Burundian Cuisine

Burundian cuisine is the food of the Great Lakes highlands, shaped by the agricultural traditions of the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa peoples who have inhabited the green, hilly landscape for centuries. Beans are the cornerstone of Burundian eating, cultivated in virtually every family plot and consumed at nearly every meal. Bananas (both cooking and eating varieties), sweet potatoes, cassava, and sorghum complete the staple crops that have sustained one of Africa's most densely populated countries.

Belgian colonial rule from 1916 to 1962 introduced some European foods but left traditional cooking largely intact. Rwandan, Congolese, and Tanzanian cuisines share many ingredients and preparations with Burundi.

The country's tragic history of ethnic conflict and poverty has meant that cuisine has remained close to its subsistence roots, though this has also preserved traditional cooking knowledge that might otherwise have been lost to modernization. Red kidney beans (the national staple), green bananas/plantains, palm oil, cassava, and sweet potatoes.