Since we’re entering the season of potlucks and barbecues, it’s time to share my go-to peanut sauce recipe. It’s creamy, savory, a little spicy and totally satisfying.
Bonus? This flavorful sauce is easy to make.
Make some peanut sauce and drizzle it on everything! This peanut sauce also makes a stellar veggie dip. Store-bought veggie dips are notoriously full of preservatives, but not this one.
Watch How to Make Peanut Sauce
Uses for Peanut Sauce
Veggie dip aside, this peanut sauce is wonderful over noodles and served with spring rolls. You can also drizzle it on steamed or roasted vegetables for some extra protein and tons of flavor. It’s great with mango, too!
Recipes Featuring Peanut Sauce
If you’re craving more of a complete meal or eager for more peanutty goodness, check out these recipes on Cookie and Kate.
- Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Thai Mango Cabbage Wraps with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce
- Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice
- Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce
- Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
Peanut Sauce Tips
I love this sauce the way it’s written below, but feel free to play around with it.
- For a more traditional Thai peanut sauce, you can substitute coconut milk for the water. This will mellow the other flavors a bit.
- For an extra burst of fresh flavor, add a squeeze of lime juice and/or some chopped cilantro.
- If the sauce too thick for your purposes, simply thin it out with some additional water or coconut milk or lime juice.
Please let me know how you like this peanut sauce recipe in the comments! I always love to hear from you.
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Author:
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 ⅔ cup 1x
- Category: Sauce
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: Asian
You can serve this healthy peanut sauce recipe as a dip or drizzle over Asian dishes! You can toss this savory peanut sauce with noodles, too. It’s good every which way! Recipe yields about 1 ⅔ cup sauce.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup reduced sodium tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 to 4 tablespoons water or coconut milk, or as necessary to reach your desired consistency
- Optional garnishes: sprinkling of chopped roasted peanuts and additional red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients until well blended. If your peanut butter is particularly thick, you may need to use the full 4 tablespoons of water to thin out the mixture (or more, if necessary).
- Feel free to adjust to taste here—for example, sometimes I want my sauce more savory and add another clove of garlic, or a little sweeter, so I add extra honey.
- If you’re serving the sauce as a party dip, transfer it to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and red pepper flakes for some visual interest!
Notes
Recipe adapted from my broccoli rabe peanut soba noodles and peanut-sesame slaw.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use gluten-free tamari, not regular soy sauce.
Storage suggestions: Store this dip in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week. You may need to whisk it again before serving or wake up the flavors with a little splash of vinegar.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Donna Joy Hays
This was awful
★
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love this one. What didn’t you like, Donna?
Hannah
I loved this! It tastes just like the restaurant’s that is near me. I did a little veggie plate and small salad. I thought it was best with little bell peppers. This will become a staple at my house now. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Eric Henry
Wow! I literally cannot believe that you thought this was awful. I’ve eaten a lot of peanut sauce and this probably wasn’t the best one I’ve ever had but it is definitely one of the better. My family had fried tofu with peanut sauce from my favorite Thai restaurant yesterday and everyone loved it. This was universally praised as significantly better.
I agree about a squirt of lime.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m happy you love it, Eric!
Laurie
loved this! added a squeeze of fresh lime too for an extra zip!
★★★★★
John
This was awesome!
★★★★★
Donna
Love! Love! Love! Love! Love!
Soooo delicious! Would like to pour it over noodles, chicken, Asian dishes, my fingers, etc! Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Terry
I recently purchased your cookbook as I want to add more vegetables and vegan options to my diet. I am not one to follow recipes to the letter as I am creative and can’t leave anything alone. I also have wheat/wheat gluten and dairy intolerances so I am always tweaking recipes. That being said, I made your peanut sauce. The flavors are balanced and this sauce does not have the ‘peanut butter’ flavor as some do. This peanut sauce recipe is by far the best I have found so far. Because of my issues I substituted gluten free soy sauce and cut the amount in half to cut the salt and added a hint more water. I used it on the roasted broccoli dish from the cookbook and the next day on a basic salad. It was AWESOME. I will be using this for my spring rolls as well. Oh… I also used a teaspoon of sambal instead of the red pepper flakes. Thank you!
★★★★★
Angela
This was the saltiest sauce I’ve ever tasted, and honestly, I had to throw it all away. I tried so hard to alter the recipe once it was made to make it edible, but the aftertaste was absolutely horrific.
★
Anne
Very strange Angela, since there is no salt as an ingredient in the ingredient list. You must have used things with salt in it.
Laura Smith
I think this might be caused by the Soy Sauce. In the recipe, it’s mentioning reduced sodium. I’d say try a different soy sauce. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Charlotte Norris
I tried your granola and loved it! Also like your pantry staples list and can’t wait to try the dressings, hummus and peanut dip! Nice work…I’m bookmarking your site in my head.
Cee
I used raw tahini instead of peanut butter. The lime juice and cilantro really made it pop, it was so good! I made fresh spring rolls for an appetizer, but the dip was so good I ended up having enough to spoil my appetite for dinner.
★★★★★
stephanie
delicious! i followed the recipe exactly but found that it tasted a little too vinegary and not as spicy as i wanted, so i added more peanut butter and about a tablespoon of red pepper flakes and it was much better! i used seasoned rice vinegar so that may have been why it tasted a little off, but all in all, great recipe thank you!!
★★★★★
Megan Reimer
So so yummy!! Thank you for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Janna
Not good. Too much vinegar. Way too tangy.
★
Mariam
Good
★★
Stephanie
Love love love this recipe!!
I changed only a couple things. I used 2 T of maple syrup instead of the honey, added a little extra fresh ginger, and a little more red pepper flakes. Yum yum!
★★★★★
Fan
This sauce is awesome! We use it as a dipping sauce for our summer rolls and drizzle for rice bowls. I have to use almond butter because my daughter has a peanut allergy. I generally use less honey, add 1-2 Tbsp of dark sesame oil, and always a good quality soy sauce —Kikkoman or San-J. Everyone always asks for the recipe. Love your website and book!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Fan! I’m happy you can make this work for your family.
Laura
I agree with some others, far too vinegary. I added about twice the amount of peanut butter, and a load of chilli, and it almost balances it out. Start with half the vinegar then add to taste!
★★
Amber L
I made this without the vinegar (didn’t have any) and thought it was delicious! It was a great dip for some veggie potstickers.
★★★★★
Laura Lont
This sauce is the best thing I have tasted all year ! We were blown away by how delicious it is! Thank you
Eda
This is honestly the best satay sauce recipe I’ve EVER made! Thankyou so much for this recipe
★★★★★
Hannah
I loved this! It tastes just like the restaurant’s that is near me. I did a little veggie plate and small salad. I thought it was best with little bell peppers. This will become a staple at my house now. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Hannah! Thank you for your review.
Linda
This was perfect and just what I was looking for. I left out the tamari as I just wanted plain fried tofu like you get in a Thai restaurant. I used it to top a salad and added peanut sauce. It was delicious! What is the best way to store leftovers? Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Hi Linda! I have a note on how to store and liven it up in the recipe notes. t
Linda
Hi, my original comment was for the baked tofu recipe, not the peanut sauce. I guess I skipped to the wrong page! I wanted to know the best way to store the tofu and how long it will last after baking. Thank you!
Kate
Hi Linda! It should keep for a few days in an airtight container. I suggest gently reheating on the stove or you can in the microwave as well.
Kerry O
If using non-reduced sodium soy sauce I would drastically reduce the amount you use – maybe by half. I looooove this recipe but was way too salty when I used regular ole’ soy sauce.
★★★★★
Allison Porter
Delicious! Even my husband who usually hates peanut sauce loves your recipe.
★★★★★
Brendan
Can you freeze it. How long can you store it.
★★★★★
Kate
Hi! I haven’t tried freezing it, so I’m not quite sure.
Alicia
I really enjoyed making this, and it’s delicious. Now for it to rest overnight and a tofu stir fry on Monday. I followed your on Insta!
Amy
Super salty. Try using only 2 Tulsa soy sauce and 1/3 cup honey. I had to add a half cup honey to make this even out.
Kate
I’m sorry you didn’t love it. You can use reduced sodium next time and that should help.
Kevin
My 13 yr old daughter wanted to be a vegetarian after Christmas. I have made several recipes from your list. This sauce is one of our favorites. I used it with your oven roasted crispy tofu with some rice noodles and broccoli…our favorite Chinese takeout place has lost our business.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad she is enjoying them! Thank you for sharing, Kevin.
Thomas Erb
this recipe is amazing
Dani
Super yum! I dipped red bell peppers and tossed some air fried tofu in this beautiful sauce for lunch. Saved!
★★★★★
Kate
Wonderful to hear, Dani!
Naomi D'Andrea
Delicious, and whisks up so easily! We used it as a creamy dressing for a bowl of quinoa and fresh veggies. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Naomi!
Evan
So good!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Evan! I appreciate your review.
Shelley Ann Fetterolf
We absolutely love this recipe. It’s the peanut sauce I’ve been trying to make for years – thank you! We love it on the baked tofu (which we actually make in our air fryer). Have a batch coming out in a few minutes…..
– Shelley
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Shelley! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Stephanie Martinez
Perfect recipe! Wouldn’t change a thing!! Great with THai spring rolls!
★★★★★