Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Stew

This delicious sweet potato black bean stew is to die for. It is hearty, rich, creamy, flavorful, and simple to cook. My best friend cooked this dish recently on a vacation, and I instantly knew I had to recreate it. It might be one of my new favorite stews. Black beans and sweet potato are a fantastic combination: The sweetness of the potato and the creaminess and richness of the beans are the perfect foundation for a hearty dish. A bit of seasoning, avocado, vegan creme fraiche, and cilantro, and it is everything I’d ever want from a stew!

Ingredients for making Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Stew:

• Sweet potatoes
• Canned black beans
• Onions
• Garlic
• Tomato puree
• Neutral vegetable oil (peanut or canola)
• Avocados
• Cilantro
• Salt & pepper
• Cumin
• Vegan creme fraiche
• Optional: Pickled onions
• Optional: Chilli
• Optional: Fresh lime

This stew only needs a few standard ingredients. The only two more special ones are the toppings, vegan creme fraiche and pickled onions. The freshness and creaminess of vegan creme fraiche work perfectly to balance the richness of this stew. If you cannot get your hands on a plant-based creme fraiche, you might want to try to top the stew with a spoonful of neutral plant-based yogurt instead. A second condiment I like to add is pickled onions. Their fresh flavor and crunchiness add a delicious contrast. I’d recommend you make some for this recipe. It just takes 30 minutes of preparation, and you will be glad to have a glass of pickled onions in your fridge! They go so well with so many dishes or as toppings for sandwiches!

Aside from this, the remaining ingredients are straightforward. For the black beans, I recommend going with canned ones as we will use the bean liquid of the can for making this stew. It will make this dish extra rich and creamy. I made this stew with all kinds of onions already. Red, white, or yellow onions all work for this recipe. I used a neutral peanut oil for roasting the sweet potato today. For spices, cumin will give this dish its delicious flavor. If you want to add some heat, add fresh chili or chili flakes to your preference.

Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Stew Recipe:

Making the stew is super straightforward. It doesn’t involve a lot of hands-on cooking, and it will be ready in about 40 minutes. Firstly, we will oven-roast the sweet potato. While it is roasting, we can cook the rest of the stew. Finally, we will combine the two and garnish the dish.

First, preheat your oven to 180°C (360 °F). Peel the sweet potato, and dice it. I went with little cubes of approximately 0.4 inches. Toss the sweet potato with half of the neutral vegetable oil and some salt. Distribute them evenly on your baking tray and bake them on a fan setting until nicely roasted from each side. Toss them a few times to ensure that they are evenly roasted.

Cooking the Stew:

While the sweet potato is roasting, we can prepare the rest of the stew. Peel the onions, and dice them. There is no need to go super fine, having some size on the onion just adds to the rustic feel of this stew. Next, crush the garlic cloves and mince them.

Put a deep pot on your stove on medium heat, and heat the remaining vegetable oil. Sauté the onions until translucent before adding the garlic. If you want to add some heat, now is the perfect time to add some chilli. Cook for another minute, then add the cumin and tomato puree. After another minute, add the beans with the liquid from the cans. I’d recommend checking if the bean liquid you are using is salted. If there is not enough liquid, add vegetable stock or water until the beans are fully submerged. Season with salt as needed. Bring the stew to a simmer, reduce the heat, and cook it until it has reduced nicely. It should take approximately 20 minutes.

Once the sweet potatoes are ready, add them to the stew and combine everything. You should now have a deliciously thick stew. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Strip the cilantro leaves and cut one of your avocados into cubes. Reserve a few cilantro leaves for garnishing and add the rest, together with the avocado cubes, to the stew. Combine the ingredients, and you are ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions:

Garnish each bowl of stew with a generous spoonful of vegan creme fraiche, cilantro leaves, and optionally pickled onions. Having some acidity to cut through the deep flavor of the stew is a great addition. Alternatively, you can serve the stew with some lime wedges to add a bit of tang.

Pro Tip:

This recipe works perfectly for meal prep. Also, scaling this recipe doesn’t make the cooking process much more stressful. It is mainly about roasting some more sweet potatoes and adding a few cans of beans. As this stew is healthy and a great vegan choice for protein, it’s a great meal prep candidate. You can easily store leftovers for four days in the fridge. Also, you can freeze leftovers, so you can enjoy this stew weeks or months ahead. Just reheat it in a pot, and you are good to go!

And that’s all there is to this simple sweet potato black bean stew. Let me know what you think in the comments below, and enjoy!

Some Recipe Suggestions:

• Vegan chicken quesadilla
• Sweet pepper salsa
• Guacamole recipe
• Easy protein-packed lentil stew
• Simple Mediterranean chickpea stew

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