Nigerian Jollof Rice with Chicken
West Africa's famous party rice: parboiled rice simmered in a fried pepper and tomato base with curry powder, thyme and bay, sealed under foil, with browned chicken drumsticks steaming on top in the same pot.
Edited by JP Lambiase
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Swaps change the price only: cook any meat to its own safe temperature. Where these numbers come from
Jollof rice is the one-pot rice dish of West Africa, cooked from Senegal to Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cameroon. Its name comes from the Wolof people, and Wikipedia gives Saint-Louis, Senegal, as its birthplace: food historian Fran Osseo-Asare says the original dish was *thieboudienne* (rice and fish), and oral histories credit a Saint-Louis cook named Penda Mbaye with first making it with rice instead of barley; New World ingredients such as tomatoes and chiles mean the dish as we know it is no older than the 19th century. Nigerian food writer Ozoz Sokoh ties the name to the historic Jolof state of the Wolof empire on the Senegal River, and says jollof traveled along the coast with Dyula merchants (The Splendid Table, excerpt from *Chop Chop*, March 21, 2025:). In the 2010s friendly arguments over whose jollof is best became the "Jollof wars," fiercest between Nigeria and Ghana; a 2014 Jamie Oliver recipe set off the #jollofgate hashtag, and World Jollof Day has been held every August 22 since 2015 (Wikipedia). Sokoh also names jambalaya (our Creole Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya recipe), Lowcountry red rice and Mexican arroz rojo as descendants of jollof. Nigerian "party jollof," cooked over a wood fire, is prized for its smoky crust at the bottom of the pot (Wikipedia).
🇳🇬 The original
West Africa's famous party rice: parboiled rice simmered in a fried pepper and tomato base with curry powder, thyme and bay, sealed under foil, with browned chicken drumsticks steaming on top in the same pot.
🇺🇸 The American version
New Orleans builds its rice pot with chicken, smoked sausage and the trinity of onion, celery and bell pepper. See the Creole Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Frying the base
Cooking the tomato paste and then the pepper purée until the oil separates drives off the raw, sour taste and concentrates the flavor that colors every grain.
Parboiled rice under a seal
Sokoh's parboiled (converted) rice keeps its shape while soaking up the thick stew, and the foil seal traps the steam so low heat cooks it through without burning the bottom.
🧰 You'll need 6 items
Everything the steps call for. Tick off what you have before you start.
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Step by step
- Step 1
Purée the bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic and Scotch bonnet in a blender until smooth, about 30 seconds; you should have about 4 cups.
- Step 2
Pat the drumsticks dry and season with the 1/2 tsp salt. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a 7-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the drumsticks on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Move them to a plate.
- Step 3
Pour off all but a thin film of fat, add the 1/4 cup oil and the tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes, until the paste darkens and separates from the oil.
- Step 4
Lower the heat to medium-low, stir in the purée, curry powder, smoked paprika, thyme, bay leaves, 1 tsp salt, bouillon and cayenne. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then (it splatters), until thick and a thin layer of red oil forms on top.
- Step 5
Rinse the rice three times in cold water and drain well. Stir it into the base with the broth, then nestle the drumsticks on top. Seal the pot tightly with a double layer of foil, put the lid on and cook over the lowest heat 20 minutes without stirring.
- Step 6
Uncover, lift out the drumsticks, gently turn the rice from top to bottom without scraping the bottom, return the drumsticks, reseal and cook 15 to 20 minutes more, until the rice is tender and the thickest drumstick reads at least 165°F. If the rice is still firm, add 1/2 cup water and cook 10 minutes more.
- Step 7
Turn off the heat and rest, covered, 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and serve.
Nigerian Jollof Rice with Chicken
Serves 8 · about 12 cups of rice and 8 drumsticks · 1 hr 40 min total
Chicken (optional)
- 8 chicken drumsticks (about 2 1/2 lb, 1.1 kg)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Pepper base (blended)
- 4 small red bell peppers (about 480 g), coarsely chopped
- 1 large onion (200 g), coarsely chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes (200 g), coarsely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 to 2 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, stemmed (optional)
Pot
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup tomato paste (64 g)
- 4 tsp curry powder
- 4 tsp smoked paprika
- 4 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 2 tsp dried)
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)
- 3 cups long-grain parboiled rice (555 g)
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Equipment: Blender, 7-quart Dutch oven, Chef's knife and cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Colander, Aluminum foil
Method
- Purée the bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic and Scotch bonnet in a blender until smooth, about 30 seconds; you should have about 4 cups.
- Pat the drumsticks dry and season with the 1/2 tsp salt. Heat the 2 tbsp oil in a 7-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the drumsticks on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Move them to a plate.
- Pour off all but a thin film of fat, add the 1/4 cup oil and the tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes, until the paste darkens and separates from the oil.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, stir in the purée, curry powder, smoked paprika, thyme, bay leaves, 1 tsp salt, bouillon and cayenne. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then (it splatters), until thick and a thin layer of red oil forms on top.
- Rinse the rice three times in cold water and drain well. Stir it into the base with the broth, then nestle the drumsticks on top. Seal the pot tightly with a double layer of foil, put the lid on and cook over the lowest heat 20 minutes without stirring.
- Uncover, lift out the drumsticks, gently turn the rice from top to bottom without scraping the bottom, return the drumsticks, reseal and cook 15 to 20 minutes more, until the rice is tender and the thickest drumstick reads at least 165°F. If the rice is still firm, add 1/2 cup water and cook 10 minutes more.
- Turn off the heat and rest, covered, 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and serve.
Adapted from Gabi Odebode, "Nigerian Jollof Rice," Food Network Kitchen (serves 4): doubled, with Ozoz Sokoh's points from The Splendid Table (cook the tomato base until the oil separates, use parboiled rice, keep the heat low and seal the pot). Our change: chicken drumsticks are browned first in the same pot and steamed on top of the rice, so the protein cooks in the one pot (Sokoh notes jollof was historically a one-pot dish with protein and vegetables). The browning and the 165°F check are ours. Estimated cost: about $13.90 for the pot, about $1.74 a serving. Food Network. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Estimated cost: about $1.74 a serving, about $13.90 for the pot; without the chicken about $1.20.
- Meatless: skip the drumsticks and step 2, start at step 3 with 1/4 cup oil, and use vegetable broth.
- The crust on the bottom is the prize in Nigeria; scrape it up and share it.
- Rice leftovers: cool in shallow containers and refrigerate within an hour; reheat to 165°F.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Jollof began in Senegal as thieboudienne. Disputed in detail: Wikipedia (citing Fran Osseo-Asare) names Saint-Louis and thieboudienne, and credits Penda Mbaye only through oral histories; Sokoh ties the name to the Jolof state, which she dates from the mid-14th to mid-16th century, while Wikipedia dates the Wolof empire from around the 12th century.
- Nigeria's jollof is better than Ghana's (or the other way round). Folklore, and the point of the Jollof wars (Wikipedia).
- Use parboiled rice. Documented as Sokoh's rule for "one-one" fluffy grains (The Splendid Table); basmati and jasmine cooks exist too.
- Jollof is the ancestor of jambalaya. Disputed (see our Creole Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya recipe).
- World Jollof Day is August 22. Documented (Wikipedia, since 2015).
Every other one-pot meal
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