AFRICAN SPINACH STEW WITH CHICKEN AND SHRIMP (2024)

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Posted ByPrecious

5 from 6 votes

Published Aug 04, 2017

Updated Sep 26, 2018

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AFRICAN SPINACH STEW WITH CHICKEN AND SHRIMP! Excuse me while I go take a forkful! This spinach stew right here is the real deal. Once you have your ingredients prepped, you only need about 30 minutes of cooking time and this mouth watering delicacy will be before you. I love enjoying it with boiled plantains or cassava (yuca root). You could equally enjoy it with some boiled rice or even fufu!

It is simple, tasty, good for your body and ready in no time! My top tip here is to use the store-bought plain frozen spinach so your cooking time is cut in half. All you need to do is thaw the spinach and squeeze out the excess water. It’s the exact thing I did in this stewed spinach recipe which by the way is very similar to this.

Now if you are in Africa, you might not have access to spinach, talkless of the frozen version. Our ‘local green’ in Nigeria and Cameroon work well in this recipe. All you need to do is:

Chop the vegetables.
Boil water with a little salt then put the vegetables in the water and cover to rest for 2-5 minutes.
Then strain, rinse with cold water.
Lightly squeeze and proceed with cooking as described here (see full recipe below).

Okay, let’s talk about the combo of chicken and shrimp. It is simply TO DIE FOR. I use the same combo to make a killer fried rice whose recipe I will share in the days ahead. But for now, let’s revel in this spinach beauty.

To make this meal vegetarian, use mushrooms instead and I tell you it will taste just as good.

So I made a video to show you guys just how easy this spinach stew is. Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss any of my videos.

Watch how to make African spinach stew:

See printable recipe below. Enjoy friends!

African Spinach Stew with Chicken and Shrimp

5 from 6 votes

This spinach stew is made by sauteeing onions then adding in tomatoes to cook and finally some chopped spinach. It is quick, easy and delicious. With only 30 minutes of cooking time, this is the perfect meal for busy weeknights! To make this vegan, use mushrooms in place of chicken and shrimp.

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

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Ingredients

▢ 4-5 cups chopped spinach - tightly packed -this came from 2 1 pound bags (about 1 kg) of frozen chopped spinach. I thawed the spinach, squeezed out the excess water and measured in cups.
▢ 5 cups chopped tomatoes -from about 6 large tomatoes
▢ 1 cup chopped onion -from half a LARGE onion or one medium onion
▢ 3 small seasoning cubes (Maggi) -about 4g per cube
▢ Salt
▢ 1 cup canola oil or oil of choice
▢ 1 1/2 cup shrimps - peeled and de-veined 12 oz or 340 g
▢ 1/2 pound chicken breast - chopped into 1-inch slices -I used one chicken breast equal to about 1/4 kg
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Instructions

Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt and half of the white pepper. Mix well to ensure seasoning coats all of the shrimp.
Season the chicken with a pinch of salt and the other half of the white pepper. Mix well to ensure the seasoning coats all of the chicken.
Pour oil into a pot and heat on high for about 3-4 minutes then turn heat to medium. Put in shrimp and fry until they turn pink. Flip to the other side once one side is cooked. Remove once the other side is done. (Cook shrimps in total for about 4 minutes.)
Put chicken into the oil and cook on for about 5 minutes. Flip halfway through. Remove chicken once thoroughly done.
Pour chopped onions into the oil and saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add in tomatoes and cook on high heat covered for 10 minutes, opening to stir from time to time. Now leave tomatoes open to cook for another 5 minutes while you stir from time to time to prevent burning. The tomatoes are ready when they have greatly shrunk and you can see just the oil and tomatoes in the pot.
Add in salt, Maggi and stir well. Add the spinach and mix well. Finally add in the shrimp and chicken. Mix well to combine then turn off the heat.
Serve warm with boiled plantains, boiled rice or any favorite side. Enjoy!

Notes

1. To make this meal vegan, use mushrooms instead of chicken or shrimp. Follow the same procedure and it will taste just as good.

2. I use a lot of tomatoes in my vegetables so feel free to reduce if you feel the tomatoes are too much.

3. Also, reduce the oil in half to cut down the calories but note that the tomatoes may not fry well in less oil.

4.Now if you are in Africa, you might not have access to spinach, talkless of the frozen version. Our 'local green' in Nigeria and Cameroon work well in this recipe. All you need to do is chop the vegetables, boil water with a little salt then put the vegetables in the water and cover to rest for 2-5 minutes. Then strain, rinse with cold water, lightly squeeze and proceed with cooking as described.

Nutrition

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: African

Calories: 359

Tried this recipe?Mention @preciouscore or tag #PreciousCore!

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About Precious

Welcome to my core! I am Precious Nkeih, the recipe developer and writer right here on my blog, Precious Core. My goal is to show you insanely delicious recipes you can replicate in your kitchen. And I love to tell stories too. Hope you find recipes here that will make cooking easier for you! Check me out on YouTube at YouTube.com/PreciousKitchen.

More About Me

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30 Comments

I made this and my family loved it. The only thing I did differently was add fresh minced garlic.
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1. Adding garlic sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Sharon.
  Reply
I super love your food you made just by seeing it,I will like to learn more from you cus I just love preparing food especially ones I have never done before.
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1. Thank you Victoria!
  Reply
Precious should be knighted a heroine 😭 your tutorials been beyond amazing for years. Thank you ma’am. With love from Germany
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1. You are most welcome, Nasser P. Thank you for taking time to let me know.
  Reply
Can I make this recipe with can tomatoes?
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1. Yes, you can.
  Reply
This was as good as you said it would be. Mine came out perfect.🥰😍
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1. So glad to hear that, Ashante! Thanks for the feedback.
  Reply
Hi Precious, i’m a first time visitor. I notice that you use only fresh tomatoes in your recipes. I’m use to using can tomatoes during the winter when fresh tomatoes seem to be lacking in flavor. Do you get flavorful winter tomatoes in your neck of the woods, or do you just find fresh, whatever the time of the year, to be the best for your recipes?
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1. Hi Joe, I find that fresh tomatoes are still better no matter the time of the year. Hope you enjoy my recipes.
  Reply
What is the Maggi seasoning? Some kind of bouillon cube? Should be chicken flavored? My wife and I had our first African restaurant dinner experience and she had something similar to this. Looking to replicate and this looks great!
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1. Hi Brian, yes it is some kind of bouillon cube. It could be chicken flavored – that doesn’t matter. The bouillon cube you get should be 4g per cube. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
  Reply
Just made this for my 78-year-old dad and his 80-year-old wife. I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Thanks for sharing.
Kris from California
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1. You are welcome, Kris! Thanks for the feedback!
  Reply
Please can ugu leaf be replaced with the green lea
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1. Hi Remi, I’ve never tried that but I’m sure that could work. Also, you could try using the vegetable called “green” instead. Slice the green then boil some salted water. Put the vegetable in the salted water and cover for 5 minutes. Then strain, rinse with cold water and lightly squeeze. Proceed to follow the rest of the recipe as stated in the post.. Hope this helps.
  Reply
I love the Eforiro(green leaf) version of the spinach leaves. You make cooking so pleasurable with your pictures Precious. Welldone .
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1. Thank you, darling!
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Oh my days!!! This looks so delish. I love how creative your recipes usually are. I once cooked your coconut fried rice recipe and it’s become my regular. Thanks for sharing Presh.
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1. Awww Jess, what can I say? Thank you, darling.
  Reply
Good and delicious at sight ,I can imagine the taste,thanks very much.
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1. It tastes really good, Theresia. Hope you try it sometime.
  Reply
  1. I made this dish thanks it’s delicious. Can’t wait to try more of your dishes.
  2. So glad you loved it! Thanks for letting me know.
Oh my goodness! This looks really healthy and yummy especially with the shrimp.
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1. Thanks Jamila!
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Yum-mayyy! #WeekendGoodness 🙂
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1. Yes!!! It is so good. Enjoy!
  Reply