Easy Thai Peanut Sauce comes together in just 5 minutes and is naturally vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free. This peanut sauce can be enjoyed as a dip, dressing or sauce on just about anything you love!

A spoon of Thai peanut sauce

What is Thai Peanut Sauce?

Thai Peanut Sauce is a Thai-inspired sauce that is similar to a peanut satay sauce but is often made with some different variations.

In Thailand, you won’t actually see much “peanut sauce” on the menus, rather a satay sauce served with satay skewers. Thai cuisine also often uses crushed peanuts in their recipes. Thai peanut sauce is often “Americanized,” but is delicious as a dipping, as a stir fry sauce or even as a dressing.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Thai Peanut Sauce

  • Ready in 5 minutes. This Thai Peanut Sauce takes just 5 miunutes to whip up and can be made directly in a bowl. This sauce is also naturally vegan and can be made gluten-free with gluten-free soy sauce.
  • Versatile. One thing I love about peanut sauce is that is goes well with just about anything. You can use this sauce in so many different ways.
  • Packed with flavor. If you want to elevate any bland food, just add some peanut sauce on top! It’s packed with flavor and will make pretty much anything taste great.

 Vegan Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients & Substitutions

Ingredients to make Thai peanut sauce

  • Peanut butter: the star ingredient in peanut sauce! You can use cramy or natural peanut butter. I’ve tested the recipe with both and they both work well.
  • Soy sauce: you can substitute with tamari or gluten-free soy sauce if needed.
  • Lime juice: limes are commonly used in Thai recipes to give a slight taginess. You could also use rice vinegar if you don’t have fresh lime juice.
  • Maple syrup: this isn’t a traditional ingredient, but I personally love the flavour of maple syrup with peanut butter. You can substitute honey, agave or coconut sugar.
  • Garlic: fresh minced garlic.
  • Sambal Oelek: this is a spicy chili sauce that will add some heat. You can also use sriracha or chili flakes.
  • Sesame oil: this gives the sauce a hint of sesame flavour which is really delicious. If you don’t have sesame oil you can just leave this out.
  • Water: depending on your prefered sauce texture, you can add a little or a lot of water to the sauce to help thin it out.

How to make Thai Peanut Sauce

Step 1

Add all the ingredients except the water to a mixing bowl and mix or whisk together until combined.

A mixing bowl with peanut butter, soy sauce and sambal oelek in it

Step 2

Add the water 1-2 tablespoons at a time and mix until the peanut sauce is the consistency you like.

A mixing bowl of Thai peanut sauce

What to Serve with this Simple Peanut Sauce Recipe

Thai Peanut Sauce is great to enjoy as a dipping sauce, used as a dressing in bowls, or used as stir fry sauce. Here are some ways you can serve this sauce:

Bowls & salads: Try adding this peanut sauce on top of a power bowl, noodle bowl or poke bowl. It can also be enjoyed as a dressing over a Thai Salad.

Tofu & proteins: peanut sauce is delicious to drizzle on top of baked tofu, in a stir fry, or with any type of protein you love. You can even use it as a dipping sauce on the side of your favourite barbequed dish.

Veggie platter: peanut sauce is delicious served as a dipping sauce on a veggie or Crudités platter.

Dipping sauce: Serve up this sauce as a dip with some dumplings, spring rolls or satay skewers. Peanut sauce makes for an amazing dipping sauce!

How to Store Thai Peanut Sauce

Store this peanut sauce in a sealed jar like a mason jar in the fridge for up to a week.

You may notice that the sauce will thicken a lot after being stored in the fridge. To loosen up the sauce after refrigerating gently warm the sauce in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove.

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

  • You can use creamy peanut butter or natural peanut butter in this recipe. Both will work fine. If using natural peanut butter, the sauce will naturally have a thinner and more runny texture. Creamy peanut butter will usually have a thicker and creamier texture.
  • If it seems like the water isn’t mixing into the sauce just keep mixing. It will slowly incorporate.
  • Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Depending on the brand of peanut butter you use, you may find you need more soy sauce, maple syrup etc.
  • If your sauce begins to separate, just add some more water and mix. This is just the fat and oils from the peanut butter separating from the sauce and is nothing to worry about.

FAQ for Simple Peanut Sauce

Is peanut sauce and satay the same?

Satay sauce is generally made with Thai curry paste and coconut milk in addition to peanut butter. This peanut sauce has slightly different ingredients in it to give it a different taste.

What does Thai Peanut Sauce taste like?

Thai peanut sauce has a strong peanut butter taste but with a sweet, salty and tanginess to it. It’s savoury and delicious!

Can Thai Peanut Sauce be frozen?

Yes. Thai Peanut Sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months and can be thawed on the countertop. Since the recipe only takes 5 minutes to make I prefer the sauce fresh.

Is peanut sauce healthy?

In moderation, peanut sauce can be part of a healthy diet. Keep in mind that peanut butter is high in calories and fat so if you use a lot of sauce it will be high in calories.

What is Thai peanut sauce made of?

Thai peanut sauce is made from a base of peanut butter with additional ingredients like soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey to make it sweet, salty and tangy. There are many different variations of peanut sauce but they will all have these types of flavours.

Why is my peanut sauce oily?

If your peanut sauce is oily it’s because the oil has separated from the peanut butter. If this happens add a few drops of water and whisk the sauce, it should come together again.

What is Thai peanut sauce called?

Thai peanut sauce is commonly referred to as Satay sauce. These are generally both the same.

Is Thai peanut sauce spicy?

This peanut sauce is slightly spicy. If you don’t like spice, you can leave out the Sambal Oelek.

More Thai recipes to try

Thai peanut sauce in a small bowl with a spoon in it

If you tried this Easy Thai Peanut Sauce or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!

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A spoon of Thai peanut sauce

Thai Peanut Sauce

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Jessica Hoffman
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Sauce
  • Method: Mix
  • Cuisine: Thai
  • Diet: Vegetarian
Print Recipe

Description

This Easy Thai Peanut Sauce comes together in just 5 minutes and can be put on just about anything!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or natural)
  • 2–3 tbsp soy sauce* (gluten-free if needed)
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup (can sub honey)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tsp sambal oelek (can sub sriracha)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 2–8 tbsp of water to thin** (see note)

Instructions

  1. Add all the ingredients together except for the water in a mixing bowl and mix until combined.
  2. Add the water 1-2 tablespoons at a time and mix well until the sauce reaches your desired texture.

Notes

*Depending on the brand of soy sauce you use and if the peanut butter you are using is salted, you may need a bit more or less soy sauce. Taste and add more as needed.

**The peanut butter sauce will be very thick without the addition of water. Depending on your personal preference you can add very little water to thin out the sauce or a lot of water to thin out the sauce. I generally like to add 4-6 tablespoons of water to get a texture that can be easily drizzled.

Store in the fridge in a mason jar for up to a week.

You can use creamy peanut butter or natural peanut butter in this recipe. Both will work fine. If using natural peanut butter, the sauce will naturally have a thinner and more runny texture. Creamy peanut butter will usually have a thicker and creamier texture.

If it seems like the water isn’t mixing into the sauce just keep mixing. It will slowly incorporate.

If your sauce begins to separate, just add some more water and mix. This is just the fat and oils from the peanut butter separating from the sauce and is nothing to worry about.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
  • Calories: 115
  • Sugar: 3g
  • Sodium: 250mg
  • Fat: 7g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Carbohydrates: 6g
  • Fiber: 1g
  • Protein: 3g