Carry yourself away to the colorful kitchens of West Africa with this heartwarming plant-based West African peanut stew, full of flavor. Rich peanut butter, sweet potato, and spicy ginger form the base of this nutritious dish, complemented by crunchy vegetables and a touch of spice for extra warmth. This plant-based and surprisingly filling meal soup is a true comfort bowl for a busy weekday. Plus, it's perfect for making in large quantities and reheating over the next few days.
plant-based West African peanut stew
Ingredients
- 1 kg sweet potatoes
- 500 ml vegetable broth
- 150 grams peanut butter
- 150 grams peanuts
- 100 grams baby spinach
- 1 can diced tomatoes 400 grams
- 2 carrots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cm ginger root
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 red chili pepper
spices
- 0,5 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1,5 teaspoon cumin
- harissa
- salt up to taste
- black pepper up to taste
Instructions
Preparing the vegetables
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into ready-to-eat cubes
- Peel the carrots and halve them lengthwise. Then cut them into half-moons.
- Cut the top and bottom off the red bell pepper. Then remove the seeds and stem. Cut the red bell pepper into medium-sized pieces.
- Remove the roots and stem from the onion. Halve it and remove the outer skin. Then cut the onion into rings.
- Crush the garlic with the blade of a kitchen knife. Then remove the skin and finely chop the clove.
- Remove the stem from the chili pepper and cut it into rings.
- Remove the bitter skin from the ginger and finely chop the yellow ginger root.
Cooking the plant-based West African peanut stew
- Heat some oil in a large pot and sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili pepper for a few minutes.
- Now add the canned tomatoes, vegetable stock, and peanut butter. Bring everything back to a boil.
- Now add the spices: cinnamon, cumin, and harissa. Salt and pepper to taste are always welcome.
- Simmer the stew for at least 20 minutes, until the sweet potato is tender.
- In the meantime, chop the baby spinach and coarsely chop the peanuts.
- Once the stew is cooked, add the chopped peanuts and spinach. Let these warm through for a few more minutes and incorporate.
- Serve the plant-based West African peanut stew in deep bowls.
Nutrition
How to make plant-based West African peanut stew
Before you get started, there's a bit of chopping involved, but after that, you can prepare all the ingredients in the correct order in a large pot as a one-pan dish. This stew with peanuts and sweet potato also keeps well, making it ideal for reheating over the next few days.
Preparing the Vegetables
We begin with chopping the vegetables. The largest ones are, of course, the sweet potatoes - so let's start there. First, peel them. Then cut them into pieces so that you end up with cubes a few centimeters in size: ready to eat.
Next, peel the carrots and slice them lengthwise. Then cut them into half-moon slices.
For the red bell pepper, first remove the top and bottom. That makes it easy to cut out the seeds from the inside, and you can remove the stem as well. Then slice the red pepper into bite-sized pieces.
Now it's the onion's turn. Remove the root and the top, then halve the onion. That makes it easy to peel off the outer skin. Then cut the onion into rings.
Slice off the stem of the chili pepper and cut it into thin rings. If you're worried it'll be too spicy, you can first halve the chili lengthwise and remove the seeds.
Trim the bitter skin off the ginger root. Then chop the yellow ginger flesh into small pieces.
Finally, we're left with the garlic cloves. First, crush them with the blade of a kitchen knife. Then trim the ends and peel off the skin easily. Cut the cloves into small pieces.
Set aside the baby spinach and peanuts for later. You'll chop them while the stew simmers. Of course, you can prep everything up front if you prefer getting all the chopping out of the way.
Making the Peanut Stew
You'll notice we've now prepped a pretty substantial amount of vegetables. So be sure your pot is big enough.
Heat some oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes, along with the garlic, ginger, and chili.
Once the aromas are released, add the bell pepper, carrots, and sweet potato. Let them cook together for a few minutes.
Now add the can of chopped tomatoes, the peanut butter, and the vegetable stock. You might consider preheating the stock to avoid a drop in temperature.
Add your seasonings: cinnamon, cumin, harissa, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the stew simmer for twenty minutes until the sweet potato is tender.
In the meantime, chop the spinach and coarsely crush the peanuts. You might want to set aside a few peanuts for garnish at the end.
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked through, add the crushed peanuts and spinach as the final step. Let them warm through and blend in for a few more minutes.
Then you can serve this plant-based West African peanut stew piping hot in deep bowls.
The Senegalese roots of this peanut stew
This plant-based stew traces its origins to the Senegalese dish mafé (also known as maafe or sauce d'arachide), a rich peanut-based stew deeply rooted in West African cuisine. Mafé emerged in Senegal during the colonial period, when peanut cultivation was heavily promoted. The dish quickly became a favorite among various ethnic groups in Senegal, Mauritania, and Gambia, and eventually evolved into a national dish in Mali.
Traditionally, mafé is made with meat such as beef, chicken, or lamb, simmered in a creamy sauce of peanut butter, tomato, onion, garlic, and local vegetables. In modern versions, the meat is replaced with nourishing vegetables like sweet potato, carrot, and spinach - without sacrificing flavor or depth.
Mafé is more than just a dish: it's a symbol of hospitality, comfort, and Senegal's rich culinary heritage. Serve it with rice or couscous for a bowl full of history and taste.
Learn more about mafé, Senegalese peanut stew, in the following articles:
- Peanut stew - Wikipedia.
- Mafé (Britannica).
- Mafé: The Senegalese peanut stew you should have tried at least once (Tasting table).
- Histoire du mafé: du Mali au reste du monde (Afro Cuisine).
The trick with the peanut butter
Measuring peanut butter - and similar ingredients - isn't all that easy. Half of it tends to get stuck to the container you're using to measure, which is a bit of a hassle. But here's a great tip: weigh the peanut butter directly in the broth. Place the broth on the kitchen scale and zero it out, or simply remember its weight. Then add peanut butter to the broth until you reach the desired (extra) weight. That way, you've got a "clean" method for measuring peanut butter.
More surprising.African
The African cuisine is often underestimated. Especially North African cuisine, which is closely related to Oriental cuisine and stands out for its wonderfully aromatic flavors. That's why you should definitely also try the following dishes:
- Thieboudienne (Senegal)
- Moroccan meatballs with chickpeas
- soup of sweet potatoes and lentils
- Green lentil soup with sweet potatoes.
If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.
toondebacker says
I make big batches so I can eat it for a few days.