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Home Meal Type Condiments
5
/5
5 minutes

Peanut Sauce

Dairy Free Dairy-Free Gluten Free Gluten Free Vegan Vegan Vegetarian Vegetarian
Jump to Recipe
By: Denise BustardLeave a Comment
Posted: 2/21/22 Updated: 2/14/22

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This easy homemade peanut sauce is the perfect balance of sweet & savory, with zesty lime and a tiny bit of heat from the red chili flakes. Made with pantry staples, it can be used as a dip, stir fry sauce, or as a salad dressing!

Nothing adds a burst of flavor to your meal like a homemade sauce. From an easy balsamic reduction to green goddess dressing to this homemade peanut sauce, there are so many ways to add flavor to your meals!

spoon showing texture of peanut sauce in jar
Jump to... show
1 Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
2 Recipe Video
3 Ingredient Notes
4 Step by step directions
5 FAQ
6 Variations
7 Use it Up
8 Storage
9 More Condiments
10 Peanut Sauce

Made with simple pantry staples, this easy peanut sauce is a must-know recipe to keep in your meal prep rotation! Creamy, tangy, zesty and light - it's perfectly balanced.

Use it as a dip, stir fry sauce, as salad dressing, or even on sandwiches... there's so many ways to enjoy it! This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, meal prep-friendly, and flexible (swap peanut butter for almond butter)!

Reasons You'll Love This Recipe

  • it's bursting with sweet, savoury, and zesty flavours
  • it's so much tastier than store bought, and only takes 5 minutes to mix together
  • you can use it up as a dip, on salads, as a stir fry sauce, and more!
  • it's vegan, gluten-free, and meal prep friendly

Recipe Video

Watch the video below to see how to make peanut sauce! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Ingredient Notes

peanut sauce ingredients labelled, from overhead
  • Peanut butter -processed nut butters with added ingredients will alter the texture and consistency of this peanut sauce, so we recommend sticking with all natural. Almond butter also works great in this recipe; swap at a 1:1 ratio with peanut butter.
  • Soy Sauce - can be swapped for tamari, coconut aminos, or liquid soy seasoning for a gluten-free option
  • Red pepper flakes - the spice is  very mild with this amount; feel free to increase
  • Ginger - we're using fresh ginger fo this recipe. Using a microplane is recommended to easily grate the ginger into fine bits
  • Maple syrup - adds some sweetness without refined sugar. You can swap for equal parts honey if preferred

Step by step directions

peanut sauce ingredients mixing up in measuring cup

Combine

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jar. Whisk until smooth.

Tip - if you're getting near the bottom of the nut butter jar, or if it's on the dry side, you might need to thin out with some water.

side angle of peanut sauce in jar

Store

Pour into a glass jar. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Use as a dip, condiment, or stir fry sauce.

Weck Tulip Jars

These 500 ml Weck Jars with glass lids are so handy for meal prep. Use them for condiments such as pickled red onions, to jar salads, and so much more.

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close up of peanut sauce in jar

FAQ

Is peanut sauce spicy?

As written, it is very mild. Feel free to increase the red pepper flakes as needed if you'd like to add a kick of heat!

Is peanut sauce gluten-free?

This peanut sauce recipe can be made gluten-free simply by opting for gluten-free coconut aminios, bragg's liquid soy seasonng, or tamari instead of soy sauce!

Is peanut sauce healthy?

This homemade peanut sauce recipe is very healthy! However, store-bought versions will likely contain fillers, refined oils, and stabilizers (just as with store-bought dressings). Making your own peanut sauce at home is defintiely your best bet - and more flavorful as well!

Variations

  • Almond butter - as mentioned, almond butter works great as a 1:1 swap for peanut butter - the flavor and texture is very similar
  • Fish sauce - some traditional thai recipes call for fish sauce, which adds a salty, umami flavor. You could add in ½ - 1 teaspoon (though of course it would no longer be vegan)
  • Nut free option - for a nut free version, you could try swapping peanut butter for tahini or sunflower butter. We have not tested either of these with this exact recipe, but tahini is always delicious in dressings, dips, and sauces
  • Swap rice vinegar - for more lime juice! This will make for an extra zesty, vibrant peanut sauce. Especially delicious if you're using it on salads as opposed to stir frys
overhead peanut chicken zucchini noodles in blue bowl with lime wedges

Use it Up

There are so many ways to use up homemade peanut sauce! We love to serve it:

  • on peanut zoodles
  • as a dressing in thai chickpea mason jar salads or on this 10 minute crunchy rainbow thai salad
  • as a dip for spring rolls or sauce on spring roll bowls
  • as a dressing on low carb beef satay meal prep bowls or on thai chicken lunch bowls
  • as a chicken satay marinade, and as a condiment for dipping the satay in
  • as a condiment on these thai turkey lettuce wraps
  • as a stir fry sauce
  • spread on sandwiches

Storage

This recipe can be doubled or tripled and stored in the fridge for easy meal prep!

  • Refrigerate - for up to 2 weeks; let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before using
  • Freeze - for up to 6 months; thaw on the counter for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight
pickled onions in jar

More Condiments

  • Quick pickled red onions
  • Balsamic vinaigrette
  • Homemade red wine vinaigrette
  • Green goddess dressing
  • Homemade balsamic reduction

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

close up of peanut sauce in jar

Peanut Sauce

5 from 1 vote
Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 5 mins
Print Rate
This easy homemade peanut sauce is the perfect balance of sweet & savory, with zesty lime and a tiny bit of heat from the red chili flakes. Made with pantry staples, it' can be used as a dip, stir fry sauce, or as a salad dressing!
8 servings

Ingredients

  • ½ cup all natural peanut butter note 1
  • 2 teaspoons ginger finely grated; note 2
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce I use reduced sodium; note 3
  • 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes note 4

Instructions 

  • Combine- Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jar. Stir or shake until smooth.
    peanut sauce ingredients mixing up in measuring cup
  • Store- Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Use as a dip, condiment, or stir fry sauce.
    side angle of peanut sauce in jar

Tips:

  1. processed nut butters with added ingredients will alter the texture and consistency of this peanut sauce, so we recommend sticking with all natural. Almond butter also works great in this recipe!
  2. a microplane works great for this
  3. for a gluten-free version, swap for tamari, coconut aminos or liquid soy seasoning
  4. the spice is  very mild with this amount; feel free to increase!
 
Storage
  • refrigerate for up to 2 weeks; let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before using
  • freeze for up to 6 months; thaw on the counter for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight

Video

Nutrition Information

Calories: 149kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 580mg, Potassium: 144mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 38IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 1mg
Author: Denise Bustard
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Thai

© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

Did You Make This?Don't forget to leave a review below, and tag us on Instagram using @SweetPeasAndSaffron or #sweetpeasandsaffron
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Meet Denise Bustard

Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.

Read more...

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Hi, I'm Denise

Meal prep took me from feeling constantly stressed out about meals to cool, collected and in control. I want to share this amazing and transformational habit with you, so you can feel in control, too! Read more ...

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