Fufu, also known as Foo-foo, Foufou, Foutou, or Fu Fu, is a dish similar to mashed potatoes. It's consistency is a bit thicker and is made from cassava or yams (not sweet potatoes).


Fufu Recipe

2 pounds of cassava or white yams
2 tablespoons of butter
Salt and pepper

1. Place the unpeeled yams in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Boil for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the yams are cooked through and tender.
3. Drain the cassava and let them cool.
4. Peel the yams, chop them into large pieces and place them into a large bowl with the butter, salt and pepper.
5. Mash with a potato masher until very smooth.
6. Place the fufu into a large serving bowl. Wet your hands with water, form into a large ball and serve. You can also make smaller balls for individual servings.

Best served hot with meat, soup, stew, or sauce. 4 to 6 servings.

Fufu is a gluten free and sugar free food.


Substitutions and Additions:

*You can add some plantains in with the cassava. Boil them unpeeled with the cassava, then peel and mash them right inwith the cassava, butter, salt and pepper.


There are recipes similar to fufu all over Africa. Fufu is the most well known of these recipes and is eaten in Central and Western Africa.

Banku and Kenkey are two more Western African foods made with maize meal although banku is sometimes made with a combination of maize meal and ground cassava. Unlike ugali, the maize meal is allowed to ferment before banku or kenkey is cooked. Banku is cooked in a pot like ugali. Kenkey is partially cooked, then wraped in banana or corn husks and then steamed.

Similar to Kenkey is Bâton de Manioc which is made entirely of cassava and steamed.

Nshima (also known as Nsima, Shima, Sima) is Zambia's version of fufu and can be made with maize meal, ground millet, ground sorghum, or ground cassava.

Sadza of Zimbabwe, made with maize meal, is essentially the same recipe as East Africa's ugali.

In Burkina Faso and Mali, Tô (also called Toh rhyming with 'dough') is traditionally made with sorghum flour, but can be made with maize meal or rice flour.

Other names and similar recipes include posho (Uganda), nsima (Malawi and Zambia), pap (South Africa), luku, moteke, bugari and ghaat.