This Chicken, Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew is a comforting recipe with a little heat, that’s similar to a curry, but with fewer spices and (no curry powder). It’s rich, with a creamy nuttiness from the peanut butter and toasted peanuts. You can serve it on its own or with rice.
Chicken, spices, peanut butter, sweet potato and a few other goodies, all combine to make a tasty dinner.
Whilst the peanuts and coriander hint at a slightly Thai-flavour-inspired dish, it’s the addition of tomatoes, stock and sweet potato that really brings it closer to a more African-inspired stew.
I love the depth of flavour and the thick heartiness of this stew.
Table of Contents
📋 Ingredients
Toasted Peanuts – To make the toasted peanuts, simple dry-fry them in a hot pan for a minute or two (keep and eye on them, as the burn quickly). When they’re browned, place on a plate to cool.
Cayenne Pepper – This stew has a nice background heat to it. If that’s too hot for you’re tasted then you can swap out the cayenne for paprika and halve the amount of chillies that you add to the stew.
Chicken – Use chicken breasts for this recipe, chopped into bite-sized chunks.
Stock – Use either chicken stock, or vegetable stock. A stock cube and water is fine, or make Homemade Stock.
Sweet Potatoes – Use one large sweet potato or 2 medium ones, roughly 400g in total, peeled and chopped into bite-size chunks.
Seasonings – I use a blend of garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, chilli peppers, and bay leaf for flavour.
How to make it:
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Cook the onion in a large frying pan with oil until softened. Then stir in the garlic, ginger, seasonings, chilli peppers and bay leaf.
- Turn up the heat and stir in the chicken until its coated with the seasonings.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients besides the peanuts, then bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
- Then, uncover and remove the bay leaf, add in the peanuts and cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Pro Tip
I like to add a couple of red chilli peppers to mine to spice things up a bit, but if you’re serving this for kids, you can either:
- Leave the heat out entirely by missing out the chillies and swapping the cayenne for paprika
- Reduce the chillies
- Replace the chillies with a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce
I like to serve this dish with some toasted peanuts, garlicky kale and boiled rice. Sooo good!
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
- I love to serve this alongside Boiled Rice, and garlicky kale.
- Also, you can serve it with a Homemade Flatbread or Chapati to mop up the rest of the sauce.
- It’s also great served with couscous or extra vegetables – such as green beans or spring greens.
🍲 More amazing savoury recipes with nuts
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, cook the stew, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days. Reheat in a pan, on the hob, over a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until piping hot throughout.
To store in the freezer, allow the stew to cool, then place in an airtight container and freeze. When you are ready to serve, defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat in a pan until piping hot.
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Chicken, Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp oil
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper See notes on heat level
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 2 red chilli peppers finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 chicken breasts chopped into bite-size chunks (approx 600g or 1.3lbs)
- 150 g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) smooth peanut butter
- 480 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
- 400 g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 large sweet potato or 2 medium ones, (roughly 400g/14oz in total), peeled and chopped into bite-size chunks
- 110 g (1 cup) roughly chopped peanuts
To Serve:
- boiled rice
- fresh coriander/cilantro
- toasted peanuts*
- garlicky kale**
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan or dutch oven. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat until it start sto soften.1 1/2 tbsp oil, 1 large onion
- Add the garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, chilli peppers and bay leaf. Stir and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp ground coriander, 2 red chilli peppers, 1 bay leaf
- Turn the heat up to high and add the chicken. Stir so the chicken is coated in the spices, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the chicken is sealed.4 chicken breasts
- Stir in the peanut butter, stock, tinned tomatoes and sweet potato. Bring to the boil, turn down to a gentle simmer, then place a lid on the pan. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every so often.150 g (1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) smooth peanut butter, 480 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, 400 g (14 oz) can chopped tomatoes, 1 large sweet potato
- After 30 minutes, take off the lid, remove the bay leaf and add in the chopped peanuts. Cook for a further 2 minutes. (you can cook for longer with the lid off if you want the sauce to be thicker).110 g (1 cup) roughly chopped peanuts
- Turn off the heat and serve with rice, coriander and toasted peanuts (and some kale if you like).boiled rice, fresh coriander/cilantro, toasted peanuts*, garlicky kale**
Notes
Heat level of the stew
This stew has a nice background heat to it. If that’s too hot for your taste then you can swap out the cayenne for paprika and halve the amount of chillies that you add to the stew.Toasted peanuts
* To make the toasted peanuts, simple dry-fry them in a hot pan for a minute or two (keep and eye on them, as the burn quickly). When they’re browned, place on a plate to cool.The garlicky kale
** To make the garlicky kale, simply add a large bag of washed kale to a pan with 1 clove of minced garlic, 3 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp water. Stir, then place a lid on the pan and heat on high for 2-3 minutes until the kale has wilted. Nutrition info is for one serving of this recipe, and does not include the serving suggestions of rice, toasted peanuts or garlicky kale.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was first published in April 2016. Updated March 2025 with new photos and housekeeping.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Need something warming for this chilly weather (blooming freezing), and wanted to try something new, this looks perfect and I have all the ingredients in. Perfect????
Could this be done in a crock pot/slow cooker? If so, any modifications you might recommend? I’m thinking this would be soooo good when coming home from being outside at a soccer game on a cold day!! (Which would mean I’d have to get it going before leaving for the game!)
Thanks!
Love a good stew and this one didn’t disappoint. It was luscious and left me wanting more. It was a great success with the family too, compliments were flying about the whole time!!! In fact, my kids (say kids they are mid twenties) mark me on every meal!!! They gave this 8 out of 10 which for them is high praise ;0)
I made this last night! The first thing I was not sure of is how much is 4 chicken breasts actually – the ones at the store here are very large and I knew if I did 4 that would be way too many. I did 3 and it was pretty good, but I also used 2 medium sweet potatoes cause one didn’t look like enough, and there were no giant ones. I left the ingredients (spices, stock, etc) unchanged. It was very very tasty. I was, however, expecting a stronger peanut flavor than there was, and it was also not hot – though I haven’t used those chilis before so I was afraid to add more and now I know I could have. The seasonings were good but more mild overall than I expected. Not sure if I just added too much chicken & sweet potato (it didn’t look like a disproportionate amount!) or if I just would prefer it with 1.5-2x the seasonings. However, the recipe was easy to follow and super tasty. Thanks for sharing!
I tried making this last night and it turned out super delicious 😀 I’ve never had a stew/sauce with peanuts in it before, so it was a new experience for me. Thank you for the cool recipe 🙂
Yay! Thanks for letting me know how it went Annika – so glad you enjoyed it!
This was SO scrumptious! I could literally take a straw and drink this sauce. I always order the same thing when I go to Thai restaurants and the dish I get is always heavy on the peanut flavor so this is right up my alley and rather easy to make in my Dutch oven. Thanks for sharing! It’s definitely a keeper 🙂
Oh my goodness this was amazing! So easy and beyond delicious.
OMG Nicky! Is this real?! Your site looks amazing! =) Soo happy to have come across your path!
Ha ha yep, it’s definitely real 🙂 Thanks for checking out the site!
Everything looks delicious. I never had a peanut stew, thanks a lot
Hope you try it Keith 🙂
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it for my family, thanks for sharing.
Thanks Lucy, glad you like it 🙂