Making jollof rice from scratch can feel like a labor of love. That’s why I like to meal prep my jollof rice base; it makes Sunday cooking faster and stress-free. Every Nigerian household I know eats rice dishes regularly, with jollof rice being the most iconic. Growing up, my mom made it every Sunday, and now that I have my own family, I alternate between jollof rice and fried rice weekly. Prepping my base ahead makes this tradition easier to maintain. Try this meal prepping even if you’re not on a fitness journey, it will save you so much time, this is the same exact recipe I used when I was tracking calories, the only thing I do differently now is to drain the excess oil. This would also come in handy if you’re a bit intimidated about cooking in bulk; you can make this ahead for your Christmas cooking, then make the jollof rice on the day of.
Tips for the Perfect Jollof Base
Getting your jollof rice base right is what determines if your jollof rice will truly bang. Here are a few key tips:
- Pepper to tomato ratio: Always use more red bell peppers than tomatoes. Think volume instead of count or weight since pepper and tomato sizes vary. I like to measure with a medium bowl; if I use one bowl of tomatoes, I use two bowls of red bell peppers. The minimum ratio should be 1:1.5 (tomatoes:bell peppers), but my go-to is 1:2.
- Tomatoes: Roma tomatoes are best because they contain less water and are not as sour as other varieties.
- Bell peppers: Always deseed. I use sweet red bell peppers because they’re more accessible where I live (traditionally, Nigerian tatase is used).
- Heat: Add habanero peppers based on your spice tolerance.
- Tomato paste: Pick a brand that isn’t sour; I like Hunts or Great Value.
- Onions: Our grandmas didn’t use seasoning cubes, but they used lots of onions, as they naturally contain msg, the thing we crave in seasoning cubes.
- Ginger and garlic: Optional but highly recommended.
- Cooking method: Traditionally, peppers are blended and boiled before frying, but roasting them is faster and gives a smoky depth of flavor.
How I Keep It Fitfam Friendly
There’s no way around it; the jollof rice base needs oil. Oil-free jollof rice base just doesn’t taste the same (don’t ask me how I know 😅). To make mine lighter, I measure the oil I use for frying, then skim and remove the excess that floats to the top after cooking. For this recipe, I fried with 3 cups of oil and removed ⅔ cup when it was done. This way, I know exactly how many calories went into my final base.
And this is where I want to pause and highlight something: oil is by far the most calorie-dense part of this recipe. The entire pot of jollof rice base came to 6,628 calories, and 4,474 of those calories came from oil alone. That’s nearly 70% of the total! This shows why reducing or removing oil can drastically lower the calorie content of your meals.
This recipe yielded 6 bowls, with each bowl at about 1,105 calories. Each bowl is enough to cook 4 cups of rice. So while it’s definitely a labor of love, you won’t be making it too often, and it’s worth it every single time. If you want to use it to cook a large batch, the full pot of base would make 25 cups of rice.
Jollof Rice Base
Ingredients
Method
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Rinse and cut your tomatoes, peppers, onions, ginger, and garlic. Deseed bell peppers.
- Roast: Arrange tomatoes and peppers flesh-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add habaneros, onions, ginger, and garlic. Roast for 45–60 minutes, checking every 10–15 minutes. Broil briefly for charred flavor (watch closely to avoid burning). Cool, then blend smooth.
- Fry: In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil, thyme, and bay leaves. Toast briefly, then add diced onions. Once fragrant, stir in tomato paste with a splash of water. Cook until oil separates and paste looks grainy. You can do this while your base is roasting in the oven.
- Combine: Add roasted blend, reduce to medium-low. It will splash, so stir occasionally(I like to turn off the heat before adding my roasted blend, then stir it well, put the lid back on, before turning on the heat. This prevents the pepper from splashing on me). Once it stops splashing, increase heat and stir until thick and oil rises to the top. Don’t let it burn.
- Cool & Store: Let base cool, portion into bowls, and freeze.
Notes
- This recipe made 6 bowls. Each bowl cooks 4 cups of rice.
- Total calories for the entire pot: 6628 calories (4474 from oil).
- Each bowl = 1105 calories.
- Watch carefully while cooking; this base can go from perfect red to burnt black quickly!
Do you meal prep your jollof rice base or cook the jollof rice from scratch each time? Try this roasted method and let me know in the comments how it worked for you!
Will sure try this!
Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Will sure try this!