Egusi Soup (also known as Egusi Stew) is a rich and savory West African soup made with ground melon seeds and eaten with fufu dishes. It is an amazing soup the whole family will enjoy!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
Egusi soup has a wonderfully complex flavor and is made with traditional West African ingredients and spices. It is a very thick soup and is actually more of a stew, as you can also eat it with rice or other dishes. It is sometimes referred to as Egusi Stew.
Egusi with Fufu is a beloved Nigerian dish usually eaten for lunch or dinner!
🥘 Equipment Used
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To make this egusi soup recipe, you'll need a few simple tools, like a large pot to prepare the different meats and a blender to break down the vegetables. When you're ready to prepare the delicious egusi soup, you'll need a large stockpot and a spoon.
🧾 Ingredients Used
- Egusi seeds: Egusi (melon seeds) are usually sold in African stores. I use roughly 2 cups for this recipe.
- Meat: African soups are often cooked with an assortment of meat like beef, goat meat, cow feet, or tripe (shaki). For this recipe, I use goat meat and cow feet, but you can really add any type of meat you want.
- Vegetables: Add tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, habanero peppers, and spinach to your stock pot. The traditional Egusi soup is made with scotch bonnet pepper, but if you're in the U.S, habanero peppers make a great substitute.
- Red Palm Oil: Palm oil gives a rich, traditional taste to this soup, but you can use olive oil if that is what you have on hand.
- Smoked catfish: This is made from catfish that has been dried and smoked and is used to flavor a lot of Nigerian dishes. It gives a really unique traditional taste and flavor. You can omit this if you don’t have any.
- Spices: For Egusi soup, I use ground crayfish, salt, cayenne pepper, and bouillon (Maggi cubes).
- Broth/Stock: You can use water if you have none, but you will need to add more spices.
🔪 How To Make This Recipe
Preparation
- If using smoked catfish, soak in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Break the dried catfish into smaller pieces and remove as many pieces of bones as you can.
- Chop the onions and spinach.
- Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and habanero pepper. Add as little water as possible.
Make the Egusi Soup
- Heat the palm oil on medium heat for a few minutes, then add chopped onions.
- After it becomes translucent, add your blended tomato and pepper mix and stir.
- Add your smoked fish and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Add broth or water and bring to a boil.
- Pour the ground egusi seeds into a bowl, add a sprinkling of water, and form them into balls.
- Add the egusi seeds to the soup and stir.
- Bring to a boil and let it cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the goat meat, cow feet, crayfish, bouillon, and cayenne pepper.
- Taste for salt and add some if you need to.
- Let it boil for 10 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Add spinach and leave on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Serve with your choice of fufu and enjoy!
🥫 Storing and Reheating
Leftover egusi soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat it, place it in a medium saucepan and warm it up over medium heat until fully warmed. You can also freeze leftover soup for several months in a freezer-safe container. Be sure to leave a 1-inch headspace to allow the soup to expand.
💭 Tips and Variations
- Different tribes in Nigeria have their own spin on how to add the Egusi seeds. The Yorubas like to chop onions, mix them with the egusi, and form balls before adding them.
- The spinach should be added at the end because you don’t want it to overcook and become wilted in the soup. Leave on low heat for 5-10 minutes.
- You can substitute spinach leaves with other Nigerian leafy greens like bitter leaf, ugwu (pumpkin leaves), or basil (scent leaves). In the US, it may be easier to find collard greens.
- Feel free to add as many green leafy vegetables as you want. You can also add less.
- Don't add salt until you are done adding all the spices. You might not need to add more because of the broth.
- It's traditional in many communities to make egusi soup with fermented locust beans (iru).
🍽️ What can I eat this recipe with?
Nigerian Egusi soup goes great with fufu dishes, though it can also be eaten with cauliflower rice. Some great low carb options are:
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
Although there are many different versions of this recipe, Egusi soup is typically made from a mixture of different meats, like goat meat, cow feet, and other cuts, cooked down with a variety of vegetables and egusi seeds. It's packed with vegetables, flavorful meats, and delicious melon seeds. For spices, I like to use a mixture of ground crayfish, bouillon, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Whole egusi seeds are usually blended before cooking, and this can be easily done using a food processor, nutribullet blender, or coffee grinder.
You do not add water when blending, but as you blend, you will notice the consistency changes to a somewhat powdery paste. This egusi paste is then used in a variety of recipes. You can buy the actual seeds or buy them pre-ground.
Egusi is made from the seeds of the white-seed melon that grow primarily in the warm regions of Africa. It is composed of about 50% healthy fats and 30% protein, which makes it perfect for a low-carb or keto diet. They're the main ingredient in this egusi soup, which is the most popular Nigerian soup!
Egusi seeds are also packed full of essential nutrients like Vitamins A, B1, B2, and C. Egusi is also known as Elegusi or Agushi, depending on what part of Nigeria you are from.
Incredibly healthy! Egusi soup is made from nutritious whole foods. It's a great source of protein and has lots of nutritious lower-carb vegetables like peppers, tomatoes, and greens. It's a wonderfully nutritious meal, even for people who aren't on a keto diet.
📚 Related Recipes
Check out these other delicious African low carb soups:
Efo Riro - Nigerian Spinach Stew
Beniseed Soup (African Sesame Seed Stew)
📖 Recipe
Egusi Soup - Nigerian Melon Seed Stew
Ingredients
- 2 cups egusi seeds melon seeds
- 400 g goat meat cooked
- 200 g cow feet cooked
- ½ cup palm oil
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 smoked catfish optional
- 1 tomato
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 habanero pepper
- 1 onion
- ½ tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon bouillon powder or maggi cubes
- 2 tablespoon crayfish
- 1 tablespoon salt to boil the meat
- 1 tablespoon black pepper to boil the meat
Instructions
Preparation
- If using smoked catfish, soak in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Break the dried catfish into smaller pieces and remove as many pieces of bones as you can.
- Chop the onions and spinach.
- Blend the tomatoes, red bell pepper and habanero pepper. Add as little water as possible.
Make the Egusi Soup
- Heat the palm oil on medium heat for a few minutes, then add chopped onions.
- After it becomes translucent, add your blended tomato and pepper mix and stir.
- Add your smoked fish and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
- Add broth or water and bring to a boil.
- Pour the ground egusi seeds into a bowl, add a sprinkling of water and form them into balls.
- Add the egusi seeds to the soup and stir.
- Bring to a boil and let it cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the goat meat, cow feet, crayfish, bouillon, and cayenne pepper.
- Taste for salt and add some if you need to.
- Let it boil for 10 minutes on medium-high heat.
- Add spinach and leave on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Serve with your choice of fufu and enjoy!
Notes
- You can substitute spinach leaves with other Nigerian leafy greens like bitter leaf or Ugwu leaves.
- Use any protein of your choice or use mushrooms for a vegan option.
- Feel free to add as many leafy greens as you want. You can also add less.
- Don't add salt until you are done adding all the spices. You might not need to add more because of the broth.
Wow, great recipe