A hearty African Sweet Potato Stew with sweet potatoes, carrots, bell peppers, lentils and peanut butter!
Peanut butter is a terrific addition to hearty stews. It bumps up the protein and makes everything so much more delicious. Like this yummy African Peanut Stew and this African sweet potato stew.
This sweet potato stew is loaded with vegetables. There are onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and bell peppers here, and each veggie adds more flavor and nutrition to the pot. Lentils, so delicious in an Ethiopian lentil stew, add more heft and healthy protein.
A mix of savory herbs -- marjoram, oregano and sage -- makes the stew heartier and headier.
This is an incredibly healthy recipe. Each serving of the sweet potato stew has 20 grams of fiber and 18 grams of protein for just 317 calories, as well as hefty doses of vitamins A and C and iron.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe
- Nourishing, with a rainbow of veggies. Everything in this stew is good for you. You know eating veggies of different colors every day gives you a variety of nutrients, and you can indulge that need as well as your tastebuds with this sweet potato stew. Lentils add more heft and delicious protein.
- Easy recipe. The stew is one-pot and most of the hands-on time is for prepping the veggies. If you plan on making the stew on a weeknight, you can cut the veggies a couple of days ahead and store them in the fridge until ready to use. You can even use pre-cut veggies or frozen veggies.
- Family friendly. This stew is hearty enough to satisfy an omnivore and I daresay a kid might enjoy the peanut butter in the stew. The recipe is also gluten-free and you can make it soy-free or nut-free. See more instructions in the section on special diets below.
Ingredients
- Vegetables: onions, tomatoes, sweet potatoes (orange or purple), bell peppers (any color), carrots and scallions (optional, for garnish).
- Brown lentils. You can also use green lentils or chickpeas in this recipe.
- Herbs: Sage, marjoram and oregano.
- Seasonings: Red pepper flakes, soy sauce, smooth peanut butter and curry powder.
How to make African Sweet Potato Stew
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and ground black pepper. Sauté for a couple of minutes until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the sweet potatoes and mix. Cover the pot and let the sweet potatoes cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the bell peppers and carrots to the pot and mix well. Let the veggies cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes and carrots are almost tender.
Add the tomato puree to the pot and mix well.
Stir in the lentils and add two cups vegetable stock or water.
Stir in the spices and herbs: sage, oregano, marjoram, red pepper flakes and curry powder. Mix well and bring to a boil.
Add the peanut butter to the pot and mix it in until it has dissolved into the stew. Bring the stew back to a boil, turn heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the soy sauce and mix well. Add salt as needed. Garnish with the optional scallions or cilantro. Serve hot.
Thank you so much for sharing this absolutely amazing recipe with us! I have just made it, and honestly, I think I could have finished up the whole pot myself. My daughters and I absolutely loved it, and this will be a weekly treat for us from now on.
-Kersti
Variations
- Add ½ cup of peanuts along with the veggies for more texture in the stew.
- Switch up the veggies. Potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, eggplant would all work.
Tweaks for special diets
- Oil-free. Saute the onions in ¼ cup water or vegetable stock.
- Nut-free. Use a seed butter, like pumpkin seed butter or sunflower seed butter.
- Low-carb. Use edamame in the recipe instead of lentils. Switch to veggies with fewer carbs, like zucchini, green beans and kale.
Serving suggestions
The stew is delicious on its own, but if you want to amp it up, serve with one or more of the following:
- Quinoa or rice.
- A slice of crusty bread.
- Afresh side salad, like a vegan Caesar salad.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Store the stew in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
- Freeze: The sweet potato stew can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to four months.
- Reheat: Thaw and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave before serving.
African Sweet Potato Stew
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot with lid
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil (or any vegetable oil of choice)
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and finely diced. I used purple sweet potatoes, but orange sweet potatoes are just as good)
- 2 large bell peppers (any color, diced. I used a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper)
- 2 medium carrots (diced. I used an orange carrot and a white carrot)
- 4 medium tomatoes (pureed)
- 2 cups vegetable stock (or water)
- 14 oz brown lentils (canned or cooked)
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use more or less depending on your tolerance to heat)
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 4 scallions (green and white parts chopped, for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat oil in Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and ground black pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes until the onions are translucent.
- Stir in the sweet potatoes and mix. Cover the pot and let the sweet potatoes cook for a couple of minutes. Add the bell peppers and carrots to the pot and mix well. Let the veggies cook, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potatoes and carrots are almost tender.
- Add the tomato puree to the pot and mix well. Stir in the lentils and add two cups vegetable stock or water.
- Stir in the spices and herbs: sage, oregano, marjoram, red pepper flakes and curry powder. Mix well and bring to a boil.
- Add the peanut butter to the pot and mix it in until it has dissolved into the stew. Bring the stew back to a boil, turn heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the soy sauce and mix well. Add salt if needed. Garnish with the optional scallions or cilantro and serve hot.
Marty
Very good recipe. We really enjoyed it.
Vaishali
So happy you loved it! Thanks for letting me know.
Elizabeth Strothman
So yummy! I want to finish the whole pot in one sitting :- ) Thank you for this and all your wonderful recipes.
Vaishali
Hi Elizabeth, so happy you loved it! Thanks for your comment.
Lois
This was so delicious. Hubby who is a fusspot eater went back for seconds!
In NZ our weather is just becoming a little crisp so this meal was the perfect belly warmer.
Easy to prepare. I used fresh herbs..yum, yum. Thank you 🙂
Vaishali
So great to hear your family enjoyed the stew! Thanks for letting me know.
Melissa
I'm eating this as I'm typing my comment...this is SO delicious! I garnished with cilantro. I love that I have a new way to use lentils in a healthy dish. Thanks for sharing another healthy meal 🙂
Vaishali
Hi Melissa, so happy you made the stew. Cilantro would be awesome here. Thanks for your comment. 🙂
Kersti
Hi Vaishali,
Thank you so much for sharing this absolutely amazing recipe with us! I have just made it, and honestly, I think I could have finished up the whole pot myself. My daughters and I absolutely loved it, and this will be a weekly treat for us from now on. I am delighted I stumbled across your blog and I will enjoy looking through the rest of your recipes. Thank you again from Kersti, Rebekka and Selina from Norway 😀
Vaishali
Hi Kersti, so wonderful to hear that! Thanks for letting me know.
Adam
This looks amazing. My partner is allergic to peanuts - what substitute would you recommend?
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Adam, would another nut, like cashewnut do? You could make a paste of cashewnuts or almonds and add. If that won't do, add a tablespoon of sugar and leave out the peanut butter. It would still taste awesome. 🙂
Adam
Hi Vaishali,
I just followed your suggestion and substituted cashew butter. Delicious!
I also stirred in a few roasted, unsalted cashews right before eating the stew. It was delicious and the crunch added a nice texture to offset the soft veggies.
So far, this is five recipes I've made from your site and all have been great. Thanks so much!
Icchic
I made this WONDERFUL stew and I absolutely loved it. Even my non-vegan husband loved it. Your recipes are beautiful and this was the first one I tried. I have since made the zucchini bread as well, which is equally incredible. I can't wait to try more! Thank you for your beautiful blog!
Alice
I loved this--but I replaced the water with coconut milk. I've been on a real coconut kick lately. Very fragrant recipe!
Glenda
I love sweet potatoes! This is a wonderfully intriguing idea. I cannot wait to try this! Thanks!
Sarah (GF vegan)
This looks so good! I may, in fact, make it for dinner tonight 🙂
Kiersten
Sounds delicious! I can't wait to give this recipe a try/
Deena
What a tasty-sounding dish! I love sweet potato stews. Yum.
PCRM is such a great organization. Do you know if there's any employment opportunities there now? I'm moving to DC soon and would love the chance to work at an organization with such strong ethics. I have experience in academic medical research (thankfully, never with animals--just datasets) and have spent a lot of time this past year volunteering at a local farm animal sanctuary.
All the best, Deena (deena dot loeffler at gmail dot com)
AMA's AnythingVegetarian
Can't wait to try .Lovely Healthy Combo.I am happy that you are able to work in a field that you adore and what it means to you.
veganfoody
I made something very similar last month: see my blog post here
It was absolutely wonderful! Sweet potato and peanut is definitely a combination I'd recommend.
And I'm so jealous about your job too!
Carrie
Yum! That sounds like something I would really like!
Sanjeeta kk
Love the sweet potato, normally boil or bake it for my cooking. This dish looks a good try for my next meal. Thanks for sharing. Best wishes.