Ghanaian Red Red

Name: Ghanaian Red Red
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: West African
Ingredients: For the Bean Stew:; 400g dried black-eyed peas (cowpeas), soaked overnight; 80ml unrefined red palm oil; 1 large onion — half blended with peppers, half finely diced; 4 medium tomatoes, blended; 2 scotch bonnet peppers (or 1 habanero), blended with the tomatoes; 1 tsp tomato paste; 2 seasoning cubes (Maggi or Knorr); 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional — adds depth); 1 tsp ground crayfish or dried shrimp powder (optional — for depth); For the Fried Plantain:; 2 large very ripe plantains (skins heavily blackened); Neutral oil for shallow frying (about 200ml); Pinch of salt; For Serving:; 2 tbsp gari (toasted cassava granules) per person — optional but traditional; 1 fried egg or grilled fish per person — optional

Black-eyed peas stewed in a rich tomato and palm oil sauce until yielding and lush, served alongside fried ripe plantain whose caramelized sweetness plays perfectly against the earthy, spiced beans. Ghana's most beloved plant-based comfort food — the name comes from the double-red of the palm oil stew and the golden-red fried plantain.

⏱20 min prep 🔥60 min cook ⏰80 min total 🍽4 servings 📊easy

The Cultural Story

Red red gets its name from colour: the reddish palm oil that infuses the black-eyed pea stew, and the golden-red fried plantain served alongside it. Two reds. Two textures. One plate that is complete. It is one of the most popular everyday meals in Ghana — sold at road-side chop bars from Accra to Tamale, cooked in homes across every region, eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner without anyone feeling they have repeated a meal. Black-eyed peas (called "cowpeas" in West Africa, where they originated — the plant was domesticated in the Sahel over 5,000 years ago and spread from West Africa to Egypt, India, and eventually the Americas with the trans-Atlantic slave trade) are the foundational legume of Ghanaian cooking. They appear in waakye, in bean stew, in akara (fried bean cakes), and most prominently in red red, where they are cooked until completely tender and then simmered in a reduced sauce of blended tomatoes, scotch bonnet, and onion enriched with palm oil. The palm oil is not optional — it is what makes red red red red. Its color, its fat, and its subtle flavor (earthy, slightly fermented, rich) transform a simple bean stew into something unmistakably West African. The fried plantain companion is not a garnish — it is structurally part of the meal. The plantain must be ripe, ideally with a heavily blackened skin, so its natural sugars caramelize in the hot oil and the interior becomes almost jam-like. A slightly spiced plantain (the kelewele method) can be used, but plain fried ripe plantain is more traditional with red red. The combination of earthy, savory beans against sweet, slightly charred plantain is one of those flavor pairs that feels inevitable, like it was discovered rather than invented. Gari — toasted, ground cassava granules — is frequently served alongside, used to absorb the bean sauce. Fried fish or a hard-boiled egg rounds the meal into something complete. Red red is inherently humble food — cheap, available year-round, nutritionally complete on its own — but it is eaten with as much pleasure as any elaborate stew. In Ghanaian cooking, the simplest dishes are often the best.

Ingredients

For the Bean Stew:
400g dried black-eyed peas (cowpeas), soaked overnight
80ml unrefined red palm oil
1 large onion — half blended with peppers, half finely diced
4 medium tomatoes, blended
2 scotch bonnet peppers (or 1 habanero), blended with the tomatoes
1 tsp tomato paste
2 seasoning cubes (Maggi or Knorr)
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional — adds depth)
1 tsp ground crayfish or dried shrimp powder (optional — for depth)
For the Fried Plantain:
2 large very ripe plantains (skins heavily blackened)
Neutral oil for shallow frying (about 200ml)
Pinch of salt
For Serving:
2 tbsp gari (toasted cassava granules) per person — optional but traditional
1 fried egg or grilled fish per person — optional

Instructions

1Cook the black-eyed peas: Drain the soaked peas and rinse. Place in a pot with fresh water (no salt yet — salt toughens bean skins). Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 35–45 minutes until completely tender — they should yield easily when pressed with a finger, with no chalky center. Drain, reserving about 200ml of the cooking water.
2Build the sauce: Heat palm oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat until it melts and shimmers. Add the diced onion and fry for 6–8 minutes until soft and golden. Add the blended tomato-scotch bonnet-onion mixture. It will spit. Stir well. Add tomato paste, ginger, paprika, and seasoning cubes. Cook this sauce on medium heat, stirring every 3 minutes, for 20–25 minutes until it has darkened and reduced significantly, and the palm oil separates to the surface. This long frying is essential to remove the raw tomato taste.
3Add the beans: Add the cooked black-eyed peas to the sauce. Stir well. Add 100–150ml of the reserved bean cooking water to loosen the mixture. Add ground crayfish (if using) and salt. Stir and cook on low heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are fully incorporated into the sauce and the stew is thick and lush. Taste and adjust salt and seasoning. The finished stew should be deeply colored from the palm oil, saucy but not watery, with the beans yielding softly.
4Fry the plantain: Peel the very ripe plantains and cut into diagonal slices about 1.5cm thick. The flesh should be deep orange and very soft — this is correct. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry plantain slices for 2–3 minutes per side until deep golden, with caramelized spots. They will smell like caramel and banana. Drain on paper towels, season with a pinch of salt.
5Assemble and serve: Spoon red red into a bowl or onto a plate. Arrange fried plantain slices alongside. Add gari on the side if using. Top with a fried egg or grilled fish if desired. Eat the beans with the plantain in every bite — this combination is the point of the dish. The sweetness of the plantain softens the savory richness of the palm oil beans.

Cook this with the full experience

Join FlavorBridge to explore authentic recipes from cultures around the world — with comments, ratings, and the stories behind every dish.

Open Interactive Recipe →