Sweet, creamy and flavored with curry spices, there's a reason Thai Peanut Sauce has become one of the most well-known sauces of Thai cuisine. It's great as a dipping sauce for satay, but also delicious tossed with noodles or simmered with coconut milk and chicken, pork or tofu.
I probably don't even need to tell you why it's a great idea to have a jar of this peanut sauce in your fridge at all times. You are guaranteed to find a hundred uses for this stuff. It helps that it takes 10 minutes to make, is gluten-free, and is absolutely, totally delicious.
This peanut sauce is the stuff that is so often served for dipping satay, but I also find it to be one of the most delicious sauces for dunking spring rolls, fried wontons and sticky rice (if you happen to have sticky rice sitting around your kitchen).
Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients
Curry Paste - The ingredients list here is short and sweet. The sauce gets tons of flavor from curry paste, which is pretty adaptable. Many recipes use Red Curry Paste
which yields a sauce with a bit of a kick. I prefer to make it with Massaman Curry Paste which is more mild and has a few spices in it that go well with the peanut flavor. Red Curry Paste tends to be more widely available at grocery stores, but Massaman can be ordered on Amazon or found at Asian markets. In any case, either curry paste will work.
Coconut Milk - The other key ingredient is coconut milk. Just make sure that you use the regular (not "light") variety. Regular coconut milk will insure your peanut sauce is extra creamy and rich.
Peanut Butter - And the peanut element? No need to get fancy. Any kind of peanut butter you have in your pantry is just fine. The only thing to keep in mind that, since peanut butters have vastly different levels of saltiness / sweetness, you should taste the finished sauce and adjust with extra sugar or fish sauce (you can use soy sauce or gluten-free tamari as well).
Fish Sauce - I use fish sauce for a salty, umami flavor in the sauce. While sometimes I do think fish sauce is the only way to go in a recipe, that's not the case here. Soy sauce or tamari (if you need a gluten-free option) will work as well. As noted above, just be sure to taste the finished product and adjust. Since peanut butter can vary in salt / sugar content, you may need more or less of this salty element.
Recipes That Use Peanut Sauce
- Thai Chicken Satay
- 20 Minute Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles
- Thai-Style Meatballs with Pork and Rice
- Thai-Style Salmon Satay with Peanut Sauce
- Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Thai Shrimp Bites with Peanut-Lime Dipping Sauce
Favorite Tools
Thai Peanut Sauce
Equipment
- Whisk
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 1 13.5 oz can Unsweetened Coconut Milk (regular, not "light")
- 5 tablespoon Massaman Curry Paste (substitute red curry paste)
- ¾ cup Peanut Butter (it's great with creamy or chunky versions)
- ¼ cup packed Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Fish Sauce (substitute soy sauce / gluten-free tamari)
Instructions
- Combine coconut milk and curry paste in a small sauce pan over low-medium heat, whisking constantly as it begins to warm up.
- When the mixture begins to simmer, whisk in peanut butter, brown sugar and fish sauce (or soy sauce / tamari).
- Continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly and has a smooth consistency, about 4 minutes. (Note: If the sauce starts to boil or simmer vigourously, reduce the heat. Cooking the sauce over high heat can cause it to separate.)
- Taste the sauce and adjust with extra sugar or fish sauce, if needed. Serve warm.
- Peanut sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Reheat it slightly before serving.
Nutrition
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Liz
Thank you Jessie. Love this recipe.
Jess
You're welcome Liz! Hope you're doing well!
Colleen
What happens if you only have light coconut milk?
Jess
Light coconut milk will work fine, Colleen. The finished sauce won't be quite as thick and creamy, but it's still great!
Helaine
I was thinking of making a freezing the thai style meatballs that go with this. could the sauce be frozen as well or is it best to make fresh?
Jess
Helaine - the sauce can definitely be frozen. Reheat it very slowly, preferably over low heat on the stovetop, whisking frequently to reconstitute it.
Vinod
A little tamarind or lime juice at the end of a stir fry gives it a nice sour aftertaste
Jess
I love that idea! Thanks for sharing.
Ben
This recipe was exactly what I was after. I've tried a few times to replicate that "chinese" take away style satay sauce, but never got it right. Your ratios and ingredients were perfect, I just swapped fish sauce for soy sauce (and a little Tahini) to make it vegan.
Jess
Ben - yes! That's exactly what we were going for! Great ideas for swaps to make it vegan - thanks so much for sharing those.
Ella
Hi thanks for the recipe.
I have a question. If I use the real peanuts, crushed in a food processor, would I need to change anything in the recipe?
Jess
Hi Ella - that should work fine. I've used the totally natural peanut butter that is ground in the machine at the store and it works great. Just make sure that you process it until it's fairly smooth and creamy. Since commercial peanut butter has added sugar and salt, make sure you taste the Thai peanut sauce and add some extra sugar and / or salt if needed.
Antoinette Fisher
I have tried so many recipes for peanut sauce. FINALLY a delicious one!! Thank you so MUCH!! I am thrilled!!
Jess
I'm so glad to hear it! This is one of our absolute favorites - we actually just made it today! Thanks so much for the kind note.
Denise
HELP! I made this recipe (honestly, I cut it in half) and it separated. The finished sauce had an oily layer on top when I removed it from the heat. The coconut milk was not old but had been sitting for awhile. Perhaps I did not shake it enough? Could it have been the peanut butter contained too much oil? Did I cook it too long?
Jess
Hi Denise! My guess is that the ingredients were just fine but that your last thought was right. If coconut milk summers too hard for too long the natural oils in it will separate out and make the sauce look broken. You might be able to fix it by whisking in more peanut butter off the heat.
Hannah
Hi, my cousin's made this a while ago and it also separated & had an oily top so to help I simply stirred it very vigorously to emulsify/bring it back together (took a bit of effort/time and was an arm workout) but was well worth it and was just delicious!
I plan on making it tomorrow actually, and will be doing the same again.
Hope this helps!
Jess
Hi Hannah - so glad you liked it! If the sauce separates / breaks, it most likely got too hot during cooking. It's really important to keep it at a low simmer and avoid a hard boil with lots of bubbles. That should fix the problem! I'll add a note about that to the recipe now so that others can avoid having to do all that stirring!
Heather
I don’t have curry paste. Can I use curry powder instead?
Jess Smith
I've never tried it with curry powder, but it certainly seems worth a shot!