If you do not like groundnuts (peanuts), this is not the post for you, my friend. But if you like groundnuts, you are in for a treat! When I made groundnut soup years ago in my student hostel in Nigerian. My roommate ate it and said, “the soup soup is tasting groundnut, groundnut, groundnut!” Yes, that’s right, groundnut soup is very “groundnutty”. But the groundnuts undergo a process of gradual roasting, fine grinding then simmering with exotic spices in a rich beef or chicken stock. The result? A creamy, groundnutty soup that is full of flavours and you may just want to drink. Gimme a spoon!
The selling point of this soup is that it comes together in no time. You only need a few simple ingredients: raw groundnuts, tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, seasoning, oil and beef.
And if you do not want to roast your own groundnuts, then by all means, use plain peanut butter off the jar. It is basically the same thing as groundnut paste and using it will greatly reduce your cooking time. BUT I love roasting and grinding my own groundnuts because, to me the soup tastes more authentic that way.
Known in other parts of the world as peanuts, the nuts that make this soup are known in West Africa as groundnuts. I am sure you already realised that 🙂 What we call peanuts, are a snack made of groundnuts coated with flour. We call them Peanut Burger or peanuts for short.
Different countries in Africa have different ways of preparing this soup. Sometimes, it is cooked with palm oil, sometimes, it is simmered with a variety of meats. Sometimes, potatoes and carrots are added into it.
And there are different names for it too. It is known as Nkatenkwan in Ghana, known as Maafe in other West African countries and sauce d’arachide in French. Some people call it peanut stew or groundnut soup. I heard my Ugandan neighbour calling it peanut butter soup. It really has a wide appeal especially among African folks.
I love eating my groundnut soup with rice because that combo is THE BOMB. It also goes well with some boiled plantains, pounded yam or cooked garri. This thing is delicious!
You guys, I made a video for you so you can see how the whole thing comes together.
Watch the video:
And here is the printable detailed recipe for ya:
This is a soup made with roasted peanuts (groundnuts) and other exotic ingredients. It is so creamy, excellent on rice and just so good with any starchy side.
- 1 cup raw groundnuts (peanuts)
- 1 pound beef (about 1/2 kg)- cut into small slices
- 5 garlic cloves - peeled
- 1/2-1 inch ginger - peeled
- 1 onion - chopped
- 2 tomatoes - diced or blended
- 1/2 cup oil - I used canola
- 3 small seasoning cubes (Maggi)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 hot (habanero) pepper - optional
Place the peanuts in a skillet and on medium heat to roast for about 5-10 minutes. Keep stirring from time to time while roasting.
While the groundnuts roast, wash your beef thoroughly then place in a pot with 2 cups of water. Add in half a teaspoon of salt, one Maggi cube and a tablespoon of chopped onions. Let it cook for about 20 minutes on medium high, until the meat is tender. Check from time to time and add in water as needed.
When your peanuts are well roasted and have a beautiful brown colour with black spots on the outside, turn off the heat. Let it cool completely then blend it into a powder/paste. If you have a coffee grinder, use it for this. When peanuts are all blended, add a cup of water into the ground peanuts and mix into a smooth paste.
After blending the peanuts, blend together garlic, ginger and habanero pepper (if using.)
Now, your beef should be ready so pour it into a bowl with the stock. Place the pot back on the fire to heat up so the little stock in it gets dried. Add in oil to get hot. Then saute the onions until fragrant. Add in tomatoes and fry until the acidity is all gone - that means it no longer tastes sour.
Next, add in the blended ginger and garlic (and pepper), beef and stock, blended peanuts, seasoning cubes and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix thoroughly until well combined and let it all simmer together for about 5-10 minutes. Taste to ensure that the seasoning is perfect. Also, adjust the consistency of the soup at this point.
Serve warm over rice, with boiled plantains or with some fufu of choice. Enjoy, friends!
If you do not want to use roasted peanuts, use a cup of plain peanut butter, instead.
If you do not want to use beef, use chicken, fish, or even mushrooms.
If you make this soup, please share a photo on Instagram and tag me: @preciouscore.
This looks soooo good! We don’t have a similar soup in my part of Nigeria but a close friend and university roommate of mine from Abia state made it for me once and it was sooo delicious. The groundnutty flavour combined with the meat flavour was the bomb. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I can’t wait to try it.
Thanks, Dee! Groundnut and meat flavour combined is everything.
Enjoy!
One of my all-time favorites. Love it best with white rice too. Considering how easy i think it is to cook, it was such a ‘saving grace’ during my university(a.k.a bachelor) days when men were boys Lol 🙂
Hahahaha, you are so funny!
It is such a life-saving soup. Lol
Have not cooked this before, but would try it with goat meat when I do.
Happy Sunday Precious.
Goat meat sounds delicious!
Have a great week, dear.
Dear Precious! I can attest to groundnut soup, it’s my go to soup but we replace our own tomatoes with Palm oil and spice it up with a bit of scent leaves.
Hmmmm I’ve never had palm oil groundnut soup. Sounds delicious!
Why roast groundnut when you can buy roasted groundnut and grind it in the market? Palm oil groundnut soup is absolutely bae plus you can substitute the tomato for tin tomatoes.
l just got married and this is my story
Lol Favour, I don’t have that opportunity to grind in the market here. I can imagine the taste with palm oil. Delish!!
my all time fav is with garri…rice second choice
It is the bomb with garri! I always go with rice first then garri on the next day.
Hi dear Precious thk u so much for the great job u are doing keep up.I have learn so manythings through ur videos .God bless u.looking forward for more videos
So glad to hear that, Loveline. Thank you!
Thanks for teaching us,i will try it
Hope you enjoy, Chidinma.
Thanks very much Precious . This is so wonderful, following your recipe I made a wonderful groundnut soup and impressed my fiancée . 👌👌 just like a pro!!!
So glad to hear that, Fredy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
Hi…great work here…please what kind of maggi do you use?
I use regular Maggi – the small cubes. One cube is 4 grams. Hope this helps.
please what kind of maggi do you use? Chicken or the normal one
Chicken Maggi or the normal maggi
What can I use in place of Maggi
Bouillon powder.
Thank you. Do I use the chicken flavor?
when using peanut butter, how much grams or cups do i use?
Thanks
Hi Linda, you need about 3/4 (three quarters) of a cup of peanut butter. Hope this helps.