Easy Everyday Thai Peanut Sauce in Less than 10 Minutes

We all have those fall-back meals, those comfort foods, those simple, flexible recipes that we make on the fly for an easy dinner. For me, most of those dinners are Asian-influenced, and a few involve peanut sauce. How I make it varies on our cravings and other components of the meal, but this version is what I refer to as our go-to Thai Peanut Sauce.

Dairy-Free Thai Peanut Sauce made with Everyday Ingredients

I’m quite sure this Thai peanut sauce isn’t authentic, but it also doesn’t require any specialty ingredients – just simple pantry ingredients that you likely keep on hand and some fresh limes. But it is delicious and the flavor is definitely Asian influenced.

I use lite canned coconut milk, which is richer than coconut milk beverage, but much lighter than full-fat canned coconut milk. It’s the perfect consistency, and usually sold in Asian food section of most supermarkets. I also use San-J Wheat-Free Tamari, Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter (or Almond Butter if we’re feeling fancy), local honey, and spices from Simply Organic (my favorite!).

Suggestions for Serving Thai Peanut Sauce

Pictured here is a simple dish of rice, steamed sweet potatoes and spinach, topped with the Thai peanut sauce. I enjoyed this for a light lunch.

But this 10-minute Thai peanut sauce is amazing with most leafy greens, broccoli, bok choy, bell peppers, cauliflower, parsnips … I could go on. You can serve it over rice noodles, brown rice, quinoa, or cauliflower-rice and optionally pair it with a neutral protein, chicken, pork or tempeh (for vegan). It is a fantastic addition to basic bowl meals.

This post was originally sponsored by So Delicious Dairy Free, but they discontinued the product we used. The recipe has been updated.

Special Diet Notes: Easy Thai Peanut Sauce

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, optionally grain-free, tree nut-free, optionally vegan / plant-based, and vegetarian.

For peanut-free Thai peanut sauce (yes, you read that correctly), use creamy unsweetened sunflower seed butter or almond butter in place of the peanut butter. It will change the taste slightly, but is still versatile and delicious.

For soy-free Thai peanut sauce, you can substitute coconut aminos for the soy sauce. Coconut aminos are definitely not a true sub for soy sauce – the flavor is a bit different and it has less salt – so I recommend taste testing and adjusting the sweetness and saltiness of the recipe to taste if using coconut aminos.

For paleo, use both the peanut-free and soy-free options.

Easy Everyday Thai Peanut Sauce

 

Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

8 mins

 

Serve this quick and easy sauce with steamed, roasted or stir-fried vegetables, over rice, rice noodles or quinoa, and accompanied with your protein of choice - whether it be sauteed tofu, tempeh, chicken or pork.

Author: Alisa Fleming

Recipe type: Sauce

Cuisine: Thailand

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup lite canned coconut milk
• ¼ to ⅓ cup unsalted or lightly salted creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (can sub maple syrup)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or wheat-free tamari (for gluten-free)
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon powdered ginger

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in your blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into a saucepan, and heat over medium heat, while whisking, until it thickens to your desired consistency ~ this takes about 3 minutes for a thick sauce.
3. Serve warm. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

3.5.3229

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