African Sweet Potato Peanut Stew
Vegan African Sweet Potato Peanut Stew with sweet potatoes is one of my personal favorite recipes of all time! We make it regularly. The flavors are simply amazing, like a party in your mouth. If you only try one vegetable soup recipe, let this be the one.
We love this soup because it’s…
- Super filling
- Hearty
- Full of flavor
- Veggie-loaded
- Insanely satisfying
Ingredients in African Sweet Potato Stew
Believe me, I know the combination of ingredients sounds absolutely crazy! This African soup is loaded with sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, red kidney beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, ginger, cinnamon, and even peanut butter (or PB2).
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
How to make this soup
Heat the water in a soup pot over medium heat.
Dice all of the veggies including the onion, garlic, and sweet potatoes.
I am often asked which knives I use personally, and I have to say that it is Victorinox. They are the same company that makes Swiss Army Knives and the quality is excellent.
Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the bell peppers, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the brown sugar (sucanat), ginger, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and cook stirring, for 30 seconds.
Stir in the peanut butter, and distribute it evenly throughout.
Add the sweet potatoes, kidney beans, and tomatoes, and stir to coat. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.
Serve it in a bowl over your choice of steamed rice, and top with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
*Original publish date November 17, 2014.
Tips for making sweet potato stew
- You may want to thin out the peanut butter first by mixing it with some warm water in a small bowl before adding it to the pot. It will be much easier to incorporate it into the stew.
- Any preferred sweetener can be used.
- Be careful not to overcook the sweet potatoes. You’ll want those a bit chunky for a better texture in the finished product.
- Don’t cover to cook, as covering tends to lead to overcooking.
What is PB2?
There’s an ingredient in town that mimics the nut butter’s flavor and cuts down its fat and calorie count by more than half: powdered peanut butter.
The product, which might intrigue health-conscious consumers, is made by pressing peanuts to remove their fat and oil content, while maintaining their taste.
The process turns the solid peanuts into a kind of peanut dust that, when mixed with liquid, reassembles a butter-like spread.”–Huffington Post
White rice or brown rice?
This amazingly delicious African Peanut Soup is served over the rice of your choice. I love it over brown jasmine rice.
When we first began our plant-based journey, my husband wasn’t crazy about brown rice, because he loved the white variety. That prompted me to begin making a mixture of the two kinds of rice.
I would put both jasmine white rice and brown rice–in half and half measurement–into our rice steamer. This way, we could both be happy and get the nutritional benefits of brown rice.
This is a layered dish. The first layer in your bowl is rice. The second layer is the peanuty stew, and the final layer is a sprinkling of crushed peanuts (optional) and fresh cilantro.
The results are amazing! Seriously, if you only try one recipe, let this African Peanut Soup be the one.
What followers are saying about African Sweet Potato Stew
I made this recipe and both my husband and myself loved it, i was never keen on sweet potato but this is amazing. I am making it for my second time tonight, love it, thanks for this great recipe!–Sandra
Recipe originally from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Other great soup & stew recipes
- Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup and Cornbread
- Creamy Mushroom Soup
- Best Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
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African Peanut Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons water for sautéing
- 2 medium yellow onions chopped
- 3 garlic clove minced
- 2 red bell peppers seeded and cut into small squares
- 3 teaspoons light brown sugar or sucanat
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter or 10-12 Tbsp PB2, smooth or crunchy or PB2 powder
- 3 sweet potatoes peeled and diced into cubes
- 1 15 oz. can of red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- 1/2-1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts, chopped
- chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the water in a soup pot over medium heat.
- Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the brown sugar (sucanat), ginger, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper, and cook stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the peanut butter, and distribute it evenly throughout. You may want to thin out the peanut butter first by mixing it with some warm water in a small bowl before adding it to the pot. It will be much easier to incorporate it into the stew.
- Add the sweet potatoes, kidney beans, and tomatoes, and stir to coat. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 minutes.
- Serve in bowl over your choice of steamed rice, and top with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
Video
Notes
Tips for making sweet potato stew
- You may want to thin out the peanut butter first by mixing it with some warm water in a small bowl before adding it to the pot. It will be much easier to incorporate it into the stew.
- Any preferred sweetener can be used.
- Be careful not to overcook the sweet potatoes. You’ll want those a bit chunky for a better texture in the finished product.
- Don’t cover to cook, as covering tends to lead to overcooking.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
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About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
Instead of topping this with cilantro, use fresh fruits and veggies, chopped/sliced/diced. Make it like a salad bar, so everyone can top it their own way. That’s the way we learned the West African dish when we lived over there. Each bite can have a different flavor, one with pineapple, one with carrots, one bite like a pina colada with coconut and pineapple, grapes give a nice crunch, bananas give creamy texture. We’ve used: olives, berries, celery, peppers, onions, kiwi, nus, apples, pears, peaches, peas, corn, anything we had. Some were hits, some were ok. It makes it a party dish for the holidays.
@Marilyn, Great idea!
Teri, could you state the poundage of sweet potatoes? I always get very large sweet potatoes, can’t tell but think three of those might be too much. Thanks. Martha
Around 1 lb of sweet potatoes should be about right, I would think.
Okay. Thank you. 3 to a pound would be pretty small sweet potatoes to me, I guess; I just weighed three that I have on hand 14 oz, 15.1 oz and 1 lb 1.5 oz! (I knew I had left a question somewhere, but couldn’t remember what site, much less what question. 😀 )
I’m allergic to Nightshade (tomatoes and peppers) could you offer any suggestions on substitutions please?
The red peppers can easily be left out of this recipe, but the tomatoes are pretty essential. I found this link for substitutions that might be helpful. http://vegetalion.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-replace-nightshades-part-4.html
Can this recipe be done without garlic?
Absolutely!
I made this recipe and both my husband and myself loved it, i was never keen on sweet potato but this is amazing. I am making it for my second time tonight, love it, thanks for this great recipe!
That’s terrific! It is amazing how the flavors of sweet potatoes, kidney beans, tomatoes, peanut butter, and spices come together in this dish. So glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe filled my 6 qt. Instant Pot to the 10 cup line. I set it to cook for 10 minutes at high pressure and quick pressure release. The sweet potatoes were very soft, but did not disintegrate completely. Next time I’ll try pressure cooking for 8 minutes. I used PB Fit powder, which I did not realize had some sugar added when I purchased it: 2 g of sugar per 12 g of powder. I did not add any additional sugar and the stew was sweet enough without it. I stirred the PB powder in at the end before serving. My family enjoyed it!
Melissa, thanks so much for sharing your experience making this in the Instant Pot. That is very helpful, as I know many others will be interested. So glad that your family liked this recipe!
Could you have done with 1 cup less broth since the Instant Pot usually requires less liquid? I’m about to make this recipe and was concerned about this.
J. Wheeler, Tennessee
Hi Joy- I haven’t made this in my IP so can’t say for sure. Please let us know if you give it a try because I would love to get the setting, time, and liquid adjustment from you.
Terri, this is so good! I’m glad you gave the PB2 option (actually I used PBFit, love the stuff). Thanks! Definitely a keeper :-).
I’m so glad you like it. This is seriously my favorite stew of all-time. I’ll have to check out the PB2Fit. Thanks for leaving the great feedback!
Silly question… Do you just add the PB powder or do you make it into actual peanut butter before adding to the soup?
I usually go ahead and make it into peanut butter, but my bet is that it would work either way.
Heather, I just add the peanut powder dry and it works fine.
This looks like a great recipe. I’m wondering how little of the peanut butter than I can use without ruining the taste. 3/4 cup is a bit much for my liking so I’m wondering if I could use 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup and still have it taste very good. Any idea if that would work?
Maybe try it with 1/4 cup and add more as needed (if needed). You could also use the PB2 powder instead of peanut butter if desired. The peanut taste is a pretty important part of this recipe in my opinion.
One of the best dishes I have ever made ♥️. I used crunchy peanut butter and loved the little bites of peanut throughout. AND, I used about half the amount called for. However, my hands-on prep work, was closer to 40 minutes than 20 ?
This is absolutely one of the best soups/stews I have made in a long time!!???
I used PB2 , just mixed in with the other spices.
Everyone in our household loved it! I did not add peanuts or cilantro at the end.
I blenderized it for my 19 month old grandson, he devoured it!
You outdid yourself with this recipe Terri!!
Hi Susan- I’m SO glad to hear that it was a hit! 😀
Great recipe. I make it all the time. But I am confused on the nutrition info. It says it makes 4 servings. It makes waaaaaaaay more than 4 servings. I can eat it for a week. What is the weight in grams of one serving? Thanks, JL.