Jollof Rice (Plus VIDEO)

Jollof Rice – This easy, flavorful, and flawlessly cooked African classic dish Jollof rice is simple whether you choose to make it on the stovetop or take the easy way out by putting it all in the oven. With its well-seasoned goodness, including onion, garlic, and tomatoes with some nutritious veggies thrown in, it’s perfect for regular nights or special occasions! The soul-satisfying flavors from thyme, paprika, and a Scotch bonnet round out this dish to perfection.

Baked Jollof Rice in a pan with carrots and peas with fried sweet plantains in the background.

Jollof rice is a legendary one-pot dish that’s ubiquitous in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Togo, and Sierra Leone. In fact, this is the most popular party food in West Africa and has been gaining momentum elsewhere in East Africa.

Because of its popularity, there have been several debates about its origin. What I know for sure is that it is an amazing one-pot dish, and there is no argument when everyone is shoving it down their throat.

Contents…

Recipe Ingredients
How to Cook
Serving, Storage & Make-Ahead
Tips & Tricks
FAQs
What to Serve
More Popular African Recipes That You’ll Love
How to Make 
Watch How to Make It

What is Jollof Rice?

Jollof Rice in a casserole dish with fried sweet plantains and sprigs of thyme in the background.

Jollof Rice, sometimes called jellof rice, is a classic rice dish cooked in a flavorful tomato-infused broth. With its several regional variations in name and ingredients, there is no absolute right or wrong way to cook this popular African rice recipe.

Jollof Rice Ingredients

I just want to say that jollof rice is great for entertaining, especially if you have picky kids. They always gobble it down.

It is fair to say that this delicious rice dish is pretty easy to make anywhere in the world because the ingredients are easy to find.

Despite its many variations, the most common ingredients in a jollof rice recipe are as follows:

Jollof Rice Ingredients
  • Rice – The starchy base for our dish, this filling ingredient is generally fragrant and soaks a lot of water. I prefer basmati, but you can use any long-grain rice.
  • Onions – This veggie is excellent served fresh with its tangy flavor. However, I personally love it slightly caramelized for a bit of sweetness. Get the perfect cut for this ingredient with this easy-to-follow guide.
  • Thyme – A deliciously aromatic herb from the incredible mint family is a delicious addition to just about any savory recipe. Fresh is good, but dried will work, and I have a list of the perfect substitutes if you don’t have thyme at all.
  • Garlic – Ah, the wonderful garlic flavor makes this Jollof Rice recipe even better. And here’s my trick for mincing it.
  • Paprika – This ingredient adds the fabulous pepper flavor without the heat.
  • Tomato Puree or Sauce – The sweet, slightly acidic, and fresh flavors of tomato in a thick mixture is perfect for many starchy dishes.
  • Chicken Broth (or water) – Basically, the flavorful water that chicken was simmered in. Not only is it full of flavor, but it’s also filled with healthy fats and collagen.
  • Scotch Bonnet or Hot Pepper – My favorite hot pepper is a tear-jerker, but sometimes a good cry is good for ya. 🤣 Most of the time, I put it whole instead of chopping it to get the flavor from its skin and not the seed’s heat.
  • Vegetables – Carrots, peas, green beans, and corn are all excellent choices to create a mix of colorful veggies to make it even more vibrant. 

How to Cook Easy Jollof Rice

Traditionally, Jollof is cooked on the stovetop. However, that involves a lot of stirring, and sometimes the rice sticks to the pot, making the dish quite unappetizing.

In this blog post, I completely eliminated that problem by making it in the oven with just five minutes of prep time and no constant stirring involved.

But if you want to stick to the traditional method, I’ve also included the stovetop method. Here are the super-easy steps to make this simple dish.

  • Rinse the rice – Make sure you clean it thoroughly with just water. Do not parboil!
  • Put It All In! Add all the ingredients to the baking dish or pan. 
  • Cover and Cook – Lastly, cover it with aluminum foil and pop it in the oven. 

Is that easy enough for you?

Now, if you are not vegan and want to throw in some meat or protein, by all means, do so.

Simply stir-fry shrimp, beef, or chicken and a medley of vegetables, mix with the rice and serve. 

Oven Baked Jollof Rice served with Suya Skewers and tomato cucumber salad on the side.

Serving, Storage & Make-Ahead

This dish is best steaming right out of the oven, but you may want to let it cool down for about five minutes before putting it on the table.

Store any leftover jollof rice in the fridge in an airtight container. It should last three or four days easily.

To have it ready ahead of time, make it, then let it cool. Store it the same way you would leftovers. Put it in a baking dish, add a splash of water or chicken broth, cover it, and bake it in a preheated 350℉/177℃ oven for around 20 minutes. Ready!

Tips & Tricks

  • People say not to wash your rice because you remove the enriching vitamins. However, you really don’t lose that much, and washing your rice before cooking makes for fluffier rice.
  • Use a heavy-bottomed pan for the stovetop version to reduce the chances of your rice burning.
  • Let the rice sit covered for about ten minutes after removing it from the heat so that the rice evenly absorbs the remaining moisture. Then fluff your deliciousness with a fork for perfectly fluffy rice.

FAQs

What’s the key to making great Jollof rice?


While I made cooking the rice easy-peasy by baking it, the real secret to amazing Jollof rice is taking your time on the sauce, especially caramelizing the onions.

Is Jollof rice good for you?


You bet it is! Great food makes you happy, and happiness is healthy. Besides, rice is a healthy carb, and the tomatoes are fabulous.

What do you do if the rice is still hard?

It happens to the best of us. If there’s liquid still in the pan, just extend the cooking time. If your pan is dry and the rice is still hard, heat up some broth or water and stir it in. You want the liquid you’re adding to be hot so that it doesn’t cool your rice down and take even longer to cook.

A Plateful of Baked Jollof Rice Served with a Stew and Fried Plantains

What to Serve with Jollof Rice

This delicious rice dish can be served with just about any meat or non-meat recipe that you like. You can start with these few below and then explore other recipes to pair with this lovely dish:

Jollof Rice in a Skillet with peas and fried sweet plantains on a white plate.

How to Make Jollof Rice

All the ingredients stirred in a white casserole with a whole Scotch bonnet pepper decorating it.

Baked Method

  • Prepare the rice and the oven – Preheat oven to 350℉/177℃. Rinse the rice with water and drain.
  • Combine and Stir – In a half-sheet pan (approx. 13″x18″x 2½”), combine all ingredients and stir so that everything is fully incorporated. (See photos 1-2)
Casserole covered with aluminum for baking, then uncovered after it comes out of the oven.
  • Cover and Cook – Cover tightly with aluminum foil paper. Double the foil if you can because it helps cook faster. Gently place in the oven and cook for about 70-80 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and check after 70 minutes. Since posting, I have retried the recipe several times, and it works best for my oven after 75 minutes. (See photo 3)
  • Open and Serve – When cooked, remove carefully from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the aluminum paper. Fluff rice with a fork, throw in your add-ins, and mix evenly. Serve hot, but you can let it cool a tad if you prefer. (See photo 4)

Watch How to Make It

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This post was first published in March 2014 and has been updated with new photos, a video, and some tips and notes.

Jollof Rice (Oven and Stovetop Method)

This easy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked African classic dish, Jollof (Jellof) rice, is made even simpler by baking it in the oven. It's perfect for regular nights or special occasions!
4.79 from 64 votes

Ingredients

  • 3-4 tablespoon (42ml-56ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced (red or white onion)
  • 2 teaspoon (1.6g) fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon (1g) dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon (8g) garlic, or 2½ teaspoon (9.7g) garlic powder
  • 3 cup (591g) rice, long-grain, uncooked rice (I used basmati)
  • 1 tablespoon (7g) paprika
  • 2 teaspoon (4g) chicken bouillon
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 14-ounce can tomato puree or sauce
  • 4 cup (1,000ml) chicken broth or water, 5¼ cups for stovetop
  • 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, or ¾ teaspoon hot pepper (omit if cooking for kids)
  • 1 pound (453.59g) vegetables, peas, carrots, green beans, or corn (optional)
  • Parsley, for garnishing

Instructions

Baking Method

  • Preheat oven to 350℉/177℃. Rinse the rice with water and drain.
  • In a half-sheet pan (approx. 13"x18"x 2½"), combine all ingredients and stir so that everything is fully incorporated.
  • Cover tightly with aluminum foil paper. Double the foil if you can because it helps cook faster.
  • Gently place in the oven and cook for about 70-80 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and check after 70 minutes. Since posting, I have retried the recipe several times, and it works best for my oven after 75 minutes.
  • When cooked, remove carefully from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the aluminum paper. Fluff rice with a fork, throw in your add-ins, and mix evenly. Serve warm.

Stovetop Method

  • Rinse rice and drain.
  • Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
  • Next, add onions, thyme, and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
  • Add rice, season with paprika, bouillon, salt, and pepper.
  • Cook, stirring often until fragrant, for about 30 seconds, and brown occasionally stirring, for about 2-3 minutes.
  • Pour tomatoes sauce, chicken broth, and hot pepper, if any, into the saucepan.
  • Bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat to low, cover saucepan, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, for 15-18 minutes.
  • Remove pan from heat, let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then fluff rice with a fork or serving spoon. Then throw in sauteed veggies and beef, chicken, and shrimp (if desired) and mix.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve.

Tips & Notes:

Cookware
I have tried several styles of cookware for this rice, and my recommendation is as follows:
  • Any shallow baking dish would work here; a Dutch oven and an aluminum baking dish work, too. 
  • Make sure they have a tight-fitting lid or cover it tightly with aluminum foil, as shown in the video.
  • Tightly cover the pot or pan with foil paper or its corresponding lid. Double foil paper to retain more heat.
Tomato Sauce Substitute
  • If you don’t have a can of tomato sauce in your pantry, you may replace it with a can of crushed tomatoes or tomato puree (thicker than tomato sauce). HOWEVER, the consistency will not be the same.
  • If you can, I would recommend using the can of tomato sauce if you can get your hands on it because it’s a crucial ingredient to this dish.
Doubling the Recipe
  • To double the recipe, double everything EXCEPT the cooking time. Depending on the baking dish, you might have to add just a few more minutes and start checking after 80 minutes.
Other Add-ins
  • If you want to add other vegetables to this dish like green beans and corn, sauté first the vegetables and throw them in when it’s all done. It is vibrant and colorful this way; also, this would ensure that your vegetables are perfectly cooked.
  • One of our readers threw in shredded cabbage, carrots, yellow pepper, and green onions into the mix.
  • On the other hand, if you want to throw in shrimp, saute them first and add them as you fluff the rice. The residual heat will warm them enough, and they will not go rubbery.
  • Ensure your beef or any other meat is cooked before throwing it in the mix.
Rice
  • The rice was NOT PARBOILED before putting in the oven. All you need to do is RINSE the rice with water.
  • I used Royal basmati rice for this recipe, available at Walmart and Costco. I have tried several varieties, and they work just as well.
  • If you don’t have basmati rice, you may replace it with white long-grain rice with the same ratio of rice and water.
  • As per some of our readers here, you can use brown rice, but that would need a bit more water (I cannot give you the exact measurements because I never tried it), and it will take you two hours since brown rice takes longer to cook.
Scotch Bonnet Pepper Substitute
  • Swap habanero pepper for the Scotch bonnet or replace it with ¾ teaspoon hot pepper. Omit if serving it for the kids.
Using Bouillon Cubes
  • You may swap bouillon cubes with 1-2 teaspoons of Creole seasoning, which should add more flavor to it.
  • When using bouillon cubes instead of the powder, simply dissolve it completely in liquid before adding.
Paprika Substitute
  • You may leave out altogether the paprika or swap it with curry. It will slightly alter the taste, but that’s not a bad thing if you love curry.
Other Notes
  • You can also cook this in a rice cooker.
  • Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used in the recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 175g| Calories: 559kcal (28%)| Carbohydrates: 80g (27%)| Protein: 10g (20%)| Fat: 22g (34%)| Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)| Sodium: 1443mg (63%)| Potassium: 642mg (18%)| Fiber: 6g (25%)| Sugar: 4g (4%)| Vitamin A: 5685IU (114%)| Vitamin C: 19.9mg (24%)| Calcium: 69mg (7%)| Iron: 3.1mg (17%)

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246 Comments

  1. Hello. My name is Saurel and I’m from Cameroun. I want to prepare jollof rice but I don’t have Basmati rice, I only have white long-grain rice. So to prepare this jollof rice perfectly, what is the exact ratio of cups in need for rice and water. In order to get the same servings

  2. 5 stars
    Your recipes are great. I have tried your rice and peas and loved it. So flavorful. I made this today adapting your recipe and others I saw using the oven method and it came out perfect. I did use the blending method for tomatoes, onion, garlic ginger and some bell pepper. Added some allspice, maggi, bay leaf, and curry. The stove method is intimidating for sure. My husband laughed when I told him what I was making. He is a man and has not had any since he was probably a young child or teenager. I’m waiting to see what he thinks of it.

      1. We loved it. So did my mom and our young children. Jamaican beef patties are next. I am a little intimidated about making the crust. Could I use pie crust instead?

  3. 5 stars
    Hello,

    I made this for dinner and it was amazing!!!! The store I went to did not have basmati rice so I used regular Uncle Ben’s Rice. I paired it with chicken breast smothered in bell pepper, onion, and jalapenos. It was bomb . The rice was so flavorful!!! Looking forward to making more of your recipes!!!

  4. Hi Imma thanks for this recipe. I would like to know is the tomato sauce in this recipe same as the sweet tomato ketchup? and is the amount stated in the recipe one and a quarter ounce? Thank you for your response

    1. No it’s not, I used tomato puree . Do not use sweet tomato ketchup. The amount is 14 ounce which is about 396 grams.

  5. 5 stars
    I tried the recipe the second time increased oven temperature to 400 degrees for1 1/2 hours it was fantastic the flavor is awesome thank you for the recipe

  6. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness, Imma this recipe is delicious and foolproof!!!! My boyfriend isn’t a fan of my cooking and is very hard to please in the kitchen (especially as he’s a wonderful cook). However since I’ve started using your recipes he’s pleasantly surprised at my new cooking skills! Following his requests I’ve made this Jollof Rice a total of 3 times in the past week alone!!!! I’ve also made your yummy curried chickpeas which also went down well. On a couple of occasions I’ve added swordfish which actually worked out great. Have also made your banana nut bread too which I took to a friend’s house and she demanded the recipe pronto lol. Your site is amazing and a much needed godsend. I look forward to trying out more recipes in the coming weeks. God bless you x

    1. Aww thank you SO MUCH Cynthia! You’ve really made my morning . So sweet of you to take time out to let me know. Happy Cooking!!!

  7. So this has been around since 2014 and for the past three years I’ve been killing hours cooking jollof rice on my stove? Gotta try this recipe this weekend, but my spouse doesn’t fancy paprika. Can I use curry instead of paprika? I suppose it won’t really change the taste.

    1. You sure can. It would slightly alter the taste. But not that much if you love curry. Or you can leave it out completely. Let me know how it works out for you.

      1. Did it today and it was perfect. My hubby and kids loved it.

        I cooked this at 260 degrees Celsius for one hour. I was a little worried at the beginning because I wasn’t sure whether the temperature 350 degrees that you mentioned was in Celsius or Fahrenheit. Plus, the max temp on my oven is 260 degrees Celsius. However, the rice came out perfect and very yummy.
        Thanks again.

      2. Oops! My bad . Updated recipe. Glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thank you for taking the time to share this with me .

  8. I would like to make this for my university class when we cover Africa. Can it be made ahead of time? If so, what is the best way to reheat it? Is the chicken raw or cooked when you put it in the pan with the other ingredients? Thank you!

  9. 5 stars
    My husband is Nigerian and I’m always on the look out for easy african receipes. This is the one he likes the most!!! Thank you so much! I really wanted to avoid the method of stirring the pot and burnning this rice so this one is perfect! I’ve tried some other receipes from your site and they are lovely. Keep posting please! 🙂

    1. I hear you Audrey! Me no like the stirring too oh! I don’t bother with the stirring method nowadays. Am pleased to hear my recipes have been working out well for you. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know .

  10. 4 stars
    I can’t tell you how long it took for me to sit with my Mom and demand that she show me how to make this – and it still doesnt come out as great as hers.
    I’m going to try this and see if I have a fighting chance at going toe-to-toe with her!

  11. I just stumbled on your site and I lot what I’m reading and seeing.Please I don’t av a functional baking tray,Is there an alternative?Tnx

    1. Use an oven safe pot with a tight fitting lid. Another great option would be to make it in a rice cooker – works all the time.

  12. 5 stars
    Just made this and it had a very good taste!!!!!! Im really happy about it! The only thing is its a little mushy but not too much. I shouldve probably cooked it for maybe 20 more min to absorb the rest of the water. Over all this is a simple great recipe! Can’t wait to try your other recipes!! Your recipes can be trustes lol

    1. Cooking it longer will make it worse. Maybe use less water/broth. What I have noticed is that as the rice rest it becomes drier. Hope this helps

  13. 5 stars
    Hi, Sorry but I’m still a bit confused about what you mean by a tin of tomato sauce. Do you mean Pasata? Would a tin of chopped tomatoes be just as good? By the way, I made your Puff Puffs and they were delicious! Thanks for the recipe.

    1. I have tried a different variety and they all seem to work just fine. I think Pasata would do just fine. Glad you hear you enjoyed the puff puff

  14. I made this and it has good flavor but did not cook evenly. The basmatic rice on the bottom was pasty and the top rice was hard and I had to cook it for an hour and a half because at the hour mark all the rice was hard. Any suggestions on what I did wrong? I did use fresh veggie like carrots, onions, green beans, red pepper and green pepper, the carrots and onion where semi tender. I did add chicken but I took the meat of the chicken breast bone and partially cooked the chicken and added the breast bones to the dish (I read this will add more flavor). My family loved it except for the hard rice part. I used a metal 9×13 deep cake pan and not the foil pan. Could this have caused the basmatic rice to on top be hard and uncooked? Thank you for any and all suggestions.

    1. Hi Jill, Did you tightly cover it? I feel the addition of the extra ingredients must have been the culprit. Try making it again without the extra ingredients. Thanks!

  15. OMG!!! I just want to say THANK YOU so much for this recipe. I am from the islands(Trinidad) and my husband hails from Nigeria. Let me tell you, jollof seems easy to prepare but is also very tricky. Everytime I cook it, it’s either too mushy, too watery, too clumpy. But your recipe omg your recipe works wonders and miracles. Girl I love you!!! I follows your recipe exactly, only thing I changed was instead of tomato paste I used tomato purée(didn’t have any paste on hand). Omg my jollof came out amazing!!!!! Soft tender separated grains of rice!! My husband was in love!! Best jollof I’ve ever made. Please everyone try this recipe and don’t knock it!! So freaking fast and simple oh my god! Thank you so much!!!

    1. AWESOME! Love you too Mary! I can feel your excitement. Believe me , I felt the same way too the first I made this . Comes out perfect all the time. Happy New Year

4.79 from 64 votes (11 ratings without comment)

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