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African-inspired Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup would be delicious for a plant-based meal, or make it any time you want an interesting soup! And this tasty soup with peanut butter is so tasty, no one will guess it can easily be vegan!

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Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup shown in bowl sitting on plate with spoon

Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup is one of the most interesting meatless soup recipes I’ve made! And in Utah the spring weather can change in a minute, and I always like to have soup in the freezer for those days when the weather suddenly gets cold. 

This African-inspired soup uses a whole cup of peanut butter in a soup with peppers, tomatoes, chiles, brown rice, and lentils! Does that sound good to you?

The inspiration came from an interesting soup recipe I saw online, and I upped the spices and added lentils. With brown rice, lentils, and peanut butter, this soup is loaded with protein and flavor, and after a hard day at work it would be great to come home to a slow cooker that has this peanut butter soup simmering away!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

What inspired people to put peanut butter in soup?

Besides the fact that it’s such a flavor boost, the idea of using peanut butter in soup and stew was inspired by peanut stew (also called groundnut stew) that’s common in West African countries such as Mali, Gambia, and Senegal. You can read more about variations for Peanut Stew and how it became popular in North America.

Can the CrockPot Peanut Butter Soup cook all day?

If you have a slow cooker that cooks at a low setting, this soup can cook for eight hours while you’re at work. When you get home, just add the peanut butter and cook for another hour and dinner is ready. You can also cook for a shorter time on high if you want it done more quickly.

What Slow Cooker did I use for the Peanut Butter Soup?

I used my favorite Crock-Pot 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe, but a slightly larger size will also be fine.

Is this Peanut Butter Soup low in carbs?

This tasty soup has lentils and rice, so it does have 21 net carbs per serving, but the soup also has 12 grams of protein.

African-Inspired Vegetarian Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup with Chiles, Brown Rice, and Lentils, process shots collage

How to Make Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. Chop up the onions, red bell pepper, and green onions, and mince the garlic. 
  2. Add those ingredients to the slow cooker with the lentils, brown rice, vegetable broth, canned tomatoes and spices. (Oops; not all those ingredients were added yet when we took this photo.)
  3. Cook on high for about 4 hours or on low for about 8 hours, or until the lentils and rice are well done.
  4. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cup of peanut butter.
  5. Cook on low for about one more hour (or you can do 30 minutes on high if you’re in a rush, but the peanut butter will stay smooth better if you cook it on low.)
  6. Serve the Peanut Butter Soup hot, with sliced green onions for garnish if desired.

More Delicious Meatless Dinners with Peanut Butter:

Square image of Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup in serving bowl with spoon.

Want more Slow Cooker Soup Recipes?

If you love making soup in the slow cooker, there’s a great collection of Cook-All-Day Slow Cooker Soups on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site.

Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup shown in bowl sitting on plate with spoon
Yield: 8 servings

Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours
Total Time 9 hours 15 minutes

African Inspired Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup would be delicious for Meatless Monday, or just make it any time you want an interesting soup!

Ingredients

  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped in small pieces
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onion
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeds removed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes with juice
  • 8 cups vegetable stock or canned vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 T Ancho chile powder
  • 1 tsp. New Mexico chile powder
  • 1 tsp. Aleppo pepper (see notes)
  • 1/2 cup uncooked brown lentils
  • 1/4 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Chop onions, green onion, bell peppers, and garlic and place in crockpot.
  2. Add canned tomatoes with juice, vegetable stock or broth, ground cumin, Ancho chile powder (affiliate link), New Mexico chile powder, Aleppo Pepper (affiliate link), lentils, and brown rice.
  3. Cook on high for about 4 hours or on low for about 8 hours, or until the lentils and rice are well done
  4. After 4 hours (for high) or 8 hours (for low), stir in peanut butter. Reduce heat to low if you were cooking on high
  5. Cook about one more hour. Serve hot
  6. This soup freezes well, and it’s great to have on hand for those spring days that suddenly feel like winter.

Notes

Use any combination of chile powders or spicy red pepper that you have if you don’t have Ancho chile powder or Aleppo pepper

Recipe adapted by Kalyn from Crockpot African Peanut Soup; recipe originally found at AllRecipes.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 300Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 0mgSodium 1003mgCarbohydrates 28gFiber 7gSugar 11gProtein 12g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

© Kalyn Denny
Category: Slow Cooker
Crockpot Peanut Butter Soup in serving bowl.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This CrockPot Peanut Butter Soup with lentils and brown rice is probably too high in carbs for low-carb diet plans. It’s important to use natural peanut butter if you’re making this soup for the original South Beach Diet, since many brands of peanut butter have a lot of added sugar. The use of brown rice would make this a phase two or three choice for South Beach, but you could leave out the rice if you wanted to eat it for phase one. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This African-inspired crockpot soup with peanut butter was first posted in 2008. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.

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