Sweet Vanilla Fonio

The delicious sweet vanilla fonio is somewhat reminiscent of porridge and is suitable as breakfast, a snack, or a light dinner. The recipe comes from our gebana colleague Martin, who brought it from his homeland Benin.

05/03/2026

Ingredients

Ingredients for 4 portions

120 g Fonio

300 ml Water

1 Vanilla pod, seeds and pod

50 g Sugar

100 ml Milk

Fruit and nuts according to season and preference

Preparation

Pour water over the fonio. Stir with a tablespoon or ladle so that each fonio grain is moistened with water.

Heat the mixture together with the vanilla. Simmer over low to medium heat for 10–15 minutes until the mixture thickens and the originally added water has almost disappeared.

Remove the vanilla pod. Add sugar and milk and cook for another approx. 5–10 min. Add more milk or water if needed. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes to allow the steam to escape.

The fonio is ready and can be served as desired with bread, cookies, or nuts.