Maafe (West African Peanut Soup)
Maafe Recipe – This cozy West African peanut soup is a spicy stew made with beef or chicken. The spicy, savory, nutty, and sweet flavor is thanks to sweet potatoes and carrots. It’s the perfect balance of flavors. 😍
Groundnut soup, as West Africans sometimes call this dish, makes an amazing one-pot meal. But it goes beautifully over steamy rice or other traditional African sides, so there are plenty of ways to serve it. The traditional Senegalese peanut stew is the inspiration for my recipe.
The tempting combination of garlic, ginger, herbs, and plenty of spices is mouthwateringly good. As with most soups, the potential variations are endless. Customizing it to your taste or ingredient availability is easy! 👌
Content…Browning the Meat |
Browning Meat for Maafe
Traditionally, maafe features boiling the meat and then browning it. This optional step certainly adds extra flavor and a little crispiness to the melt-in-your-mouth meat. To brown the meat after boiling it, we’ll saute it on the stovetop to get it nice and crisp. We have two ways to brown the meat, and either works fine 🤎.
The first way to brown meat is to place it on a baking sheet and drizzle it with a little soup stock and 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Adjust the oven rack so the top of the beef or chicken is 4-5 inches below the broiler. Broil on high for 3-5 minutes until it becomes crispy and browned, turning frequently to ensure even brownness.
What You Need
- Meat – Chicken or beef works well in maafe. Choose your favorite, or just use what you have on hand.
- Veggies – Carrots, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and potatoes give this soup its stew-like coziness. I like adding a scotch bonnet or habanero pepper to the mix, but the extra heat is totally optional.
- Peanuts – You can use ground peanuts, peanut butter, or peanut paste. If you go with creamy peanut butter, please use unsweetened natural peanut butter.
- Spices – Smoked paprika, white pepper, fresh parsley, cayenne, and some S&P are all you need to make this tremendously tasty dish. Black pepper instead of white pepper and red pepper flakes instead of cayenne also work fine.
- Stock – Beef stock is my go-to broth base for this recipe, but chicken broth also works great.
- Oil – You’ll need a little oil to sautee your meat and veggies, as well as for browning if you choose to brown the meat. Vegetable or olive oil works fine.
How to Make Maafe (West African Peanut Soup)
Prep the Meat
- Boil – In a large saucepan, season the meat with salt and boil until tender. Cooking time varies depending on which cut of meat you are using.
- Remove the meat and reserve the stock (broth). You should have at least 3-4 cups of stock.
- Brown – In a large pot, heat oil over low heat, then add the meat. Sauté stirring frequently to remove any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Remove and set aside. (Photo 1)
Assemble the Soup
- Blend the tomatoes, half the onion, garlic, and parsley in a food processor or blender.
- Saute Onion – Add the other half of the onion, chopped to the pan, and saute for about a minute.
- Sauce – Then, pour the blended ingredients into the saucepan. Add the paprika and white pepper and sauté for 7-10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and add stock as needed. (Photo 2)
- Veggies – Add the potatoes, carrots, peanut butter paste, scotch bonnet pepper, and about 3 cups of broth. (Photo 3)
- Simmer – Continue cooking until potatoes tender—10 minutes or more, depending on the vegetables. (Photo 4)
- Serve – Finally, toss in the browned beef and adjust the soup thickness to the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy! (Photos 5-6)
Recipe Variations
- Protein swap. Virtually any kind of meat or protein will work well with this soup. Try it with shrimp, pork, or even tofu.
- Get creative with the veggies. This is a stew you can get creative with. Feel free to add peas, corn, green beans, or any other vegetable you like to the mix. 🌽
- Make it vegetarian. Swap out meat stock with vegetable broth and use tofu or a plant-based meat substitution and you’ve got a meat-free dish!
- Ginger. A grated ½-inch knob of fresh ginger is a delicious addition.
Notes and Tips
- You can skip browning the beef or chicken if you want to avoid frying. Just simmer the meat until tender and proceed with the rest of the instructions.
- If cooking for kids, skip the cayenne pepper and leave the scotch bonnet pepper whole. For a mild dose of heat, prick the scotch bonnet with a toothpick, but don’t cut it up. 🌶️
- If you reach the final steps in the recipe and the stew is too thick for your taste, just add a little water or broth to thin it. If it’s too thin, simmer it for a few more minutes to thicken it further.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Stews and soups are always good make-ahead dishes. Make it a day or two ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container. You can also freeze maafe for up to three months. When ready to serve it, reheat it slowly on the stove.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve your West African peanut stew hot, garnished with freshly chopped parsley.
If you have leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container for 3-5 days. To reheat maafe, pop it in the microwave, or reheat it on the stove over medium heat.
What Pairs With Maafe West African Peanut Stew
Try a traditional African take on maafe by serving it with a side of fufu. It also tastes wonderful poured over some steamy jasmine rice.
Since it already has loads of veggies, meat, and potatoes, you can skip the sides in favor of some bread to dip in the broth. Homemade garlic bread or no-knead bread are two good options. 🥖
More Amazing African Recipes to Try
This blog post was originally published in July 2015 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos
Maafe West African Peanut Soup
Ingredients
- 1-2 pounds (450-900g) beef or chicken
- ¼ cup (60ml) oil or more
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) white pepper
- 2 fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped and divided
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons (8-12g) parsley
- ½ cup (64g) ground peanuts or peanut butter powder
- 3-4 cups (700-840ml) broth chicken or beef (reserved from boiling)
- 1 pound (450g) vegetables or more (potatoes, carrots, etc.)
- 1 whole scotch bonnet, habanero or ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, season the meat with salt and boil until tender. Cooking time varies depending on which cut of meat you are using.
- Remove the meat and reserve the stock (broth). You should have at least 3-4 cups of stock.
- In a large pot, heat oil over low heat, then add the meat. Sauté stirring frequently to remove any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Remove and set aside.
- Blend the tomatoes, half the onion, garlic, and parsley in a food processor or blender.
- Add the other half of the onion, chopped to the pan, and saute for about a minute.
- Pour the blended ingredients into the saucepan. Add the paprika and white pepper and sauté for 7-10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and add stock as needed.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, peanut butter paste, scotch bonnet pepper, and about 3 cups of broth.
- Continue cooking until potatoes tender—10 minutes or more, depending on the vegetables.
- Toss in the browned beef and adjust the soup thickness to the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!
Tips & Notes:
- You can skip browning the beef or chicken if you want to avoid frying. Just simmer the meat until tender and proceed with the rest of the instructions.
- If cooking for kids, skip the cayenne pepper and leave the scotch bonnet pepper whole. For a mild dose of heat, prick the scotch bonnet with a toothpick, but don’t cut it up.
- If you reach the final steps in the recipe and the stew is too thick for your taste, just add a little water or broth to thin it. If it’s too thin, simmer it for a few more minutes to thicken it further.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Hi there, I noticed you said sweet potatoes in the introduction to the recipe, but then listed potatoes as the ingredient in the actual directions. Can sweet potatoes be used in this? That sounds delicious! Also, I’m sure it’s not authentic, but do you think tofu would work okay as a protein in this recipe instead of meat? Thanks for your recipe, can’t wait to try it!
Hi, Justin. Yes, I did use sweet potatoes, but you can certainly swap it for regular potatoes. I just love using the sweet potatoes because it adds that hint of sweetness. As for the tofu, I haven’t tried it tho, so I cannot answer with certainty.
This is delicious! Wondering why boil the meat first and then brown? To save time I skipped straight to the sautee stage and it was great. Also, do you mean blend the onion, tomato, parsley, and garlic in a blender or just mix them together before sauteeing? I blended them and it was delicious! Thanks!
Hi Jocelyn! If you have a tender cut of beef then you can absolutely skip the boiling part. And you did everything just right :). Glad you loved it!
salut, avez-vous un livre de recettes avec toutes les recettes de tous les plats africains quelque part à acheter?
Salut Martine! Je travaille actuellement sur un. Je serai sûr de vous le faire savoir dès qu’il sera disponible, alors restez à l’écoute :). En attendant, n’hésitez pas à parcourir la catégorie des plats africains de mon blog pour découvrir de délicieux plats faciles à préparer. Merci d’être passé.
This was so delicious. One of the best recipes I have tried. Kids loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! My son loves this too. Glad it was a hit with your family. Thanks for the feedback, Fatima 🙂 !
We used to live in West Africa(guinea) and we love this. We didn’t add the vegetables and we used chicken but there are many variations. One year we had all the traditional American fixings for Christmas. Our neighbor also fixed us some traditional dishes from their. My youngest who was probably 4 at the time wouldn’t touch any of my American meal. He would only eat the Guinean food. That’s how much he loved it! Hahaha
Nice! Thanks for taking the take to share your thoughts with us .
I’ve been meaning to try making this for a while. Loved it! Great to make to – not complicated, but a great way to spend some quality time in the kitchen making some tender and delicious food! Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve been meaning to try making this for a while. Loved it! Great to make to – not complicated, but a great way to spend some quality time in the kitchen making some tender and delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome. So glad you loved it. And thank you for taking the time to let me know.
could i try this recipe in the crockpot and cook it on slow
Yes you sure can.
What beef would you recommend. I tried your recipe with chicken and it is DELICIOUS. This recipe is a staple in my house.
Can I used peanut butter?
Yes you can.
Like your recipe. Been eating groundnut stew since the late 60’s when I found a recipe, and my grandmother helped me. The recipe called for chicken, we tried every meat we thought of..but I had to delete adding okra.
The best part of making Maafe is the ease of making
I found a recipe for this before, but it didn’t turn out so great. On the hunt for a better recipe, I came across your website. We wound up making a vegan version of your recipe with collard greens, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, onions and carrots, and it was absolutely delicious! Easy to make and only needed one pot to cook it all. This is now one of my favorite dishes and recipes to make.
Thank you!
Hi there! I haven’t tried your recipe yet but I grew up eating Maafe and Poulet Yassa! The recipes were shared verbally with my mother by two different African women in Guinea. My parents were missionaries in Guinea West Africa for 9 years! I was so surprised to fined your recipes! I am making yassa tonight…but we use limes! I have never added the Dijon so I am excited to try that addition. I will be checking back for more fun recipes from my childhood home!
I used bone in chicken breast instead of beef. I used a mix of organic peanut butter paste and Jif. Then I added parsley and lime juice at the end. Very delicious. Next time I’m going to add a few smoked turkey wing pieces.
Glad it turned out great for you, Megan! Thanks for dropping by.
This was very tasty and easy to make! Thank you for posting! I added ginger and liked the way it turned out
I am excited to cook this for Easter!
You are going to love it! Happy Easter!!!
This looks delicious. I have two questions. Does this work if you make it with lamb meat? And, would it ruin the dish to tenderize the meat in milk first?
I think it would do just fine, even after you tenderize the meat. Have made this with goat meat before and everything worked just fine. Do let me know how it works for you. Thanks .
Yes it work with lamb! I’m from Mali my mom makes it with lamb and beef all the time! It warms my heart to see other people wanting to try other culture foods! We also make it with fish sometimes!
Making this for my son. for his school cultural day.thanks for d recipe
Awesome! Do let me know how it works out for you.
This was so delicious!! I made this after making + loving your African Beef Stew. This was filled with so much flavor and a kick from the habanero pepper. Like you mentioned, I loved the sweetness the carrots + sweet potatoes added. I simmered this for about 1.5 hours until my beef was tender, so some of the potato had dissolved into the stew making it more creamy and thick. It was the perfect balance of spicy, sweet + creamy. Damn, so so good. I’m looking forward to trying out your other recipes! Thank you!!
Hello sister,
I just found your site. My husband is Senegalese and I’m from a background of West Indian, Louisianan Creoles. So when I stumbled upon this site, I was like wow, wow, wow! My dear, these recipes are so on point! Husband makes maafe all the time, I practicall craved it when I was pregnant and I can’t wait to try your Jambalaya! Many thanks and God’s blessings, BTW. My daughter’s name is Immaculate!
Thank you Sis! Really makes me happy that you would take the time to share your thoughts . Can’t wait to hear how your the jambalaya turns out !!! Say hi to your daughter for me. Tell her it’s coming from another Immaculate.