Sierra Leonean Groundnut Soup

Name: Sierra Leonean Groundnut Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Sierra Leone
Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken or beef, cut into pieces; 1 cup natural peanut butter; 1 onion, chopped; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole; 1 cup pumpkin or sweet potato, cubed; 4 cups water or stock; 2 tbsp palm oil

6 servings20 min prep55 min cookMedium Sierra Leone

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The Story Behind It

The Tale of Sierra Leonean Groundnut Soup

Story updated September 17, 2026

Groundnut soup, a rich peanut-based stew, reflects peanuts' long integration into West African cooking after their 16th-century arrival from South America via Portuguese trade routes. In Sierra Leone it became a beloved staple across ethnic groups, part of the same broader West African peanut-stew family as Mali's tigadègè and Senegal's mafé.

Ingredients

Scale:· 6 servings

2 lbs chicken or beef, cut into pieces
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole
1 cup pumpkin or sweet potato, cubed
4 cups water or stock
2 tbsp palm oil

Instructions

1Brown the meat with onion in palm oil in a large pot.
2Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes and cook 5 minutes.
3Whisk peanut butter with warm water until smooth and add to the pot along with remaining water and whole scotch bonnet.
4Simmer covered 30 minutes, then add pumpkin or sweet potato and cook 20 more minutes.
5Simmer uncovered until the sauce is thick and the oil rises to the top.
6Season with salt and serve hot over rice.

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