This simple but flavorful sweet potato peanut curry can be whipped up in just about 30 minutes with a few pantry staples like sweet potatoes, peanut butter, coconut milk and chickpeas. Serve over rice for a satisfying easy vegan dinner option.
This vegan peanut curry with chickpeas and sweet potato is the newest addition to my back pocket repertoire of simple and fast weeknight meals! As a toddler mom, I’m all about one pan meals and have a quite a few on the blog already like this vegan lasagna skillet and vegan taco skillet. I’ve made this sweet potato peanut curry a couple times already and packed the leftover for my work lunch. I can’t get enough of it!
You only need one pan to make this easy gluten free and vegan meal and it usually takes me only ~30 from start to finish. The other great thing about this recipe is that it utilizes a lot of pantry staples like chickpeas, coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and peanut butter. Keep those ingredients on hand and you are well on your way to recreating this delicious curry.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sweet Potato: we love the subtle sweetness of the sweet potatoes in this curry, but you can easily substitute with white potato or butternut squash.
- Chickpeas: for protein and added fiber, we love adding a can of chickpeas to this sweet potato curry recipe. You can also used cubed tofu instead of chickpeas.
- Canned Tomatoes: fire roasted tomatoes are my favorite canned tomatoes for this curry because I feel like they have more flavor than others, but you don’t have to use them. Any diced or crushed canned tomatoes will work well.
- Canned Coconut Milk: both full fat coconut milk and light coconut milk work great in this recipe. If you aren’t a fan of coconut – don’t worry, you can’t taste any coconut in the finished dish. The combination fo the coconut milk and peanut butter makes a rich and creamy brother this curry.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: use any smooth peanut butter brand that you like. It also adds a ton of flavor as well as creaminess and extra protein to this curry. I haven’t tried this with other nut butters, but you can probably use almond butter or cashew butter in place of the peanut butter.
- Thai Red Curry Paste: not all curry paste is vegan since they sometimes contain fish sauce so double check the ingredients label. We really like this Maesri red Thai curry paste.
- Ginger: for the most flavor, use fresh ginger if you can. You’ll need about thumb-sized piece ginger for this recipe. I like to store my fresh ginger in the freezer. Not only does it last longer, but it makes it easier to grate into dishes with a microplane.
- Spinach: You could easily substitute kale or collard greens for the spinach or toss in some chopped broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, etc. Feel free to experiment with any that need used up from your veggie drawer. Frozen spinach also works great.
How to Make Vegan Peanut Curry
Step One: Add the olive oil, onion, sweet potato, and bell pepper to a large skillet. Sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat or until onion is translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook another minute.
Step Two: Stir in the tomatoes, coconut milk, peanut butter, sriracha, ginger, and curry paste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes or until sweet potatoes start to soften.
Step Three: Stir in the chickpeas and spinach. Cook another 3-5 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and spinach is wilted. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Origin of Peanut Stew
This curry is a riff on the traditional West African peanut curry dish also known as maafe, groundnut stew, or domoda. Originally, the dish was made with groundnuts before peanuts were used later. Ingredients in traditional peanut stew often include ground peanuts, meat, tomatoes, hot chiles – usually it is served over rice or millet.
How to Serve Peanut Butter Chickpea Curry
This sweet potato peanut curry with chickpeas makes 5-6 servings so for those with smaller households like us, you’ll get to enjoy a few days of leftovers! Serve this curry over rice, your favorite grain, or cauliflower rice (for a low carb option) and garnish it with a few chopped peanuts, lime wedges, and some fresh cilantro. Feel free to use other veggies in this dish based on what you have on hand.
Want even more peanut butter recipes? Check out my roundup of 13+ sweet and savory vegan peanut butter recipes from the blog!
Storage
Fridge: store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or add to a skillet to reheat on the stovetop. This curry is great for meal prep since the leftovers are just as good the next day.
Freezer: this creamy sweet potato peanut butter curry freezes well! Add to an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. Allow to thaw overnight before reheating in the microwave or stovetop.
Recipe FAQs
You can substitute with another Thai curry paste like green curry paste or yellow curry paste. You can also try making your own red curry paste.
Not always – depending on the brand, some have fish sauce so they are not vegan. Just double check the ingredient list since there are quite a few vegan ones out there! We like the Maesri brand red curry paste.
Not really – although the both have “curry” in the name, they are wildly different in flavor. Curry paste is made from fresh chiles and used in Thai-inspired dishes. Dry curry powder, on the other hand, is made from dried spices and is often used in Indian-inspired dishes.
More Vegan Sweet Potato Recipes
Did you love this recipe? Make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and tag #dietitiandebbie on instagram!
Vegan Peanut Curry with Chickpeas and Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium sweet potato, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can lite coconut milk
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste or fresh grated ginger
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained
- 1 (5 oz) bag baby spinach
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Add the olive oil, sweet potato, onion, and bell pepper to a pan. Sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat or until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, coconut milk, peanut butter, sriracha, curry paste, and grated ginger. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes or until sweet potatoes start to soften.
- Stir in the chickpeas and spinach. Cook another 3-5 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and spinach is wilted. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Serve over cooked rice or favorite grain. Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Make this recipe?
Share it with me on Instagram @dietitiandebbie and tag me #dietitiandebbie
Comments & Reviews
This was delicious! I’m not a vegetarian, but it was substantial enough to make a great meal. So healthy and flavorful! It was quite easy. Most of my prep time was spent cutting up veggies. I pureed the fire-roasted tomatoes because my husband doesn’t like tomato “chunks”. It was nice to cook it all in one pot. I used only 1 tsp of sriracha sauce and it was just the right heat for me. I can’t handle super hot foods. I used about 1/2 tsp salt in the whole dish. This is a keeper! Thanks for this recipe Debbie.
I made this a few times, minus the kale (I don’t care for it). I added serrano peppers for some heat. One of my favorites. Great to bring for lunch.
Thanks Lisa! I need to try it with Serrano peppers sometime – that sounds so good!
I just made this. I left out the kale (I greatly dislike it) and added serrano peppers for some heat. It’s delicious and I will definitely make it again. It was pretty easy and quick.
So glad you enjoyed it Lisa!
This is a dish I could eat everyday and never be sick of! Yum!