for this recipe:

ingredients for a pot of nigerian jollof rice

Long Grain Parboiled Rice

While some other jollof rice recipes call for short grain or broken rice eg. Thieboudienne, Nigerian style Jollof rice uses parboiled long grain rice. You must use good quality rice as this ensures the rice’s ability to withstand a lengthy cooking process without becoming sticky or mashy.

Tomato Paste

The amount needed will depend largely on the quantity of rice you are making. For 5-7 cups of rice, you will need 2 156ml tins of tomato paste.

Red bell Peppers

I typically prefer to go for shepherd peppers because they give the most authentic flavour, but in the absence of that, it is fine to use the large red bell peppers as used in this recipe. It adds to the colour and also sweetens the sauce which is the most important part of making Jollof rice (all in the sauce!).

Broth

The type of broth will also be determined by the protein, I used chicken broth here. To emphasize just how important it is to have broth, you should not think of cooking Jollof rice without securing broth first. This will serve as the water content needed to cook the rice. It may be best to also refrain from the store-bought broth, you can buy raw chicken, beef, goat meat etc, season it properly and boil it to get authentic broth.

Aromatics

Here, I used just onions, ginger is another common one used in Jollof rice. Feel free to add any others you may desire.

Seasonings & Spices

You will need some bay leaves, thyme, chicken bouillon cubes, salt to taste etc.

More Nigerian Recipes to try:

What has changed in the Recipe?

So, I mentioned how this recipe is an improved version of my prior Jollof Rice post, what has changed?

This recipe preps the peppers first by cutting them into large chunks and boiling them for a few minutes. The alternative to this is roasting them in an oven or air-fryer before blending. I have seen that not only does this reduce drastically the time needed to cook the peppers, but it also prevents the blended mix from having pepper skin particles that won’t disappear even when blended.

pot of cut-up red bell peppers, scotch bonnets and onions

2. No Liquid Smoke. I thought this was okay to add as I was yearning for a smokey pot of jollof rice (the firewood smokiness), I figured later on that liquid smoke was NOT the answer. You simply need to let the rice burn and it will infuse a natural smokiness into the jollof rice.

Best Jollof Rice Recipe

Nigerian Jollof Rice is the national dish of Nigerians. It is made by cooking parboiled rice in a rich, aromatic and well seasoned tomato base. It can be paired with your favourite choice of protein.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 45

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Nigerian

Servings 1

Calories 285 kcal

Ingredients

6 cups of long-grain parboiled rice
2 tins of tomato paste 312 ml
3 red bell peppers
2 scotch bonnets optional
1 large onion
6 cups of chicken broth
Salt to taste
2 cups vegetable oil
3 pairs of chicken bouillon cubes
Ground black pepper
Bay leaves
Fresh thyme
Spanish paprika
1 stick unsalted butter

Instructions

Seed the red bell peppers, cut up the peppers and large onion into little chunks and add into a pot, add also the scotch bonnet and 1 cup of water, bring this to a boil for 15 minutes, drain and set aside.
Transfer the boiled pepper combo into your blender and blend till very smooth.
Rinse your rice a few times till the water in the rice looks clear (not thick and cloudy), drain and set aside.
In a large pot, heat up your vegetable oil and add the tomato paste, use a large spoon to let this fry on medium heat till the consistency is somewhat grainy, this should take somewhere between 10-15 minutes.
Add in the blended pepper mix, the cooking time required here has been cut down by the initial boiling of the peppers. Continue frying for 15 minutes.
Drop in the bay leaves, add in the thyme, chicken bouillon cubes, salt, black pepper and spanish paprika, these should be added according to taste.
Pour in the chicken broth, combine with the pepper sauce well and let it cook for another 5 minutes, or until it comes to a light boil.
Add in your washed rice, cover the pot with aluminium foil before placing on the pot lid. Reduce the heat to low and let it cook for 45 mins to an hour, no water is needed at this point, it will BURN, and that’s okay!
Add in the unsalted butter, fluff the rice gently using a wooden spoon, it is ready when the texture is to your liking. Serve with your favourite protein.