Spinach & Peanut Stew w/ Chickpeas

African inspired Spinach & Peanut Stew with chickpeas and lime rice.

Spinach & Peanut Stew is an incredibly flavorful, rich, and comforting dish, yet it only requires a few simple and budget-friendly ingredients to make. The combination of wilted spinach, chickpeas, and creamy peanut butter works wonderful with the flavors of chili, garlic and ginger here. Serve the dish over brown rice for a hearty and cozy weeknight dinner.

Trying a real African peanut stew has been on my list for years now, but somehow never got around doing so until now. I have been adding peanut butter and other nut butters to soups and stews for a long time, but I have never made it the star of a recipe before. Big mistake!

What changed everything was that my boyfriend got me the Afro-Vegan cookbook by Bryant Terry from a thrift shop last week, and one of the first recipes that caught my attention was his Spinach-Peanut Sauce. It’s a really simple recipe with fresh spinach, ginger, garlic and raw peanuts, but I instantly knew I have to try it, because the flavor combo sounds heavenly.

I really suck at following any recipes to the T, so I didn’t wanna make that exact recipe, but rather getting inspired by it. In my version I used peanut butter instead of peanut sauce made from raw peanuts (I don’t think I could get such things here unfortunately), added some cooked chickpeas for extra protein and texture, plus changed up the ratio of ingredients a bit and made it a spicy version with fresh chili.

I served this with brown rice, but it’s actually also delicious just by itself or with some kind of flat bread. But I could also imagine it being served with other grains such as quinoa, millet, or grits as well. Or even as a pasta sauce, just because everything goes well with pasta, right?

I kept my spinach whole to give the dish a bit more texture, but if you prefer, you could also chop the spinach first, if you are not a huge fan of big chunks of spinach. Speaking of texture, you can use both crunchy or smooth peanut butter here, though I personally prefer the crunchy one.

If you try this recipe, let me know! I would highly appreciate if you could leave a comment and rate it. Also don’t forget to take a picture and tag it on Instagram (use the hashtag #greenevi) or post it on Facebook! I love seeing what you come up with! ♥︎

Spinach & Peanut Stew w/ Chickpeas

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• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 1x

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Ingredients

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For the stew:

1 onion, chopped
2 tsp fresh, grated ginger
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chili pepper, minced
500 g/1 lb spinach
2 cups of vegetable broth
1.5 cups of cooked chickpeas
3-4 tbsp peanut butter
salt, pepper

For the rice:
1 cups of brown rice
1 lime, juiced
salt

To serve:
lime wedges
hot sauce
chili slices
toasted peanuts, chopped

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Instructions

1. Start by sautéing onion in a large skillet over medium heat, adding 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable broth at a time, until onion turns translucent, about 10 minutes. Add ginger, garlic and chili, and cook for another 2 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add spinach to the skillet, and cook until wilted. Add broth, chickpeas, and peanut butter, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile bring two cups of salted water to a boil. Add rice, and cook for 20-30 minutes, until tender. Strain any excess water, then stir in lime juice and season with more salt, if needed.
4. Serve peanut stew warm topped with peanuts over rice, with lime wedges and hot sauce, if using. Enjoy!

• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins