West African Peanut soup: This soup is a staple in most African cuisine as well as some other cultures like Taiwan in East Asia and Virginia in the states. It is warm, nourishing, and full of flavors. It is also very versatile which makes it perfect for any season of the year.
GROUNDNUT SOUP, PEANUT SOUP, MAAFE
The west African peanut soup has a wonderful combination of flavors, and it’s loaded with a lot of protein from the Peanuts! This recipe couldn’t be easier to make. Peanut soup is prepared with the addition of Meat like Chicken, Beef or Lamb, Fish, and vegetables.
Wash the beef thoroughly, season with salt, seasoning cube, half of the onion, Habanero pepper, Ginger. Then, add enough water that will be sufficient to boil the beef. Cover it up and leave it to cook until the meat becomes tender. About 40 to 50 minutes
while the beef is boiling, roast the peanuts for about 5 minutes till it becomes well browned but not burnt. Though the peanuts I used for my soup has been roasted, however, I like to roast them on a medium heat for a few minutes. This will allow the Oils in the nuts to be easily released once it’s blended
Smoked Turkey and the cray Fish helps to heighten the flavor of the soup. However, the addition is totally optional but highly recommended. Smoked Fish will work just as well.
Watch How to make the West African peanut soup below:
I love to use fresh peppers in my peanut soup because it makes the soup come alive, however, Cayenne pepper can be used in place of the fresh peppers. It’s advisable to cut the pepper, Tomatoes, and Onions into small chunks before blending them. It will save the life of your blender.
The ground peanuts take the soup up a notch with that punch of flavor and it also serves as a thickener.
In Africa, peanut soup is eaten with pounded yam or Fufu, Fresh Garri (eba), Rice or Fonio.

West African Peanut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Peanut
- 1 Tbsp Crayfish
- 1 Smoked Turkey Thigh
- 1 Lb Beef
- 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Palm Oil or Peanut Oil
- Handful Spinach
- 1 large Tomato
- 1 Bell pepper
- 1 Large Onion
- 1 Tablespoon Crayfish
- 1 Habanero Pepper
- 2 Seasoning Cubes
- 2 Teaspoons Grated Ginger
- Palm Oil or Peanut Oil
- Salt To Taste
Instructions
- The first thing to do is to wash, season and boil the beef.
- Roast the Peanuts for about 5 minutes or till it well browned
- Use a coffee grinder or a dry mill grinder to grind the peanuts to a fine
- De-bone the roast Turkey and cut into bite sizes and add to the boiling beef after about 10 minutes of cooking the meat. Then continue the cooking process for about 30 more minutes or till the meat becomes tender
- Blend together the peppers, Tomatoes and the other half of the Onion.
- Add the blended pepper, crayfish, Palm Oil and the ground peanut to the boiling meat and leave to cook for
- Add the ground peanuts to the stew and mix thoroughly until the peanut is totally dissolved in the stew. Cover it up and leave to cook for about 10 to 12 minutes
- Stir in the Spinach and leave to simmer for an additional two minutes
- Serve while still hot over a plate a Rice, Couscous Fonio or swallows like Fufu and pounded yam. Enjoy!
Notes
- The stock recovered from this beef will be used to season our soup so be generous with the water. If the sock tastes too light feel free to add more seasoning
- I used Roasted Peanuts for this recipe, however, you can choose to use raw peanuts and roast your peanuts by yourself.
- It is advisable to leave the nuts to become warm before blending them so as not to damage your blender.
- You can blend the nuts with a coffee grinder, spice blende dry mill grinder or simply use a small mortar and pestle to pound it.
- In Africa, we tend to like some texture retained in our meat, hence the 30 to 40 minutes cook time. However, if you want your meat slightly more tender feel free to boil it for a longer time.
- Keep an eye on the stew and check about every 5 minutes or thereabouts after adding the nuts because the stew has the tendency to burn faster at this point.
- After the peanut soup is done, feel free to adjust the thickness to your desired consistency. You can add more stock to lighten it up or cook it for few more minutes for a thicker consistency.
Nutrition
You can find me on Facebook, and Instagram. I love keeping in touch with all of you!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Instagram and Facebook. #cheflolaskitchen
Mackevin
Sunday 13th of November 2022
Very simple and straightforward. Thanks for the demonstration. Be blessed
Chef Lola's Kitchen
Monday 19th of December 2022
Thank you, Mackevin.
Tuesday 29th of June 2021
Please I am in the uk which of the peanuts can I use?
Lola Osinkolu
Tuesday 29th of June 2021
Any brand will work as long as it is made with peanuts and salt alone. No other added ingredients.
Patricia
Tuesday 26th of January 2021
I tried this with a little modification. I don't eat turkey, so I used smoked fish and beef. I loved it and will definitely be cooking it again. Based on the comments about using scent leaf, I'm would like to try that as well but only have access to dried scent leaf.
Joy uche Chinedu
Monday 6th of July 2020
Can I use bitter leaf instead
Lola Osinkolu
Friday 17th of July 2020
Yes, you can but very little so that the bitter taste will not overshadow the soup.
Favour
Monday 11th of May 2020
I tried it. It tasted well but the groundut were not finely ground so it was a bit seedy. I used the dry blender (those smaller part that come with normal blender) but after like 3 blends, d nuts became strong and it wasn't blending again which is why it wasn't so smooth. I would probably try a coffee grinder next time.
Precious
Wednesday 20th of May 2020
Or grinding stone