Creamy Fonio Porridge

Fonio porridge (also known as acha porridge) – This is a creamy, warm and grounding porridge, dressed in grilled plums and kissed with a swirl of cream. Made from the African indigenous grain Fonio; It carries a nutty flavour and gluten-free porridge profile. Are you curious enough to try it? 

I had read about this ancient grain – this gluten-free, nutritious, sand-like cereal grown in West Africa. I had seen pictures, watched videos and even dreamed up recipes. But I had never touched it, never cooked it and never shared in its story with my own hands.

So, when my friend from Living The Ancestral Way told me she’d be bringing me a bag of fonio from Ghana, my heart leapt. I did a little victory dance. 

She brought two bags, in fact. One for m and one for Jane who couldn’t be there to collect it herself. So Jane sent someone to pick it up and ship it to Cape Town so she too could cook this grain, hold this gift, taste this heritage.

Ah, food! It speaks a language the heart understands. A language without borders, that binds cultures, heals generations and tells forgotten stories…If we only take the time to listen, to explore, to appreciate.

What is Fonio?

If you’ve never heard of fonio, I understand. It’s one of those quiet foods. It’s not trending on TikTok but ancient and rooted. 

Fonio (also known as acha) is a tiny, gluten-free grain grown across West Africa in countries like Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. It’s one of the oldest cultivated grains in the world; a super grain that has fed families for generations. 

At first glance, it looks like couscous; soft, sand-like, unassuming. But when cooked fonio grain, like quinoa, fluffs up like magic. It has a creamy texture, a nutty flavour that’s quick to cook. 

Is Fonio good for you?

Fonio is a super grain not just comforting It’s deeply nutritious. Fonio is packed with iron, B vitamins, fibre, zinc, and selenium. It contains methionine and cysteine, essential amino acids often missing in other grains. 

It’s naturally gluten-free, low in fat, gentle on the gut, and remarkably easy to digest. A quiet healer in a world full of noisy foods.

Yet…many of us have never had of Fonio, I hadn’t either until 2012.
Before then, fonio wasn’t on my radar. It wasn’t lining store shelves or showing up in glossy recipe spreads.
But when I first encountered it, something shifted. It felt like I had found a missing piece – something ancient, humble and powerful that had been quietly feeding African communities for generations.

How to Make Fonio Porridge (aka Acha Porridge)

Making fonio breakfast porridge feels less like following a recipe and more like stepping into a grounding act, the kind you return to on slow mornings when the world still feels gentle.

This African indigenous grain doesn’t ask much of you just a little attention and a little patience. In return, it gives you a bowl full of comfort and calm.

To begin, take a scoop of fonio, rinse it under cold water, and watch the tiny grains swirl like golden specks in a stream. You only need a small amount; it’s a grain that rises, expands, and multiplies, like it’s eager to give more than it takes.

Into a saucepan it goes, along with a mix of water and milk of your choice like almond milk or coconut milk for extra creaminess, though the milk is optional.

Then the flavours: A dusting of cinnamon, a little maple syrup, and a pinch of salt to round it out.

Set it on the stove and bring it to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat low. As it cooks, the fonio begins to soak up the liquid, thickening into a luscious porridge – smooth, fragrant, and full of warmth.

While the porridge works its magic, grill a few ripe plums in coconut oil until they soften and caramelise, their edges golden and glossy.

Then comes the best part – spoon the creamy fonio porridge into a bowl, top it with the warm plums or fruit of your choice, drizzle cream and what ever feels good in the moment like maple syrup,  toasted nuts, sunflower seeds, or coconut flakes.

There’s no pressure and n need to measure every detail. Just enjoy the process of preparing a nourishing bowl that feels both ancient and new; a dish that speaks in softness and satisfies deeply.

Final Thoughts on Fonio

Sometimes we think the big things change us. A move or a grand achievement.
I’ve come to realise that it’s the smallest things that shift something in us.
A grain, no bigger than a grain of sand carried across countries, handed from friend to friend, brought me a transformation and connection. It was my friend who carried Fonio with love. It was a lesson in shared humanity. We all have something to offer and we all have something to learn. If we let food teach us, it will.