African chicken and peanut stew

I have a confession to make. I know absolutely nothing about African food. I have never been to an African restaurant, and I have never been served authentic African food by anyone else. In fact, the only African food I have ever had was made by myself. Therefore I cannot guarantee that this stew has any resemblance to dishes from Africa. Nevertheless, here it is, authentic or not: a BOMB chicken and peanut stew that may or may not be African.

It all started by watching a video by Sweetpotatosoul where she made a vegan version of this dish. My first reaction to a peanut butter based sauce was: ooooooh. My investigation then lead me to Wikipedia, where I learned the following:

“Recipes for the stew vary wildly, but commonly include chicken, tomato, onion, garlic, cabbage, and leaf or root vegetables.”

So I decided that I don’t particularly fancy cabbage, but the rest sounded good so I added all of those ingredients. And can I just say: OH. MY. GOD. You know what, a peanut butter stew is just as good as you’d think it would be. Since it’s a stew, it did take a while to cook, but the good thing with stews is that you just throw it all together, leave it for a while, then just come back and eat. Perfect!

While cooking it might look like you’re making some weird ketchup soup. But trust me, leave it to cook for half an hour, and suddenly you have this creamy creation:

This is some serious peanut butter magic. I’m such a fan! Watch out for more peanut butter stews in the near future. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for more creamy chicken dinners, I highly recommend this creamy chicken and chorizo pasta recipe. Check also out my Slow cooker beef stew.

Which peanut butter is good for cooking?

Generally you want to choose plain, unsalted peanut butter for cooking. Always make sure to buy peanut butter that has 100% peanuts, as this gives you a good idea of how the peanut butter will behave during cooking. Some peanut butters tend to be quite thick and solid, while others are a lot more runny. A thin, runny nut butter is great for cooking and baking, especially if you intend to use it for a sauce, dip, or in a stew like this. Both smooth and chunky peanut butter works well, just keep in mind that the crunchy variety will result in small bits of peanuts all over the stew.

African chicken and peanut stew

Creamy, smooth peanut butter stew with chicken, potatoes and spinach.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time40 mins

5 from 4 votes

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: African

Keyword: chicken, easy, healthy, peanut butter, quick

Servings: 4

Calories: 312kcal

Ingredients

• 600 g potatoes, roughly diced
• 2 chicken fillets, diced
• 700 ml water
• 2 chicken or vegetable bullion cubes
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 tbsp tomato pureé
• 4 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 handfuls spinach

Optional

• Handful peanuts

Instructions

• Heat a splash of water or oil in a pot. Add diced chicken, and cook for 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove chicken and set to the side.
• In the same pot, add onion. Cook for a few minutes until translucent.
• Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
• Add potatoes, water, bullion cubes, tomato pure and peanut butter. Stir to combine, put a lid on the pot and leave to cook for about 30 minute, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
• Use a fork to check if the potatoes are softening. When they are almost done, add chicken and spinach, and cook for 5 minutes until heated through.
• Remove from the heat and serve. Garnish with peanuts if you want.

Notes

This recipe gives 4 portions if served alone, or 5-6 if served with a side dish. African chicken and peanut stew is delicious served with rice, couscous, bulgur, flatbread or quinoa.

Optionally you can sprinkle some peanuts on top, or even add some in the stew right before serving for texture. It gives a nice crunch that suits the stew really well.

Make it vegan or vegetarian

The recipe calls for chicken, but this can be left out if you prefer, or replaced with beans for added protein.

Make it without peanuts

If you have a peanut allergy, you can use almond butter, cashew butter or sunflower seed butter instead. 

 

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