Ghana's culinary identity is often reduced to jollof rice — usually in the context of the good-natured but very real rivalry with Nigeria over whose is better. That framing skips almost everything interesting about Ghanaian food, which varies sharply by ethnic region: what's a staple in Accra barely resembles the everyday cooking of the Ashanti heartland or the far north.
As Ghana's largest ethnic group, Akan cooking anchors what most people picture as classic Ghanaian food: fufu (pounded cassava and plantain) served with light soup or a rich groundnut (peanut) soup, banku (fermented corn and cassava dough) with okra stew or grilled tilapia, and kenkey in its Fante form. Palm nut soup, made from the pulp of palm fruit rather than palm oil, is another Akan staple that's distinct from soups elsewhere in West Africa.
Ewe cooking, from Ghana's Volta Region near the Togo border, centers on akple — a smooth corn-dough swallow — usually paired with okra soup (fetri detsi) or a light, tomato-forward soup built around fish. Freshwater fish from the Volta River and coastal seafood both feature heavily, and abolo, a lightly sweet fermented corn bread, is a distinctly Ewe contribution to Ghana's bread traditions.
Ga cuisine gave Ghana one of its most iconic pairings: kenkey (fermented corn dough, wrapped and steamed in corn husks) served with fried fish and shito, a fiery black pepper sauce made from dried fish, ginger and chili. It's street food, home food, and arguably Accra's signature dish all at once.
Northern Ghanaian food, like northern Nigerian food, reflects a drier savanna climate — grains take over from tubers. Tuo zaafi (often shortened to "TZ"), a smooth corn or millet swallow, is the staple, typically served with ayoyo (jute leaf) soup or a kuka-style baobab leaf soup. Guinea fowl, more common here than further south, often replaces chicken in northern stews.