West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup / Stew {Keto, Gluten-Free, Low Carb}

West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup is thick, fragrant and comforting soup/stew. If you like peanuts and chicken, you’ll love the wonderful flavour combination of groundnut soup, an easy West African peanut soup recipe.

Suitable for keto, low carb and gluten-free diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.

 

This morning I woke up and really wanted some thick, fragrant and comforting groundnut soup, aka West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup… so I made some. That’s how easy this recipe is to make.

Groundnut soup is my go-to African recipe to teach friends because it is soo easy to make. And there was that one time The Guardian published my West African Chicken and Peanut Butter Stew recipe… (a very, very exciting day.) It’s a recipe I love to share.

What is Groundnut Soup?

How do I describe groundnut soup to you?  Well, the peanut butter base makes this soup creamy, and when cooked, it gives it a naturally sweet and perfect flavour.

This dish is extremely popular across West Africa with many variations but all have a main base of peanut butter. Much like jollof rice, there are fierce debates about who does it better and the origins of the dish. Different countries add in different ingredients — different vegetables, meat, spices, etc.

If you haven’t had groundnut soup before, you’re in for a real treat no matter which version you try especially when tried with some spicy Hasselback potatoes.

I hear African cuisine the ‘big cuisine of 2018’ and I think this recipe is a wonderful (and really, really delicious) way to kick off the year of African cuisine.

And most of you will always have the ingredients on hand, making it an easy choice when you need a quick and filling recipe to make.

How to Make West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup Step by Step

• Step 1. Season chicken thighs with 1 tsp ground coriander, garlic powder, thyme, pepper and salt.
• Step 2. To a frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp peanut oil. Brown chicken on all sides. (You will have to do this in batches.)

• Step 3. Add remaining peanut oil to the frying pan or a pot. Add the onions and peppers and cook for 5 mins until the onions have softened.

Step 4. in a blender I looove mine, and I’ll tell you more about it later), add 1 tsbp chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp water, peanut butter, garlic, ginger and chopped scotch bonnet. Give it a quick stir to loosen peanut butter and blend into a paste.

Note: If you have the Kenwood blender attachment instead, or if you don’t have a Kenwood Titanium Chef, you can combine steps 4 and 5. (If you don’t have a Kenwood, use a regular blender.)

• Step 5. Stir the blended peanut butter paste, the remaining ingredients and chicken back into the onion mix. Bring to a boil and reduce to a ‘rolling simmer’ for about 60 mins. Leave the cover ajar during cooking because you want the peanut sauce to reduce. Stir occasionally during this process so the peanut butter doesn’t settle at the bottom.

• Step 7. After 60 mins, taste soup and adjust seasoning, if desired. Remove pot from heat.

Tips for Making Groundnut Soup

• For a slightly more caramelised sauce (my family loves it this way), simmer for an additional 15 mins.
• Groundnut soup is immensely adaptable by changing/adding spices, citruses, vegetables and meat. See my Slow Cooker African Peanut Stew recipe for another easy groundnut soup recipe.
• A whole chicken can be used in this recipe, or chicken legs, instead of chicken thighs.
• You’ll need to use a ‘rolling simmer’ to keep the soup foam from boiling over the sides of the pot. (You don’t want one of those ‘calm’ simmers that barely moves, but a proper simmer.)

And even more tips….

• You can make groundnut soup vegetarian or vegan by omitting the chicken and using other vegetable ingredients such as sweet potatoes or butternut squash. Try my Velvety Peanut Butter Butternut Squash Soup for a vegan alternative.
• Garnish with nuts, herbs and spring onions.
• Serve with rice (plantains or bread) for a complete meal.

Peanut Butter Stew Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, we call it ‘granat stew’. This is one of the first dishes all Sierra Leoneans learn to cook. It was certainly the case in my household because it is so quick and easy it is to make.

Note that in Sierra Leone, we normally start with fresh peanuts, roasted and then pounded but here we just buy peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Soup Ghana

Ghanian groundnut soup (or Ghanian peanut butter soup) is made with meat or fish and served with banku.

Nigerian Peanut Soup

In Nigeria, groundnut/peanut soup is commonly made with braised goat meat and served with pounded yam, eba or rice.

Mafé (or Maafé)

Mafé (or Maafé) is sometimes just referred to as groundnut soup, but it’s more specifically a spicy Sengleanese stew.

More West African Flavours

If you like West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup, try a few of these recipes:

• Meatball Jollof Stew – West African Flavours {Gluten-Free}
• Puff Puff (Deep Fried Dough Balls) {Vegan}
• Cassava Leaf {Sauce} + Tutorial – African Recipe

Thank you again to Kenwood for sending me this gorgeous Titanium Chef mixer, my new ‘sous chef.’ It’s a must-have for foodies who want to try new culinary experiences like this West African Spicy Chicken Groundnut Soup.

Weight Watchers Points in Groundnut Chicken Soup

One serving of West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup contains 4 Freestyle SmartPoints.

Thank you for reading my groundnut soup recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you.

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Print Recipe

4.82 from 11 votes

West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup

West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup is thick, fragrant and comforting.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: West African

Servings: 8

Calories: 297kcal

Author: Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

• ▢ 12 chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 2 tsp ground coriander divided
• ▢ 1 tsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tsp dried thyme
• ▢ Ground white pepper
• ▢ Salt
• ▢ 2 tbsp peanut oil divided
• ▢ 1 onion peeled and finely diced
• ▢ 2 red pepper bell deseeded and finely diced
• ▢ 400 g chopped tomatoes
• ▢ 5 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• ▢ 1 cm piece of peeled ginger roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 ​garlic cloves peeled
• ▢ Scotch bonnet or other chilli to your taste
• ▢ 2 tbsp tomato puree
• ▢ 1 stock cube*
• ▢ 500 ml water

UK Measures - **Convert to US Measures**

Instructions

• Season chicken with 1 tsp ground coriander, garlic powder, thyme, pepper and salt.
• Add 1 tbsp of peanut oil to a frying pan over medium heat and brown the chicken on all sides in batches.
• Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and add the onion and peppers and cook for 5 mins until the onions are softened.
• Add 1 tbsp chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp water, the peanut butter, the garlic, ginger and chopped scotch bonnet to the mini chopper, fitted on your Kenwood Titanium Chef machine. Give it a quick stir to loosen up the peanut butter and blend into a paste.
• Stir the blended peanut butter sauce, the remaining ingredients and chicken back into the onion mix, bring to a boil, then reduce to a 'rolling simmer' for about 60 mins.
• Leave cover ajar during cooking as you want the peanut sauce to reduce.
• Stir the mix occasionally during the 60 minutes as the peanut butter could settle at the bottom of the pot.
• You want a peanut soup that is darker, tastes sweeter and 'caramelised' at the end'. (You will see a few small bits of oil floating at the top when done.) At the end of 60 mins, taste stew and adjust seasoning, then turn off.
• Serve with rice (plantains or bread) and garnish with nuts, herbs and spring onions.

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Notes

The soup foams up during boiling, so you need to reduce it to a 'rolling or roiling' simmer as soon as it starts to boil.

*If you don't want to use a jumbo cube (maggi cube) then omit it and replace the water with chicken stock.

For a slightly thicker more caramelised sauce that my family prefers then simmer for another 15 mins.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 377mg | Potassium: 534mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1070IU | Vitamin C: 45.1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1.9mg