Peanut Sauce

What You’ll Need

Simple ingredients deliver BIG flavor in this homemade peanut sauce. Scroll down to the printable recipe card to find the exact ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

• Peanut butter – I like to use a creamy peanut butter like Jif for this recipe, and I often use the “no sugar added” variety.
• Coconut milk – I recommend full-fat coconut milk for the richest, creamiest flavor and texture. Although some recipes add water for thinning the sauce, I prefer coconut milk because it yields a more luxurious sauce with that fabulous coconut flavor.
• Honey – Many peanut sauce recipes call for brown sugar or coconut sugar, and you could certainly swap those in, but I like the understated sweetness and flavor of honey. (And since it’s a liquid, it mixes in more smoothly.)
• Toasted sesame oil – I adore the nutty flavor of “toasted” sesame oil – it makes the nuttiness of the peanut butter stand out.
• Rice vinegar – Also labeled as rice wine vinegar, it has a mild, somewhat sweet flavor.
• Soy sauce – Swap in low-sodium soy sauce if you’re watching your salt intake, or use tamari for a gluten-free peanut sauce.
• Chili garlic paste – I use the chili garlic paste that comes in a jar, but if you don’t have it on hand, you can swap in sriracha.
• Ginger and garlic – Fresh is a must; their flavor is more punchy than dried.
• Peanuts – Chop roasted peanuts and sprinkle on top of the sauce before serving, if you’d like. This works well if you’re using it for dipping, adding a little crunch to the equation.

How to Make Peanut Sauce

There’s no need to buy jars of peanut sauce at the grocery store when you see how easy it is to make it yourself! Here’s what you’ll need to do.

• Combine. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl.
• Option 1: Stir. Just stir it all together!
• Option 2: Blend. Use an immersion blender and blend the mixture until smooth.

• Finish. Sprinkle peanuts on top, if desired, and serve. Or transfer the sauce to an airtight container and store for later.

Tips & Variations

With a recipe so simple, I still have some tips and variations for you!

• Make it nut-free. You came here for peanut sauce, so I’m guessing it’s peanut sauce you want! But if you’re ever cooking for someone with a nut allergy, sunflower seed butter works really well as a substitute. (You can also use almond butter if you’d like.)
• Swap the rice vinegar for lime juice. You’ll still have that tangy element in the sauce, but with some bright lime flavor as well.
• Balance the flavors. After you make the sauce, taste it. If you like it sweeter, whisk in more honey. Want more saltiness? Add extra soy sauce. You can adjust any element in the recipe to your tastes.
• Adjust the consistency. You can also tweak the consistency, depending on how you’re using the sauce. As a dip, you want it on the thicker side. But for drizzling over a meal bowl, you may just want it a little bit thinner, so you can add more coconut milk. (Note that if you’re tossing peanut sauce with cooked noodles, the noodles will still have some water clinging to them, which is usually sufficient for getting the sauce to the right consistency.)

My Favorite Ways to Use Peanut Sauce

When you like peanut sauce as much as I do, you think of every possible way to work it into your meals:

• Noodles and rice. The no-brainers. Toss rice noodles or ramen in the peanut sauce, or spoon the sauce over rice with steamed broccoli and cooked chicken breast to jazz them up.
• Sweet potatoes. Peanut sauce is awesome with sweet potatoes. Bake a sweet potato (use the method described in my Baked Potato post), slice it open and fluff up the insides with a fork, add some shredded chicken and steamed broccoli, then drizzle a generous amount of peanut sauce on top.
• Dipping. Satay, skewers, sugar snap peas, carrots, celery, bell pepper… maybe even Baked Chicken Meatballs on toothpicks?
• Salads. Thin the sauce a bit and drizzle it over Salad Ramen, Asian Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps, or a simple salad of fresh greens with chopped bell pepper.
• Pizza. NOW we’re getting creative. Make a Thai-inspired pizza using peanut sauce instead of red sauce, then topping it with cooked shredded chicken, thin slices of carrot and red onion, and some mozzarella.