This Easy 5-Minute Vegan Thai Peanut Sauce is the only peanut sauce recipe you're gonna need! It's easy to make, super creamy and flavorful, and can be put on just about anything!
I love a good peanut sauce. The balance of nuttiness from the peanut butter, acidity from the lime juice, sweetness from maple syrup, and a splash of toasted sesame oil, and chili flakes just goes so well together and tastes so good. Creamy, umami, fatty, salty... all the best things in one!
This Vegan Peanut Sauce recipe can be used for drizzling over tofu bowls, as a marinade, as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, salad dressing, or for peanut noodles.
What is Thai Peanut Sauce?
Thai Peanut Sauce, sometimes known as satay sauce, is a peanut butter-based dipping sauce that includes ingredients such a soy sauce, lime juice, chili flakes or chili sauce, and a sweetener like an agave or maple syrup.
Thai peanut sauce is associated with Thai cooking but is popular all throughout Southeast Asia and originates in Indonesia.
Peanut sauce is commonly served as the sauce that comes with skewers of meat or tofu or drizzled on noodles or salads. Traditional peanut sauce sometimes includes ingredients such as coconut milk for creaminess, tamarind and other spices like cumin or coriander.
Kitchen Essentials
You can simply whip this peanut sauce up in a bowl with a whisk or you can place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
Main Ingredients
- Creamy peanut butter with no added ingredients
- low sodium soy sauce
- lime juice
- fresh garlic and ginger
- red chili flakes
Substitutions
This easy vegan sauce with peanut butter is very forgiving and easily customizable.
- Peanut Butter: Peanut butter can be replaced with sun butter, almond butter, or cashew butter.
- Water: Can be replaced with coconut milk for a creamier texture.
- Fresh Garlic & Ginger: I love fresh in this because it's stronger in flavor but dried will work as well.
- Rice Vinegar: Compensate by adding more lime juice
How to Make This Recipe
Pick out super smooth and creamy peanut butter. Preferably one with no added ingredients.
Prep all your ingredients by mincing the garlic, grating the ginger, and cutting the lime.
Whisk together all the ingredients in a bowl or combine the ingredients into a food processor. Blend or whisk until combined then slowly add in the water. ¼ cup of water was the sweet spot for me but depending on your preference and peanut butter you might need more or less.
How to Serve Peanut Sauce
- Drizzled over tofu, tempeh, seitan, or vegan chicken or used as a marinade
- On a salad or over noodles
- As a dipping sauce for vegetables or spring rolls
Tips & Tricks
Use creamy nut butter! I can't stress this enough. This peanut sauce needs a runny extra creamy natural peanut with no added ingredients. If your peanut butter is thick, try microwaving it for about 10-15 seconds to soften.
Slowly add in the water a little by little until you reach desired consistency. ¼ cup of water is perfect for my desired consistency but this is all my preference.
I usually make this easy peanut sauce without measuring and go heavy on certain flavors that I'm thinking will be complementary to what I'm making it for. Sometimes I go heavy on the spice, sometimes I add less or more lime, etc. This is super customizable and forgiving.
Frequently Asked Questions
As spicy as you like! I usually add about ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon but sometimes I add more depending on what I'm making.
This is probably because your peanut butter was too thick. Try adding more warm water to thin it out.
Yes! This can be stored for up to 10 days in the fridge in an airtight jar.
Yes! This sauce freezes well. Just thaw the night before you plan to use it.
Simply switch out the low sodium soy sauce to low sodium gluten-free tamari.
You could but it's more balanced with an added sweetener. It's a very small amount but really does impact the flavor.
More Sauce Recipes
Recipe
Easy 5 Minute Thai Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 3 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons Maple Syrup
- ½ teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 Large Garlic Clove minced
- 1 tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- Pinch of Salt
- Pinch of Black Pepper
- Roughly ¼ cup Water
Instructions
- Simply whisk together all the ingredients (except the water) in a bowl until well combined. Add in the water slowly to thin out the sauce to the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!
Lori says
Can I use lemon instead of lime?
Liv says
Yes!
Stacey says
This is wonderful! I want to drizzle it on everything!! I can't wait to have it on the crispy tofu recipe you intended it for.
Liv says
I'm so happy you enjoyed this as much as I do! Please report back and let me know what you think of the crispy tofu recipe 🙂
Em says
Made the Thai peanut sauce and it was so flavoursome and delicious. Also made the Fettuccine Alfredo. Added mushrooms . Superb. Will enjoy cooking with Liv's recipe ideas again, definitely! 💚
Liv says
I'm so glad you enjoyed both! Thank you Em 🙂