African Peanut Soup Recipe
Today we are making a West African Peanut Soup recipe! A hearty soup with a RICH peanut flavor and coconut milk mixed with a healthy serving of greens in a vegetable broth base. In various parts of Africa, peanuts are an important part of nutrition due to their healthy fats and proteins and they are a crop grown by many farmers. They are native to South America, where the Portuguese apparently first brought peanuts to the African enclaves, and from there it spread.
Peanut stew is also known as groundnut soup or stew. There are many other names for different variations, from maafe, sauce d’arachide, tigadèguèna or domod and this soup is a staple for West Africans. It originates from Mali in West Africa! In this region, peanuts are the base of peanut soups, peanut stews (eg. West African Peanut Stew), peanut marinades and more. They are also used in many other places in terms of thickener or even peanut oil. In North Africa, they are the base of many marinades and sauces for flavoring.
Having peanut butter in savory meals was not something I would’ve thought of – it was always more of a dessert ingredient for me. Please tell me – what other candy bar ingredient goes into savory food? Peanuts and peanut butter are in Reese’s Pieces, Snickers, O’Henry’s, and many other chocolate bar favorites, but now they’ve also snuck their way into dinner!
Traditional Ingredients
In the traditional recipe for this soup, the list of ingredients can include chicken breast or beef, jalepeno peppers or scotch bonnet peppers, red chilli flakes or chili powder, fresh cilantro, sweet potatoes, tomato paste, red onion, collard greens and chicken broth. The base ingredients are blended with a regular blender or an immersion blender. It’s my favorite soup for cold, rainy days!
Why You’ll Love This African Peanut Soup Recipe
Nutty Soup: A peanut butter soup recipe is not very common in terms of soup flavors. In fact, this is one of the first times I’ve ever added it to make any type of peanut stew. The underlying nuttiness compliments this recipe perfectly though! Did you also know peanuts also contain a lot of benefits for improved heart health because of their unsaturated fat content and ability to lower cholesterol?
Healthy Fats: This healthy soup is full of healthy fats with the peanut butter and coconut milk. This contributes to making it have a creamy texture. It is also thicker than soup usually is, and perfect for serving over a bed of grains. Plus, these types of fats are good for you – unlike the type of fat you’ll find in a Starbucks frappuccino, for instance.
Superstar Kale: Kale is full of vitamins and minerals, from vitamins A, K, B6 and C to calcium, potassium, copper and manganese and more! Fresh ginger and fresh garlic cloves also have great health benefits. Although the benefits of each alone are impressive, combined they are even greater! This ranges from improving cognitive function, reducing markers of stress in the body and more.
Substitutions
Coconut Milk: I recommend using Thai Kitchen’s full-fat, canned coconut milk to get the maximum richness of the stew. Shake it well before using. Otherwise, only the coconut cream will rise to the top if it’s taken out of the refrigerator. (Storing a can of full fat coconut milk overnight causes the water and the cream to separate, making a thick white layer of cream on top and the coconut water underneath).
The next best substitute will be creamy oat milk (or another nut-based vegan milk of choice, such as cashew milk). Choose a sugar-free option for milk, so that there is no added sweetness from this ingredient. Since this is a savory recipe, additional sugar isn’t needed.
Peanut Butter: Use unsalted, natural, creamy peanut butter here (not the chunky type). In natural peanut butter, the only ingredient should be peanuts! The oil in the container will be at the top, and you’ll have to stir it around well before using. That’s one way you can tell it’s probably natural, but double check on the ingredient list. Do not substitute with another nut butter substitute, like almond butter.
Avocado Oil: This is my go-to oil for making a stir fry soup base. You can use any other neutral oil. I recommend refined coconut oil (not the virgin/extra virgin one that smells like coconuts) or olive oil as a substitute.
Pasta Sauce: I used a vegan pasta sauce that I found at my local grocery store. Many pasta sauces are already vegan, but check the ingredients to confirm. You can substitute tomato paste as well, but pasta sauce has much more flavor. I enjoy using a garlic-tomato sauce.
African Peanut Soup Recipe Notes
- I love to garnish the soup with peanuts, then serve it with white rice or brown rice for a main dish. You can even top it with fresh cilantro for more added color. or some red pepper flakes for a spicy soup!
- To make it a curry flavored soup, add a bit of curry powder to this recipe. Start with one spoon and add more as per your taste, once it is fully mixed into the soup while simmering.
More Cozy Fall Recipes
Lentil Soup (Indian Yellow Moong Dal)
Butter Tofu (Vegan take on Indian Butter Tofu)
If you make this African Peanut Soup Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
African Peanut Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Skillet / Cooking Pot
Ingredients
For the Soup
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ medium white onion diced
- 1 tbsp fresh, minced ginger
- 2 medium cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 3 cups fresh, washed kale chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 5 tbsp smooth peanut butter unsalted, natural
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1½ cups water
- 1 cup full-fat, canned coconut milk
- ¼ cup pasta sauce
- ¼ tsp pink salt
For the Topping
- crushed, roasted peanuts optional
Instructions
- Add in the oil with the onion, garlic and ginger to a skilet over medium heat.
- Stir the mixture around and allow the onions to get tender and softened.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and allow the soup to come to a boil.
- Once it boils, turn the heat to low and allow it to simmer until it thickens up to your desired consistency.
- This can take 10-20 minutes, but I would keep stirring it every couple minutes until it reaches that point
- Enjoy warm, with some rice and a dollop of vegan yogurt!
Notes
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Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Adapted from Cookie & Kate’s Vegetarian Peanut Stew
