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Craving something delicious and versatile? My easy and authentic Thai peanut sauce recipe is just what you need! It's perfect for dipping, drizzling, or mixing into your favorite dishes.
Authentic Thai Peanut Sauce
Thai peanut sauce is probably one of the most popular Asian dipping sauces, loved by everyone for its rich, creamy texture and perfect balance of sweet, salty, and spicy flavors, making it tasty, versatile, and addictive.
This Asian peanut sauce is not just for skewers like Thai chicken sate, Malaysian chicken satay, or grilled meat; it’s also fantastic with other proteins like shrimp or fish. You can add it to salads for extra flavor, dip fresh veggies in it, or mix it into noodles for a tasty meal.
Most people think peanut sauce is difficult to make and never attempt it at home. The best thing about my easy Thai peanut sauce recipe is that it doesn’t involve much cooking. All you need to do is mix six simple ingredients in a saucepan, heat it up, and voila! In just 15 minutes, you’ll have rich and savory Asian peanut sauce ready to enjoy. Best of all, this recipe is vegan-friendly thanks to the simple, plant-based ingredients I used.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A breeze to make. This recipe is beginner-friendly and foolproof. It only requires six simple ingredients and just four simple steps. Perfect for busy days when you need a quick and delicious sauce to enhance your meals in no time!
- Vegan-friendly. With plant-based ingredients, my recipe is perfect for vegans and still keeps that great taste and authenticity.
- Versatility. You can use it in many ways—dip skewers, add extra flavor to salads, drizzle over grilled veggies, or mix into noodles for a tasty twist.
- Meal prep friendly. Prepare a batch ahead of time for quick and easy meals throughout the week.
Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients
You will only need a few key ingredients:
- Peanut butter- gives the sauce its rich, nutty flavor base.
- Coconut milk – makes the sauce creamy and smooth.
- Thai red curry paste – adds spicy and aromatic Thai flavors.
- Apple cider vinegar – adds a tangy kick that balances the richness of the sauce.
- Salt – gives the sauce its savory taste.
- Sugar – adds a bit of sweetness to balance the spicy and tangy flavors.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Peanut Sauce
Step 1: Add all the ingredients in the saucepan.
Step 2: Use a whisk to quickly whisk all the ingredients together and cook on low heat. Continue to whisk the peanut sauce until all ingredients are well-combined.
Step 4: As soon as the peanut sauce starts to simmer and bubble, turn off the heat.
Step 4: Transfer off the heat and top with some ground peanut. The peanut sauce is now ready. You can keep the left over in the fridge for a week without losing the fresh taste.
Helpful Tips For Home Cooks
- Go for creamy peanut butter to get a smooth sauce texture.
- Control the thickness of the sauce by adjusting the amount of coconut milk—add more for a thinner consistency, less for a thicker sauce.
- Heat the sauce gently over low heat to prevent burning or separating, stirring frequently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Creamy peanut butter gives a smooth texture, but if you like some texture in your sauce, you can use crunchy peanut butter instead. Just keep in mind the texture will be a bit different in the end.
The sauce can vary in spiciness based on how much Thai red curry paste you use. It usually has a mild to medium level of spiciness, but feel free to adjust it to your liking.
You can make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to a week. Keep it in a sealed container. Just give it a good stir before using, as it might thicken a bit when it’s cold.
The sauce is great for marinating meats, tofu, or veggies. Just let them soak in the sauce for at least 30 minutes (or longer for more flavor), then cook them however you like.
You can keep the sauce in the refrigerator for up to about a week.
This recipe has 435 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
This versatile, rich, and creamy peanut butter Thai sauce is best served as a condiment with dishes like skewers (such as Filipino chicken skewers and shrimp kebab), fresh spring rolls, or as a flavorful dressing for wraps (such as vegan lettuce wraps) and many more.
For a wholesome Thai meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following:
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Recipes That Go Well With Peanut Sauce
Thai Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste , or Massaman curry paste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar , or to taste
- 2 tablespoons ground peanut
- salt , to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients in the saucepan.
- Use a whisk to quickly whisk all the ingredients together and cook on low heat. Continue to whisk the peanut sauce until all ingredients are well-combined.
- As soon as the peanut sauce starts to simmer and bubble, turn off the heat.
- Transfer off the heat and top with some ground peanut. The peanut sauce is now ready. You can keep the left over in the fridge for a week without losing the fresh taste.
Video
Notes
- Go for creamy peanut butter to get a smooth sauce texture.
- Control the thickness of the sauce by adjusting the amount of coconut milk—add more for a thinner consistency, less for a thicker sauce.
- Heat the sauce gently over low heat to prevent burning or separating, stirring frequently.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is an awesome recipe! Made it twice already this week, I could just eat it on its own! I used chunky peanut butter as that was what was available. I prefer tamarind juice and brown sugar as ran out of palm sugar. Thanks again!
That’s great Chris! So glad you love this recipe.
Did you come up with the idea of using apple cider vinegar in this Thai satay sauce all on your own, Bee?
There are many ways to make Thai peanut sauce, you can use tamarind juice, like in this recipe: https://rasamalaysia.com/thai-chicken-sate-with-peanut-sauce/2/, regular Chinese clear “white” vinegar, or apple cider vinegar, or even lemon juice if all are not assessible. I am trying to make this recipe really easy for my American readers, with easy-to-get store bought ingredients, so I use apple cider vinegar. Instead of salt, you can use fish sauce for better umami flavor, and instead of sugar, you can use Thai palm sugar. It’s all about simplifying the recipe so everyone can make it. :)
this may be a dumb question but can curry powder be substituted? I am kind of new to using curry.
You can try but I think it will not be as good. The curry paste is a “wet” paste.
I’ve been looking for a good peanut sauce recipe, I will definitely have to try this! Thanks for posting! Can I use regular vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar? Thanks!
Yes, please use according to taste, you can also use tamarind juice. :)
Love your site and recipes. This new Peanut Sauce recipe looks so much easier to make than the one included in the Beef Satay Recipe. Is there one ingredient I can or should add to make it Spicy Peanut Sauce for Beef Satay? Thank you!
Yes, there are so many different kinds of satay peanut sauce and this is the easy ones that is very accessible. To make it spicy, you can use more red curry paste to taste.
I love peanut sauce so much I think I may even try it on ice cream one day! thanks for this simple recipe. Is this a typo or what do you mean by jam? ‘peanut butter jam’
Ice cream, that’s a great idea. Yes it was a typo. Fixed.
Thank you for the nice recipes. Have a Happy Tuesday.
Bee…congrats on the new sponsorship. Recipe looks yummy as usual, and may 2014 bring more power to you. :)
Hi Lily, thanks for your kind words. Same to you and I am so thrilled to be working with Beka Cookware.
I love peanut sauce didn’t know its so easy to make.
Yep, it’s so easy to make and you can get the ingredients easily too.
Rasa hi, how can i write to you in private? I sent you an email but no answer. I am not sure i sent to the right email
Does this saucepan scratch easily? Mine scratch badly because of the whisk I use I think.
I don’t think so…Beka Cookware is very durable and this is tri-ply and the outer layer stainless steel and inside is aluminum. Very strong built.
I bought myself a non metallic whisk because of that. The new whisk doesn’t scratch anything.