Rwandan Food and Drink
Dishes to try
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Isombe | Pounded cassava leaves stewed slowly, often with aubergine, onions and groundnut paste |
| Ibitoke | Cooking plantains, boiled, stewed or fried |
| Ubugali | A stiff porridge of cassava or maize flour, eaten with stews |
| Ibishyimbo | Beans, the everyday protein, often cooked with plantain or sweet potato |
| Brochettes | Grilled skewers of goat, beef or fish, the classic evening meal with chips or plantain |
| Isambaza | Small sardine-like fish from Lake Kivu, fried whole |
| Tilapia | Whole grilled lake fish |
| Akabanga | A fiery chilli oil served in small bottles at the table |
Source: FAO: New Rwandan gastronomy book launched; Visit Rwanda: Rwanda destination guide4,5
At lunchtime many restaurants serve a buffet: rice, beans, plantains, potatoes, cassava, greens and a meat or fish stew on one plate, for a fixed price.
Ingredients and heritage
The FAO and the Rwanda Arts Initiative published Uruhimbi: Rwanda Gastronomy and Culinary Art in 2024, with recipes from four Rwandan chefs built on traditional ingredients such as sorghum, taro, cowpea, nightshade, spider plant, impombo (finger roots) and purple yam. The book won a Gourmand award in 2026.4,6
Milk has a special place in Rwandan culture, and fermented milk, ikivuguto, is sold in milk bars. Banana beer, urwagwa, and sorghum beer, ikigage, are the traditional drinks shared at celebrations.
Coffee and tea
Rwanda exported 23,860 tonnes of green coffee in 2025, 39% more than in 2024, at an average USD 6.2 per kg. Farmers earned an average RWF 900 per kg of coffee cherries, above the minimum farm-gate price of RWF 600. NAEB aims for 32,000 tonnes and USD 192 million by 2029.1
Tea earned USD 114.8 million in 2023/24 from 38,467.7 tonnes, and about 50,000 tea farmers work in 23 co-operatives. Visitors can join coffee master classes in Kigali, coffee tours on Lake Kivu and tea picking at estates near Nyungwe.2,5
Eating out in Kigali
Kigali has restaurants for most cuisines: Rwandan and African fusion, French and Belgian, Italian, Indian, Ethiopian, Japanese and Nigerian, as well as steakhouses and coffee shops. Card payments are accepted in shopping malls and restaurants.5
Plastic bags and single-use plastics are banned, so take-away food comes in paper or reusable packaging.5
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Rwanda’s staple foods?
Beans, bananas and plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, sorghum and greens.
What is a Rwandan lunch buffet?
Rice, beans, plantains, potatoes, cassava, greens and a meat or fish stew on one plate, for a fixed price.
What are the traditional drinks?
Banana beer, urwagwa, and sorghum beer, ikigage, shared at celebrations. Fermented milk, ikivuguto, is sold in milk bars.
How much coffee does Rwanda export?
23,860 tonnes of green coffee in 2025, a record USD 148.6 million.
The dishes and drinks
Isombe
Cassava leaves stewed with peanut butter, eaten with ubugali or rice.
Read more
Ubugali
A firm dough of cassava or maize flour, eaten with beans, stews and isombe.
Read more
Ibitoki
Green cooking bananas, boiled or steamed and served with a sauce.
250–400 kg Cooking bananas eaten per person a year in Rwanda and Burundi
Read more
Ibishyimbo
The main staple: 32% of calories and 65% of protein in Rwandan homes.
164 g Beans eaten per person a day, the highest in the world
Read more
Brochettes
Grilled skewers of goat or beef, served with chips, salad or green bananas.
Read more
Isambaza
Small Lake Kivu sardines, fried and eaten whole.
1959 Year the sardine was introduced to Lake Kivu
Read more
Ikivuguto
Thick fermented milk, made at home and by dairy cooperatives.
Read more
Igikoma
A breakfast porridge of millet, sorghum, maize or cassava flour.
Read more
Urwagwa
Banana beer, fermented with roasted sorghum for about a day.
Read more
Ikigage
Sorghum beer, the drink of weddings and cultural ceremonies.
Read more
Mandazi
Fried bread from the Swahili coast, eaten with tea.
Read more
Sources
- National Agricultural Export Development Board: Rwanda coffee export revenues hit record USD 150m in 2025
- National Agricultural Export Development Board: NAEB aims to plant 40 million tea seedlings
- National Agricultural Export Development Board: Newsletter, July–September 2026 (PDF)
- FAO: New Rwandan gastronomy book launched
- Visit Rwanda: Rwanda destination guide (PDF)
- FAO: FAO and Rwanda Arts Initiative honoured at the Gourmand Awards
Facts checked 9 November 2026. Prepared by InvestRwanda.com for general information.
