This easy peanut sauce is a salty, sweet, spicy dip and dressing for dumplings, spring rolls, Thai noodles, and satay. A peanut butter base combined with Asian pantry ingredients make this simple sauce everyone’s favorite Thai condiment. It’s naturally vegan with gluten free options!
Easy Peanut Sauce
Not long ago, someone asked me how I make peanut sauce.
I’ve made it for years and realized I needed to get it up on the blog.
There’s no secret formula, just everyday ingredients, combined to make…the best Asian condiment evrrrrrr!
You can make it a million ways! Everyone needs at least one reliable recipe that rocks your Asian food cravings in under 5 minutes.
Ways to use peanut sauce
- Thai spring rolls (also called summer rolls)
- salad dressing or buddha bowl topping
- dumpling sauce
- lettuce wrap topping
- stir fry sauce
- satay marinade or satay dipping sauce
- vegetable crudités dip
- Thai peanut Zucchini Noodle dish
I mean, what other sauce (besides ranch dressing) has this many uses?!
How to make peanut sauce
1. Place soy sauce, grated ginger, rice vinegar, maple syrup, finely grated garlic, cayenne pepper, and peanut butter in a bowl. Feel free to substitute your favorite gluten free soy sauce.
2. Whisk ingredients together until well-combined.
3. Add small amounts of water and continue whisking until you reach your desired consistency.
* see full recipe below
Pro tip: It’s way too easy to make this sauce way too watery. So, be diligent about adding only “small” amounts of water to reach the right consistency.
Does peanut sauce have dairy?
This sauce is naturally vegan and naturally dairy-free!
There’s no need to add animal products to it, as it’s so scrumptious on its own.
Next to hummus, I can’t think of a more popular plant-based condiment that’s so universal to non-vegans everywhere!
How do you make authentic Thai peanut sauce?
My recipe for peanut sauce is very simple, made with ingredients like soy sauce, ginger, garlic, spicy pepper, and rice vinegar.
If you want more distinctive Thai flavors, start by substituting coconut milk for the water in this peanut sauce recipe. Then add any of the following ingredients in very small amounts:
- lime juice
- chili garlic sauce
- fish sauce [not vegan]
- lemongrass paste
- tamarind paste
- galangal
- Thai red curry paste
- sesame oil
It’s fun to experiment with these ingredients. if you overuse any of them…mmmmmh, not so fun and harder to correct, so go easy!
How do you thicken peanut sauce?
Oh snap! You went and made your sauce too thin, did ya? We’ve all been there.
If this happens, simply whisk in more peanut butter to adjust it.
You can even use peanut butter powder to make the adjustment…it acts like flour, which is very cool!
It’s spendy…because it doesn’t include peanut oil. It has a million uses, just like peanut butter.
Easy Peanut Sauce Ingredients:
- natural peanut butter
- soy sauce (gluten free tamari)
- rice vinegar
- maple syrup
- ginger
- garlic
- cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes)
- water
Tools I use for this recipe:
- microplane (to finely grate ginger and garlic)
- small mixing bowl
- fork (for stirring)
- airtight storage container
Looking for ways to use peanut sauce?
Turmeric Chickpea Buddha Bowl Recipe
Vegan Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles
Easy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Natural Peanut Butter unsweetened
- 2 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce or Tamari (for gluten free)
- 1 Tbsp Unseasoned Rice Vinegar or lime juice
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup
- 2 tsp Ginger finely grated
- 1 clove Garlic finely grated
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1/3 cup Water or more as needed to adjust consistency
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together PEANUT BUTTER, SOY SAUCE, RICE VINEGAR, MAPLE SYRUP, GINGER, GARLIC, and CAYENNE until well-combined.
- Slowly pour in small amounts of WATER and continue whisking until sauce reaches desired consistency. (Note: you may not need the full amount of water stated in ingredient list).
- Add any of the following ingredients to kick up the Thai peanut sauce flavors even more: sub coconut milk for water, lime juice, chili garlic sauce, fish sauce [not vegan], lemongrass paste, tamarind paste, galangal, or Thai red curry paste
NOTE: If the sauce is too thick for your liking, add a little water to thin it out. If it's too thin, add a little peanut butter to thicken it.
RECIPE NOTES
Nutrition
Traci Antonovich
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GC says
07/05/2019 at 10:49 amDelicious sauce! I used it as a dipping sauce for dumplings. I had to use double the amount of water though for it to have a nice consistency.
Traci Antonovich says
07/05/2019 at 1:11 pmYay, so glad you enjoyed it! And yes, the water can easily be adjusted to change consistency. Glad you found your sweet spot 🙂
PJ says
04/30/2019 at 6:31 pmI tried two other recipes before yours. Both batches went down the garbage disposal. Yours was absolutely perfect! It was exactly the flavors that I was looking for! Thank you so much. These made my lettuce wraps scrumptious!!
Traci Antonovich says
04/30/2019 at 9:12 pmWow PJ! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 Thanks for the kind words…makes my day!
Glenda says
03/22/2019 at 11:07 amDelicious! Thank you! Will use for my spring rolls, pasta, stir fry, and so much more .
Traci Antonovich says
03/22/2019 at 3:05 pmWoohoo! Love hearing that…thanks for the feedback, Glenda! 🙂
Sheri says
01/27/2019 at 12:44 pmPlease add 5 stars to my review!
Traci Antonovich says
01/27/2019 at 6:44 pmThanks Sheri, unfortunately I’m not able to do that, but you’re more than welcome to leave another review with the stars…or not. I’m just happy you love the recipe! 🙂
Sheri says
01/27/2019 at 12:42 pmMy favorite restaurant features a Buddha bowl with luscious peanut sauce.
My budget, unfortunately, doesn’t accommodate dining in as frequently as I’d like, which put me on the hunt for a comparable homemade alternative.
I’ve tried a lot but your recipe hits the nail on the head!
I particularly appreciate that it’s not overly sweet.
The recipe is flavorful as given but adding any of the suggested, optional ingredients allows you to customize to taste. Made enough for 3 generous servings.
Great job!
Traci Antonovich says
01/27/2019 at 6:43 pmThanks Sheri! Well this makes my day…and I too love peanut sauce that’s isn’t too sweet. This recipe is so flexible for someone to add sweetness, or spice, or more traditional ingredients. Thanks again for your feedback 🙂
Carmy says
01/15/2019 at 7:36 amI’ve never added cayenne pepper to my pb sauce before. I’ll have to try that. I almost always have some in my fridge since it goes with everything! It is a staple for us! Especially when making stir frys!
Traci Antonovich says
01/15/2019 at 9:45 amAwesome and thanks! Yeah the cayenne is a nice way to not add extra salt and/or fat (via Sriracha, chili paste, or chili oil)…even though I love all of those things 😉
Christina says
01/14/2019 at 6:53 pmI love that this is dairy free! And that ginger in there is genius. I need this for spring rolls, egg rolls, and basically everything worth dipping! LOL. Looks creamy and flavorful!
Traci Antonovich says
01/15/2019 at 5:56 amThanks Christina! The ginger totally makes it, in my book 😉 Hope you try it and love it!
Tina says
01/14/2019 at 9:33 amDitto on the best Asian sauce ever, seriously. It’s so easy to make and those photos should give anyone the confidence to try to make this sauce if they have never done it before. Saving this for later, yours looks amazing.
Traci Antonovich says
01/14/2019 at 9:43 amThanks so much Tina! Love hearing that…hope you love it 🙂
Debra says
01/14/2019 at 8:29 amTHanks for the wonderful suggestions on what to use this sauce for. I actually can’t imagine anything it wouldn’t be good on. A seriously great sauce…and the tip about adding the water sparingly was just what we needed!
Traci Antonovich says
01/14/2019 at 9:07 amThanks Debra! I’m with you on loving this sauce on everything 🙂
Dana says
01/14/2019 at 8:14 amI could often just eat this stuff with a SPOON. I lovelovelove PB mixed with a bit of heat, then brought to a savory dish. This really is the perfect kind of dip for summer rolls. I can never get enough of those refreshing little things! I usually use Sriracha sauce or sambal oelek for the heat, and honey for the sweet.
Traci Antonovich says
01/14/2019 at 9:06 amThanks Dana! Yep, I love those options for the heat too. So many options, so little time 😉
Trish Bozeman says
01/14/2019 at 6:32 amOooooh YES! We’ve been eating raw veggies as snacks this month and I’m needing a new way to make them exciting. This would be so awesome to dip them into! YUM!
Traci Antonovich says
01/14/2019 at 7:43 amThanks Trish! Yep, it’s the perfect raw veggie dip! 😉
Annemarie says
01/14/2019 at 4:51 amI LOVE the peanut sauce I get with my Thai food and I’ve been wondering how to make it! And it turns out that I have everything in the house needed to make it. Bonus! Now to make some satay to go with it…
Traci Antonovich says
01/14/2019 at 7:43 amYay Annemarie! Hope you love this one! 🙂
Tracy says
01/13/2019 at 7:34 pmOh man I wish I had seen this sooner! Last week I had some delicious spring rolls from a local Thai restaurant. The spring rolls themselves were great, but omg that peanut sauce was SO disappointing!! It ruined the rolls. If only I had this recipe – I could have whipped up a WAY better sauce for them! Pinning to make sure I always have access to it in case I’m stuck with bad peanut sauce again!
Traci Antonovich says
01/13/2019 at 8:15 pmOh Tracy, this is so funny and not funny, b/c it happens so easily…a great thing ruined. I hope you love this recipe!
Sean@Diversivore says
01/13/2019 at 9:39 amHooray for a simple, adaptable peanut sauce that’s made with simple ingredients! I frequently find that sauces like these tend to be made by just mashing together a couple of other sauces, and at that point I don’t know why you wouldn’t just buy a peanut sauce. But this is great – it’s all stuff I’ve got, and it’s got a great final texture, and plenty of room to adapt to taste. I know that I’d personally include fish sauce given that I’m not aiming for vegan, but it is nonetheless really nice to have the option to keep it meat-free, given how tricky that tends to be with Southeast Asian food. Cheers!
Traci Antonovich says
01/13/2019 at 9:59 amThanks Sean! Yes, adding fish sauce makes it distinctively more Thai…and I love it like that too 🙂 Glad you notice how simple the ingredients are. Hope you love this one!
Marisa Franca says
01/12/2019 at 11:10 amWe’ve gotten into this huge Oriental food kick. I’m craving spring rolls, Thai noodles, etc. The sauce would certainly be handy to have on hand whenever we get the urge to make our Asian dishes. Thank you!! I think we’ll do Thai tonight.
Traci Antonovich says
01/12/2019 at 11:28 amYes! This sauce is perfect for anyone on that kick 🙂 Thanks and hope you love it!
Gloria says
01/09/2019 at 1:56 pmThis looks so good. I can just imagine the uses already. Perfect way to spice up rice, veggies and meat too. Homemade is best, and this proves it.
Traci Antonovich says
01/09/2019 at 5:17 pmThanks so much Gloria! Love hearing that…and you’re right, it IS so versatile 😉
Patty says
01/08/2019 at 6:25 amI love peanut sauce but never thought of making it at home, this will be my new favorite with lots of hot sauce, thanks!
Traci Antonovich says
01/08/2019 at 6:27 amThanks Patty! It’s so easy…you’ll love it! 🙂
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
01/08/2019 at 6:15 amAsian food has to be my favourite so I’ll definitely be making this as there are so many dishes that go with a peanut sauce.
Traci Antonovich says
01/08/2019 at 6:26 amThanks Amanda! I’m right there with you 🙂
Beth Neels says
01/08/2019 at 6:13 amI have never had a peanut sauce! I have to give this a try, because it’s so easy! And delicious!
Traci Antonovich says
01/08/2019 at 6:25 amThanks Beth! Hope it becomes your new fav! 🙂
Sues says
01/08/2019 at 5:50 amI absolutely love peanut sauce and this recipe looks like perfection!! That’s so many things this would be delicious on… And I’d definitely be using it as a dressing on ALL my salads!
Traci Antonovich says
01/08/2019 at 6:25 amThanks so much, Sues! This is the ultimate salad dressing 🙂
Sharon Chen says
01/08/2019 at 5:43 amThis is perfect for my Thai dishes! Yum!
Traci Antonovich says
01/08/2019 at 6:24 amThanks Sharon! Hope you love it 🙂
Cliona Keane says
01/07/2019 at 11:50 pmThis sounds like it will go with so many of my favourites! We are big lovers of homemade Asian cuisine in our house so this will be going on my list of must-makes.
Traci Antonovich says
01/08/2019 at 5:02 amLove hearing that, Cliona! We make lots of Asian too 🙂 Thanks and hope you love it!
Tisha says
01/07/2019 at 9:30 pmLove peanut sauce! This looks so tasty!
Traci Antonovich says
01/07/2019 at 10:02 pmThanks Tisha! 🙂
Taylor Kiser says
01/07/2019 at 8:00 pmHomemade is always better; and it’s so easy to make! Looks delicious! Very versatile too!
Traci Antonovich says
01/07/2019 at 9:07 pmThanks so much Taylor! It’s so versatile 🙂
Shanika says
01/07/2019 at 7:10 pmThis Peanut Sauce would be perfect on a lot of great dishes! Pinned for later!
Traci Antonovich says
01/07/2019 at 9:06 pmAwesome! Thanks Shanika 🙂
Caroline says
01/07/2019 at 6:41 pmPeanut sauce is one of my favorites, and the whole family loves chicken satay – it’s a staple in the summer. Yours sounds tasty without being too complex too.
Traci Antonovich says
01/07/2019 at 9:06 pmThanks Caroline! Yep, no need to complicate this one 🙂