Need an oil-free, plant-based entree that both vegans and omnivores will love? You got it!
This peanut and sweet potato stew is rich and filling, has only 1 gram of fat per serving, and makes a hearty meatless meal when paired with millet or cornbread. In fact, I’ve been making this stew for about ten years; it was one of the few meatless recipes I had in rotation in my omnivore days.
With its roots in West Africa, this stew’s combination of savory peanut butter, rich tomato, and hint of sweetness from apple juice and ginger are sure to make this a new family favorite. Better yet, you can easily double the recipe for investment cooking—the final product freezes beautifully.
Image credit: Mama Veggie Quest, who dropped by for a visit and styled this gorgeous shot herself!
The trick to keeping this stew low fat is making it with PB2, which is simply finely ground peanuts with some of the oil pressed out. As a result, you get the creamy texture of peanut butter—plus the flavor and protein—for a fraction of the fat and calories.
And speaking of ground nuts, I adapted this stew from the Groundnut Stew recipe in the cookbook Sundays at Moosewood. True story: For years I thought the recipe was so named because it included ground-up peanuts—I mean, that’s all peanut butter really is, right? Ground nuts?
Turns out the name springs from the fact that peanuts grow in the ground.
Groundnut stew. Right. I’m a genius. 😉
Anyhow, below is my spin on this West African classic. Can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
- 2 c chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, pressed,
- 3 c sweet potato cubes (peeled, 1 inch across)
- 2 c chopped green cabbage or ½ bag coleslaw mix
- 3 c tomato juice (see note)
- 1 c apple juice
- 1 can (1¾ c) chopped tomatoes, no salt added
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 2 cups okra, chopped (fresh or thawed from frozen)
- 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ c PB2 or other powdered peanut butter (for fat-free version); can sub regular peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter
- Chopped fresh cilantro and chopped toasted peanuts for topping (optional)
- In a large pot, dry-saute onions over medium heat for 8 min. Add water ~2 Tbsp at a time as needed to prevent sticking towards the end.
- Add garlic and saute 1 minute more, or until garlic is fragrant.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add sweet potatoes and cabbage. Cook covered 5 min, stirring frequently.
- Add juices, tomatoes, ground ginger, and (optional) cilantro and cayenne.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20-25 min, until sweet potatoes are just tender.
- Add okra and cook covered another 5 min.
- Prepare PB2 as directed on package, adding an extra 1 Tbsp of water to thin slightly. (Skip if using regular peanut butter).
- Gently stir prepared peanut butter into stew and remove from heat. Serve warm with millet or cornbread.
- Nutrition facts were calculated using full-salt tomato juice, unsalted chopped tomatoes (Pomi brand), and PB2.
- Nutrition facts do not include peanuts and cilantro for topping.
Possibly I should choose a less shiny spoon or a more subdued sweater? Nah… 😉
Shared on Allergy Free Wednesdays.
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I'm Lee, an RD thriving on a healthy plant based diet.
Nice. I’m going to try this one. I’ll send the link to my second brain.
Thanks Brian, hope you enjoy it! Everyone seems to like this stew, and it’s incredibly versatile—you can add pretty much anything, and it will taste great. (I especially like Great Northern beans.)
Awesome, what a clever and unique way for me to use my much adored PB2 😀
Thanks Robert! PB2 really is great stuff. Now if only they made an “AB2” for almond butter!
Sounds really good but question: Step #6 says “add okra…” but I don’t see okra as an ingredient. How much okra?
Great catch, thanks Melynda! I’ve added to the recipe.
Sounds amazing! Any suggestions for making in slow cooker?
Haven’t tried it, but let me know if you do–and how it works out!
These flavors were really exciting, but then I’m not a big cabbage or okra fan. Both are do-able, but do you have any suggestions for substitutes? Maybe cauliflower? 4C, though…
Hi Blair, I actually make this stew with extra sweet potato and no okra for my mom, and that works great. (She cannot abide okra, lol!) Cauliflower would change the texture; if you like cauliflower texture, then that could be a win. My suggestion would be to try a smaller amount (maybe 2 cups) of a more intense, but still hearty green, like collards or kale. I bet collards would be really good in this, actually. Let me know if you try it!