December 8, 2022

African Peanut Soup (Maafe)

Name: African Peanut Soup (Maafe)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 large onion (peeled and cut into wedges, cut and discard root after cutting into wedges); 1 large tomato (cut into wedges); 1 piece fresh ginger (1-2 inches, peeled, roughly chopped); 2 cloves garlic (rough chopped); 6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter; 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth; 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1-inch pieces, (breast meat can be used, See NOTES section below)); 1/2 large bell pepper (any color) (seeded and chopped); 3/4 cups carrots (peeled and ends trimmed, sliced into rounds); ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes; 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt; chopped peanuts, cilantro leaves, and/or hot pepper flakes (optional garnishes)

I’m preparing for my first trip to Africa and I’m super excited! There’s a lot more prep work for this trip than for the usual trips I take….securing Visa’s, getting Yellow Fever vaccinations (ouch!), picking up the anti-malarial pills, etc. Even with all of this preparing, I hadn’t given any thought to the Africa cuisine until my cousin Eric brought it up. As a food lover, how could I have overlooked this? I did some research and chose to experiment with Maafe…an African Peanut Soup. It’s a delicious, full bodied, satisfying soup that can easily double as a stew over rice, if desired. If you’d like to get a taste of African cuisine why not make a pot of African Peanut Soup (Maafe) yourself? Tutaonana baadaye! (Swahili for “catch you later!”👋🏼)

Jump to Recipe

Soup Ingredients

Organize the soup ingredients – onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, peanut butter, broth, chicken, bell pepper, carrot, hot pepper flakes, and salt.

Making the Peanut Butter Pureé

Peanut Butter, tomato and onion wedges, garlic, and ginger

place ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth

Place onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and peanut butter in the blender. Cover and purée until smooth.

Making the Soup

add the peanut butter puree into a large pot or dutch oven. stir in the broth, chicken, bell pepper, carrots, hot pepper flakes, and salt. Simmer for 20-25 mins.

Add the peanut butter purée to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Then stir in the broth, chicken, pepper, carrots, crushed red pepper and salt. Bring to a soft boil. Continue to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, over medium to medium-low heat (adjust heat as needed) until the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

African Peanut Soup (Maafe)

Taste, then season soup with additional salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls, garnish as desired, and serve as is, or spoon over rice to enjoy as a stew.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

African Peanut Soup (Maafe)

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time40

Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: African

Keyword: bell pepper, boneless chicken, broth, carrots, garlic, ginger, onion, peanut butter, peanuts, tomatoes

Servings: 4 servings

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

1 large onion peeled and cut into wedges, cut and discard root after cutting into wedges
1 large tomato cut into wedges
1 piece fresh ginger 1-2 inches, peeled, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic rough chopped
6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces, (breast meat can be used, See NOTES section below)
1/2 large bell pepper (any color) seeded and chopped
3/4 cups carrots peeled and ends trimmed, sliced into rounds
¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
chopped peanuts, cilantro leaves, and/or hot pepper flakes optional garnishes

Instructions

Place onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and peanut butter in the blender. Cover and purée until smooth.
Add the peanut butter purée to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Then stir in the broth, chicken, pepper, carrots, crushed red pepper and salt. Bring to a soft boil.
Continue to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, over medium to medium-low heat (adjust heat as needed) until the chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
Taste, then season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve as is, or with a side of rice to enjoy as a stew.

Notes

Breast meat can be used in place of thighs if you prefer white meat. Add breast meat after 10 minutes of the soup simmering to avoid over-cooking and drying out the chicken.

Substituting diced tofu or sweet potato for the chicken, makes for a great vegetarian soup or stew. Just make sure to use vegetable instead of chicken broth.

Recipe from ASpicyPerspective.com with substitutions suggested by me.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Chicken Skewers with Spicy Satay Sauce, Satay Breakfast Toast, and Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew.

Gluten Free Disclaimer

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.