Pregnancy · Dinner

Sweet Potato, Chickpea & Peanut Stew (African-Style)

Name: Sweet Potato, Chickpea & Peanut Stew (African-Style)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 20 g fresh ginger, grated; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 2 sweet potatoes, in chunks; 480 g canned chickpeas, drained; 400 g canned chopped tomatoes; 80 g peanut butter; 600 ml vegetable stock; 100 g kale, shredded; 1 lime, in wedges

A West African-inspired peanut stew with sweet potato, chickpeas and greens - deeply savory, gently spiced and stubbornly nourishing.

A one-pot dinner where sweet potato, kale and chickpeas simmer down into a thick, savory peanut gravy. Everything in the pot is plant-based and fully cooked, and it reheats kindly, so one stint at the stove can cover more than one evening. The spice is warming rather than fiery, which keeps it friendly when pregnancy appetites are unpredictable.

Sweet Potato, Chickpea & Peanut Stew (African-Style) - A West African-inspired peanut stew with sweet potato, chickpeas and greens

Easy

Vegan IronFiberFolateAntioxidantsProtein

Ingredients

for 2 people

2 tbspolive oil
1onion, chopped
3garlic cloves, chopped
20 gfresh ginger, grated
1 tspground cumin
1 tspsmoked paprika
2sweet potatoes, in chunks
480 gcanned chickpeas, drained
400 gcanned chopped tomatoes
80 gpeanut butter
600 mlvegetable stock
100 gkale, shredded
1lime, in wedges

Open this recipe in the interactive app to scale servings, switch to oz and cups, and tick ingredients off as you cook.

Per serving (approx.): 650 calories · 24 g protein · 62 g carbs · 34 g fat · 15 g fiber

Method

Base. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin and smoked paprika and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant.
Build. Stir in the tomatoes, stock and peanut butter until the peanut butter melts into the liquid. Add the sweet potatoes and chickpeas, raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, about 3 minutes.
Simmer. Lower the heat so the stew barely bubbles, part-cover the pot and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sweet potato chunks are soft all the way through and the stew has thickened.
Greens. Stir in the kale and simmer for 3 minutes more, until it has wilted down and turned deep green. Serve in bowls with the lime wedges for squeezing over at the table.

Worth knowingPeanut butter melts into a savory gravy carrying plant protein and iron - with kale and chickpeas, this pot punches far above its cost.

Is this safe during pregnancy?

Yes - everything here is plant-based and simmered until fully cooked, which sits comfortably inside standard pregnancy food-safety guidance. Peanuts deserve a direct word: the old advice to avoid them in pregnancy is outdated, and NHS guidance on foods to avoid is clear that peanuts and peanut butter are fine unless you yourself are allergic to them. Give the kale a good rinse before it goes in, as with any fresh produce.

Substitutions & allergens

Swap the peanut butter for tahini or sunflower seed butter - removes peanuts, the recipe's only listed allergen, and keeps the gravy thick.
Swap kale for spinach or chard - stir them in for just a minute at the end.
Swap sweet potato for butternut squash - same simmer, similar sweetness.
No fresh ginger? Ground ginger at about a third of the amount works in the spice step.

Storage & reheating

Cool the stew and refrigerate it within 1-2 hours, then eat leftovers within 48 hours, reheated steaming hot all the way through and only once, per FSA chilling guidance. It freezes well: portion and freeze on the day of cooking, defrost in the fridge and eat within 24 hours. If you take the rice option, cook rice fresh each time rather than storing it with the stew - cooked rice keeps no more than 24 hours chilled, per the FSA fact checker.

Checked against the public guidance we follow - see our sources & editorial standards.