Efo yanrin is wild lettuce in English, a slightly bitter leaf that's a good source of calcium, and it sits alongside efo shoko, efo tete, ugu and bitter leaf among the Nigerian vegetables worth cooking every day. Most of them go into soups and stews, but plenty also work in rice, pasta, eggs and smoothies.
Eating more of them is worth the effort. The World Health Organization says everyone over the age of ten should aim for at least 400 grams of fruit and vegetables a day, and our edikang ikong uses a full kilo of ugu and half a kilo of waterleaf, so one pot goes a long way. Below are 14 vegetables to use in your daily meals, what each one is, and the easiest ways to get it onto the plate, with AFN recipes for the classic soups.
What is efo yanrin in English?
Efo yanrin is wild lettuce, also called African lettuce, and its botanical name is Launaea taraxacifolia. You'll sometimes see it called dandelion greens, but dandelion is a different plant. According to PROTA, the plant resources database for tropical Africa, it's mostly gathered from the wild, though Nigerian growers have domesticated it, and cultivated leaves are more tender and less bitter than wild ones. Young leaves are best, as older stem leaves turn very bitter.
Yoruba cooks use it in a soup simply called efo yanrin, often cooked with other greens such as waterleaf. The leaves can also be eaten fresh, sliced into a salad, or cooked into sauces.
Efo yanrin health benefits: what the evidence says
Efo yanrin is a good source of calcium. PROTA gives 326 mg of calcium per 100 g of leaves, alongside 3.2 g of protein and 2 g of fibre, for about 44 kcal.
Beyond nutrition, the evidence is thin. The plant has traditional uses across West Africa, including as a fever remedy in Benin, and animal tests in Ghana found it lowered cholesterol. That's interesting, but animal tests aren't proof that it does the same in people, so treat efo yanrin as good food rather than medicine. We haven't found good evidence for claims that it treats heart disease, diabetes or any other condition.
Efo shoko vs efo tete: what's the difference?
They look alike in the market and both go into efo riro, but they're different plants. Efo shoko is Lagos spinach, Celosia argentea, and PROTA calls it one of the leading leaf vegetables in south-western Nigeria. Its Yoruba name, soko yòkòtò, means "make husbands fat and happy", according to PROTA. The leaves are tender, mild and break down quickly, so they need only brief cooking.
Efo tete is African spinach, a type of amaranth; Eat With Afia gives its botanical name as Amaranthus hybridus. Both plants belong to the same wider amaranth family, which is part of why they're so often confused. Nutritionally, both are good sources of iron and calcium: PROTA gives amaranth leaves 410 mg of calcium, 8.9 mg of iron and 64 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, and Lagos spinach 260 mg of calcium and 7.8 mg of iron. Amounts vary a lot with the age of the plant and where it's grown.
14 Nigerian vegetables to use in your daily meals
1. Efo yanrin (wild lettuce)
Cook it in soups with waterleaf, slice young leaves into a salad, or add a handful to a sauce near the end of cooking.
2. Cabbage
Green, red or purple, cabbage is the easiest vegetable here to eat raw. Slice it into salads, roast or steam it, or stir shredded cabbage into stew, spaghetti or rice towards the end of cooking.
3. Bitter leaf
Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina) is exactly what the name says. Washing it over and over, and boiling it if you like, takes away most of the bitterness. It's the leaf in ofe onugbu, and some cooks use it in egusi soup in place of ugu, adding the washed leaves when the soup is almost done and cooking for two to three minutes.
4. Efo tete (African spinach)
Plentiful in the rainy season and scarce in the dry season. Beyond efo riro, add a few leaves to smoothies, rice or pasta, fold them into an omelette, or scatter them over a pizza.
5. Efo shoko (Lagos spinach)
Blanch it before cooking to keep the green colour. Slice it into yam pottage, stew, stir-fries and soups, or sauté it with a little oil, onion and salt to serve with rice.
6. Waterleaf
Waterleaf (Talinum triangulare) is abundant in the rainy season and grows fast. It's one of the two leaves in edikang ikong and afang soup, and it also goes into egusi soup and a quick stew with chicken, tomatoes and onions.
7. Efo igbo (garden egg leaves)
Called akwukwo anyara in Igbo. Use it in abacha and ugba or other local dishes, or add it to okra soup, vegetable soup or efo riro. Our guide to garden egg leaves has more.
8. Amunututu (Malabar spinach)
A soft leaf that grows well in rich, moist soil. It holds so much water that amunututu soup is cooked without adding any. It also mixes well with bitter leaf and uziza.
9. Nchanwu (scent leaf)
Scent leaf, efirin in Yoruba, is African basil. Use it fresh or dried in black soup, pepper soup, jollof rice, pasta and yam pottage. Our scent leaf guide goes deeper.
10. Afang leaf (okazi)
Afang (Gnetum africanum) is known as okazi to the Igbo. It can be harvested all year, so it's one of the easiest leaves on this list to find. Use it in afang soup with waterleaf, in egusi or okra soup, or with oha leaf.
11. Ugu (fluted pumpkin leaf)
One of the most widely used greens in Nigeria. Stir it into noodles or pasta, sauté it to serve with jollof or white rice, add it to abacha, yam porridge or beans porridge, or use it in edikang ikong, egusi, okra and ogbono soup. Read more in our piece on pumpkin leaves.
12. Oha (ora) leaf
The young leaves of a tree, Pterocarpus mildbraedii, prized by the Igbo. According to PROTA, new leaves flush in the dry season, when other greens are scarce. Its main use is oha soup, thickened with cocoyam, and it pairs well with afang leaf or uziza. Some people also steep four to seven leaves in hot water as a tea.
13. Ewedu (jute leaves)
Ewedu (Corchorus olitorius) is cooked and beaten until smooth and slippery, and it's rarely eaten alone: it goes with amala and often with gbegiri or stew. You can also blend it with water and a little honey into a smoothie. See our guide to jute leaves.
14. Uziza leaf
A dark green leaf with a peppery bite. It goes into okra, egusi, oha and nsala soups and pepper soup, and you can scatter it over roasted yam. Uziza seeds are a separate seasoning in their own right.
Easy ways to eat more vegetables every day
You don't need a separate vegetable dish to eat more greens. A handful of ugu, shoko or tete stirred into noodles, fried rice or yam pottage in the last few minutes is enough, and the same soft leaves fold into an omelette at breakfast or disappear into a fruit smoothie. When there's soup on the fire, mix your leaves as the soups above do, pairing oha with afang, ugu with waterleaf, or amunututu with bitter leaf and uziza.
AFN recipes for Nigerian vegetables
Efo riro
The Yoruba stirred-greens stew, traditionally made with efo shoko or efo tete; our version uses spinach. Get the efo riro recipe.
Edikang ikong (vegetable soup)
The Efik and Ibibio vegetable soup built on a generous amount of ugu and waterleaf. Get the edikang ikong (vegetable soup) recipe.
Afang soup
Afang and waterleaf with assorted meat, fish and periwinkle. Get the afang soup recipe.
Bitter leaf soup (ofe onugbu)
Washed bitter leaf in a cocoyam-thickened soup, seasoned with ogiri Igbo. Get the bitter leaf soup (ofe onugbu) recipe.
Oha soup
Oha leaves, cocoyam and uziza. Get the oha soup recipe.
Ewedu soup
Jute leaves cooked with potash and crayfish until smooth. Get the ewedu soup recipe.
Uziza egusi soup
Egusi soup with uziza leaves for a peppery lift. Get the uziza egusi soup recipe.
Nigerian vegetable questions
What is efo yanrin called in English?
Wild lettuce, or African lettuce. Its botanical name is Launaea taraxacifolia.
Are efo shoko and efo tete the same?
No. Efo shoko is Lagos spinach (Celosia argentea) and efo tete is African spinach, an amaranth. Both work in efo riro.
What are the benefits of efo shoko?
It's a good source of calcium and iron, and PROTA notes young leaves are especially rich in iron and vitamins A and C.
What are the benefits of efo tete?
Like other amaranth leaves, it's a good source of calcium, iron and vitamin C. PROTA gives amaranth leaves 410 mg of calcium, 8.9 mg of iron and 64 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, though amounts vary with the age of the plant and where it's grown.
Which Nigerian vegetable is easiest to find abroad?
Spinach stands in for efo shoko and efo tete in efo riro, and cabbage is sold everywhere. For ugu, bitter leaf and the rest, try an African grocer.
You left out ugwu sha! Finding fresh fluted pumpkin leaves around Peckham market is almost impossible these days, we mostly have to settle for the frozen chopped ones that lose all the texture. Still, bitterleaf and ewedu made the cut so I cant complain too much o.
Baie good points on the health benefits but you missed marog. My ouma used to pick wild amaranth straight from the garden and steam it down with tomatoes and onions to serve alongside pap and braaivleis. Simple food but so lekker.