Satay Sweet Potato Curry

This Satay Sweet Potato Curry is really easy to make and tastes amazing! Made with roasted sweet potatoes, spinach and chickpeas in a deliciously rich peanut butter sauce this always goes down a treat. It's great for an easy weeknight family dinner.

Jump to:

• ❓What is Satay?
• 📝 Ingredient Notes
• 🥣 Step By Step Instructions
• 👩‍🍳 Top Tips
• 📖 Substitutions/Variations
• 🍽 What to Serve with Satay Sweet Potato Curry
• 🍠 More Sweet Potato Recipes
• Satay Sweet Potato Curry

Based on classic Indonesian flavours this satay-style curry is thick and creamy and packed full of flavour. The sweet potatoes are roasted before being added to the sauce, this adds a little sweetness to this curry.

I also add chickpeas and baby spinach to make this a tasty and filling dinner. This curry is mild so it's suitable for the whole family. But you can easily make it spicier if you like! This sweet potato curry is also vegan and gluten-free.

❓What is Satay?

Traditionally satay is a Southeast Asian dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Indonesian satay is usually served with peanut sauce – a sauce made from peanut butter. It is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

There are many variations of satay, this satay curry is not an authentic Asian satay recipe and is a variation of traditional satay.

📝 Ingredient Notes

The full ingredient list with detailed steps can be found in the recipe card below.

• Sweet Potatoes - you will need fresh whole sweet potatoes for this recipe, I peel them before roasting.
• Chickpeas - I use canned chickpeas for this recipe, drain them and rinse them under a cold tap.
• Curry Powder - mild curry powder will give you the best results. I would avoid anything too spicy as this will overpower the curry. This is a mild curry, you can increase the spiciness by adding more chopped chilli pepper if you wish.
• Peanut Butter - you can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter, I prefer smooth peanut butter but it is a personal preference and the outcome will be the same.
• Coconut Milk - full-fat coconut milk really is best in this curry, it brings a lovely rich creaminess to the curry so please don't substitute for low-fat coconut milk.

🥣 Step By Step Instructions

1. Roast the sweet potatoes - cut the potatoes into cubes toss them in oil and roast in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes.

2. Cook the onion and aromatics - heat the oil in the pan then add the onions and cook for about 15 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger and chilli. Next, add the turmeric and curry powder and cook for a minute or two, be careful not to burn the spices here as this will make your curry bitter.

3. Add the coconut milk and peanut butter - slowly add the coconut milk, stirring all the time. Once the coconut milk has been added and the sauce is simmering stir in the peanut butter, and stir until it has melted into the sauce. Then add the soy sauce.

4. Next, add the chickpeas and lime juice and stir well. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

5. Once the sweet potatoes are cooked add them to the curry.

6. Finally, add the spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in the corinader/cillantro. The curry is ready once the spinach has wilted. Serve with a wedge of lime, some coriander leaves, rice and chopped peanuts.

👩‍🍳 Top Tips

• Coconut Milk - make sure to add the coconut milk slowly, stirring it all the time. Try not to boil the coconut milk it should be just simmering. If you boil it or add it too quickly it runs the risk of splitting.
• Cut the sweet potato into evenly sized cubes. If the potatoes are all the same size they will all cook at the same time. The smaller they are the quicker they will cook, but you don't want them too small either or they will turn to mush!
• Use fresh baby spinach. Baby spinach is milder so it is perfect in this dish. I always use fresh spinach for this dish. You can use frozen if you want but you will have to defrost it before you add it to the curry.

📖 Substitutions/Variations

• Don't like sweet potatoes? Try using butternut squash instead. In fact, any kind of squash will work in this including pumpkin!
• Swap the chickpeas - while I love chickpeas in this other beans or pulses will work well too. You could also swap the chickpeas for tofu if you prefer.
• Add more veggies - thinly sliced red bell pepper of mangetout would work really well.

🍽 What to Serve with Satay Sweet Potato Curry

We usually have this with rice, chopped peanuts, some fresh coriander and lime wedges. It's such a filling and satisfying meal that you really don't need anything else with this dish.

🍠 More Sweet Potato Recipes

We love sweet potatoes and I use them one way or another every single week. Here are some of our all-time favourites. This Jackfruit Curry with Sweet Potatoes is a delicious creamy curry that's so easy to make and the whole family loves it. My Spiced Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup is one of my favourite soups, it's filling and warming and you need just a few simple ingredients to make this soup. And if you're in the mood for a salad then my Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes salad is just the ticket, this is great as a main dish or as a side dish.