Try this easy peanut sauce recipe once, and you'll want to have it on hand at all times. It's perfect for jazzing up noodles, salads, bowls, and more!
Does anyone else absolutely love peanut sauce? Creamy, spicy, savory, and a little sweet, it’s a sauce that I’m equally happy drizzling over dinner or enjoying straight off a spoon. I can’t get enough!
This peanut sauce recipe the first thing I turn to whenever I want to jazz up a simple stir fry, bowl, or salad at home. It’s super easy to make, and it calls for basic pantry ingredients that you likely already have on hand (no fish sauce here!). Peanut butter gives it creamy texture, rice vinegar or lime juice makes it nice and tangy, tamari or soy sauce adds salty depth of flavor, and sriracha spices it up. Finally, to sweeten my peanut sauce recipe naturally, I add maple syrup instead of brown sugar. That’s it!
How to Use Peanut Sauce
Once you have peanut sauce on hand, you’ll find a thousand ways to use it. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts. Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and sesame seeds for garnish!
- Toss it with a salad or slaw.
- Add it to a grain bowl made with quinoa, cauliflower rice, or cilantro lime rice and tofu or tempeh for protein!
- Use it as a dip for your favorite fresh veggies.
- Stir it into easy peanut noodles or pad Thai.
- Serve it as a dipping sauce with lettuce wraps, summer rolls, or spring rolls.
Start by making this easy peanut sauce recipe as written, but then, feel free to play with it! I suggest a few variations in the recipe below, like adding ginger, minced garlic, or sesame oil for a bolder flavor. You could also swap the nut butter! Almond butter, cashew butter, or even tahini would work well here. And sometimes, I use coconut milk instead of water to make it extra creamy and rich.
More Favorite Sauce Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these flavorful sauces next:
- Cilantro lime dressing
- Tahini sauce
- Chipotle sauce
- Pesto
- Tzatziki
- Homemade Caesar dressing
- Cashew Cream
- Vegan Cheese Sauce
Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
- 3 to 4 tablespoons lime juice or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha, more if desired
- 1/4 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 to 3 tablespoons water
optional flavor additions:
- 1 garlic clove, grated on a microplane zester
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, lime juice, tamari, sriracha, and maple syrup. Whisk in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to reach a drizzleable consistency. Peanut butters vary in thickness, so you may need more or less water each time you make this recipe.
- If desired, stir in garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and/or more sriracha.
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Thank you for this invaluable recipe.. I am now more complete !
Hi, so glad you love the peanut sauce!