Chicken Peanut Stew

This is inspired by West African peanut stew, which I first encountered in university thanks to a lovely Ghanaian friend. Since then I've only made it on occasion, but I've always been delighted when I have! The following is an adaptation of this recipe, updated in August 2026.

Chicken Peanut Stew

(8 servings*)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 large red onion (chopped)

2 tablespoons of ginger paste

5 cloves of garlic (crushed/minced)

500g / 17oz of chicken (cubed)

540ml  / 18oz of diced tomatoes**

6 cups of stock

2 bay leaves

Black pepper (to taste)

Parsley (to taste)

Red pepper flakes (to taste)

Salt (to taste)

1 large sweet potato (cubed)

Bunch of collard greens*** (roughly chopped)

1 cup of chunky peanut butter

Cooked rice (to serve)

*When served with half a cup or so of rice this makes for eight servings.

**I usually have some sort of fire roasted or garlic stewed tomatoes on hand, but use what you've got!

***Use spinach in a pinch, but put it in closer to the end since it cooks much faster than collard greens.

Directions

1) Place a soup pot over medium heat, add the oil, and once hot sauté the onion until it starts to become translucent.

2) Stir in the ginger paste and garlic and continue sautéing another minute or two until fragrant.

3) Put the chicken in the pot and cook until it begins to brown on all sides.

4) Add the tomatoes and give everything a stir, cooking for another couple of minutes.

5) Pour in the stock and water, stir in the herbs and seasonings, and then add the sweet potato to the pot before bringing everything to a boil. Once boiling cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

6) Stir in the collard greens and peanut butter and continue cooking another 20 minutes or until tender.

7) Give the stew a taste, adjust the seasonings as needed, and enjoy either as is or over rice.