African Chicken Stew (with peanut butter)

Name: African Chicken Stew
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 3 cups cubed chicken breast ((20 oz or 3 breasts)); ¼ cup sesame oil; 1 large onion ((chopped)); 1½ tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 1 tbsp curry; 1 tsp ginger powder; 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes ((or less for a milder stew)); 5 cloves garlic ((minced)); 2 14.5 oz diced stewed tomatoes; 2 14.5 oz chicken broth; 3 oz tomato paste ((half a can)); ¾ cup peanut butter ((or up to one cup)); roasted/chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro ((optional))

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Delicious African Chicken Stew, loaded with chunks of chicken, and crunchy peanut butter bits. All this goodness, and ready in 30 minutes! Serve this zesty stew with some crusty bread, or homemade sourdough bread for a filling meal. Now with Instant Pot directions!

African chicken stew in a white bowl on a green placemat

The peanut butter gives the stew a creamy texture, while the garlic, curry, ginger, and crushed red pepper add an incredible flavor depth. Tender chunks of chicken and crunchy bits of peanuts make this stew a new favorite around my house!

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🧐About this Recipe
🛒What Goes into This Recipe
🍲How to Make This Recipe
🥘Instant Pot African Chicken Stew
🍽Serving Suggestions
🤷🏻‍♀️Recipe FAQs
👩🏼‍🍳Pro Tips
🍖Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🧐About this Recipe

Recently, we were invited to lunch at Marguerite's house. Marguerite is my husband's second cousin and lives 45 minutes away in Whitefish, Montana. One of the perks of moving to Montana has been getting to know Marguerite, who is just a treasure.

Marguerite served this soup with some delicious crusty bread and followed the fantastic lunch with homemade pumpkin pie! I made very slight changes to her recipe because honestly, it was pretty close to perfect already.

🛒What Goes into This Recipe

🍲How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Chop chicken breasts into 1"- 2" chunks and roughly chop the onion.

Step 2: In a large Dutch oven, heat the sesame oil. Mix salt, black pepper, curry, ginger, and crushed red pepper until combined and stir with chopped chicken and onions.

Step 3: Sauté the spiced chicken and onion mixture in a Dutch oven until the chicken is browned, for approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic during the last minute.

Step 4: Mix stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth in the same bowl the chicken was in. Stir the mixture in with the chicken and onions.

Step 5: Simmer, covered, over medium heat for 15 minutes. Next, stir the crunchy peanut butter into the stew and cook for an additional 10 minutes on low.

Step 6: Meanwhile, toast peanuts in a hot pan for a couple of minutes.

Step 7: Serve stew in deep bowls, topped with a tablespoon of roasted peanuts and chopped fresh cilantro (optional).

african peanut soup in a white bowl on a green placemat

Step 8: Another option is to serve the stew with sliced crusty bread for dipping. Or, serve the stew over creamy coconut rice.

🥘Instant Pot African Chicken Stew

Chop chicken breasts into 1"- 2" chunks and roughly chop the onion.
Add the sesame oil to the Instant Pot and choose "saute."
Mix salt, black pepper, curry, ginger, and crushed red pepper until combined and stir with chopped chicken and onions.
Add the chicken and onions to the Instant Pot and set a timer for 5 minutes.
Sauté the spiced chicken and onion mixture until the chicken is browned for approximately 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic during the last minute. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot, to avoid "burn" error.
Mix stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth in the same bowl the chicken was in. Stir the mixture with the chicken and onions.
Cover with the lid and lock it into place. Set the valve to the "seal" position, choose "high pressure," and set the time to 20 minutes.
When the time is up, "quick release" the pressure. Unlock the lid and mix in the peanut butter.
Lock the lid once more and move the lever to "seal." Cook on high pressure for another 5 minutes, followed by a "quick release." Enjoy!

🍽Serving Suggestions

African Chicken Stew is delicious on its own or with some crusty bread. If you want a more authentic side, try it with Fufu! Not Sure what that is, I'm sure you're not alone! This What is Fufu blog post from Louisa at Food Plus Words will tell you everything you want to know and more!

🤷🏻‍♀️Recipe FAQs

Is African Chicken Stew the Same as African Peanut Soup?

The internet is littered with versions of this stew. Some of the recipes are listed as African Chicken Stew, while others are called African Peanut Soup.

Some of the recipes have sweet potatoes, collard greens, and a wide array of spices including cinnamon, cloves, and cumin.

Still, others call for coconut milk, which I plan on experimenting with in the future. I love it in my Goat Curry Stew recipe, so I'm sure it would go perfectly in this recipe too!

This recipe is just one of the many versions available online. I recommend starting with this recipe and making adjustments to your liking.

Where did peanut soup originate?

According to Wikipedia, peanuts stew or soup is a staple food in Western Africa and originated from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali.

👩🏼‍🍳Pro Tips

The original recipe called for ½ cup of sesame oil and one cup of peanut butter. If you don't mind the additional calories, experiment with the peanut butter and sesame oil ratios.
If you prefer a creamy stew consistency, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon. Blend the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until it reaches the desired consistency then add the cooked chicken.
Although you can use creamy or chunky peanut butter, I prefer the added crunch that the chunky peanut butter provides.
For a chunkier stew, add one chopped sweet potato when you add the chicken. If cooking the stew in an Instant Pot, add the sweet potato when you add the peanut butter.

🍖Related Recipes

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📖 Recipe

This recipe was originally published on Feb. 15, 2020. It was updated on Oct. 5, 2020 by adding Instant Pot instructions.