This easy 5-minute Thai Peanut Sauce is made with a few simple ingredients. It's the perfect sauce for salads, spring rolls, noodles, and more. Creamy, zesty, and with a little bit of heat, it's finger-licking good!
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Thai Peanut Sauce
I don't know how, but up until today I haven't shared my all-time favorite, go-to sauce on the blog. Sure, I've shared variations in recipes throughout the years. There is my Thai Peanut Salad, my Broccoli Pepper Stir Fry with Ginger Peanut Sauce, and my Tofu in Peanut Ginger Sauce but finally, I have combined all my favorite components of each of these sauces and put it into one simple recipe for you.
And I think you're going to love it.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Among the things I love about this Thai Peanut Sauce is that it is completely versatile. As long as it has the key components, you can adjust and taste as you go.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Creamy - Peanut butter is the natural choice here but any nut or seed butter will do.
- Salty - For the salty component, I choose soy sauce. This is fairly standard. Soy sauce gives the sauce the familiar Thai flavor as well as adds some extra body. For a gluten-free option, you can go with tamari sauce.
- Acidic - I use a mixture of rice vinegar and lime juice to give the sauce it's acidity, which is crucial in balancing the creaminess of the peanut butter. I like using both because the vinegar and citrus offer two different kinds of acidity for a fuller experience.
- Sweet - I use maple syrup, which is typically my sweetener of choice for its flavor and lower glycemic value. You could also use agave nectar or brown sugar in this recipe. The amount of sweetener you add will depend on your intended use of this sauce.
- Heat - The most important part! Heat also counters the richness of the peanut butter and gives the sauce a nice finish. My favorite two heat options for this sauce are Sriracha sauce or cayenne pepper. Sriracha sauce has a distinct garlic flavor (which is awesome!) but if you're looking for a more neutral heat, go with cayenne pepper.
Recommended Equipment
As you can imagine, you don't need much for this recipe. A Microplane (for the ginger), a chef's knife, and a whisk or an immersion blender are all you need. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Thai Peanut Sauce
Step One - Ginger and Garlic
Using a Microplane, grate the ginger and set aside. Peel and mince the garlic.
Step Two - Mix it Together
Combine all the ingredients EXCEPT the water. Using a whisk or an immersion blender, whisk the ingredients together until a thick, uniform sauce is formed.
Add water, as needed, until you have reached the desired consistency. This will vary depending on how you're using the sauce.
Serving and Storing
Serve your sauce immediately with salads, noodles, spring rolls, tofu, and so much more
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To reheat the sauce, gently heat it in a microwave or over the stovetop.
Freeze peanut sauce for up to two months. To thaw, remove from freezer and place in the refrigerator the night before you intend to use it.
Variations of Peanut Sauce
- Allergic to peanut butter? This sauce can be made with any nut or seed butter. My go-to alternative is cashew butter.
- Need a gluten-free alternative? Use Tamari sauce in place of soy sauce.
- This recipe calls for maple syrup but any kind of sweetener will do. Agave nectar and brown sugar are great alternatives. If sweetening with agave nectar, reduce the amount by about 50%.
Recipes For Peanut Sauce
- Thai Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Crispy Peanut Tofu
- Sweet Potato Noodle Spring Rolls
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Broccoli Pepper Stir Fry
Thai Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- juice of ½ lime
- pinch of cayenne
- 2 tablespoon water, as needed
Instructions
- Using a Microplane, grate the ginger and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients EXCEPT the water. Using a whisk or an immersion blender, whisk the ingredients together until a thick, uniform sauce is formed.
- Add water, as needed, until you have reached desired consistency. This will vary depending on your desired use.*
Notes
- Allergic to peanut butter? This sauce can be made with any nut or seed butter. My go-to alternative is cashew butter.
- Need a gluten-free alternative? Use Tamari sauce in place of soy sauce.
- This recipe calls for maple syrup but any kind of sweetener will do. Agave nectar and brown sugar are great alternatives. If sweetening with agave nectar, reduce the amount by about 50%.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Kathy Johnson says
Best I have had in years
Wade Miller says
Used sause on a stir fry, it has a hint of spice. I think it will go well on salad or noodles Prep and heat to serve took10 minutes.
Lillith says
Very good, doubled and used in cold noodle salad. I did add more maple syrup and used sriracha instead of cayenne.
Alice Malmanger says
This was a good peanut sauce! Instead of water, I used coconut milk or cream, and coconut aminos instead of the sweetner and soy sauce. The second time I added red curry paste, but not enough, as it wasn't really spicy enough.
Chloe Belisle says
Really good recipe! I tried many that were too thick or too liquidy. This one is perfect! And taste amazing!
Jim says
Great sauce... Thanks for the recipe!!
Cap'n Dave says
Peanuts and I don't see eye-to-eye these days. I don't know if I'm developing an allergy to them (I hope not) or if it's just the oil in them that triggers such massive heartburn, but there you have it. Thus, I'm waffling between either cashew butter or almond butter as a sub here - which would you recommend, given the combination of flavor profiles?
Sarah says
I think almond butter would be a great alternative!
Joshua Howard says
Hi! I really like your recipes! Thank you for sharing them! I have a question. Can I replace maple syrup with honey?
Eve says
I’ve never made Thai peanut sauce before, and this recipe was really good. I’ll admit that I didn’t follow it exactly because I was too lazy to cut up some ginger, and I omitted the lime juice because I thought the sauce was already pretty acidic after adding rice vinegar. I used the sauce on some zucchini noodles and really enjoyed it.
Timothy Riley says
This was the best Peanut sauce that I have ever tried. Really balanced in tastes and palate textures. I have made several batches and have been happy with each one including the ones that I modified a little. My current batch has 1 Tbsp finely minced anchovies and a little less soy sauce. I use the finest ingredients I have: Extra aged Japanese Black Rice Wine vinegar, 2 year old fermented soy sauce, grade B Organic Small Batch Vermont Syrup, etc. These were things that I had on hand but I think that they make a difference. I usually let it sit in the fridge for a day or two in order to give the fresh garlic and ginger a chance to settle down and mellow. Great recipe!
Sarah says
I'm so glad you loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Joi Poulin says
since most peanut butters already have a fair amount of sugar can you omit the sweetener and still have the sauce turn out?
Sarah says
I suggest using natural peanut butter which has no added sugar, but if you are using a peanut butter with sugar added, then I think it would be a good idea to omit the sweetener.
Nimisha Shah says
Can I substitute sesame oil with olive oil???
Don think kids will take the taste of sesame oil
The sauce looks lovely
Eager to try
Sarah says
Yes, that is fine.