Kuli-kuli
Crunchy West African snack made from pressed groundnut paste
Kuli-kuli is a crisp West African snack prepared from roasted, defatted peanut mash that is seasoned and fried. Originating in Nigeria, it is popular across several neighboring nations and enjoyed throughout the day on its own or alongside grain porridges.
- Created originally by the Nupe people of North Central Nigeria
- Formed from the defatted peanut residue left after pressing peanut oil
- Commonly crushed into seasoning blends for suya and kilishi skewers
- Traditionally produced and sold by women as an independent source of income
What is Kuli-kuli?
Kuli-kuli is a firm, crunchy snack made chiefly from groundnuts. It is a secondary product formed during the extraction of liquid peanut oil from raw nuts. Once pressed, the remaining dense nut paste is seasoned with salt, spices, and sometimes pepper or a little sugar, then shaped into solid cylinders or round spheres before cooking. The finished bites are dry, brittle, and deeply savoury, carrying a concentrated roasted nut taste with gentle heat from the added seasonings.
Where does Kuli-kuli come from?
This food traces back to the Nupe people of North Central Nigeria. Over time, it spread widely beyond its homeland, becoming an everyday staple across Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, and northern Cameroon, while also gaining broader international recognition.
How is Kuli-kuli made?
Producers start by roasting groundnuts and pounding them into a smooth purée known as labu. The maker mixes seasonings like salt, spices, pepper, and occasionally sugar into the purée. Water is used to wash away excess oil from the mash. Adding potash helps lift the boiling temperature of the oil, driving out additional fat as the mixture cooks. The dense paste is molded by hand into shapes such as balls or cylinders and dropped into hot oil. As the pieces fry, they set into firm, hard morsels, which are drained and cooled completely before serving.
How and when is Kuli-kuli eaten?
Served at room temperature, kuli-kuli keeps well over extended periods. Commuters frequently buy it as a snack at taxi stations, and parents often offer it to children. It can be eaten dry by hand, or paired with bowls of garri soaked in chilled water and sugar. Diners also crumble or dip it into hot cereal porridges such as akamu, Hausa koko, or fura.
Kinds of Kuli-kuli
Recipes and profiles vary by district. In northern Ghana, notably among the Dagbon community and across Zongo neighborhoods, cooks produce local versions from groundnut residue after squeezing out the oil. Shapes differ from tiny balls to long fingers depending on the cook. In addition to being eaten whole, dried pieces are frequently crushed into a fine powder to season salads or coat regional grilled meats like suya and kilishi.
What Kuli-kuli means
The craft of turning peanuts into oil and kuli-kuli is traditionally regarded as women's work. Women oversee the entire chain: cultivating the crop, pressing the oil, frying the crunchy paste, and carrying the finished food to local markets. Income generated from these sales belongs directly to the woman to manage as personal funds, whereas men tend to sell raw unshelled nuts in wholesale bulk.
Questions people ask about Kuli-kuli
What is kuli-kuli made of?
It is made from roasted groundnuts that have been ground into paste and stripped of excess oil. The remaining nut meal is mixed with salt, spices, and occasionally pepper or sugar before being shaped and fried.
Where does kuli-kuli come from?
Kuli-kuli originated with the Nupe people of North Central Nigeria. Today it is widely made and eaten across Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, and northern Cameroon.
How is kuli-kuli eaten?
It can be eaten straight as a crunchy snack, soaked with cassava flakes in sweetened water, or served alongside warm porridges like akamu and Hausa koko. It is also crushed to season salads and grilled meats.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Kuli-kuli", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryThali rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes, and it is not dietary or allergy advice: recipes differ from cook to cook. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.
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