Jollof Rice
Jollof rice is tasty, colourful and easy to adapt and add to – perfect for a family weeknight dinner, and simple to change and tweak in small ways to improve and add more veg over time. We’ve gathered some expert tips and small, simple steps for you to take your favourite jollof recipe from good to great!
Jollof rice is tasty, colourful and easy to adapt and add to – perfect for a family weeknight dinner, and simple to change and tweak in small ways to improve and add more veg over time. We’ve gathered some expert tips and small, simple steps for you to take your favourite jollof recipe from good to great!
Why is jollof rice so great?
Jollof rice is simple, cheap and delicious, and kids tend to enjoy its flavours and fun colour, making it a great recipe to slowly tweak to add a little veg and make a little better over time. While we haven’t aimed for a traditional recipe here to keep things as simple as possible, we have some more authentic suggestions for you if you prefer to stick with that (bonus – it adds more veg naturally!).
With a fun bright colour, jollof rice is visually appealing to kids, which can make it more likely they will eat it! And with veg already present (blended peppers, tomatoes and onions give it its colour), it doesn’t take much effort to get a couple of portions of veg out of this dinner.
Our Simple Jollof recipe below is just that – a basic mix of rice + tomatoes + optional onions, peppers and chilli. If you are just starting out, this is the place to start! If you already have the basics and want to work on slowly improving your recipe using our Step by Step method, try our Next Steps Jollof.
Kids who engage with healthy foods are more likely to eat them, so to set yourself up for success, we’ve included tips to get kids involved in the second recipe to keep things simple.
Simple Jollof Rice
Ingredients:
Rice (1 mug is enough for 4 people)
Chopped tomatoes (1 tin for 4) or tomato sauce (1 jar for 4)
Optional red pepper and onion, blended with the chopped tomatoes until smooth or thinly sliced/chopped
Optional red chilli (1/2-1 for 4 depending on how spicy you like your food, or just leave it out!)
Not made jollof rice before, or not ready to try the next steps? Start here!
Method:
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Traditionally, the jollof sauce is made from blending tomatoes, peppers, chilli and onions. If you don’t have a blender but want to include all those ingredients, try frying finely sliced/diced onions and peppers in a little oil in the bottom of a large saucepan over medium heat until softened, stirring regularly (about 5-10 mins), then stirring in the chopped tomatoes or sauce. If you’ve blended the veg and chilli into a smooth sauce, pour this into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins.
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Add the rice to the pan with the blended or softened veg and add water or stock (usually 1 mug rice + 2 mugs water makes perfect rice for 4, but since there is a fair amount of liquid in the tomato sauce, add only equal amounts of water and rice – so 1 mug rice and 1 mug water for 4).
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Bring to the boil, then simmer for as long is it takes to cook the rice (check packet instructions), checking regularly and adding a little more water if it’s going dry and the rice isn’t fully cooked yet.
There is no need to go any further with this recipe until you are confident with it and feel up for the next step.
Once you have the basics it’s time to slowly improve your recipe using our Step by Step method to a bit better.
There are three ways to step-by-step your way to better jollof – start where you feel most comfortable and if in doubt, start with a few veg.
Remember, the MOST important thing is that the family enjoys the meal! These changes and swaps can take as long as is needed. Small simple improvements over time may not even be noticed!
add veg
Aim for 2 handfuls of veg per person in the long-run, but it’s better to go slow and get there than to rush to the finish line and find no one is there with you. For the best chance of success, start with a veg you know the family likes, don’t try to hide it, and build up over time. Starting with frozen veg can also mean less waste, keeping costs down, and being able to add a small amount simply.
We’ve added our top suggestions and how and when to add them to the recipe below.
better sauce
Swapping a ready-made sauce for a homemade sauce can often help the budget as well as the salt and sugar content. If making your own sauce is 20 mins you can’t spare, adding a tin of chopped tomatoes or passata is an easy, cheaper, instant way to a healthier sauce.
reduce meat
Try a tin of beans (drained and rinsed) added to your jollof and maybe use that as an excuse to serve it alongside a bit less meat or fish which can save you some money, as well as add some extra veg. If you think it will be turned down, try starting with just half a tin and perhaps even blending it into the sauce and just reduce the meat while adding more beans slowly each time you make the meal.
Next Steps Jollof Rice
Ingredients:
Rice (1 mug is enough for 4 people)
Chopped tomatoes (1 tin for 4) or tomato sauce (1 jar for 4)
Optional red pepper and onion, blended with the chopped tomatoes until smooth or thinly sliced/chopped
Optional chilli
Some added veg – aim for 1-2 handfuls of veg per person, we have suggested some great ones to start with below
1 tin of beans (optional, but a great addition to add some protein and mean you can save money serving it with less meat/fish)
We suggest you do this in stages, slowly, and go as far as works for your family, here’s how your final recipe might come together…
Method:
-
Traditionally, the jollof sauce is made from blending tomatoes, peppers, chilli and onions. If you don’t have a blender but want to include all those ingredients, try frying finely sliced/diced onions and peppers in a little oil in the bottom of a large saucepan over medium heat until softened, stirring regularly (about 5-10 mins), then stirring in the chopped tomatoes or sauce. If you’ve blended the veg and chilli into a smooth sauce, pour this into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, then cook on a low heat for 5 mins. Want to add fresh veg but not keen on peppers or onions? You could try finely diced fresh veggies softened in oil (as above) like: diced carrots and/or celery, sliced mushrooms or leeks, diced courgette or aubergine, shredded cabbage… Or stir through some fresh leafy greens once the rice is cooked so it wilts in just before serving.
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Add the rice to the pan with the blended or softened veg and add water or stock (usually 1 mug rice + 2 mugs water makes perfect rice for 4, but since there is a fair amount of liquid in the tomato sauce, add only equal amounts of water and rice – so 1 mug rice and 1 mug water for 4).
-
Bring to the boil, then simmer for as long is it takes to cook the rice (check packet instructions), checking regularly and adding a little more water if it’s going dry and the rice isn’t fully cooked yet.
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Add frozen veg that you’ve cooked separately according to package instructions, or you can even stir through smaller, quick-cooking frozen veg into the rice so it cooks as the rice cooks! Try: peas, sweetcorn, sliced peppers or mushrooms, green beans or shredded cabbage, mixed veg, grilled Mediterranean veg…
- If using a tin of beans, add to the rice for the last minute or two of cooking time until heated through. Kidney beans go perfectly here, but you can use whatever tinned beans you like!
Engaging Kids
Kids who engage regularly with veg through veg-themed activities, such as arts and crafts, sensory experiences, growing and cooking are shown to be more likely to eat the veg they engage with. Encouraging kids to engage and play with veg is the handy first step to them developing a good relationship with veg and life-long healthy eating. Find out more here.
Kids in the kitchen
Get younger kids blending the sauce or stirring the chopped veg with your help, measuring out the rice and water in a mug, and chucking a couple of handfuls of your chosen veg into the pan.
Older kids might be ready to learn how to chop some fresh veg to add at the start of the meal, stir everything together in the pan, and serve the hot rice into bowls!
Master these skills:
Weighing, Mixing, Bridge chopping, Claw chopping
Activities
Use arts & crafts as a stepping stone to interacting with the veg themselves. While you make your jollof, why not set a child up with:
Find more arts & crafts and puzzles & games on our website.
Sensory
Why not start with a whole pepper and get them to describe what they see – does it remind them of anything? Maybe it looks like an upside down tiny umbrella, or like a flower when viewed from its base. Perhaps it’s a giant’s tooth or a top-heavy mushroom. See if they want to chuck some into the jollof after having engaged with them.
Watch Ruth Platt’s video on sensory activities with peppers for more inspiration, or get more tips, games and videos over on our Sensory page.
Serving
Why not let your child lay the table the way they want to – perhaps they want to create a centrepiece, serve the food in bowls instead of on plates, make a placecard for each person with their name on it. Make sure to praise them for their choices and see if once the table is ready they may want to help you serve up the food and sneak a little taste with you before it gets there!
Get more ideas over on our Roles for Kids page.
Family Favourite Recipes
Use our step-by-step methods to slowly improve these favourites, too…
DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
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