Eba, Akple and Waakye: How Ghanaian Families Are Keeping Christmas Food Traditions Alive Amid Rising Costs

As Christmas approaches, Ghanaian families are preparing to celebrate the festive season with meals that bring them together and keep cherished food traditions alive—even as the cost of food and festive preparations weighs on household budgets.

For many households, Christmas is not just about the celebrations but also the special dishes that have become part of their family traditions. Yet, with food prices often a concern, some families are finding ways to maintain their favourite meals without giving up what makes the season special, according to a Christmas series by Hannah Odame and Benjamin Coffie exploring the foods families cannot do without during the festive season .

Eba: Cheap and Unshakeable

Daniel Thompson said his family would continue preparing eba, describing it as an affordable meal. He said the family might switch from yellow gari to white gari to manage costs, but eba would remain part of their Christmas menu.

“We will not stop eating eba because eba is cheap in Ghana. I’ll just change the yellow gari to white gari but I’ll never stop,” he said .

Eba—a staple made from gari (cassava granules) and hot water—is one of Ghana’s most budget-friendly dishes, typically served with soup or stew. Yellow gari, often fortified with palm oil, commands a slightly higher price than white gari, making the switch a practical adjustment for families watching their spending.

Akple: A Tradition Rooted in Carbohydrates

For Gordon Amoah, akple remains an important part of his family’s Christmas tradition. He said the family traditionally prepares the meal during the festive season and intends to maintain the practice this year.

“Traditionally, my family loves to prepare akple during Christmas and that is our main food. Akple is so important to my family in such a way that we believe that you find so much carbohydrates in akple,” he said .

Akple is a smooth, thick staple made from corn dough, similar to banku but typically softer, and is a favourite in Ghana’s Volta and coastal regions. It is commonly eaten with okro soup, groundnut soup, or fried fish.

Fried Rice and Salad: The Celebration Plate

Christiana Ekpe, on the other hand, said fried rice, chicken, and salad were the special meals her family looked forward to preparing during the festive season. She described the combination as an important part of their celebrations, making Christmas more memorable .

Fried rice with chicken and salad has become a near-universal Ghanaian Christmas dish, particularly in urban households. The meal’s popularity has made it a fixture of festive gatherings, church events, and family reunions.

Waakye: A Childhood Memory Recreated

Grace Acheampong also shared her family’s tradition of preparing waakye with chicken, grilled fish, onion, salad, macaroni, and gari every Christmas. She said the tradition dates back to her childhood, making the meal particularly special to the family.

“We prepare that food because we enjoy it when I was a child,” she said .

Waakye—rice and beans cooked together with millet leaves, which give it a distinctive reddish-brown colour—is one of Ghana’s most beloved dishes. The Christmas version, often served with an elaborate spread of proteins and sides, transforms the everyday street food into a festive centrepiece.

Food as Memory and Identity

The accounts highlight how Christmas meals go beyond satisfying hunger. Family traditions, affordability, and childhood memories shape what households choose to prepare during the festive season. For some families, the priority is keeping costs manageable without abandoning the dishes that define the season. For others, the Christmas table is an occasion to recreate the flavours of their childhood and pass them on to the next generation.

As food prices remain a concern for many Ghanaian households—with inflation having eased significantly but food costs still a live issue—the Christmas menu becomes a small act of both economy and devotion: a way to celebrate abundantly without spending beyond one’s means, and to keep faith with the traditions that make the season feel like home.