West African Chicken Stew
West African Chicken Stew is a quick low-carb dinner with interesting flavors, and the peanut flavor in the sauce comes from peanut butter!
PIN West African Chicken Stew to try it later!
Maybe this only happens at my Costco, but have you noticed how those rotisserie chickens jump into your basket when you’re out shopping with no dinner plans? I never have rotisserie chicken on my list, but I often come home with one.
But no worries because this West African Chicken Stew is perfect to make with leftover rotisserie chicken, and it’s wonderfully flavorful with ginger, Jalapenos, and chunky peanut butter adding interest. It’s also simple to make, and you can save the chicken carcass, bones, and skin (if you manage not to eat it) to make homemade chicken stock.
And this recipe has been a favorite of mine for many years, so today I’m reminding you about it for my Friday Favorites pick! Hope you’ll give this a try next time you have some leftover chicken and want to turn it into a delicious dinner!
What ingredients do you need?
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- red onion
- Minced Ginger (affiliate link)
- minced Jalapeno
- salt to taste
- Chili Powder (affiliate link)
- homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
- Adams 100% Natural Peanut Butter (affiliate link) (see notes)
- tomato paste (affiliate link)
- apple cider vinegar (affiliate link)
- diced, cooked chicken
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- green onions
Why is this called African Chicken Stew?
Obviously a stew that uses leftover chicken and peanut butter isn’t an authentic African dish. But this recipe is inspired by Chicken and Groundnut Stew, which is a well-known African dish from Ghana that combines chicken with peanuts.
Want more recipes using peanut butter?
Check out Keto Recipes with Peanut Butter to see more of my favorite recipes that include peanut butter, and a shout-out for the low-sugar peanut butter brand I always buy!
Want more ideas for using leftover chicken?
I’ve seen a number of cookbooks with ideas for using rotisserie chicken, but this recipe was adapted from one I found in 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It (affiliate link) by Tony Rosenfield, a great little book I bought myself and would happily buy again. This recipe is barely stewed, so maybe I should just call it West African Chicken!
Want more tasty recipes for Stew?
You can use Low-Carb and Keto Stew Recipes to find more ideas for stew.
How to Make West African Chicken Stew:
(Scroll down for complete printable recipe plus nutritional information.)
- You need about 3 cups of leftover chicken, cut into pieces. This is one case where I would roughly chop the chicken without making the pieces all the same size.
- I didn’t get it all in the photo, but this recipe starts by very finely dicing red onion, fresh ginger root, and Jalapeno. (I only had pickled Jalapenos in a jar, which worked just fine.)
- Saute the chopped red onion, ginger root, and Jalapeno in a little olive, adding a little salt.
- After they cook for a couple of minutes, add some chili powder and cook about a minute more.
- Then add chicken stock, chunky peanut butter, tomato paste, and apple cider vinegar and let the mixture come to a very low-boil. (Can’t you already tell this is going to taste good!)
- If you want this to be low in carbs, it’s important to use natural peanut butter without added sugar. Adams 100% Natural Peanut Butter (affiliate link) is the brand I use, which has only 1 gram of sugar in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.
- Once the sauce has barely started to boil, add the roughly chopped chicken pieces, gently stir (so the chicken doesn’t shred apart), turn heat to low, and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Don’t even think about skipping the green onions to sprinkle on top, because not only do they provide crunch, but the flavor combination with the creamy chicken stew and the bite of the onion is delightful.
- It’s natural for a little of the oil in the peanut butter to separate when the stew simmers, but gently stir to mix it back in when you serve it. Serve hot.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
This would be great with Roasted Broccoli with Garlic, Roasted Summer Squash with Garlic and Parmesan, Green Beans with Tahini and Lemon, Lemon Parmesan Kale Salad, or served over Cauliflower Rice for a low-carb meal.
More Tasty Low-Carb Dinners with Chicken:
- Chicken Egg Foo Yung
- Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Cabbage Bowl
- Greek Lemon Chicken
- Grilled Fusion Chicken
- Chicken Kabobs with Asian Marinade
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
West African Chicken Stew
This Low-Carb West African Chicken Stew is simple and perfect to make with leftover chicken.
Ingredients
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely diced red onion (see notes)
- 1 T finely minced ginger root (see notes)
- 2 tsp. finely minced jalapeno (see notes)
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp. chile powder (see notes)
- 1 cup chicken stock (chicken broth from a can is fine)
- 1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter (see notes)
- 2 T tomato paste
- 1 T cider vinegar
- 3 cups diced, cooked chicken
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Finely chop the red onion, ginger, and jalapeno, and roughly chop the chicken.
- Heat oil in a heavy pan, add finely diced onion, ginger, and jalapenos, season with salt, and saute about 2 minutes. Add the chile powder, stir into other ingredients, and saute about 1 minute more. Add chicken stock, peanut butter (affiliate link), tomato paste, and apple cider vinegar, stir, and bring to a slight boil.
- As soon as it starts to boil, lower heat to a very gentle simmer, add roughly chopped chicken, gently stir to combine, and let simmer 10-15 minutes. (Resist the urge to stir it very much, or the chicken will shred apart, which you don’t want here.)
- While mixture simmers, wash, dry, and slice green onions. After 10-15 minutes, gently stir again if the oil from the peanut butter has separated. Serve hot, with a generous handful of green onion slices on each serving.
Notes
Regular white or yellow onion will also be fine in this. I originally made this with fresh minced ginger which is probably best, but minced ginger from a jar wouldn't be bad here. I used pickled Jalapenos which worked fine; increase the amount of Jalapeno if you want it spicy. I used dried Ancho chile powder, but you could also use Mexican style chili powder if that’s all you have. I used Adams 100% Natural Peanut Butter (affiliate link); for low carbs, use natural peanut butter without added sugar.
This recipe was adapted from 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken and 50 Ways to Roast It by Tony Rosenfield.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 524Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 429mgCarbohydrates: 9.4gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 35g
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.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This West African Chicken Stew is great for low-carb and Keto eating plans and also for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. South Beach would recommend using white meat chicken for less fat; low-carb diets might prefer dark meat chicken.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Stew 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 recipe was first posted in 2010, and it’s been a huge hit on the blog. It was last updated with more information and featured for Friday Favorites in 2022.
154 Comments on “West African Chicken Stew”
Every time I make this recipe (it’s saved in my favorites) I ask myself, “Why don’t I make this more often?” It is so good.
I used to make this with chicken breasts that I would cook, set aside, chop, and then add back when called for. Tonight I make it with chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) that I cooked, set aside, chopped, and then added to the peanut stew. It turned out even better.
Thank you, Kalyn for this great recipe.
So glad you are enjoying the recipe. That sounds like a good idea.
Hi Kalyn – I recently found your website and am really enjoying your recipes! I’m making this soup tonight and was wondering if I could make it in the instant pot with raw chicken? I’m thinking I need to increase the chicken stock to 2 cups. What are your thoughts?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Carrie
Glad you are enjoying the recipes! This recipe is written is definitely a thick stew and not a soup. Since my recipe is completely different (using pre-cooked chicken that’s heated in the sauce) I’m not sure how it would work to make it with raw chicken in the Instant Pot. I guess I am skeptical, but if you do try it I’d love to hear how it works.
Thank you for the input. I’m going to give it a try and will definitely let you know how it goes!
So it turned out pretty well.. though admittedly I have made your recipe so I can’t compare. I ended up doubling the recipe. I sauteed the onion and jalapeno in EVOO in the instant pot till soft. Added ginger and garlic and sauteed for 30 seconds. Deglazed the pot with white wine (because why not!) and added the rest of the ingredients (except peanut butter) and stirred. Submerged three boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the liquid and set the instant pot on the poultry setting, and let the pressure release naturally. When done, I removed the chicken and shredded it in a bowl, added the peanut butter to the remaining liquid and stirred until incorporated, and added the chicken back in. I think next time I will add the peanut butter along with the rest of the ingredients… but it tastes delicious! Thank you for a quick, delicious meal for my very busy family. I’m trying to get back in the swing of things as our lives get somewhat back to normal 🙂
Thanks for sharing that, interesting. I might have to try that.
Hi Kalyn,
This was one of my staples before I met my bf — absolutely love it!!!!
However my bf is allergic to nuts.
Any suggestions on what I could replace the peanut butter with that wouldn’t ruin the dish? Or is this off my plate unless I send him away for a weekend? 😜
Thanks
I don’t know too much about nut allergies. But I know some people are allergic to some kinds of nuts but not others. You might be able to use Tahini (which is ground sesame seeds). It’s definitely a different flavor; I might add some sugar or sweetener if you try it with tahini.
But honestly I would start by googling “what can I use instead of peanut butter in a recipe if I am allergic to nuts.” I am sure people have written about that!