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!
This is one of my all-time favorites, and I just made it again yesterday! Soooo good, and healthy and filling too!
Looks amazing! For those who have added dry red or yellow lentils, how many did you add? I’m thinking about trying this and adding a cup of dry yellow lentils and a can of coconut milk…. does that seem about right?
I forgot to come back to this, but yes, this did work very well for us. Only thing I’m not sure about is if it’s possible to substitute out the tomatoes for those who are allergic… even after trying it with tomato, I can’t decide if it would work without them (plus with some soy sauce and maybe some roasted red pepper) or not.
I found this recipe YEARS ago… a friend of mine invited me to house sit with her up in Maine… so how could I say no! She is a GREAT cook… from the island of Bali… and just happened to bring some cookbooks from the library with her. In one of the books was this very recipe.
I remember making it when my mother came over and wanted a haircut… LOL… (RETIRED HAIR STYLIST) and she scoffed at what I was making… but I prevailed and made her taste it. She was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.
The only difference in my recipe is that it called for Habanero peppers… and I can’t take all that heat… I love the flavor… just not the heat… kills my stomach.
Comfort food, for sure! I didn’t have the optional toppings and feel like they would have kicked it up another notch, but still really satisfying on a cold late autumn evening!
This was excellent. I used chicken broth instead of vegetable and curly kale instead of collard greens. The toppings together are great. Very filling also.
Skipped the collards, added veggie bbq strips instead. Added rice too (Uncle Ben’s mediterranean mix). Sprinkled a bunch of herbs mix and salt on top. Wow so so good!!! I’m gaining weight already from a few portions, keep going back for more! 😄. Thank you! Also appreciate the price list!
This was my first time having peanut stew- so do no have a basis for compariso. The stew was easy to make and I enjoyed it! Also added some lime juice on top. Not a huge fan of collards or sweet potato but thought it fit in this dish. To my taste may do some tweaking in the future- maybe add more ginger or add in lentils.
I am obsessed with this. I lived and studied in Tanzania and this brought back one of my favorite meals there (a similar groundnut stew to this). Love and comfort in a bowl. I also doubled the PB/sweet potatoes and served with brown basmati rice and copious amounts of cilantro. Thank you for your wonderful website!
Made this last night. There wasn’t a single person in the family who didn’t like it. Even my pickiest child ate 2 servings. It was amazing! I added 2 tsp of lime juice. The tiny bit of sour made the sweet potato sweeter.
Hi, this looks so good! Can I check the amount of tomato paste required. Seems a lot if you mean the concentrated tomato purée? From the UK so not sure if different? Thanks!
Yep, that’s the correct amount and you are right, tomato paste is the very concentrated tomato purée. :)
This has become a staple in our house, I tend to add a little extra peanut butter like some of thecother comments. Has anyone doubled this recipe? I am hoping to make a double batch this weekend but am curious if it turns out the same.
It will do great! I’m quadrupling it, and after eating our fill, I will can the rest for an easy dinner later on.
I doubled it but only had one sweet potato so I used a Russet potato for the second potato and it still turned out great!
I’ve made this so many times now I don’t need to look at recipe anymore. So good!
I love it! I add the collards in at the same time as the sweet potatoes because I’m a good southern girl and one does not “wilt” collards. I throw in a can of chickpeas to make it more filling. And as with all of Beth’s recipes I saute the onions for 5-10 minutes and THEN add the garlic so it doesn’t burn and the onions are sweet. Super economical recipe and a staple in our house!
I do the same thing! Collards gotta be cooked through, and I always add chickpeas for bulk.
I’m lazy, so I start with the broth, and add the garlic, onions, ginger , cumin and red pepper flakes and let it simmer for a half hour or so, then add the rest. It’s SO freaking good!
This was a hit! Even our “soup isn’t food” and “nothing weird in it” guy came back for seconds. We didn’t tell him what was in it. :)
OH MY GOD
This was sooo good and tastes very authentic! Probably the best dish I’ve made from your website. The only thing I changed was the amount of peanut butter, I doubled it. Seriously though, this tasted delicious!
I’ve made this at least a dozen times now. Absolutely love the flavors and it reheats so well!
One of my favorite things to do is to lightly roast a block of cubed tofu and add it to the soup towards the end of its cook time. Adds a nice chunky component and some extra protein!
This soup goes great with rice. In fact, I mostly prefer it with some sort of grain or starch.
I’ve switched out the collard greens with both spinach and kale – both went over fine.
I’ve done an emulsion blender on the soup base before adding the greens and tofu – it adds a lovely body to the base that I prefer. That being said, If someone prefers a chunkier soup and has no interest in adding something like tofu at the end, the soup has a nice texture as is.