With fall right around the corner, we thought it would be a great time to make a big batch of this West African peanut stew. It's super hearty, creamy, and a little spicy to keep you warm as the days begin cooling off!
What are you waiting for? Let's get to it!
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📖 About
This stew is the absolute best, especially for all the peanut lovers out there. It's so easy to whip up, which makes it perfect for weeknight dinners!
The broth is made extra creamy through combining peanut butter, tomato paste, and sweet potatoes together. Then, it's loaded with other hearty vegetables, chickpeas, and spices. Seriously, this is what our comfort food dreams are made of.
The inspiration for this delicious meal comes from various peanut stew recipes made all across West Africa. People use different names depending on the region, but some include maafe, groundnut stew, or domoda. Whatever you call it, there is one thing for sure. This stew tastes amazing!
You'll find most recipes online using meat like beef, lamb, or chicken. But, this plant-based version is so incredibly flavorful, you won't miss those ingredients one bit!
🍲 Key ingredients
- Peanuts: the secret weapon to this delicious stew. Peanut butter creates an uber thick and creamy broth. We also love to top this dish with roasted peanuts to create a crunch element and a little extra flavor in each bite. Peanuts have a high-fat content, which we love. Yes, people, we aren't afraid of fat, and you shouldn't be either. Although fat is more calorie-dense, it's vital for many functions in your body. Peanuts contain certain fats that help lower your bad cholesterol, which will protect your heart over your lifetime!
- Chickpeas: this high protein legume is a perfect meat replacement for those of you trying to cut down on your animal consumption. Their nutty taste and grainy texture is what makes them pair so perfectly with the rest of the ingredients in this stew. We personally love using dried chickpeas and cooking them in a pressure cooker. But, if you're short on time, chickpeas are super quick to prep when they're canned!
- Sweet potatoes: we love when we get to cook with sweet potatoes. This delicious root vegetable has a sweet, nutty taste, similar to that of a pumpkin. The texture is kind of like a starchier butternut squash, making it perfect for this stew! The vibrant orange flesh is packed with vitamins and nutrients, which is why we can never get enough sweet potatoes in our meals. In just one cup, there is 769% of your daily vitamin A needs and 65% of your vitamin C needs! Pretty impressive stuff.
- Kale: this cruciferous vegetable has to be our favorite of the leafy greens. We love the chewy, fibrous texture it maintains in salads, and even when its cooked. It's one of the most nutrient-packed foods on this planet, and is best known for its high vitamin K content (you can thank vitamin K for your bodies ability to form blood clots). We usually find the best deals at our local farmers market or in our garden! Nothing better than fresh and organic, especially when it's cheaper than store-bought, or even free.
🔪 Instructions
To start, you'll need to heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add in the diced onions, minced garlic, and grated ginger, and sauté those for a couple minutes. Next, you'll mix in the cayenne and red chili flakes to spice things up. We kept the heat level fairly moderate to cater to a wider audience. But feel free to add in extra spices if you can handle it!
Once your spices are getting fragrant, add in the tomato paste, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and water, stirring everything together. Cover your pot, and reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork.
Then, add in the peanut butter and chopped kale. Make sure you stir the broth quite well to properly incorporate the peanut butter. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, making sure to add in sea salt and pepper. If you like more spice, add in extra cayenne, red chili flakes, fresh spicy peppers, or sambal oelek sauce if you have some.
Serve this stew over your choice of grain (we prefer ours with rice), and top it with roasted peanuts, cilantro, raisins, hot sauce, or lime wedges.
🌡️ Storage
This stew stores really well in the fridge for up to 5-7 days. It's also a great meal to freeze. Pack it in airtight containers or freezer-safe bags, and you can get up to 2-3 months in the freezer. Just make sure to store the stew and rice separately to prevent the broth from getting absorbed into the rice.
💭 Budget tips
We think everyone should be able to eat better for less, so here are a few tricks to make this recipe even more affordable:
- Use water in place of the vegetable broth
- Opt for a generic brand of natural peanut butter since you'll just be cooking with it
- Replace the kale with spinach, or skip it altogether
- Serve with more rice to make it last longer
🍴 Tasting notes
This stew makes the perfect summer-to-fall transition meal. We hope you love it as much as us! It's:
- Rich
- Creamy
- Hearty
- Spicy
- Flavorful
If you try this peanut stew, please rate it and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
📋 Recipe
West African Peanut Stew
Equipment
- Large pot
- Chef knife
- Grater
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil ($0.12)
- 1 medium white onion, diced ($0.24)
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced ($0.20)
- 3 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated ($0.09)
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder ($0.08)
- ½ tablespoon red pepper flakes ($0.03)
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste ($0.24)
- 700 grams ~2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed ($0.87)
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas ($0.26)
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes ($0.38)
- 4 cups vegetable broth ($0.99)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- ¾ cup natural peanut butter, smooth or crunchy ($1.32)
- 3 cups fresh kale, chopped ($0.87)
- Sea salt & pepper to taste ($0.02)
For Serving optional
- Roasted peanuts, whole or chopped
- Raisins
- Rice, quinoa, or couscous
- Chopped cilantro
- Hot sauce of choice
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- To start, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium. Add in diced onions, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, add in the cayenne and red chili flakes. Stir to combine.
- Once that's fragrant, add in the tomato paste, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and water, stirring everything together.
- Cover your pot, and reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is tender to pierce with a fork.
- Then, add in the peanut butter and chopped kale. Stir well to incorporate the peanut butter.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, making sure to add in sea salt and pepper. If you like more spice, add in extra cayenne, red chili flakes, fresh spicy pepper, or sambal oelek sauce if you have some.
- If you want to thicken the stew even more, you can mash some of the sweet potatoes against the side of your pot with a spoon or spatula.
- Serve this stew over your choice of grain (we prefer ours with rice), and top it with roasted peanuts, cilantro, raisins, hot sauce, or lime wedges.
Notes
- Optional ingredients are not reflected in the price or calories of the recipe.
- We always prefer cooking our chickpeas from dry, but canned work well in this recipe too.
- For a variation in this stew, try using butternut squash or pumpkin in place of the sweet potatoes.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more tasty dish ideas, check out our:
- Southwest sweet potato black bean salad if you're obsessed with sweet potatoes as much as us.
- Vegan poke bowl because it also contains our beloved sweet potatoes.
- Creamy ramen bowl for an extra fancy version of ramen noodle soup.
- Kale Caesar salad with chickpea croutons, which contains a nice surprise!
💬 FAQ
If you want to use less peanut butter, you can try replacing it with canned coconut milk, or tahini.
We love the chickpeas in this recipe, but any other white bean you like tastes great too!
To make this recipe oil-free, simply replace the olive oil with a splash of water to sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger.
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