I had seen recipes for Peanut Stew and all of it’s many variations around the internet for years before I finally gave it a try, and I’m only kicking myself for not trying it sooner. This stew, inspired by several peanut based stews made in West Africa, is seriously DE-LIC-OUS!! This rich and creamy tomato-peanut stew is so incredibly flavorful, super comforting, and is truly a meal in a bowl. You’re going to love this flavorful stew!
What is Peanut Stew?
This delicious stew is inspired by the many versions of peanut stew made in several countries across West Africa. The recipe and names for the stew vary from region to region, some of the names being: groundnut stew, maafe, or domoda, to name a few. The common thread between these regional recipes is a tomato broth made rich and creamy with peanut butter, and seasoned with plenty of delicious spices. The flavors are simply incredible. While most versions of this dish are made with chicken, I made a few subs to make it vegan, but I promise you won’t even miss the meat.
Substitutions
I love the texture and flavor of the collard greens in this Vegan Peanut Stew, but I’ve seen versions using all sorts of different greens, so feel free to substitute with kale, spinach, mustard greens, or whatever hearty greens you prefer.
Either chunky or smooth peanut butter will work here, but make sure it’s natural style, with no added sugar, to maximize the peanut flavor.
How to Serve Vegan Peanut Stew
Brown rice is my carb of choice to go with this dish because of it’s slightly nutty flavor and extra texture, so I like to scoop a bit straight into my bowl of stew. That being said, it can certainly be served without rice as well, or even with some bread (maybe some naan) for dipping. I also like my stew a bit spicy, so I like to top it off with a little drizzle of sriracha, even though that’s totally mixing and matching cultures. :) I’m all about fusion!
Meal Prep or Freeze for Later!
This recipe holds up really well both in the refrigerator or freezer. I like to pack up my bowls with rice and everything, then refrigerate for a few days or freeze for longer term storage.
Vegan Peanut Stew
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.30)
- 1 sweet potato (about 1 lb.) ($1.47)
- 1 medium onion ($0.21)
- 1 tsp cumin ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1 6oz. can tomato paste ($0.45)
- 1/2 cup natural style peanut butter ($0.55)
- 6 cups vegetable broth ($0.78)
- 1/2 bunch collard greens (4-6 cups chopped) ($0.99)
Optional Garnishes
- 1/4 bunch cilantro ($0.25)
- 4.5 cups cooked brown rice ($0.53)
- 1/3 cup chopped peanuts ($0.16)
Instructions
- Peel and grate the ginger using a small holed cheese grater. Mince the garlic, and dice the onion. Sauté the onion, ginger, and garlic in a large pot with the olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
- While the onion, ginger, and garlic are sautéing, peel and dice the sweet potato into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the sweet potato cubes, cumin, and red pepper to the pot and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, peanut butter, and vegetable broth to the pot. Stir until the peanut butter and tomato paste have mostly dissolved into the broth. Place a lid on the pot and turn the heat up to high. Allow the stew to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and allow it to simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are very soft.
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the collard greens. Use a sharp knife to remove each stem (cut along the side of each stem), then stack the leaves and cut them into 1/2-inch wide strips. Place the chopped collard greens in a colander and rinse very well
- Once the stew has simmered for 15-20 minutes and the sweet potatoes are very soft, stir in the collard greens. Let the stew simmer for about 5 minutes more, then begin to smash the sweet potatoes against the side of the pot to help thicken the stew.
- Finally, taste the stew and add salt or red pepper, if desired. Serve the stew with a scoop of cooked rice (about 3/4 cup), a few chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, and a drizzle of sriracha, if desired.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Peanut Stew – Step by Step Photos
Dice one onion, mince four cloves of garlic, and grate about 1 Tbsp fresh ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large soup pot along with 1 Tbsp olive oil, and sauté over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
While the onion, garlic, and ginger are sautéing, peel and dice one sweet potato (about 1 lb.) into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the sweet potato cubes to the pot along with 1 tsp cumin and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Continue to sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup natural-style peanut butter, one 6oz. can of tomato paste, and 6 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. Stir until the peanut butter and tomato paste are mostly dissolved into the broth (it will look a little weird and grainy at this point). Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring the stew up to a boil. Once boiling, turn it down to medium-low and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are very soft and mashable.
While the stew is simmering, prepare the collard greens. Run a sharp knife down the side of each stem to remove the stems.
Stack the leaves and slice cross-wise into 1/2-inch wide strips. Place the sliced collard greens in a colander and rinse very well (they tend to be very sandy).
Once the stew has simmered for 15-20 minutes and the sweet potatoes are very soft, add the rinsed collard greens. Stir them into the hot stew and let them simmer for about 5 minutes more.
Use a large spoon to smash some of the sweet potatoes against the side of the pot to help thicken the stew. Give the peanut stew one last taste and add more salt or red pepper flakes, if desired.
To serve the Vegan Peanut Stew, ladle about 1.5 cups of stew into a bowl, top with 3/4 cup cooked brown rice, a tablespoon or so of chopped peanuts, a light sprinkle of cilantro, and a drizzle of sriracha (if desired). Enjoy!
I have substituted a can of pumpkin before when I don’t have sweet potatoes . That’s good too!
This would be great in the IP!
Just made this for dinner its fab thank you for sharing! Xo
This was a winner! Even in my house with 3 sometimes selective kid eaters, everyone gobbled it up. My son said he didn’t like it as much as chili, but he was surprised that it was good. I’ll take that as a win! Really filling and nourishing. Perfect for these chilly spring evenings. I subbed kale for the collards, and served with a bit of brown rice. Yums all around! Thanks for the recipe.
We have a severe peanut allergy in our house. Has anyone tried this with any different nut butters? Curious how it turned out. Thinking about using cashew butter.
I would try it with tahini it’s I think it would turn out really well
Sunflower seed butter is another good alternative to peanut butter.
So keen to make this but my husband doesn’t do well with onions…or should I say, the whole house doesn’t breath well when my husband has onions. Any suggestions for replacements?
Are shallots too strong for him? Shallots would be the only appropriate sub I can think of.
My dad strongly dislikes onions. We always sub leeks in recipes.
This was so good and easy to make! I really like the collard greens – they add a hearty textural element that’s very satiating. They are not a veg I use often, but int this it was the perfect addition.
can’t get over how delicious and filling this stew is! i’ve never seen a stew that had peanut butter in it before. everything really turns out well and it’s so flavorful, the ginger adds a ton of flavor. will definitely make again and again
I made this soup according to the instructions and it turned out really good. The optional garnishes top it off perfectly. I recommend this recipe, thank you very much for posting it.
My most favourite new thing to cook this year! Delicious!!
Kept the same recipe but had with toasted sesame flatbread
YUM
I’ll be honest, when I first saw the ingredient list for this recipe, I was skeptical, because tomato, ginger, and peanuts
aren’t normally on the same recipe card. OH MY LANTA! I am SO glad we tried it! Both my husband and I loved it! (and my husband doesn’t normally like soups!)
This recipe is so rich, so filling, and so full of flavor, and it is SO easy to make too!
I subbed out spinach for the collard greens (we’re not big collard greens fans) and I used a little cornstarch to thicken it up at the end, but the recipe really didn’t need any help!
Thank you so much for passing this along! If I could give this 6 stars, I gladly would!
This stew is fantastic! Rich and delicious. Check out the individual nutritional factors of the ingredients, and you’ll love it even more. You can thicken the broth by mixing 2 tsp cornstarch in 1/4 cup water, then stirring that into the stew.
So easy, so delicious. Used lacinato kale instead of collards and it worked out nicely. I used my immersion blender to blend up about 1/4 of the stew and it thickened it up perfectly. Adding this one to my heavy rotation.
Very easy to make and hella delicious
Super delicious, even with some minor substitutions — regular Skippy instead of natural peanut butter, a can of diced tomatoes because I was out of paste, frozen collards for convenience. It was hearty and pretty sweet, which was a nice balance for the bitter collards. Will definitely make it again and might try adding chickpeas or white beans.