The Best Thai Peanut Sauce

See how to make a simple no-cook peanut sauce. See more

READY IN 15 mins

The Best Thai Peanut Sauce

Read Reviews (161)

"This easy no-cook peanut sauce has a terrific authentic Thai taste. It is spicy and peanutty, and is perfect as a dipping sauce for chicken, shrimp, and beef... or even to use tossed with warm cooked noodles for a quick pasta dish." — Stephanie M.

Directions

In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, coconut milk, water, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, ginger, and garlic. Mix in the cilantro just before serving.

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PREP 15 mins
READY IN 15 mins

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Oct 05, 2007

I used this sauce for a chicken and rice noodle dish. Excellent! Added a whole can of cocounut milk and reduced peanut butter to about 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup. Also added two tablespoons of sugar. Omitted the cilantro. Excellent. I will make this again and again. (This makes enough sauce for 1 pound of rice noodles, therefore a main dish for 4 people or two famished people. I also used two chicken breasts cut into long pieces and stir fried them in evoo before adding the sauce). For a vegetarian option: Steam some carrots and green beans in place of the chicken breast. Then in a skillet, saute 3 cloves of garlic with 1 tablespoon of grated ginger. When the ginger starts to turn pale brown on the bottom of the skillet, throw in the green beans and carrots with a splash of water to deglaze. After this step, throw in the cooked noodles and then work in the peanut sauce.

—Maria

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Feb 23, 2009

This recipe is nearly worthless as written. It is WAY too thick and WAY too peanut buttery - it just tastes like barely watered down peanut butter. The good thing is it's easy to play around with and improve. I doubled the ginger, lime juice, soy sauce (low sodium), and coconut milk (lite), added some lime zest, copious amounts of chile garlic sauce, and several tablespoons of hoisin sauce, chucked in about a full cup of chopped cilantro, and thinned it with additional water. That made for a finger-licking good peanut sauce. I served it over whole wheat spaghetti with tender-crisp veggies (bell pepper, snap peas, scallions, broccoli) and pan fried tofu squares.

—susan.j

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202 Ratings

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Jun 30, 2005

Excellent recipe. Having just returned from Indonesia was eager to eat some satay so gave this sauce a try! FANTATSIC. I did however add more coconut milk instead of water and used ground dried ginger (its all I had) Plus I added a heaped tablespoon of Sambal Olek (Chilli Jam) so omitted the lime and used a squeeze of lemon instead and it tastes fantastic. Just like it tasted last week when I was sitting in a resturant looking out over the ocean and listening to gamalen music!! :) Hmm Actually I kind of changed the recipe LMAO I also used Soy rather than fish sauce as Husband is alergic to seafood but it still worked perfectly. Thankyou for an excellent guidline to base my sauce on!

—CINNAMONBELL

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Jul 21, 2008

This is a wonderful Thai peanut sauce! I followed the recipe exactly. When i tasted it, I thought it was marginal (a little bit of a letdown). But...after sitting in the fridge for and hour and then being used with Thai Chicken Satay (recipe on this site - read my review), it was awesome! The various flavors in the sauce must have needed time to blend and accompanied by the taste of the marinated chicken, it was definitely 'The Best Thai Peanut Sauce"!

—sweetiesmj

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Jan 07, 2007

I made this as a dipping sauce for a fondue party and it was everyone's favorite. I used seasoned rice vinegar and low fat coconut milk. Next time I will use the regular coconut milk for more flavor. I found the most important thing was to make it ahead of time (day before if possible) to allow the flavors to develop. Make the basic recipe, wait a couple of hours, taste and start adding. Do this several times with at least an hour in between until it is to your liking.

—cindybird

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Sep 19, 2007

Delicious and flavourful! The mixture may sound a little odd (fish sauce, coconut milk, peanut butter) and I was a little hesitant to try this, but I am glad that I did! Using smooth peanut butter makes all the difference - I also made the addition of extra cilantro and some lemongrass. Served with chicken satay. My end verdict? A huge hit!!

—CHELS

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Jul 16, 2007

(Edit to add: After a day of being in the frig, this sauce is even better. Can really taste the herbs so much more.) I had no idea how to make peanut sauce. With a few of the suggestions of other reviewers I love this sauce. I cut everything in half. I then added more coconut milk to make it thinner, about a tablespoon or so of sesame oil, about 1/2 TBS of rice vinegar, 2 TBS. of hoisin sauce, and 2-3 TBS of white sugar. I put it all in a small food processor because I used crunchy peanut butter. I used everything else in the recipe. The sesame oil made the biggest difference and I highly recommend it. The hoisin sauce didn't add much and I probably won't use it next time. We had this with Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls from this site. (also had the fish sauce from that recipe) This peanut sauce is so good I was dipping bread in it. Will also use it to make noodle dishes.

—Sally

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Dec 29, 2007

Really great recipe, except I cut down the amount of peanut butter because it seemed to be a bit too much. I also found it helped to make the sauce with the ingredients in the stated amounts (except with less peanut butter), and then to adjust after so that it appeals to your personal tastes. I like adding more coconut milk, personally.

—Mystonique

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Nutrition

Calories
160 kcal
8%

Carbohydrates
5.7 g
2%

Cholesterol
0 mg
0%

Fat
13.7 g
21%

Fiber
1.6 g
6%

Protein
6.5 g
13%

Sodium
373 mg
15%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

The Best Thai Peanut Sauce

Serving Size: 1/16 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 160
Calories from Fat: 123

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 13.7g 21 %
Saturated Fat 3.9g 19 %
Cholesterol 0mg 0 %
Sodium 373mg 15 %
Potassium 194mg 5 %
Total Carbohydrates 5.7g 2 %
Dietary Fiber 1.6g 6 %
Protein 6.5g 13 %
** Sugars 2.4g
Vitamin A 1 %
Vitamin C 3 %
Calcium 2 %
Iron 8 %
Thiamin 3 %
Niacin 34 %
Vitamin B6 10 %
Magnesium 16 %
Folate 11 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.