BEST Easy Thai Peanut Sauce

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, vegan queso or pesto sauce next!

Before we get started…

• Be sure to use low sodium tamari/soy sauce. This will get too salty too quickly with regular stuff!
• You can make it super thick for a dip, or thin it out with more water for more of a salad dressing consistency – totally up to you!
• 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!

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! Try my gluten free teriyaki sauce next!

Key Ingredients & substitutions

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/tamari: 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.

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.

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!

• Peanut Butter Noodles
• Peanut Tempeh
• Teriyaki Sauce
• Thai Noodle Salad
• Chipotle Sofritas Tofu

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.