Beniseed Soup (African Sesame Seed Stew)

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Beniseed soup (African sesame seed stew) is a nutrition-packed, delicious African soup with a pleasant, irresistible flavor. You will fall in love with it!

Beniseed soup is a rich, healthy Nigerian soup made with fufu. It is commonly eaten in middle belt states in Nigeria. Although its appearance is very similar to that of egusi soup, it tastes quite different.

Beniseed soup is made from sesame seeds, which gives it that rich, nutty flavor.

Ingredients Used

Sesame seeds: I buy unhulled sesame seeds from Amazon, but you might also get them from a Whole Foods store. Some African stores sell preprocessed and prepackaged beniseeds, which you can use straight from the package without any further processing. I prefer to process them myself because they are cheaper and taste so much fresher and better.
Palm oil: Many African soups are made with palm oil. It has a rich and buttery texture and gives the soup a distinct, traditional African flavor.
Vegetables: Chopped spinach, bell pepper, habanero pepper, and onions.
Spices: Ground crayfish, bouillon powder, cayenne pepper, and salt.
Beef or your choice of meat. You can even leave out all meat products for a vegetarian option!
Broth/stock: If you don’t have any stock, you can use water, but you will have to adjust the salt and spices.

How to Make Beniseed Soup

beniseed soup african sesame stew preparation

Preheat your oven to 450F.
First, roast the sesame seeds in the oven to release their wonderful nutty taste and flavor.
Pour the sesame seeds into a colander and rinse under the tap for about a minute. Washing the seeds introduces moisture to them so they do not burn in the oven after only a few minutes of roasting.
Spread on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, stirring halfway to prevent burning. The mixture will be ready when the seeds turn golden brown.
Blend your habanero and bell pepper together while waiting for the sesame seeds to be ready. Use very little water if you need it. Also, chop the onions and set aside.
Once the sesame seeds are ready, take it out and blend it.
Add palm oil to a pot on medium heat and add the chopped onions. After about a minute, add the blended bell pepper and habanero mix and stir for 5 minutes. Then, add the blended sesame seeds and stir until it begins to clump together.
Add the beef, bouillon powder, crayfish, and cayenne pepper, and stir. After about 5 minutes, pour in the broth/water, mix together, check for salt, and adjust if necessary. The amount of salt you’ll need to add will depend on how much salt the broth/stock already contains, so add sparingly.
Bring to a boil and simmer on medium heat for another 5 minutes. Add the chopped spinach and cook on low heat for a few minutes.

beniseed soup african sesame stew collage

This soup serves 6 and contains 7g net carbs per serving. It freezes very well and keeps well in the fridge for about 5 days.

What Can I Eat Beniseed Soup With?

Beniseed soup goes well with rice or fufu dishes. For a low carb, nutritious, and very satisfying meal, enjoy your beniseed soup with cauliflower rice or low carb fufu dishes like Cauliflower Fufu or Cabbage Fufu.

beniseed soup african sesame stew closeup

Tips when Making Beniseed Soup

If you want it less spicy, remove the seeds from the habanero pepper before using it, and leave out the cayenne pepper. It will still have a slightly spicy taste.
Always remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper before blending.
You can roast the sesame seeds on the stovetop. Just stir in a dry skillet till the color turns golden brown.
I’ve only really gotten consistent results using a personal blender. It comes out nice and clumpy, and some of the natural oils in the sesame seeds are released, which is what you want. When I tried using a regular blender, the grains kept spinning round and round, and nothing happened.
You can use the same blender for the peppers and sesame seeds. Just rinse it quickly before you blend the sesame seeds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use hulled or unhulled sesame seeds?

Sesame seeds are usually sold in two different forms: hulled and unhulled. Most sesame seeds sold in grocery stores are hulled - they have had their seed coat removed and are whiter in color and taste sweeter.

Hulled sesame seeds work better for sweeter treats like bread and desserts. Unhulled sesame seeds still have their seed coat intact. They are usually brown in color and have a faint bitterness. For this recipe, we will use unhulled sesame seeds, as their complex flavor when roasted works better for this traditional African soup recipe.