Go Back
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Groundnut Soup with Chicken

A delicious Ghanaian favourite made with groundnut paste and chicken.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time2 hours 40 minutes
Total Time3 hours 5 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: African, Ghanaian, West African
Keyword: ghanaian, groundnuts, peanuts, west african
Servings: 6
Author: Edinam

Ingredients

  • 400 grams groundnut paste or peanut butter
  • 1.8 kg whole chicken cut into smaller pieces
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 large onion blended
  • 7 scotch bonnets
  • 3 tablespoons ginger blended
  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • salt
  • basil

Instructions

  • Mix the groundnut paste with about 1 litre of water.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and, about 3 scotch bonnets (slightly crushed), the chopped onions and mix thoroughly.
  • Over low to medium heat, cook until thickened and there is oil on top. This should take roughly 20 minutes.
  • Mix the cooked groundnut paste with about 3 litres of water and then strain into a large pot. The pot should be large enough with some extra space to accommodate overboiling or overflowing. (See notes 2)
  • Turn on the heat over medium and let the groundnut soup come to a rolling boil for about 30 minutes and then leave to simmer.
  • Add tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, and about 4 scotch bonnets, and leave to simmer further.
  • In another pot add chicken, ginger, about ½ of the blended onions, scotch bonnets, salt, and basil, and steam for about 20 minutes making sure to add a bit of water to get a broth.
  • Add steamed chicken plus the broth to the soup.
  • Take out the tomatoes and scotch bonnets from the soup and blend until smooth.
  • Strain the blended mixture and add it back to the soup. Also, add the rest of the blended onions to the soup.
  • Leave the soup to simmer for further 60 minutes and add salt until the soup has thickened.
  • Serve hot with fufu, boiled rice, kokonte, yam, or boiled ripe plantain.

Video

Notes

  1. I use a broiler chicken in this recipe so the steaming time will be significantly shorter. If you are using a layer, then you will either need to steam for longer or put the steamed chicken into the soup early on to soften.
  2. When you mix the cooked paste with water you can reduce the amount if you want a thicker consistency soup without having to let the soup simmer for longer.
  3. The basil type used to steam the chicken is more commonly known as Akuko Mesa or Akuko Besa (Ocimum Basilicum) and is quite common in Ghana.