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Home » Recipes » Main meals

African beans with baked plantain and rice

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These spicy, stewed African beans served with baked plantain and rice make a great vegan or vegetarian dinner or side dish.

Vegan African bean stew with rice and baked plantains

What is African bean stew?

Beans are a staple food of millions of people across Africa.

The types of beans used, the cooking method and the spices added vary across the continent so in one sense there's no such thing as African bean stew.

The Ghanaian bean stew known as red red, is perhaps one of the most well known.

My vegan kidney bean stew is based upon a recipe from Uganda. My brother and his family used to live in Uganda and many years ago I went out to live with them for six weeks.

During this time I volunteered at a local school and ate lunch with the children every day.

The veggie food I ate in Uganda

The children were given a meat stew, posho - a kind of fluffy pancake made from corn meal, and beans. Sometimes they had matoke (a kind of mashed plantain) as well.

Being vegetarian at the time I declined the meat stew (as did a number of the children who were Muslim).

Instead I had a large plate of beans and posho for lunch every day.

At first I found it boring eating the same meal every day. But I soon came to love Ugandan beans and I enjoy making my own version at home now.

Vegan African bean stew with rice and baked plantains

What are plantains?

Plantains look a lot like bananas but they're quite different.

They might look like a banana but they're treated more like a vegetable and appear with savoury dishes.

Plantains can be bought ripe or unripe and both types can be eaten. They're are usually cooked before they're eaten.

Green, or unripe, plantains are starchier, yellow ones are a tiny bit sweet, and very ripe ones - with a black skin, are sweet.

Plantains are common in African, Caribbean and south American cuisines.

They are a good choice for vegans as they contain lots of vitamins, especially potassium.

Vegan African bean stew with rice and baked plantains

Why baked plantains?

For this recipe I used yellow plantains, which I baked. I chose to bake them so I didn't need to use so much oil, therefore making them healthier.

Plantains are often fried and while they taste great that way I prefer them less oily.

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Vegan African bean stew with rice and baked plantains

Cooking tips

This recipe is made with kidney beans - you can substitute another type if you like. For best results use dried beans.

This recipe uses the cooking water from the beans, which is full of flavour. If you substitute tinned beans you will need to make some vegetable stock but you won't get the same depth of flavour.

In Uganda this bean stew is made with a flavouring called mchuzi mix. An alternative to this is Maggi cubes.

It is possible to get this in the UK, especially if you live near an international supermarket.

However, to make it a bit healthier and to make it easier for those of you who can't find it I have used a mixture of spices, soya sauce, and yeast extract (marmite) in an attempt to recreate the mchuzi flavour!

How to make African beans

If you have made this recipe and loved it please consider leaving a comment and rating below.

Vegan African bean stew with rice and baked plantains

African bean stew

Cook Veggielicious
These spicy, stewed African beans served with baked plantain and rice make a great vegan or vegetarian dinner or side dish.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Soaking time 12 hours hrs
Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine African, Vegan
Servings 6 people
Calories 587 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

For the beans

  • 300 g dried kidney beans
  • 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic granules
  • ½ teaspoon chilli powder
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 tablespoon Marmite or other yeast extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • black pepper
  • salt

For the plantains

  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 2 plantains

To serve

  • 450 g rice cooked to packet instructions
  • handful parsley chopped

Instructions
 

For the beans

  • You will need to start this dish the night before you want to cook it. Rinse the beans, cover with cold water and soak overnight.
  • Drain, rinse and cover again with clean water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for around 1 hour until soft - the time varies depending on the beans.
  • Drain the beans reserving the water to add back to the pan.
  • Rinse the pan, then heat the oil.
  • Add the onion and fry until golden brown. Add the garlic, stir and cook for a minute before adding the chopped tomatoes.
  • Add the tomato puree and stir.
  • Add the spices, soya sauce and marmite, and slowly add the bean water until you have a soupy texture.
  • Spoon in the cooked beans and simmer for a few minutes. Check the seasoning and add extra salt and pepper if needed.

For the plantains

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan)/200°C/gas mark 6.
  • Peel and slice the plantains into 1cm thick slices.
  • Place on a lightly greased baking tray and brush lightly with oil. Bake for 10 minutes, turn and repeat for a further ten minutes. Check the softness of the beans with a fork - if not soft return to the oven for a further ten minutes.

To serve

  • Serve the beans and plantain with rice and sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Nutrition

Calories: 587kcalCarbohydrates: 116gProtein: 19gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 354mgPotassium: 1306mgFiber: 11gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 818IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 6mg
Keyword african bean stew
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mary

    January 28, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    Is it possible to use regular bananas?

    Reply
    • Cook Veggielicious

      January 28, 2019 at 9:19 pm

      Hi Mary - you won't get the same results with normal bananas - they are much sweeter.

      Reply
  2. Leanna

    February 14, 2023 at 11:41 pm

    Can I use olive or canola oil?

    Reply
    • Cook Veggielicious

      February 19, 2023 at 9:35 pm

      Yes, it might change the taste slightly but should work fine

      Reply

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Mandy Mazliah profile shotHi, I'm Mandy. I'm a vegan food blogger, cook and mum of three. Cook Veggielicious is where I share my easy vegan recipes that anyone can make.

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