The relationship between land utilization and food security in Nigeria is increasingly important as the country transitions to more sustainable energy sources. As the demand for land grows, driven by both agricultural and energy needs, the challenge of balancing food production with renewable energy infrastructure development becomes critical. This research explores the macroeconomic impact of the energy transition on Nigerian food security and supply from 2000 to 2021, using data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and FAOSTAT. The dependent variables are land utilization (LdU), gross domestic product (GDP), energy transition (EgT), agricultural value added (AVA), and urbanization (Urb), while the independent variable is food supply (FSS). Descriptive statistics, unit root, correlation test, FMOLS, and Granger causality were employed to derive the research verdicts and evaluate the study’s objectives. The unit root of stationarity utilizing both ADF and PP shows that all the variables were of the first difference order integration I(1). The FMOLS estimated results indicate that LdU (− 1439.20), GDP (− 33.11), AVA (6.87), and Urb (85.71) were statistically significant at a 1% level influencing food security and supply. On the other hand, food security and supply are only slightly impacted by the energy transition. The Granger causality test demonstrates that some of the variables are subject to short-run causality. Therefore, this research suggests policies to minimize land degradation and integrate food security, energy transition, and sustainable agriculture into national policies.