This delicious Efo Riro Nigerian Spinach Stew is filled with flavor! You'll get a little bit of everything on your plate by combining tomatoes, spinach, meat, peppers, and fish. Serve with pounded yam, eba or rice.
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Efo riro, aka Nigerian spinach stew, is a leafy, meaty meal from Yorubaland, a product of the Yoruba people in Western Nigeria. It uses various local ingredients to make a mouthwatering, savory stew.
Make sure you get plenty of red root spinach for this recipe, as the spinach is, of course, the main star of the dish! Plus, it absorbs flavors when cooked with other ingredients, giving it the perfect taste and texture that makes this dish blend so well.
For an even more hearty stew, try this Efo Elegusi (Two Ways) or Quick Nigerian Okra Stew, Beef Stew with Rice and Beans and Plantain and Best Nigerian Stew Recipe (Obe ata).
Why This Recipe Works
- This vegetable soup has delicious savory ingredients to make a bold and memorable stew.
- You can adjust the seasoning to suit your taste.
- Efo riro can be served with different swallows, such as pounded yam, eba, amala, and more. Traditionally, people eat swallows using their hands, but you can also use a fork instead. Efo riro with rice is also a delicious dinner option.
- Leftovers can be enjoyed throughout the week.
Efo Riro Nigerian Spinach Stew Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Blended pepper mix: Efo riro has a tomato base. To make this base add 1 can of plum tomatoes, 1 yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper and 1-2 scotch bonnets to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Red root spinach: Select green spinach with fresh leaves. Avoid spinach that is wilted or bruised. Use four bunches of fresh red root spinach. To prepare the spinach, chop it and remove the roots. Then, add spinach to a large bowl, rinse with cold water and transfer the spinach to another bowl. You should see some dirt at the bottom of the bowl. Ensure you wash the spinach thoroughly at least 3 times (it is important to wash it because it can be pretty dirty) . After cleaning the spinach, pour boiling water over it and drain it after 5 minutes. The spinach is now ready to be added to the stew.
Flavor
When adding flavor to efo riro, you have three options. I like to add a little bit of each ingredient to create a rich, delicious flavor. However, you can use one or two of the ingredients below as long as you adjust the proportion and taste as you go.
- Iru: Is a type of fermented, processed locust bean. It is used to flavor food and is popular among Nigeria's Yoruba and Edo people. It is used to cook traditional soups like egusi soup, okro soup, Ewedu soup and ogbono soup. You will need about 1-2 tablespoon of iru for this recipe. Make sure you rinse the iru before using it. I buy frozen iru from my local African supermarket.
- Maggi: This is a popular chicken stock seasoning used in African cooking. There are different types but my favourite is Knorr chicken stock seasoning. Add 1-2 cubes to this recipe.
- Chicken stock: Add ¼-1/2 a cup of chicken stock for more flavour! You can make your chicken stock by reserving the water from the pot after part-boiling the chicken.
Tips and Substitutions
- Leaf: You can also add a bunch or two of ugwu or bitter leaves to efo riro. Ugwu and bitter leaves have a stronger bitter flavor, which can be delicious alongside the red root.
- Spice level: You can alter the heat of this recipe by adding more scotch bonnets. If you want to decrease the heat, use half a scotch bonnet.
- Assorted meat: This recipe calls for assorted meat. If you want to customize your meal, you can choose what kind of meat you want to add. The typical meat involved in efo riro includes chicken, shaki, pomo, beef, or lamb. Mackerel, shrimp, and crayfish are usually added as well.
- Assorted meat: Here are some additions that my family loves to add: chicken, beef, pomo and shaki. Whichever type of protein you choose, you want to ensure your meat is soft and tender. The best way to do this is by precooking your proteins before cooking the stew. I wash the meat first, then par-boil it with salt, onions, thyme, and chicken stock cubes for flavor (optional). Then, I finish cooking the meat in the oven. Once the meat is fully cooked, it will be tender and deeply flavorful. You can stir it into your stew, vegetables, and other seasonings. You can also fry the meat after boiling it, which is less healthy.
- Fish/seafood: You have a few options. Add roasted mackerel, large shrimp or panla.
- Palm oil: Palm oil comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. It is extracted by squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil comes from crushing the kernel or the stone in the middle of the fruit. Palm oil is traditionally used to make efo riro.
How to Make Efo Riro Nigerian Spinach Stew
- Add scotch bonnets, red bell pepper, onion, and plum tomatoes.
2. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
3. Then, add palm oil to cover the base in a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the iru.
4. Then pour in the blended tomato mixture and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste, 1 Maggi cube, and stir. Let it cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes
5. Then, add pre-cooked assorted meat or any meat combination you choose to the stew and let it cook for 10-15 more minutes.
6. Next, grab the pre-cooked shrimp and mackerel fish and set aside for later.
7. Then, chop the spinach.
8. Add spinach and lower the heat to a simmer. After 5 minutes, add shrimp and roasted mackerel and let it cook for another 7-10 minutes.
9. Serve and enjoy efo riro Nigerian spinach stew for dinner with rice or amala.
Recipe FAQs
The word "efo" translates to leafy greens or different types of spinach. While "riro" means to stir. There is no direct English translation for efo riro but it can be referred to as stewed spinach in English.
There are three main tribes in Nigeria and they all speak different languages. In Yorubaland, spinach is referred to as efo. In comparison, spinach is called nchanwu in Igbo. The Hausa tribe is called spinach alayyafo.
No, it is not. Waterleaf is known as gbure in Yoruba. It grows freely as a weed and it costs next to nothing in West Africa so it is easily affordable for everyone. It can be cooked on its own or with egusi.
Leftover efo riro can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. If you want it to last even longer, you can put it in the freezer for up to three months.
More Delicious Stew Recipes
Efo Riro Nigerian Spinach Stew
Equipment
- Blender
- Pot
Ingredients
- 1 can of plum tomatoes
- 1 red bell peppers aka tatashe pepper
- 2 scotch bonnets
- 1 onions
- ¼ - ¾ cup of chicken stock
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 chicken stock cubes knorr
- Precooked assorted meat beef, chicken, pomo etc (see notes)
- 4 bunches of red root spinach see notes
- ½ cup of shrimp
- ¼ cup of roasted mackerel
- Palm oil
Instructions
- In a blender, add 1-2 scotch bonnets, 1 red bell pepper, 1 large onion, and 1 can of plum tomatoes and blend together until thoroughly mixed.
- In a large saucepan, add palm oil to cover the base. Once the oil is hot, add iru, then pour in the blended tomato mixture and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste, 1 maggi cube and stir. Let it cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes
- Then, add pre-cooked assorted meat (or any meat combination of your choice) to the stew and let it cook for 10-15 more minutes.
- Finally, add 4 bunches of spinach and lower the heat to a simmer. After 5 minutes add ½ a cup of shrimp and ¼ cup of roasted mackerel and let it all cook for another 7-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Red root spinach - Use four bunches of fresh red root spinach. To prepare the spinach chop the spinach and remove the roots. Then, add spinach to a large bowl, rinse with cold water and transfer the spinach to another bowl. You should see some dirt at the bottom of the bowl. Make sure you wash the spinach thoroughly at least 3 times (it is important to wash the spinach because it can be quite dirty) . After washing the spinach pour boiling hot water over the spinach and drain after 5 minutes. The spinach is now ready to be added to the stew.
- Assorted meat - Here are some additions that my family loves to add: chicken, beef, pomo and shaki. Whichever type of protein you choose, you want to make sure that your meat is soft and tender. The best way to do this is by precooking your proteins before you start cooking the stew. I normally wash the meat first, then par-boil it with salt, onions, thyme, and chicken stock cubes for flavor (optional). Then, I finish cooking the meat in the oven. Once the meat is fully cooked, it will be tender and deeply flavorful. At this point, you can stir it into your stew, along with the vegetables and other seasonings. You can also fry the meat after part boiling but this is less healthy.
Marta
I loved making this dish! An easy to follow recipe that delivered great flavor in every bite. Thank you!
Jen Sim
You're welcome!
Tamara
Oh my goodness the flavors in the stew were absolutely amazing! Super rich, not so spicy, just absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Jen Sim
You're welcome. This is a household favorite!
Britney Brown
This dish was so delicious. We tried it with chicken and beef and a little bit of shrimp and that broth was absolutely heavenly! I can't wait to make this again!
Jen Sim
Glad you enjoyed it Britney! I make this dish atleast once a week for my family.
Lilly
The flavors of this stew are absolutely amazing! I used beef and fish to make mine. It turned out incredible!
Jen Sim
Great choice Lilly! I'm glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Kaluhi
You broke the process down so so well and I enjoyed reading! I loooooved making this even more and i was excited that I could find everything here in Kenya, though under different names. It was so so delicious!
Jen Sim
That's amazing Kaluhi. I am happy to hear that you enjoyed this dish, found this recipe helpful and were able to find all of the ingredients in Kenya 🙂
Jazz
Your efo recipe definitely had everyone in my house going for seconds. Thank you!