I know that peanut butter, tomatoes and collard greens may seem like a regrettable combination, but I hope you’ll trust me on this one. This homely soup is good—so good that I’m almost tempted to: a) put on my big puffy coat, b) shovel my car out from under 10 inches of snow, and c) drive to the store for collard greens so I can make more soup.
Almost.
This recipe is courtesy of my most handsome fellow. He’s a good cook (jackpot!), one who is more apt to follow his instincts than consult a cookbook. This recipe is from one of his two cookbooks, a random, photo-less vegan cookbook called Local Bounty. With the author’s headnote, “Of all the soups we serve in my restaurant, this one is by far the most popular,” and his endorsement, I trusted that this soup was a safe bet.
We taste tested the soup with a few different hot sauces (none of them African) and decided that sriracha was the best. It provides just the right punch of heat.
The end result is a creamy, nourishing soup made of basic pantry ingredients, herbs and greens. It doesn’t require much prep and the hot sauce cuts down on the total number of ingredients, so it’s perfect for cold days and lazy weeknights. If you love it, be sure to check out the revamped peanut soup with sweet potatoes and chickpeas in my cookbook!
Vegetarian West African Peanut Soup
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: African
This West African peanut soup recipe is a creamy and comforting, spicy vegan soup. Made with a simple combination of peanut butter, tomato paste and collard greens, this soup comes together quickly and would be a great weeknight meal. If you love spicy flavors like me, don’t hesitate to use liberal amounts of ginger and garlic.
Ingredients
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 bunch collard greens (or kale), ribs removed and leaves chopped into 1-inch strips
- ¾ cup unsalted peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
- ½ cup tomato paste*
- Hot sauce, like sriracha (AKA rooster sauce)
- ¼ cup roughly chopped peanuts, for garnish
- Cooked brown rice, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium Dutch oven or stock pot, bring the broth to a boil. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and salt. Cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- In a medium-sized, heat-safe mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and tomato paste, then transfer 1 to 2 cups of the hot stock to the bowl. Whisk the mixture together until smooth, then pour the peanut mixture back into the soup and mix well. Stir in the collard greens and season the soup with hot sauce to taste.
- Simmer for about 15 more minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often. Serve over cooked brown rice if you’d like, and top with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts.
Notes
- Adapted from Local Bounty: Vegan Seasonal Recipes by Devra Gartenstein.
- *The cookbook author suggested that 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes is a suitable substitution for the tomato paste, but commenters report that the crushed tomatoes produce a runny soup (unlike the thick soup shown here). I highly recommend using tomato paste if you can find it. I also recommend Muir Glen‘s organic tomato products—they come in BPA-free cans and seem to be readily available.
- Most African peanut soup recipes include sweet potatoes. I suppose you could toss in a chopped sweet potato when you bring the stock to a boil, but I liked the soup as is.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Luis
Amazing soup ….. love it love it love it …. keep telling my friends about your site and your recipes …. thank god you exist
★★★★★
Christina
I lived in Benin and Togo for a year as an aid worker and this soup warms my heart and brings back a sweet nostalgia from living in this beautiful place… thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
They commonly pair this with fufu- a mashed up starchy root. Typically a long process to make, but you can find online for an easy instant version. Thanks again!
★★★★★
Charla
Freakishly good! Comforting, warm, and satisfying.
Also Made some without the rooster sauce, and poured over rice for my one year old son; he loved it.
Thanks for the share!
★★★★★
Sarah
Planning to make this tonight. The recipe calls for unsalted peanut butter but should it be sweetened peanut butter or the unsweetened “natural” kind that you have to mix the oil back in as it separates?
Kate
I suggest a natural peanut butter. I hope this helps!
Emily
I have been thinking about this soup all summer. I kept telling myself “it’s too early for soup, I’m not going to make it yet.” Well, even though it’s 87 degrees where I live today, I went ahead and made it because I couldn’t wait any longer (and it’s September which means it’s soup season now, right?) It was AMAZING. I enjoyed it with a pumpkin beer to usher in fall :) I made a couple of alterations: I couldn’t find unsalted peanut butter, so I used regular natural peanut butter (just peanuts and salt). I also underestimated how much vegetable broth I would need, so I used 4 cups of low sodium vegetable broth, and 2 cups of regular vegetable stock. Because of the extra salt from my modifications, I didn’t add any salt to the soup. I’m so happy with this soup, and can’t wait to eat the leftovers!!
★★★★★
Kate
I love that, Emily! Soup all time, if you love it right :) Thanks for your review!