Nigerian Fried Beans
This vegan builds dried nigerian beans, fresh tomatoes and ground crayfish into a weeknight-friendly meal you can have ready in about 65 minutes. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and large pot. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (3)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Pick over the dried beans to remove any stones, rinse them well, then cover with plenty of water and boil for 45 to 60 minutes until tender but not mushy, and drain.
- Blend the tomatoes, half the onion, garlic, red bell pepper and scotch bonnet into a coarse puree.
- Heat the palm oil in a pot over medium heat, add the remaining sliced onion, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant.
- Pour in the blended pepper mix and fry, stirring often, for 10 to 12 minutes until the sauce thickens, darkens and the raw smell is gone.
- Stir in the ground crayfish, crumbled stock cubes and salt, and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked beans and fold them gently into the sauce, then cover and simmer on low for 8 to 10 minutes so the beans absorb the flavour.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve hot with fried plantain or bread.
You'll use: Frying pan / skillet Β· Large pot Β· Saucepan Β· Blender
Tips & common questions
How long does Nigerian Fried Beans take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 10 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Nigerian Fried Beans vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
Related recipes
Nigerian Fried Beans is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Beans with fried fish.jpg by Daniel Paullll, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.