Senegalese Mafé
Peanuts become a savory sauce rather than a garnish in Senegalese mafé, carrying tomato, meat and vegetables into one rich stew.
About this dish
Mafé is a West African peanut stew or sauce with especially strong associations in Senegal and Mali. Senegalese versions may contain meat, fish or vegetables and are generally served with rice. Peanut paste supplies both body and flavor, while tomato, onion and stock keep the sauce savory rather than dessert-like.
Why this dish matters
Senegalese chef Pierre Thiam describes mafé as an icon of Senegalese cuisine and one of West Africa’s foundational peanut sauces. He also connects Senegal’s enormous peanut production to colonial-era agricultural systems, showing how an ingredient can be both deeply embedded in contemporary cuisine and tied to a difficult economic history. This beef-and-vegetable version follows a familiar home-stew format while keeping the peanut sauce central.
Mafé exists across several West African countries with important local differences. This page is specifically framed as a Senegalese home version and does not claim that one peanut stew represents the entire region.
Preparation notes
Sugar and stabilizers can make the sauce cloying; natural peanut butter or ground peanut paste is best.
Loosening it separately prevents stubborn lumps.
Root vegetables need longer than cabbage or okra.
Ingredients & detailed method
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (14.5 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups beef stock or water
- 1 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter
- 2 carrots, cut in large pieces
- 1 sweet potato, cut in chunks
- 1/2 small cabbage, cut in wedges
- 8 okra pods, optional
- 1 Scotch bonnet, left whole
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Cooked rice, for serving
Method
- 1.Season beef lightly with salt. Heat oil in a Dutch oven and brown the beef in batches; transfer to a plate.
- 2.Add onion and cook 6–8 minutes until soft, then add garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes.
- 3.Add crushed tomatoes and 4 cups stock. Return beef and simmer covered 30 minutes.
- 4.Whisk peanut butter with 1 cup hot broth from the pot until smooth, then stir the mixture back into the stew.
- 5.Add carrots, sweet potato and whole Scotch bonnet. Simmer 20 minutes.
- 6.Add cabbage and okra if using and continue 15–20 minutes.
- 7.Checkpoint: beef should be fork-tender, root vegetables soft but intact and the sauce thick enough to coat a spoon while still flowing over rice.
- 8.Remove the whole chile, season to taste and thin with remaining stock if needed. Serve over rice.
Worth finding before you cook
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