You can make this easy peanut sauce recipe in just 5 minutes! Sweet and spicy, it's delicious as a dipping sauce and on noodles, salads, and more.
This peanut sauce recipe is so tasty that you’ll want to eat it straight off a spoon! It has an amazing creamy texture, with a nutty, bright, and spicy flavor from peanut butter, lime, and sriracha. The ingredient list is short and sweet, and you can stir it together in 5 minutes. Try it on peanut noodles, rice bowls, or as a dipping sauce for spring rolls. You’ll be hooked!
Peanut Sauce Recipe Ingredients
Though this peanut sauce recipe draws inspiration from Indonesian and Thai peanut sauce, it’s not intended to be an authentic version of those sauces by any means. Often served as a dipping sauce for satay, Thai peanut sauce starts with whole peanuts rather than the peanut butter I use here. It’s also sweeter and more aromatic, frequently made with coconut milk and/or red curry paste. You can check out this Thai peanut sauce recipe for reference!
By contrast, this Americanized sauce is smoother and more savory. Here’s what I use to make it:
- Peanut butter – Creamy natural peanut butter works best here. The smoother, the better. Try subbing almond butter for a fun twist!
- Rice vinegar and lime juice – For tangy flavor. The vinegar’s acidity cuts the rich peanut butter nicely, while the lime juice adds fresh, bright flavor.
- Sriracha – For heat. Chile garlic sauce would work here too!
- Tamari – It adds salty, savory flavor. Sub soy sauce if you don’t keep tamari on hand. Be sure to seek out certified gluten-free tamari if you need this recipe to be gluten-free.
- Toasted sesame oil – For nutty richness.
- Maple syrup – Its sweetness balances the rich, spicy, savory sauce.
- Fresh ginger – It adds a refreshing kick.
- And water – To thin the sauce to your desired consistency.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Peanut Sauce
This recipe is so simple to make!
Just add all the ingredients to a medium mixing bowl…
…and whisk until smooth!
If the sauce is too thick, add water to thin it, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. Season to taste, and enjoy!
How to Use Peanut Sauce
The sauce will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You won’t have any trouble polishing it off! Creamy, savory, and bright, it’s super versatile. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it:
- As a dipping sauce for spring rolls or summer rolls. It would be delicious on lettuce wraps filled with rice, air fryer tofu, and fresh herbs too!
- As a salad dressing – Drizzle it over a kale salad, simple green salad, or slaw.
- Over roasted veggies – Spoon it over roasted Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, or kabocha squash. Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and/or sesame seeds for garnish!
- As a dip – Scoop it up with carrots or peppers!
- On a grain bowl – Try it on this sushi bowl, this gingery rice bowl, or any of these rice bowl recipes.
- On a simply cooked protein – I love it on this crispy sesame tofu.
- Or on peanut noodles – Load them up with fresh veggies and herbs!
How do you like to use peanut sauce? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Sauces and Dressings
If you love this recipe, try one of these yummy sauces or dressings next:
- Spicy Mayo
- Gochujang Sauce
- Sesame Ginger Dressing
- Tahini Dressing
- Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Tahini Sauce
Peanut Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 5 minutes mins
Serves 4
This peanut sauce recipe is super easy to stir together—no blender or food processor required! It's creamy, nutty, savory, and bright. We love it as a dipping sauce and on noodles, grain bowls, and more.
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 4 to 6 tablespoons water, as needed
Instructions
In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter, lime juice, rice vinegar, sriracha, tamari, sesame oil, maple syrup, ginger, and 4 tablespoons of the water. If the sauce is too thick, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
Use as a dipping sauce for spring rolls or on peanut noodles. Find additional serving suggestions in the blog post above.
Notes
Yield: about 1¼ cups
FAQs
Instructions. To a medium mixing bowl add (starting with the amount at the lower end of the measurement range where applicable) peanut butter, tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos), maple syrup, lime juice, chili sauce (or chili or red pepper), and whisk to combine.
How do I thicken my peanut sauce? ›
How to thicken peanut sauce. If you accidentally add too much water to your peanut sauce, simply whisk in small amounts of peanut butter to adjust the consistency, You may also need to add other ingredients to maintain the flavor balance. Peanut butter powder also works in place of peanut butter to make this adjustment ...
What does peanut sauce go with? ›
Here are some ways you can use this creamy sauce that go beyond your standard noodle dishes or salads.
- Dip your veggies. ...
- Dress up some tacos or lettuce wraps. ...
- Toss with chicken wings or “cauliflower wings” ...
- Craft a unique and flavorful chicken burger. ...
- Use as a base for soup or stew.
Peanut Sauce (1 tablespoon) contains 1.7g total carbs, 1.3g net carbs, 3.6g fat, 1.8g protein, and 43 calories.
Why is peanut sauce healthy? ›
Nutritionally, studies have found that eating peanuts or peanut butter has been associated with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. They're also an inexpensive protein and healthy fat source. This peanut sauce has a nice kick to it with the Sriracha, which is a chili sauce.
What culture uses peanut sauce? ›
One of the main characteristics of Indonesian cuisine is the wide applications of bumbu kacang (peanut sauce) in many Indonesian signature dishes, such as satay, gado-gado, karedok, ketoprak, rujak and pecel, or Chinese-influenced dishes such as siomay.
Should you refrigerate peanut sauce? ›
Simply keep it in a cool, dark place. Generally, an unopened bottle of peanut sauce will last about a year if it's stored correctly. While it's a good idea to keep the “use by” date in mind, it's usually just fine for a few months after that date. Once the bottle is opened, you'll need to keep it in the refrigerator.
Why is my peanut sauce not smooth? ›
If the oil is separating from the sauce a bit (this can happen from the oil in the coconut milk and the peanut butter, but it's easy to fix!), add water a few drops at a time and whisk until it comes smoothly back together.
What if I add too much soy sauce to peanut sauce? ›
You probably added too much soy sauce. Counteract this by adding more peanut butter, sugar, or water.
Does peanut sauce taste like peanut? ›
This easy and versatile peanut sauce is made from pantry staples. The rich peanut flavor gets some brightness from lime and rice vinegar, a subtle sweetness from honey, and plenty of spice from chili paste, garlic, and ginger.
Take the sauce out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving to let it come to room temperature for convenience. Peanut sauce freezes well, so you can make a double or triple batch and freeze the leftovers! Store in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
What is a skewered snack in peanut sauce? ›
Grilled chicken skewers flavored with soy, lime, and ginger and served with a peanut dipping sauce, they taste succulent, a little spicy, and a little sweet. Satay is easy to make, scrumptious to eat, and there's something inexplicably fun about eating food on a stick!
Does Peanut Sauce have a lot of sugar? ›
Peanut sauce contains 41 calories per 16 g serving. This serving contains 2.6 g of fat, 1 g of protein and 3.5 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 2.7 g sugar and 0.3 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate.
Is applesauce and peanut butter healthy? ›
It's heart-healthy
Research suggests that a higher intake of fruits and nuts, like apples and peanut butter, is associated with a reduced risk of developing heart disease ( 13 , 14 ).
How many calories are in 2 spoons of homemade peanut butter? ›
Peanut Butter Nutrition. Two tablespoons (32 grams) of natural peanut butter includes: Calories: 190. Protein: 8 grams.
What is Vietnamese peanut sauce made of? ›
Vietnamese peanut sauce is simply made with peanut butter, hoisin and garlic for a sweet, tangy and rich sauce. How long can I store homemade peanut sauce? Store leftover homemade peanut sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
What is the difference between peanut satay and peanut sauce? ›
First up, semantics. Sate doesn't actually mean spicy peanut sauce, though we tend to misappropriate the term here, and other dishes have been invented that use this accompanying sauce. Sate refers instead to the skewers of meat, and many variations of it come with a different sauce, and some without any sauce at all.
What is peanut paste made of? ›
Peanut paste is the term usually used for roasted and ground peanuts in liquid form. At room temperature or higher, the paste is a thick viscous liquid, which flows somewhat like honey.
