One-Pot West African-Style Sweet Potato Peanut Stew with Chickpeas and Kale
A one-pot sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas, kale and a gingery tomato-peanut broth, finished with lime and roasted peanuts. Ready in about 45 minutes.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
One-Pot West African-Style Sweet Potato Peanut Stew with Chickpeas and Kale is a vegan dinner recipe made with neutral oil (peanut oil works well), yellow onion, garlic. It takes 50 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 552 calories, 18 g of protein and 16 g of fiber.
This stew takes its cue from West African groundnut stews, where peanuts thicken and enrich a tomato base. Frying the tomato paste and spices in oil before any liquid goes in builds a deeper, less raw flavor, and loosening the peanut butter with hot broth first means it melts in smoothly instead of clumping. Crushing a few sweet potato chunks at the end thickens the pot without any flour, and a squeeze of lime cuts through the richness.
Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp21 gneutral oil (peanut oil works well)
- 1 large150 gyellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
- 1½ tbsp9 gfresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1½ tsp3.2 gground cumin
- 1 tsp1.8 gground coriander
- ¼ tsp0.5 gcayenne pepper, or more to taste
- 2 tbsp32 gtomato paste
- 1½ lb680 gsweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks, about 2 medium-large
- 1 can411 gdiced tomatoes with their juices (14.5 oz can)
- 4 cups960 gvegetable broth, hot or warmed
- ½ cup128 gnatural creamy peanut butter, unsweetened
- 1 can240 gchickpeas, drained and rinsed (15 oz can)
- ¾ tsp4.5 gfine salt, plus more to taste
- 4 cups84 gkale, stems removed, leaves chopped (about 1 small bunch), loosely packed
- 1½ tbsp23 gfresh lime juice
To serve
- ¼ cup37 groasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- ¼ cup4 gfresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 3 cups606 gcooked brown rice (optional)
Kit: Large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot (5-quart or larger), Whisk, Small bowl or measuring jug
Tips
- Use natural peanut butter made from just peanuts (and salt). Sweetened, stabilized brands make the stew taste sugary and can leave it slightly greasy.
- Cut the sweet potatoes to an even 3/4-inch size so they all turn tender at the same time; larger chunks can need 5–10 minutes longer.
- Salt levels vary a lot between broths and peanut butters, so season at the end. If the stew tastes flat, it usually needs more salt or lime rather than more spice.
- For more heat with a fruitier flavor, simmer a whole scotch bonnet or habanero in the pot (pierced once, not chopped) and remove it before serving.
Swap ideas
- Collard greens or spinach instead of kale
- Collards are closer to traditional greens and need about 10 minutes of simmering; spinach wilts in 1–2 minutes and gives a softer texture.
- Butternut squash instead of sweet potato
- Slightly less sweet and a little firmer; cooking time stays about the same.
- Sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter (and toasted sunflower seeds on top)
- Makes the stew peanut-free with a similar richness and a slightly earthier flavor.
- Black-eyed peas or cannellini beans instead of chickpeas
- Softer, creamier beans that blend into the broth more; add them in the last 10 minutes so they hold their shape.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
552kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 4.1 g 21%
- Sugars
- 20.3 g
- Sodium
- 1388 mg 60%
- Potassium
- 1427 mg 30%
- Calcium
- 220 mg 17%
- Iron
- 5.4 mg 30%
- Vitamin C
- 46 mg 51%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, canola, Onions, raw, Garlic, raw, Ginger root, raw, Spices, cumin seed, Spices, coriander seed, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne, Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Sweet potato, raw, unprepared (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve, Peanut butter, smooth style, without salt, Chickpeas (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt, Salt, table, Kale, raw, Lime juice, raw
Method
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of the salt and cook, stirring now and then, until soft and translucent with a little gold at the edges, 6–7 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cumin, coriander, cayenne and tomato paste and stir constantly until the paste darkens to a brick red and starts to stick to the pot, 1–2 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes and stir to coat them in the spiced paste. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juices and 3 1/2 cups of the broth, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
In a bowl or measuring jug, whisk the peanut butter with the remaining 1/2 cup hot broth until smooth and pourable, then stir it into the pot along with the chickpeas and the rest of the salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover and simmer gently until the sweet potatoes are completely tender when pierced with a knife, 15–18 minutes. Stir every few minutes, scraping the bottom, since peanut butter can catch and scorch.
Press some of the sweet potato chunks (roughly a quarter of them) against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon and stir them in to thicken the stew.
Stir in the kale and simmer uncovered until it is tender and deep green, 4–5 minutes. If the stew is thicker than you like, loosen it with a splash of water or broth.
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste and add more salt, cayenne or lime as needed. Ladle into bowls, over rice if you like, and top with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
Storage: Cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The stew thickens as it sits, so reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water or broth until steaming hot. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge; add fresh lime and toppings after reheating.
Questions
- How much protein is in one-pot west african-style sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas and kale?
- Each of the 4 servings has 18 g of protein, 16 g of fiber and 552 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is one-pot west african-style sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas and kale vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does one-pot west african-style sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas and kale take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking, so 50 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make one-pot west african-style sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas and kale ahead?
- Cool, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The stew thickens as it sits, so reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water or broth until steaming hot. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge; add fresh lime and toppings after reheating.
- What can I substitute in one-pot west african-style sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas and kale?
- Collard greens or spinach instead of kale — collards are closer to traditional greens and need about 10 minutes of simmering; spinach wilts in 1–2 minutes and gives a softer texture.. Butternut squash instead of sweet potato — slightly less sweet and a little firmer; cooking time stays about the same.. Sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter (and toasted sunflower seeds on top) — makes the stew peanut-free with a similar richness and a slightly earthier flavor.. Black-eyed peas or cannellini beans instead of chickpeas — softer, creamier beans that blend into the broth more; add them in the last 10 minutes so they hold their shape..
- Does one-pot west african-style sweet potato peanut stew with chickpeas and kale contain gluten or peanuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and peanuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 23, 2026 ·West African