There is nothing quite as comforting as a delicious warming bowl of stew.  This Spicy Black Bean Potato Stew is real comfort food in a bowl. Easy to make and filled with deliciously creamy black beans, hearty baby potatoes and aromatic spices, it is sure to warm you up. It’s wholesome, healthy, hearty, and oh so flavorful, and it has a secret ingredient that gives exceptional dimension to this stew. Don’t miss this tasty stew!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

What’s not to love about spicy black beans, hearty potatoes, and flavorful jalapeno peppers?  We all fell in love with it. It’s not your typical run-of-the-mill black bean “chili” type of stew.  Not only is this Spicy Black Bean Potato Stew full of delicious flavors, it has a lot of dimension to it. Win win!

Wait, what’s that?

So, what’s this secret ingredients? I’m sure you are wondering, and the magical ingredient is dun tada dun…. Cocoa powder!

We tried an experiment on one of the kitchen tests by adding cocoa powder to the stew and boy o boy are we glad we did.  It takes your brain a few seconds to wrap your head around the subtle flavor nuance with the first bite, but then it hits you with its all its flavor goodness.  We thought it really added another layer of dimension to the stew that you are sure to love.

Dad’s Approval

My dad was all over this stew.  He loved it! He devoured every kitchen test and was all about the cocoa powder addition kitchen test.  We never told him what we put in the stew, but he was like “This one is it!!!  It’s perfect!”   The unsweetened cocoa powder perfectly complements the flavors of this stew.  It is soooo good. I’ll let Mom tell you more.

Hi!  Robin here!

This stew is perfect for those days when you need something hearty, warm, flavorful, and filling. Spicy Black Bean Potato Stew checks off all those boxes perfectly.  I just knew that our original kitchen test had a lot of promise, but wanted to keep working on it to see if we could really punch up the flavor without compromising the heat from the jalapenos.  The cayenne and chipotle really carry the flavors in this stew. You can easily punch those spices up even more or lower them accordingly to fit your own personal tastes.

Cilantro Kryptonite

As Monkey mentioned, TP109 really enjoyed this stew minus the cilantro (topping), of course.  Wow, he hates cilantro.  So much so that he feels the need to remind us each time we use it.  He is one of those people who tastes “dish soap” when eating it. He even hates smelling it. He is one of those people with the “Hate Cilantro” gene.

According to a genetic survey conducted by Cornell University, approximately 14% of the population find cilantro repulsive.  It would appear that there is actually a gene assigned to hating cilantro, OR6A2, which codes the receptor to initiate cilantro as a “soap” like flavor. These individuals find cilantro horrid.  TP calls it “kryptonite” and he definitely has this gene. LOL

Do you have this gene or do you love cilantro like Monkey and me?  We adore it!  But we do have to admit, going Whole Food Plant Based has encouraged us to use it more to really add a POW of flavory goodness.

We would love for you to give this recipe a try!  We just know you are going to love it.

If you try this recipe, we would love to know if you love it as much as we do, please leave us a review!

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Products Used:

• 8-quart ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven or similar large stock pot.
• Food Processor (to puree the fire roasted tomatoes)

Watch how to make this recipe below:

Spicy Black Bean and Potato Stew

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
• Category: Stew, Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Southwestern

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Description

There is nothing quite as comforting as a delicious warming bowl of stew.  This Spicy Black Bean Potato Stew is real comfort food in a bowl. Easy to make and filled with deliciously creamy black beans, hearty baby potatoes and aromatic spices, it is sure to warm you up. It’s wholesome, healthy, hearty, and oh so flavorful, and it has a secret ingredient that gives exceptional dimension to this stew. Don’t miss this tasty stew!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 medium red onion, small dice
• 1 red bell pepper, small dice
• 2 jalapeno peppers, small dice *
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic 
• 2 Tablespoons GF flour (or flour of choice) *
• 1 cup vegetable broth *
• 3 cups water (or broth)
• 1 – [ 14.5 oz. can ] fire roasted petite diced tomatoes, pureed *
• 3 cups small red baby potatoes, quartered
• 2 – [ 15.5 oz. cans ] black beans, drained and rinsed

Seasoning/Spice Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper *
• ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder *

Other Optional Ingredients:

• Avocado, chopped
• Cilantro
• Corn Tortillas
• Chopped red onions
• Chopped tomatoes
• Jalapeno slices

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Instructions

1. In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven/pot (or similarly large stockpot) add the diced red onion, red bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, and sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes to soften, then add the finely minced garlic. Sauté over medium heat for 30 seconds.
2. Then sprinkle the flour over the onions, peppers, and garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the dry seasonings, except for the cocoa powder  and cayenne pepper, and sauté for 30 seconds to release their fragrance.
3. Add the vegetable broth, water, pureed fire roasted tomatoes, increase the heat to a boil, stir well to thicken the sauce, then immediately lower to a low simmering boil.
4. Add the quartered baby potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes, then add the black beans and cocoa powder. Stir well, simmer until the potatoes are tender, approx. 10 – 15 minutes (+/-), largely dependent upon on the size of the potatoes.  Taste test the stew, then add the cayenne pepper. Stir and cook a few minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
5. Serve with avocados, sliced jalapeños, corn tortillas, chopped red onion, tomatoes, and cilantro if desired.

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Notes

*Jalapeno peppers:  Jalapeno peppers can vary in degrees of heat.  If you have an especially hot one, then only use one jalapeno pepper.  If you have mild ones, use two.

*Vegetable Stock:  We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients; however, this brand of vegetable stock does have a strong flavor so less broth is required when compared to the water ratio. We use a higher water to broth ratio because of this. If you use another brand of vegetable broth, then adjust the water/vegetable broth ratio accordingly. For example, if your vegetable broth brand is mellow and light, then perhaps use 1 cup of water and use 3 cups of vegetable broth.

*Fire Roasted Petite Diced Tomatoes:  You can use Petite Diced Tomatoes that are not fire roasted, you may need to ramp up your spices a bit at the end to compensate.  Additionally, we recommend pureeing them in order to create a beautiful stew-like texture.

*Gluten Free Flour: We used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour.

*Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: You can leave this out if you wish. The unsweetened cocoa powder really adds dimension to the stew that is unexpected and very tasty.

*Cayenne Pepper:  You may wish to add the cayenne pepper at the very end.  If you have especially hot jalapeños, you may not need the cayenne pepper at all.

*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  4 to 6

*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 7 days.

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