Cocoyam (Taro) substitute

Best substitute

Achi or Ofor Powder

Use about 1 tablespoon achi or ofor powder for every 1 medium cocoyam corm

Best for bitter leaf soup (ofe onugbu)

Close match

It depends which job the cocoyam is doing. If it is a starch in the pot or on the plate, a waxy potato or fresh cassava swaps in at 1:1 by weight, and eddoe or malanga is near identical. If it is being boiled and pounded to thicken an Igbo soup such as ofe onugbu, use achi or ofor powder instead at about one tablespoon per medium corm, or plain instant potato flakes at two to three tablespoons per pot as a rougher fix.

Other cocoyam (taro) substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Cocoyam Flour (Ede Flour)
Close match
Use about 1 ½ tablespoons cocoyam flour for every 1 medium corm
Dried, milled cocoyam sold in African grocers, the same ingredient with the boiling and pounding already done.
What changes
Best for
bitter leaf soup, oha soup, thickening any Nigerian soup
The most faithful shortcut, because it is literally the same plant and gives the same flavour and body. It skips the forty minutes of boiling and the pounding, which is the whole point. Mix it into a little warm water first to a smooth slurry and add it in a stream; dry powder onto hot soup will seize into lumps you cannot break up later.
3Waxy Potato (Yukon Gold)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
An ordinary waxy or all-purpose potato, the most available substitute anywhere.
What changes
Best for
boiled starchy sides, stews and soups with chunks of root, porridge, curries
Fine as the starch in a dish and imperfect as a texture match. Cocoyam is denser with a slightly slippery, almost gluey quality on the tongue; potato is drier and fluffier and starts breaking down sooner, so add it later to a stew. Flavour is the bigger gap, since cocoyam is nuttier and sweeter than potato in a way you will notice on a plainly boiled plate but not inside a heavily spiced stew.
4Fresh Cassava (Yuca)
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
The long brown-skinned tropical root sold as cassava, yuca or manioc, usually stocked in the same shops and freezers as cocoyam.
What changes
Best for
stews, boiled sides, pepper soup, fried chunks
Similarly dense and it holds its shape as well as cocoyam does, so a stew looks and behaves right. Cassava is waxier and more distinctly chewy, with none of cocoyam's slipperiness, and it has a tough central fibre to cut out. Like cocoyam it must be fully cooked, never eaten raw. Frozen cassava chunks are an easy, reliable version of this swap.
5Eddoe or Malanga (Yautia)
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Smaller close relatives of taro, sold in Caribbean, Latin and Asian grocers as eddoe, malanga or yautia.
What changes
Best for
any cocoyam use, including thickening soup, boiled sides, stews
Effectively the same ingredient in a different size, and in many shops the labelling is used interchangeably. Eddoes are smaller and firmer with slightly more of a mucilaginous quality; malanga is a touch nuttier and drier. Either will boil and pound into a soup thickener exactly the way cocoyam does, which no other substitute on this list can claim. Both also need thorough cooking.
6Plain Instant Potato Flakes
Different taste
Use 2 to 3 tablespoons for every medium pot of soup
Dried potato flakes used purely as an emergency smooth thickener for an Igbo soup.
What changes
Best for
emergency thickening of bitter leaf or oha soup, rescuing a soup that came out thin
This is the least-bad option rather than a good one. The flakes dissolve smoothly and give a body genuinely close to pounded cocoyam, which is why it works at all. What gives it away is a mealy, faintly buttery-dairy flavour, and many brands are seasoned with milk solids and salt, so buy the plainest one you can find. Start with one tablespoon whisked into hot stock and build up; it thickens fast and turns pasty if you overshoot.

What is Cocoyam (Taro)?

Cocoyam (Taro) is A starchy tropical corm with hairy brown skin and dense white flesh flecked with purple, sold as cocoyam, taro, taro root, ede, eddoe or dasheen, and always eaten cooked.

Cooking tips

Raw cocoyam contains calcium oxalate crystals, which is why handling it peeled and raw makes your hands itch and burn. Peel it under running water or wear gloves, and always cook it right through, which neutralises the irritation. This is normal for the vegetable, not a sign it has gone bad.
To use cocoyam as a soup thickener, boil the unpeeled corms until a knife slides in easily, about thirty to forty-five minutes, then peel and pound or blend them with a splash of the hot soup stock into a smooth lump-free paste before adding it to the pot. Chunks dropped in whole will never disperse.
Add the paste in small lumps and let each one dissolve before adding the next, stirring between. Adding all of it at once gives you a soup with pale dumplings in it rather than a thickened soup.
Cocoyam and taro are the same thing. So are ede, dasheen and, near enough, eddoe. If a recipe uses one word and your shop uses another, buy it anyway.
Cocoyam does not keep like a potato. Store the corms somewhere cool, dry and dark and use them within a week or two; soft spots, a musty smell or greying flesh mean it is finished.
Frozen peeled cocoyam or taro chunks are widely stocked and save the peeling and the itching entirely. They boil from frozen in about the same time and are worth choosing over tired fresh corms.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave cocoyam out?

It depends on the job. As a starch in a stew or on the plate, yes, and rice or another root fills the gap. As the thickener in a soup like ofe onugbu, no: the soup will stay thin and watery and taste unbalanced, because the cocoyam is providing the body that carries the palm oil and the bitterness. Use achi, ofor or cocoyam flour instead.

Is cocoyam the same as taro?

Yes. Cocoyam is the West African name and taro is the more common international one, and ede, dasheen, eddoe and malanga all refer to the same plant or very close relatives. Recipes use the words interchangeably. It is not the same as cassava, sweet potato or true yam, all of which are different plants with different textures.

Why does peeling cocoyam make my hands itch?

Because of needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals in the raw flesh, which irritate skin mechanically. It is harmless but genuinely unpleasant and can last an hour. Peel under running water, wear gloves, or boil the corms whole in their skins first and slip the skins off after, which is easier and avoids the problem altogether.

Can I use potato instead of cocoyam in bitter leaf soup?

Boiled and mashed potato will thicken the soup and it is a common improvisation, but it brings a mealy potato flavour and a lighter body than pounded cocoyam. Instant potato flakes actually work better for this than fresh potato, because they dissolve completely instead of leaving pale specks. If you can get achi or ofor powder, use that instead; it is closer and easier.

How much cocoyam do I need to thicken a pot of soup?

As a starting point, four to six medium corms for a medium pot serving four to six people. It thickens further as the soup sits and considerably in the fridge, so aim for a soup that looks slightly looser than you want at the table. If you are using achi or cocoyam flour instead, start with two tablespoons and add more once it has simmered a few minutes.

Related substitutes

More vegetables & aromatics substitutes

Cocoyam (Taro) substitute

Other cocoyam (taro) substitutes

2Cocoyam Flour (Ede Flour)

3Waxy Potato (Yukon Gold)

4Fresh Cassava (Yuca)

5Eddoe or Malanga (Yautia)

6Plain Instant Potato Flakes