Maafe (West African Peanut Soup)

Maafe Recipe – This cozy West African peanut soup is a spicy stew made with beef or chicken. The spicy, savory, nutty, and sweet flavor is thanks to sweet potatoes and carrots. It’s the perfect balance of flavors. 😍

Groundnut soup, as West Africans sometimes call this dish, makes an amazing one-pot meal. But it goes beautifully over steamy rice or other traditional African sides, so there are plenty of ways to serve it. The traditional Senegalese peanut stew is the inspiration for my recipe. 

The tempting combination of garlic, ginger, herbs, and plenty of spices is mouthwateringly good. As with most soups, the potential variations are endless. Customizing it to your taste or ingredient availability is easy! 👌

Browning Meat for Maafe

Traditionally, maafe features boiling the meat and then browning it. This optional step certainly adds extra flavor and a little crispiness to the melt-in-your-mouth meat. To brown the meat after boiling it, we’ll saute it on the stovetop to get it nice and crisp. We have two ways to brown the meat, and either works fine 🤎.

The first way to brown meat is to place it on a baking sheet and drizzle it with a little soup stock and 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Adjust the oven rack so the top of the beef or chicken is 4-5 inches below the broiler. Broil on high for 3-5 minutes until it becomes crispy and browned, turning frequently to ensure even brownness.

What You Need

1. Meat – Chicken or beef works well in maafe. Choose your favorite, or just use what you have on hand.
2. Veggies – Carrots, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and potatoes give this soup its stew-like coziness. I like adding a scotch bonnet or habanero pepper to the mix, but the extra heat is totally optional. 
3. Peanuts – You can use ground peanuts, peanut butter, or peanut paste. If you go with creamy peanut butter, please use unsweetened natural peanut butter. 
4. Spices – Smoked paprika, white pepper, fresh parsley, cayenne, and some S&P are all you need to make this tremendously tasty dish. Black pepper instead of white pepper and red pepper flakes instead of cayenne also work fine.
5. Stock – Beef stock is my go-to broth base for this recipe, but chicken broth also works great.
6. Oil – You’ll need a little oil to sautee your meat and veggies, as well as for browning if you choose to brown the meat. Vegetable or olive oil works fine.

How to Make Maafe (West African Peanut Soup)

Prep the Meat

• Boil – In a large saucepan, season the meat with salt and boil until tender. Cooking time varies depending on which cut of meat you are using.
• Remove the meat and reserve the stock (broth). You should have at least 3-4 cups of stock. 
• Brown – In a large pot, heat oil over low heat, then add the meat. Sauté stirring frequently to remove any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Remove and set aside. (Photo 1)

Assemble the Soup

• Blend the tomatoes, half the onion, garlic, and parsley in a food processor or blender.
• Saute Onion – Add the other half of the onion, chopped to the pan, and saute for about a minute. 
• Sauce – Then, pour the blended ingredients into the saucepan. Add the paprika and white pepper and sauté for 7-10 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning, and add stock as needed. (Photo 2)
• Veggies – Add the potatoes, carrots, peanut butter paste, scotch bonnet pepper, and about 3 cups of broth. (Photo 3)
• Simmer – Continue cooking until potatoes tender—10 minutes or more, depending on the vegetables. (Photo 4)
• Serve – Finally, toss in the browned beef and adjust the soup thickness to the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy! (Photos 5-6)

Recipe Variations

1. Protein swap. Virtually any kind of meat or protein will work well with this soup. Try it with shrimp, pork, or even tofu.
2. Get creative with the veggies. This is a stew you can get creative with. Feel free to add peas, corn, green beans, or any other vegetable you like to the mix. 🌽
3. Make it vegetarian. Swap out meat stock with vegetable broth and use tofu or a plant-based meat substitution and you’ve got a meat-free dish!
4. Ginger. A grated ½-inch knob of fresh ginger is a delicious addition.

Notes and Tips

1. You can skip browning the beef or chicken if you want to avoid frying. Just simmer the meat until tender and proceed with the rest of the instructions.
2. If cooking for kids, skip the cayenne pepper and leave the scotch bonnet pepper whole. For a mild dose of heat, prick the scotch bonnet with a toothpick, but don’t cut it up. 🌶️
3. If you reach the final steps in the recipe and the stew is too thick for your taste, just add a little water or broth to thin it. If it’s too thin, simmer it for a few more minutes to thicken it further.

Make-Ahead Instructions

Stews and soups are always good make-ahead dishes. Make it a day or two ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container. You can also freeze maafe for up to three months. When ready to serve it, reheat it slowly on the stove. 

Serving and Storage Instructions 

Serve your West African peanut stew hot, garnished with freshly chopped parsley.

If you have leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container for 3-5 days. To reheat maafe, pop it in the microwave, or reheat it on the stove over medium heat.

What Pairs With Maafe West African Peanut Stew

Try a traditional African take on maafe by serving it with a side of fufu. It also tastes wonderful poured over some steamy jasmine rice.

Since it already has loads of veggies, meat, and potatoes, you can skip the sides in favor of some bread to dip in the broth. Homemade garlic bread or no-knead bread are two good options. 🥖

More Amazing African Recipes to Try

1. African Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
2. East African Pilau Rice
3. Chicken Stew
4. Stewed Spinach
5. Red Red

This blog post was originally published in July 2015 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos