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.
Hi – this recipe looks great! I saw a question about slow cooker adaption and second it. Can you share instructions for making this a slow cooker meal?
Hi Tessa,
Yes you can cook this in the slow cooker. Once you’ve added all of the ingredients (except the peanuts) and brought it to the boil, transfer to the slow cooker and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low. Then stir in the peanuts at the end.
This was great! I used habaneros to make it extra spicy. I was also wondering though, it seems like the US measurement option isn’t working on any of the recipes!
I can’t thank you enough Nicky, just finished this, soooo very tasty, I cooked this in my electric pressure cooker, the sweet potato disintegrated, but it made the sauce so sweet and thick, absolutely delicious 😋
I was looking for a recipe for chicken and peanut butter as I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed to make my bang bang chicken. This was soooooo good. The link is going into our cozi meals as a definite keeper. Even my youngest (not young, they’re 17) had seconds and they rarely take seconds of anything! LOL Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Shannon,
So glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Chris & Nicky
My man and I adore this! After I fed it to my young step daughter, I tossed in some chilies in adobo…the spicy smokiness went really well with the peanut flavour. We served it on top of bulgar wheat for something different.
Thanks for an excellent recipe enjoyed by all.
Thanks Cynthia,
Glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
excelant
Delicious. A favourite now. I left out the cayenne pepper and bay leaf and added a little curry powder and tumeric.
Was great! Nice flavors
I just made this dish and it is so delicious! I made it as written with the exception of no chilies or bay leaf, because I didn’t have any on hand. Really great recipe. Thank you.
Googled it this morning. Cooked it this evening. Fantastic!
Served with kale and rice. Top dinner.