Objective A ‘lite’ version of the EQ-5D-5L valuation protocol, which requires a smaller sample by collecting more data from each participant, was proposed and used to develop an EQ-5D-5L value set for Uganda. Methods Adult respondents from the general Ugandan population were quota sampled based on age and sex. Eligible participants were asked to complete 20 composite time trade-off tasks in the tablet-assisted personal interviews using the offline EuroQol Portable Valuation Technology software under routine quality control. No discrete choice experiment task was administered. The composite time trade-off data were modelled using four additive and two multiplicative regression models. Model performance was evaluated based on face validity, prediction accuracy in cross-validation and in predicting mild health states. The final value set was generated using the best-performing model. Results A representative sample (N = 545) participated in this study. Responses to composite time trade-off tasks from 492 participants were included in the primary analysis. All models showed face validity and generated comparable prediction accuracy. The Tobit model with constrained intercepts and corrected for heteroscedasticity was considered the preferred model for the value set on the basis of better performance. The value set ranges from − 1.116 (state 55555) to 1 (state 11111) with ‘pain/discomfort’ as the most important dimension. Conclusions This is the first EQ-5D-5L valuation study using a ‘lite’ protocol involving composite time trade-off data only. Our results suggest its feasibility in resource-constrained settings. The established EQ-5D-5L value set for Uganda is expected to be used for economic evaluations and decision making in Uganda and the East Africa region.