Throw away all your other recipes for Thai peanut sauce, this is the only one you need! This vegan peanut sauce is easy to make (ready in just 5 minutes!), creamy and perfect for salads, as a dip, noodles and more.
Want to know the secret to eating even the weirdest and most bland foods in the world (I see you tofu)? Peanut sauce. It makes everything better. And this recipe is made totally from scratch!
Have some old broccoli that you need to eat? Peanut sauce. Have a salad that you probably should eat but don’t want to because you worry it’ll taste bad? It needs this Thai peanut sauce!
It’s easy, versatile, affordable and perfect for a whole host of recipes. Noodles, buddha bowls, peanut chicken, veggies, spring rolls, you name it.
Plus, it’s made with simple ingredients you probably already have on hand and stores really well in the fridge so you’ll have sauce all week long! If you love this recipe, try my cashew chipotle aioli or pesto sauce next!
Key Ingredients
Peanut Butter: The star of the show! I highly suggest using peanut butter with only two ingredients: peanuts and salt. This will give the best overall texture and flavor for the recipe.
These types of more natural nut butters can be kind of a pain to stir when they’re first opened, but it’s worth it!
Soy Sauce: I used low sodium, so I suggest doing the same to prevent the recipe from getting too salty. I always use tamari which is gluten free soy sauce, but you can also use coconut aminos if you are soy free.
Maple Syrup or Honey: Either one will work just fine, and you can even cut back a bit if you want a lower sugar option! I like using honey in this sauce, but maple syrup works just as well if you want to keep it vegan.
Rice Vinegar and Lime Juice: Both of these will add some acidity to the sauce and balance out the other flavors. You can sub the rice vinegar for more lime juice or vice versa.
Red Pepper Flakes: For a little spice! We all know I am very sensitive to spice, so I only add a pinch, but if you like spicy you can add more or even sub for a few teaspoons of sriracha or other hot sauce.
Water: Water will help thin the sauce to your desired consistency. Using warm water makes the whisking a bit easier than cold.
Toasted Sesame Oil: For more flavor. The oil is optional, but it adds a really nice flavor.
Ginger & Garlic: I like using powdered ginger and minced fresh garlic, but you can also use fresh grated ginger if you prefer.
This sauce is very customizable! You can leave out the sesame oil, make it spicy with extra red pepper flakes or hot sauce, add more sweetener, soy sauce to make it extra salty, and make it as thick or as thin as you like!
I love getting many of these ingredients from Thrive Market to save money.
How to make peanut sauce
To make this vegan peanut sauce, you’ll want to finely mince the garlic (I suggest using a garlic press so you don’t have any large chunks) and add to a large mixing bowl.
Add all ingredients aside from the water and whisk together until smooth.
Slowly pour in the water until your desired consistency is reached. You can add as much or as little as you want depending on how you’re going to serve it.
Start with 1/4 cup and adjust as needed to make it thick or thinner.
Finally, taste and adjust seasonings as desired. You may want more soy sauce, sweetener or red pepper flakes. Serve with noodle bowls, tofu, tempeh, chicken, stir fries etc!
Serving suggestions
Tofu/Tempeh: Tofu and tempeh are pretty bland foods on their own, but I guarantee you can turn any tofu hater into a tofu lover with this peanut sauce!
Chicken/Salmon or other meat: I love using peanut sauce for either salmon or chicken and mixing it with stir fried veggies and rice or some sort of noodle.
Buddha Bowls: A buddha bowl is nothing without a killer sauce to go with it! A good vegan peanut sauce is perfect no matter what goes in your bowl.
Noodles: Noodles are the way to my heart. I love this peanut sauce in my Thai noodle salad or a slight variation for my spicy peanut butter noodles.
Dip for veggies/spring rolls: The best way to get anyone to eat their veggies is to give them a delicious and easy dip to go with it.
Make this a thick dipping sauce by decreasing the amount of water and using it as a dip for your favorite veggies or spring rolls.
How to store
Once prepared, this Thai peanut sauce will store in the fridge for up to 10 days. Keep it in an air tight container for best result and give it a good stir before serving.
I do not recommend freezing peanut sauce as this type of sauce will not defrost well. It will likely lead to an odd consistency, so enjoy within 10 days for best results.
What sweetener is best?
This recipe calls for maple syrup, but that can easily be subbed for honey, brown sugar or coconut sugar.
If you are using a non-liquid sweetener, you will want to add a smidge more water to thin the sauce out properly. As written, this recipe is totally refined-sugar free!
Try these recipes next!
Lastly, if you try this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out! Be sure to follow me on instagram and subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes and daily eats.
Best Thai Peanut Sauce
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- ¾ cup peanut butter made with just peanuts + salt
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil omit if you don’t want any sesame flavor
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- ½ cup warm water to thin or more as needed
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 small cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Finely mince the garlic (I suggest using a garlic press so you don't have any large chunks) and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Add all ingredients aside from the water and whisk together until smooth.
- Slowly pour in the water until your desired consistency is reached. Start with 1/2 cup and add more as needed. I usually add more for a dressing and a bit less for a sauce.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. You may want more soy sauce, sweetener or red pepper flakes. Serve with noodle bowls, tofu, tempeh, chicken, stir fries etc!
Sis says
This was so easy to make and tasted really good. I added a bit of fresh ginger to it which I think was good. Used regular peanut butter (sugar and oil added) since it’s all I had at the time and just used the lesser amount of maple syrup. Used a spicy sesame oil. Used this sauce on coleslaw with chicken, avocado and a bit of cilantro. Delicious! Will make again for the sweet potato quinoa chickpea bowl recipe on this website.
Claire Cary says
Delicious! So glad you enjoyed it.
Bonnie says
This was simple and so good!! This one is a keeper!
Natalie says
This is a great peanut sauce. I am a vegetarian college student, so sometimes it is difficult to come up with cheap, healthy veggie ideas but I was able to make this with items I already had (excluding the ginger). I made the tofu peanut bowls for my roomate and I and we loved them, and used the leftover sauce a week later to make the chickpea buddha bowl. Will definitely be making this sauce again soon!
Anna says
This was delicious!! I adjusted a few things just because I was missing some ingredients and it was still great! Used apple cider vinegar and lemon juice instead of lime. Looking forward to trying with the proper ingredients next time and I’m sure it will be even better!
Claire Cary says
So glad you still enjoyed it!
Sarah says
They really did meant it when they said this was the best ever. I made this again for company (paired with the peanut Thai bowl, replacing tofu with chicken) and there were mindblown. Fantastic, flavourful.
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Sarah!
Deb says
Wonderful! Finally found a recipe that taste great! Easy to make definitely sharing with friends and family. This will be a staple in my fridge.
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Deb!
Brooke says
10/10. This was easy to make and the taste AND consistency are exceptional! I used it with the sweet potato buddah bowls – which will now be on repeat at my house. Randomly found your recipe scrolling through pinterest, but I’m bookmarking your page now! Thanks!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Brooke, can’t wait to see what else you make!
Devlyn says
I used fresh ginger, vegetarian fish sauce, Sambal, and sesame oil My friend had never had spring rolls peanut sauce or pho. She was so blown away as she eats total vegan. This was light in the stomach and zingy on the tongue. Such a good basic recipe with room for personal tastes
Claire Cary says
Thank you, Devlyn!
Breanne says
This is amazing! I had it on top the tofu bowl from your other post and it was SO DELICIOUS. My husband also used some on his chicken bowl and raved about it.
I’ve tried a lot of peanut sauces and this one is definitely my favourite!! Thank you for sharing.
Claire Cary says
Sounds perfect! So happy you both enjoyed this.
Ava says
I made it about an hour ago to go over a salad for tomorrow. I didn’t use the sesame oil as the peanut butter already has oil in it and I substituted premium white balsamic vinegar from California Balsamic Vinegar for the rice vinegar. It came out great. Thanks for the recipe.
KRISTINA says
Such an easy, delicious recipe! I used it for Thai Peanut Bowls with tofu and it was incredible 🙂 I swapped out soy sauce for coconut aminos to make it gluten-free for friends.
Claire Cary says
Perfect! You can also use tamari for a gluten free option, which will create a more authentic flavor than coconut aminos!
Linda says
Made this tonight to put over my chicken salad. It was so good. I can’t wait to have leftovers tomorrow. 5 stars for sure. Thank you.
Claire Cary says
Amazing, thank you Linda!
Tammy R Johnson says
This is very close to a perfect peanut sauce! The only changes I made were to pull back a little on the soy sauce, I used 2T of low sodium, swapped the maple syrup for blue agave syrup, used 1 t. fresh ginger root and I doubled the fresh lime juice to 2 T. This will be my new go-to peanut sauce.
Katie says
Delicious peanut sauce! I didn’t have lime juice so I added extra rice vinegar and added Siracha! The only thing I would do different is less maple syrup but I love mine less sweet! Oh and used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce!
Thanks for the recipe!
Lindsay says
Simply awesome! with noodles veggies , chicken
Pork or beef and teriyaki tofu love love this I am obsessed!
Jennifer says
This is my daughter’s favorite sauce! We pair it with noodles and either stir fried pork or chicken.
Leslie J. says
Delicious and easy. I did add a little sriracha to spice it up.
Ellyn D says
A very complex , tasty peanut sauce. I had to substitute for soy souce to make it GF and used 1T worcestershire and 2 T fish sauce. It was a bit too salty and will cut back on the fish sauce next time.
Ro says
I recently decided to reduce the amount of meat I eat so I made the peanut butter sauce and served it over Brussel sprouts and noodles. It was really delicious. The amount the recipe requires, you will differently have more for storage. I love peanut butter so I will use it throughout the week done it’s good for 10 days.
Sal says
This sauce was fantastic I had it over shpaghet , couldn’t get enough of it and the family loved it.
donna says
can this be a marinade also?
Claire Cary says
Yes!
Debbie says
Very easy to make and so tasty.
SHARON says
Loved this salad. Delicious and filling.
Jana says
OMG!!! So good. So easy. So fast. Soooooo perfect. Thank you for sharing. I may just grab a straw and drink it!
Diane says
Oh my goodness. So freaking delicious. I sub’d fresh lemon for lime as that’s what I had (1.5 tbsp), used 3 cloves of garlic, & 2 tsp fresh ginger. Otherwise I kept to the recipe.
Dinner’s going to be early tonight – can’t wait to have a full meal!
Jillian says
I added extra spice (cayenne and bird’s eye chili powder), I also used powdered peanut butter.
It turned out really well. 😋🤤
Lisa C. says
I used this to make a stir fry. I also used it to dip sugar snap peas. I only needed a little bit of water. Delicious!
Chris Tucker says
This was really good, especially with the Thai Noodle salad. However, mine was SO THICK, even with 1/2 cup of water I added (1/4 cup more than recipe suggests) I don’t know if it was the PB, but next time I’m going to start with half a cup of PB instead. Still, delish!
Claire Cary says
Strange! It was probably because of the specific peanut butter you used, but glad you enjoyed it nonetheless!
Kathy says
Thank you so much for providing substitutions. I flip through recipes so often because I am missing ingredients. This recipe is so flexible! Thank you!
Rachelle says
This peanut sauce is AMAZING!! I make it to go on stir fry, veggies, it’s so good on everything! My kids even love it! I didn’t use the oil but it’s perfect without it
Kristie says
This is so damn good! I had to try to stop eating it so I’d have enough for the Chickpea Buddha Bowls. A perfect peanut sauce, and I’ll make this in the future to serve with cucumbers, etc at parties.
Barbara says
Oh my word! I made this to go with your sweet potato buddha bowl. I could eat it all with a spoon
Carolyn says
This recipe is delicious and so easy to make! I had all ingredients on hand. I served it over stir fried veggies with farro. (I did not use sesame oil .) I will make this again!
Christin says
So good and so easy to make 😍 I used my Magic Bullet to blend it all.
Claire Cary says
Love that idea!
Ellen says
So yummy!! Made it with rice noodles and broccoli and it was delicious.
I love this recipe, because it calls for things I usually have on hand and it tastes great! It is also very easy to adjust ingredients to your taste. I will make it again and again!
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So happy you enjoyed it, thanks Ellen!
JoAnn Buel says
My granddaughter is allergic to peanuts can i sub almond butter
Claire Cary says
Yes that will work!
JBrown says
Excellent vegan recipe!
Kimmy Chandler says
This is SO YUMMY. My boyfriend even ate it and he is very picky! So delicious. I made mine a little sweeter as I love peanut sauce that way. Wow !!
Claire Cary says
Always love when it’s picky eater approved! Thanks for your feedback!
Nicole says
I have the *smallest* (not) obsession with peanut sauce, but haven’t made my own! I’m only missing a couple things so I will be getting what I need and making it this weekend! I’m so so SO excited!
Claire Cary says
Yay! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Hallie says
My sister said, “this sauce is dope”. 😂😂 I agree. It’s so so so good. I left out the oil. But it’s soo good.
Claire Cary says
I definitely agree with your sister! Thanks for the feedback Hallie!
Sherry says
I’m so glad I found this peanut sauce recipe! It’s so delicious and easy to make!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Sherry! So happy you liked it 🙂
Anne says
This is the best peanut sauce I’ve found. Thanks!❤