I have made many unusual foods over the years, but this soup has to be one of the most unusual recipes I have ever made. When I first saw a version of this recipe I thought..YUM, I must try that. Then, the more I started thinking about it I thought it could be a little strange for my family’s liking. Knowing my love for peanut butter however, I was willing to give it a try. I have been sick the past couple days (bring on the winter colds!) and all I wanted for dinner was a warm, spicy soup. This soup hit the spot!! I told my husband that I wouldn’t feel badly if he had to go get a hamburger once we put the kids to bed if he was still hungry. Needless to say, two large bowls of soup later, he never went to McDonalds! Surprisingly this soup was a hit with my husband and three out of my four small children. Now..I do have to say my children have crazy taste buds like me, and are willing to eat nearly everything, but even they loved this soup.
I had leftover Macaroni Grill Bread from dinner a few nights ago and so I toasted that with butter and served with this soup. This soup was strangely delicious!! I loved the spicyness of the soup, the creaminess of the evaporated milk, and the smoothness from the peanut butter. The peanut butter gave this soup such a different flavor. Almost Thai-like, but different because of the tomato spice. I can’t describe it, but if you are up to the taste-bud challenge, give this delicious soup a try!! Other than chopping the vegetables, this soup really came together quite quickly.


- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
- 2 large sweet potatoes, red or russet potatoes (I used 1 large sweet potato and 3 small red potatoes)
- 2-3 chicken breasts, cut into cubes (or use 2-3 c. of precooked chicken)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger, minced or grated
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 jar (16oz.) salsa (if you like heat, use hot salsa)
- 6 c. chicken broth (or 6 c. water + 6 t. chicken base or bouillon)
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 2 T. brown sugar (optional--I liked a layer of sweetness to my soup)
- 1 t. chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 c. crunchy or smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 c. uncooked brown or white rice
- 1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Cook onions, chicken cubes, potatoes/sweet potatoes, and bell peppers until lightly browned and tender, stirring in garlic and ginger when almost done to prevent burning. (If using pre-cooked chicken, add the chicken at the end with the rice) Stir in canned tomatoes, salsa, stock, pepper, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- 2. Stir in rice, cover, and simmer another twenty minutes, or until rice is tender. Stir in peanut butter and milk and mix together until smooth. Serve with crushed peanuts on top (optional)



With the help of my FAVORITE chicken trick, this soup came together in only 30 minutes. If you have not yet tried this trick to getting chicken dishes on the table in a hurry, you must! It will save you headache and time during those busy weeknights.
The chicken trick link goes to a recipe for Lemon Ice Cream, which, although it looks delicious, didn't teach me anything about chicken 🙂
Oops! I have it fixed 🙂
**I had this soup for a mid-morning snack today and it was even better than last night! YUM Just make sure that the rice is cooked until it is soft, or you will have crunchy pieces of rice.
There is no chicken cubes listed on the ingredient list – but you talk about chicken cubes in the instructions… How much?
This looks delicious! I'm excited to try it! 🙂
Wow…I must have a cold because my brain is in a fog. It's amazing this soup even turned out. Thanks for catching that–it is 2-3 chicken breasts (I used 3) that have been cut into 1 inch pieces. I used my pre-cooked and frozen chicken breasts, so I added them in at the very end. If you were using fresh chicken breasts, just add them in while the soup is simmering for the 20-3o minutes at the end with the rice. They will cook while the rest of the soup is simmering. Either way should work just great!
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband loved it!
All I can say is, Wow! It really didn't sound very appetizing, but I just happened to have all the ingredients to make it and was pleasantly suprised. I love it. It's so yummy. Can't wait to try it tomorrow for lunch and then turn it into the coconut curry soup.
I love how unusual this soup sounds – but obviously it is delicious. Bookmarking!
I love this recipe. I thought it looked a little strange but I decided to try it anyway and I absolutely love it (as does my husband and a few of my kids). I'll be putting this one in the family recipe book for sure.
My husband is from Ghana and the first time I had Peanut soup, I fell in love! It is so good. Your recipe is quite different, though. (The soup from Ghana is more of a thick broth, with the onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes being blended together, and it doesn't have any carrots, potatoes, sugar or milk in it). Instead of putting the rice into the soup, they usually make rice balls or Fufu and pour the soup over that…and eat it with their hands. SO GOOD!