African Peanut Stew-Creamy ,Quick and easy groundnut Stew.
In the West, Groundnuts are almost invariably eaten as snack, mixed into salads, or transformed into peanut butter paste. However, in Africa, this nut has been an important source of food for centuries –and it is used in a number of different ways-throughout the continent depending on the region-a little goes a long way. The most common use is to flavor sauces, soups or add thickness any meal.
In West Africa, It is used to make this hearty stew – a rich stew with a tempting combination of flavors – garlic, ginger, herbs and of course a little bit of spice. The good thing about this recipe is that it is open to so many variations based on your preferences, availability of ingredients and time. You can never go wrong with this soup.
Here, I used Peanut butter paste. You can use any variety depending on what you have on hand- go for 100% Peanut butter for an intensified peanut flavor without the added sugar. It does make a difference.
Don’t sweat it though, I must admit that I sometimes use whatever brand I have on hand.
If you have time just make your own peanut butter by grinding roasted peanuts in a food processor or coffee grinder. That’s how this stew is made in Africa
Traditionally ground soup or stew is made with peanuts, tomatoes, onions with or without protein depending ones preference. You may use less oil or omit completely for a healthier stew – just omit the tomato sauce.
Serve with any starchy side rice, plantains, potatoes and or vegetables
Enjoy it!
African Peanut Stew - Creamy ,Quick and easy groundnut Stew.
- ¼ cup oil
- 2- 3 pounds chicken legs or thighs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 fresh tomatoes
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon ginger chopped
- 3 tablespoons parsley
- ½ cup Peanut butter or peanut paste
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon optional
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Season chicken with your favorite seasoning – I used creole or just use, salt and pepper. Set aside.
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Blend tomatoes, ½ of the onions, garlic, parsley, and ginger. Set aside
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In a large pot or saucepan heat oil over medium heat, then add the chicken and brown on both sides about 5-10 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. You may skip this step and proceed with the next.
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Add remaining onions, if desired , to the saucepan, stir for about 2 minutes then add tomato sauce(mixture of blend tomatoes and spices) and paprika
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Pour the tomato mixture into the saucepan -bring to a boil and let it simmer stirring frequently to prevent any burns- about 5 minutes.
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Next, add the peanut butter, chicken and 2 cups of water or chicken stock, season with, chicken bouillon, salt and cayenne pepper. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or more
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Adjust the soup thickness with water/chicken stock if necessary and let simmer to desired thickness
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Drip a little soup from your stirring spoon. If you are satisfied with the thickness of your soup, serve it with rice.
CK says
9 Feb, 2019 at 6:51 pmCould this work with ground lamb meat? What modifications would you recommend, if any?
ImmaculateBites says
10 Feb, 2019 at 5:36 amHi Ck, I haven’t tried this with ground lamb meat , so can’t give you exact measurements or instructions. If I were to try it out I would shape into meatballs , panfry before adding to the stew.
Camille-Kay N Brewer says
11 Feb, 2019 at 6:49 pmI tried it with chicken wings and it turned out great. I like spicy stews so I added a chili pepper and a part of a jalapeno pepper to the blend with the tomatoes, onion, etc. I kept the seasoning for the chicken basic and light by just using salt and pepper. My husband and I both loved it. Compliments for a great recipe and an even more wonderful website!
Nia Simmonds says
9 May, 2019 at 7:07 amYES! Lamb meat is perfect for this Peanut Butter Stew. In fact my mother always made it with lamb, rarely chicken.
Good luck!
Jason says
12 May, 2019 at 1:41 pmAmazing recipe!! My girlfriend loves peanut stew I we usually get it from some African restaurants around however I wanted to attempt to make it from scratch. This recipe was great actually my gf said it’s the best she’s ever tasted. I used shredded chicken breast instead of chicken thighs. Added some cumin as well. And we like spicy food so added more cayenne pepper than called for. Such a versatile dish will make it again.
imma africanbites says
13 May, 2019 at 5:31 amThank you for sharing those tips. Glad you guys love it.
Whitney says
7 Jan, 2019 at 6:10 pmI made this tonight to freeze for my maternity leave. It is very good but a very mild flavor. Just checking to make sure that it’s supposed to be very mildly spiced before I freeze it.
ImmaculateBites says
7 Jan, 2019 at 9:07 pmHi Whitney,
Yes it is. It’s not too spicy. Congratulations on your pregnancy ; may your new baby bring you abundant happiness!
Latreece says
22 Oct, 2018 at 3:06 pmGreat recipe. The only things I’ll do differently the next time is to cook my chicken longer before I add it to the mixture. I’ll also double the ingredients because it didn’t produce enough soup/stew. My husband really enjoyed the dish. I look forward to making it again!
ImmaculateBites says
28 Oct, 2018 at 8:55 amThanks or the feedback! So happy to hear it worked out well .
yenwoda says
24 Mar, 2018 at 8:04 pmFantastic recipe! One of those dishes where the serving size is 4-6, but somehow there isn’t much left over after dinner for two..
ImmaculateBites says
25 Mar, 2018 at 2:01 pmGreat!Thanks for the feedback
mitch says
20 Sep, 2017 at 10:19 amHi there,
In your Instructions, step 4, you add tomato sauce and paprika, but tomato sauce isn’t listed in your Ingredients. Can you please let us know how much tomato sauce to use? Thanks so much.
ImmaculateBites says
21 Sep, 2017 at 8:53 pmHi Mitch! The tomato sauce is the tomato blend(tomatoes, onions..). No extra tomato sauce is needed. Let me know how this works for you. Recipe updated to make it clearer . Thanks
Simona says
8 Sep, 2017 at 6:08 amI cooked a vegetarian version of this, with zucchini, carrot, parsley and mushrooms instead of the chicken, and it came out extremely good! It’s probably one of my favourite dishes now 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
9 Sep, 2017 at 7:53 amYay! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Deandra says
5 Apr, 2017 at 11:47 amWould this work fine with almond butter? I prefer the taste to peanut butter and would probably use less as a result.
Also, are those 5 thighs alone enough for the recipe? I see the second pan full of legs, so I just want to make sure I don’t attempt it with too little chicken.
Thanks!
ImmaculateBites says
5 Apr, 2017 at 1:14 pmYes, the 5 thighs are good enough. But they were extremely big. 6-7 would do just fine.
Etaka L. says
2 Apr, 2017 at 8:57 pmI wanted to know what the 6 the pictures was. I see blended tomatoes but what is the blended mis on top. What does it consist of?
ImmaculateBites says
3 Apr, 2017 at 9:09 amI the blended consist of the herbs, garlic and some onions. Just blend the tomatoes, garlic , parsley and onions- it’a a lot easier.
Fousseyni says
10 Mar, 2017 at 6:33 amVrainmt ça me fais plaisir de m’voiye des foits
Didina Gnagnide Angorinie says
9 Mar, 2017 at 11:36 amI wish this stew would materialize in front of me right now…I love peanuts, always have. Too bad I’m on a diet right now : ( . (Being an enthusiastic cook while having hypothyroidism is hard : ( : ( ). But I will remember about it. Also, could I use chicken chunks instead of boned meat? I know the bone makes it more flavorful, but many times I don’t feel like de-boning the chicken before eating it…
Always happy to see your stuff Imma!!
Eileen M Steinberg says
5 Jan, 2017 at 12:42 pmI haven’t yet tried your recipe, but it looks good. It seems it might be much like the groundnut stew I enjoyed in Northern Nigeria many years ago when my husband and I were at the American consulate in Kaduna. Almost always this was served at parties and it was greatly enhanced by the addition of many side bowls of various things one could sprinkle over the top of the rice and stew: chopped peanuts, chopped green onions, chopped green and/or red peppers, chopped hard boiled eggs, chutney, chopped fresh pineapple, shredded fresh coconut, even bananas. It can look quite spectacular in its presentation and of course it is delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
6 Jan, 2017 at 4:49 pmOMG! Can’t wait to try out some of those add ins. They all sound good to me. Thanks for sharing Eileen.
nadiya says
29 Jan, 2016 at 4:08 amHi there,
I was just wondering if I could use fish with this – and if so which do you recommend??
Thank you xxx
ImmaculateBites says
29 Jan, 2016 at 5:12 amGo with Tilapia, red snapper, or any firm white fish. My mom u makes this with fish whole fish or sometimes she cuts in to 2 or 3 pieces. Do let me know how it works for you. Thanks
aby says
8 Apr, 2015 at 11:30 amthanks for the recipes. i have always wanted to try shrimp any suggestions as to where i can buy them
ImmaculateBites says
8 Apr, 2015 at 3:55 pmHi Aby. They are usually available in most super markets, depending on your location.
Erica says
20 Feb, 2015 at 1:13 pmI just realized that in your step by step instructions you state to put tomato sauce. but your ingredients list doesn’t state that ingredient it only says 2 tomatoes. Just wanted to let you know! So nobody messes up like I did. Hoping it still comes out ok! Thanks!!
Semoben says
20 Feb, 2015 at 6:18 amThank you so much for posting this! Can you post another peanut stew but with grinding the peanuts from scratch like it’s done at home?
ImmaculateBites says
20 Feb, 2015 at 8:44 amSemoben, roast groundnuts, the blend in a coffee grinder or food processor and replace with the peanut butter.
Annika says
19 Feb, 2015 at 5:28 amJust perfect! It is also amazing with less peanut butter (in case someone wants to have it a bit less fatty or rich).
ImmaculateBites says
19 Feb, 2015 at 8:26 amAnnika thanks for the constructive feedback. It is always welcome!
Meeka says
1 Feb, 2015 at 1:35 pmHi, I tried the pan seared salmon, and it out so delicious. I am making this soup tonight for my family. I noticed that the recipe calls for tomato sauce, but you didn’t list tomato sauce (or how much) in the list of ingredients. How much should we use? Thanks so much for all your yummy recipes.
ImmaculateBites says
1 Feb, 2015 at 1:49 pmMeeka, so glad to hear you are liking my recipes. The tomato sauce is the tomato blend(tomatoes, onions..). No extra tomato sauce is needed. Let me know how this works for you. Thanks
Tanya says
6 Dec, 2014 at 5:56 amI’m african and just a point of correction, it’s peanut soup and not stew ( not to be rude but just want to clarify it) and we eat with rice, fufu or anything you wish. Blessings…!!
ijphronesis says
9 May, 2015 at 4:05 amshe is very correct this is peanut stew, the recipe for peanut soup is slightly differrent
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
2 Nov, 2014 at 1:12 pmThis stew looks SO delicious and packed full of flavour. Definitely a recipe I can see myself making.. it is perfect for this weather right now!
LAK says
30 Oct, 2014 at 1:46 pmI can’t wait to try this today!!
LAK says
1 Nov, 2014 at 5:42 pmI did make the stew and it was PERFECT!!! Thank you ImmaculateBites!!!!
ImmaculateBites says
1 Nov, 2014 at 6:12 pmThanks for the feedback!!!
Sara says
29 Oct, 2014 at 2:22 pmMy favorite African stew- this one going on top of my list.
ImmaculateBites says
30 Oct, 2014 at 9:30 amSara,Let me know how this works for you!
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext says
29 Oct, 2014 at 10:42 amThis looks delicious! Love stews, always so comforting and delicious!
ImmaculateBites says
30 Oct, 2014 at 9:31 amJess, I second that!
ImmaculateBites says
29 Oct, 2014 at 6:54 amCharlene, let me know how you like this one.
Charlene @ That Girl Cooks Healthy says
28 Oct, 2014 at 1:39 pmI’m a big fan of peanut soup, I will try your version this coming Friday…cannot wait.
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You says
28 Oct, 2014 at 11:29 amWow! Immaculate, my mouth is watering. How comforting and flavorful this chicken stew is. It reminds me of several Bahian stews from Brazil. Both have African origins, this is why they are similar in many ways.
ImmaculateBites says
29 Oct, 2014 at 6:53 amDennis, I totally second this.
Philo says
28 Oct, 2014 at 11:05 amHi Immaculate. I want do try this recipe but it says peanut butter paste…can I use regular peanut butter? What do recommend?
ImmaculateBites says
28 Oct, 2014 at 11:09 amPhilo, yes you can. Any peanut butter would work.