Trust me when I say you need this homemade suya spice recipe in your life! Use it to make Beef Suya, Epic Chicken Wings, or Cameroonian Soya Without Skewers.

What Is Suya?

Suya or soya is the quintessential West African street food that is made up of well-spiced grilled pieces of meat that are mostly placed on a skewer.

In Nigeria, it is called suya, in Cameroon, it is called soya, in Ghana, it is called, “chinchinga”.

In French it is called, “les brochettes”. It is also known as “beef kebab” or “kabob”. It is one of my guilty pleasures – so tasty and a little addicting.

Street Food At Home

The Hausa men who usually sell suya on the streets have had a fair share of my money. I have bought a lot of suya in my lifetime.

When I moved to the United States, I had to find a way of making my eat-suya dreams a reality. So I started experimenting with making soya at home. Sometimes, I would marinate the meat with freshly ground spices and you can see how I do that in this video.

At other times, I would attempt to mimic the signature suya spice (or soya pepper) that the Hausa men who sell the BBQ meat always use.

In the beginning, I was mostly disappointed with my results because the spice was not just suya-ish as I expected.

But I’m not one to give up especially when that concerns trying a new recipe. So I kept testing and tweaking until finally, I have the perfect suya spice recipe. Somebody praise the Lord!

Ingredients For Homemade Suya Spice

The three main ingredients needed for Homemade Suya Spice are:

1. Roasted peanut powder: Peanuts are also known as groundnuts in Central and West Africa.
2. Ginger powder: Ginger powder adds a unique flavor
3. Hot pepper powder: Cayenne pepper powder would work here

Other ingredients for Suya Spice Include:

• Salt
• Maggi (or bouillon powder) will give you a great suya spice
• White or black pepper
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Paprika, for some color. Smoked paprika will add smokiness

Homemade Suya Spice Is Better

And let me tell you, this suya spice is soooo TASTY. When using it, you do not need to add anything to your meat.

I compared it with packaged suya spice I bought from the African store and it is farrrrr better. It is fresh and full of flavour while the store-bought version is so flat and smells a little moldy. So homemade suya spice over store-bought any day!

You could use this suya spice to marinate meat, fish, or chicken. It is a must-have for your kitchen shelf! If you do not want it hot, omit the hot pepper.

I currently have two versions at home – the one with hot pepper and the one without. The one without is for my kids and the one with the heat is for the Mr. N and I.

Watch The Video

I made a video in which I demonstrate how you can make your own homemade suya at home and you know, be your own spice guru!

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Watch how to make homemade suya spice:

More African Recipes To Try

• Nigerian Beef Stew
• Vitumbua – East African Coconut Rice Pancakes
• African Chicken Stew
• African Okra Soup
• How To Make Puff Puff
• Cameroonian Pepper Soup

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