African Peanut Soup – Our veggie take on a classic
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I know the combination of peanut butter and tomato paste might scandalize some of you but this African Peanut Soup is here to prove you wrong.
The best argument we can give you is that this recipe has become one of our absolute favourites, since we first published it back in 2014.
When we first came up with this recipe, our chef Hauke gave up friends, free-time, and perhaps even a little bit of sanity for a week – to create (drumroll please)… a vegan soup with peanut butter!
And put simply, it’s absolutely AMAZING.
The combination of peanut, ginger, garlic and tomato paste is just fantastic, and needs to be tried to be believed. Give this one a go and you’ll have a vegan soup recipe for life.
Why is it named ‘African’ peanut soup?
Well, this recipe is loosely based on a peanut soup recipe from West Africa, sometimes called maafe, groundnut soup, or West African peanut soup.
There are variations to be found throughout West Africa from Senegal to Mali to Nigeria, and all have their own twist. Regardless of those differences, it’s an important cultural staple from this region of Africa.
Our recipe is not, strictly speaking, the same as traditional groundnut soup, particularly those that include a form of meat.
BUT it does combine those same flavors of tomatoes and peanut butter. And both are served on a bed of rice, giving the recipe a similar feel.
I have to say thank you to the people in West Africa that came up with the combination of flavors this african peanut soup (or groundnut soup) recipe so delicious.
Vitamin Central
In order to make our blog, as well as being delicious, recipes have to be both fast and healthy.
And this african peanut soup recipe is no slouch – it takes twenty five minutes from start to finish, and is most certainly good for body and mind.
The ‘A’ in vitamin A might as well stand for ‘awesome’. Not only does Vitamin A help you see important things in the dark (like peanut soup), it’s also used to stimulate white blood cell growth, to remodel bone and regulate cell growth and division.
One serving contains 96% of your GDA of Vitamin A and packs a whole heck of a lot of protein in too, making this a high protein soup recipe (which can be tough to find – unless you’ve seen our top 50 vegetarian protein soups!).
How to make soup, specifically peanut soup
Does it matter what type of peanut butter I use?
The choice between crunchy or smooth peanut butter is up to you, but you should stick to a natural peanut butter (i.e. the ones without added ingredients) for the best results.
How should this soup be stored?
It should keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, but it will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just pop it in a tupperware and thaw it out on your next cold winter day.
Don’t freeze the soup with rice though, make a fresh batch when you defrost it.
Can I add different veggies?
For sure! We like our soup with zucchini (or courgette), but traditional recipes tend to include collard greens. The recipe is simple enough that swapping out some veggies is no biggie (btw if this kind of flexibility is what you need, try these vegetarian recipes for beginners too!)
Honestly, this is a pretty flexible recipe that you can tweak to fit your tastes.
If you’re looking for more easy vegan soups after you fall in love with this african peanut soup, check out our creamy butternut squash soup, our flavour packed corn soup, or our cozy lentil soup.
What our readers are saying
Made this for dinner tonight with brown rice and roasted string beans on the side. So good. I’m a new vegan and I’ve been wanting a peanut recipe… I GOT IT!
Fatimah Shabazz⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been making this soup using your recipe for awhile now and my family and I love it. I usually have chicken broth on hand and that is what I use most of the time. I have not tried adding additional veggies but I do add a whole zucchini and onion but the carrots I put into the food processor and I love the taste and texture it gives to the soup. Thank you for sharing this terrific recipe!!
Windy Lim⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just made this. Absolutely delicious, and really easy and quick to put together. A wonderful, warm & spicy meal for a cold winter night. Great way to use low-cost (yet nutritious) ingredients like carrots and peanut butter. I’ve hesitated to make peanut soup before because most recipes are so rich from large quantities of peanut butter, but this called for less peanut butter and suggestion to serve it over rice thins it out, very good idea.
Carrie⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I made this with three grated, peeled carrots and a whole large zucchini and it could have probably stood even more vegetables so don’t hold back on the produce. Topped it off with sriracha. Yum!
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
- ⅓ cup red lentils, dried
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ red onion
- 1 small carrot
- ½ medium zucchini (courgette)
- 0.2 inches ginger, fresh (or ½ tbsp powdered ginger)
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 tbsp peanuts
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- A few dashes hot sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the brown rice according to package instructions.1 cup brown rice
- In a pot add the red lentils, vegetable broth and water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to low-medium heat.2 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup water, ⅓ cup red lentils, dried
- Cut the onion, carrot and courgette and add them to the broth.½ red onion, 1 small carrot, ½ medium zucchini
- Add the garlic and ginger to the broth as well.1 clove garlic, 0.2 inches ginger, fresh
- Add the peanuts.3 tbsp peanuts
- Add the nutritional yeast, tomato paste and peanut butter to the mixture.3 tbsp tomato paste, 3 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- Add the soy sauce last but check it’s not already too salty.1 tbsp soy sauce
- If you like it spicy add the hot sauce.A few dashes hot sauce
- Let it simmer nicely until the rice is ready.
- Serve in a bowl, eat. Yum!
NOTES
Taste test first! If your broth and peanut butter is already salty enough then I’d leave out the soy sauce. Tip: this dish has 3 servings by default. You can easily freeze the spare serving. Make-ahead? Yes, absolutely. Inspired by: Chefkoch, Cookie and Kate
Nutrition
Hauke Fox
I’m always on the lookout for these damn smart recipes. You know, those that only take a few minutes to put together and taste delicious. Vegetarian Cooking at home is a way to take back control over what I eat. I don’t like what many companies do to animals and the environment with their products.
This article has been medically reviewed by James LeBaigue MSc Learn More
James LeBaigue MSc
James has a Masters Degree in Sport and Exercise Nutrition, as well as an Advanced Diploma in Human Nutrition.
He loves combining his scientific knowledge along with food in the real world, and these recipes are the result.
He’s on top of all the latest evidence and guidelines to make sure our nutrition advice on the website is as accurate as it can be.
By day he works as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in a busy NHS GP Practice.
Each recipe is tested and then eaten (much to James’ delight), many times before it is deemed worthy to be published. Bon appetit!
Comments
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58 comments
This has been a top fave for my husband and I thanks so much for sharing. Soooo easy, healthy and tasty! And I usually have all of these ingredients already at home so quick to whip up. Thanks again!
Wow, that’s great to hear! Thanks for telling us Kelly 🙂 yep it’s great when you know you can always make nice meals with the stuff you’ve got laying around at home!
Made this at the weekend as I am getting more conscious about how much meat we all consume. It was absolutely delicious. My girlfriends parents loved it too. Making more tonight as it was so good and freeze for the week!
How awesome is that!! Really cool you tried out our soup + I noticed the same: Just by eating more conscious you automatically inspire others (if they’re not too ignorant, haha). Man, your comment made my day 😀
I have been making this soup using your recipe for awhile now and my family and I love it. I usually have chicken broth on hand and that is what I use most of the time. I have not tried adding additional veggies but I do add a whole zucchini and onion but the carrots I put into the food processor and I love the taste and texture it gives to the soup. Thank you for sharing this terrific recipe!!
Hi Becky! Ohh, thanks a lot for taking the time to write us your feedback!! And even more awesome that you and your family liked the soup 😀
You know what? I don’t own a food processor yet, but I think it’s sooo useful. Are you happy with yours? And fi yes, what brand is it if I may ask?
I love my food processor have not had it for long but it is a Hamilton Beach and works for everything I have tried perfectly!! Have a great day!!
Thanks! Will check it out 🙂
Is it possible to freeze the soup? I like to make larger portions and freeze them, so it’s easy to grasp something home cooked on busy days..
Hi Alberte!
Yes, definitely. I do exactly the same for busy days with this soup 🙂
Will mention it in the recipe post, thanks for the comment!
About to start making this recipe! Looks simple, quick and hearty meal since it has peanut butter. My husband and I love peanut butter and I use it to make a lot Asian style vegan dishes.
I hope it turned out tasty, Nelsy! 🙂
Hey, I just finished eating it! It was delicious! It took about half an hour of fast boiling to thicken up, but it did. I wondered about frying the onions and carrots and other veg before adding the broth. I wonder if it would intensify the flavours. It’s definitely delicious. Thanks so much!
Hi Lisa! Thanks a lot for sharing 😀
Yep, it would definitely intensify the flavours, since you distract water from the carrots and onions. Plus the soup would become a little bit sweeter, because they caramelize 🙂
It’s simmering. I can’t wait to try it. I love peanut butter and hot sauce on veggies. I use chunky because our kids have a tree nut allergy and while peanuts are not tree nuts, roasted peanuts are usually processed with tree nuts so we’ve found chunky gives us both the nut and the butter in one ingredient.
It smells great
Wow, thanks for stopping by to let us know you tried the recipe!! I’m actually very curious to find out how you liked it! 🙂
yum! Peanut butter has a soft spot in my heart and this recipe is amazing, tried it with some home made pita bread instead of rice and it’s great 😀
Thanks a lot for your feedback Marinthe!!
We’re glad that you liked it 😀
Btw, great idea regarding the Pita Bread!!