Piling gorgeously grilled chicken on a flavor-packed satay-inspired peanut sauce, topped with a zingy salsa, is a fabulous way to jazz up your regular chicken dinner. Similar to one of the best better-than-takeout meals ever, juicy grilled satay chicken, this charred peanut butter chicken is a twist on the classic and every bit as delicious.
Table of Contents
- Charred Peanut Chicken, at a Glance
- Why this Peanut Chicken is So Special
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Charred Peanut Butter Chicken
- Charred Peanut Butter Chicken FAQs
- Watch How to Make Charred Peanut Butter Chicken
- Like this recipe? Here are more quick chicken ideas to try
- Charred Peanut Butter Chicken with Pineapple Salsa Recipe
Charred Peanut Chicken, at a Glance
⏰ Time: 25 minutes
🍽️ Makes: 4 servings
🛒 Key Ingredients: Peanut butter, chicken thighs, canned pineapple, light soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic
🧠 Skill Level: Beginner-friendly, with a simple marinade, no-cook peanut satay sauce, and speedy pineapple salsa
👩🍳 Cooking Method: Stovetop, air fryer, grill, or BBQ
💪 Protein: 33g per serving
💃 Perfect For: Quick weeknight dinners, summer entertaining, and meal prep
🥖 Serve With: Steamed rice, or loaded baked rice, a crunchy Asian-inspired slaw, smashed potato salad, or two-ingredient dough garlic naan.
Why this Peanut Chicken is So Special
Peanut butter is not just for toast. Here, it’s given the hero treatment as the base for the most glorious, juicy, and flavorful charred chicken.
Swirling pieces of that charred chicken through the no-cook peanut satay sauce, loaded with Asian flavors, is (in my humble opinion) one of the BEST ways to enjoy chicken. No bland, underseasoned, basic chicken here.
Packed with protein, it’s super quick, easy and is a real celebration of cupboard staples. Canned pineapple and peanut butter being the main players.
While I LOVE to cook this chicken in a cast iron griddle pan (those lovely char marks are the best), you can use a regular frying pan or skillet, throw it under your broiler (grill), or cook it on the barbecue outside in summer.
Serve it with steamed rice and crunchy Asian-style slaw, or pair it with a spicy gochujang potato salad, soft and creamy garlic butter potatoes, miso roasted sweet potatoes, or enjoy it by itself.
This is one of my favorite chicken meals – along with this lovely sushi-inspired chicken salad, one-pot satay chicken meatballs, and this juicy chicken shawarma crispy rice salad.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken thighs. Go for skinless, boneless, and good-quality free-range chicken thighs for the best flavor. I prefer using chicken thighs over chicken breasts here because they’re juicier, but breasts are also great. If you do use breasts, slice them down the middle (lengthwise) to create thinner pieces that will cook more evenly and quickly.
- Peanut butter. It’s important to use natural peanut butter without any palm oil or added sugar. The ingredients list should just be peanuts and salt. I LOVE Pic’s, Fix & Fogg, Manilife, or Pip & Nut, but any brand will work well, as long as it’s natural. Either crunchy or smooth is fine.
- Pineapple. Fresh pineapple is ideal, but I’ve used canned here, and it’s absolutely fine. That way, you can also use some of the pineapple juice in the salsa itself (and keep the rest for a tropical cocktail!)
- Fish sauce. I know this might be a divisive one, but it’s undoubtedly one of my most used ingredients. It brings a lovely, savory depth to the peanut sauce that you won’t get from salt alone, and I really recommend trying it. I promise it doesn’t taste fishy at all.
- Mint. You could swap fresh mint for cilantro (coriander) leaves, basil, Thai basil, or flat-leaf parsley.
How to Make Charred Peanut Butter Chicken
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the peanut chicken – the full recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.
- Mix your marinade ingredients in a bowl, then add the chicken and toss them through the marinade. Mix your pineapple salsa in a small bowl and set aside.
- Pour your peanut butter into a small bowl, then add the other sauce ingredients, except the water. Mix, then slowly pour in the water, mixing as you go. I find using a fork is best for this – it acts as a mini whisk and helps the ingredients meld evenly.
- Set a pan over high heat – I like a cast iron griddle, because you get those gorgeous charred lines – but you can use any pan you like. You could also cook it on your barbecue, or broil (grill) it.
- Cook your chicken until lovely and charred on each side. You’ll be tempted to move it around, but resist – you want those charred spots for flavor. I like to char a lime, or lemon, in the pan as the chicken finishes, for a smoky element to squeeze over the finished dish.
- Drizzle the peanut sauce onto a serving plate, then pile the charred chicken on top. Spoon over the pineapple salsa, then scatter with peanuts and scallions.
- If you’ve charred the limes, arrange them on the side and squeeze the juice on top as you serve.
Charred Peanut Butter Chicken FAQs
Use natural peanut butter for the best flavor and consistency. That means one that literally only has peanuts and salt in the ingredient list.
Avoid ones that include palm oil or sugar. I love Fix & Fogg (USA/NZ/AU), Manilife (UK), Pip & Nut (UK), or Pic’s (NZ/UK). I’ve used crunchy peanut butter in the photos above, but smooth is also fab.
Yes, you can. If you do, I recommend you butterfly them first (slice them in half, lengthways) for quicker, even cooking.
I like to serve the chicken with steamed rice or my go-to loaded baked rice (the sauce is GORGEOUS when it soaks into rice).
Or, you could go for a crunchy slaw-like salad (this Asian-style cabbage salad is great), crispy skin on roast potatoes, garlic butter potatoes, or miso roasted sweet potatoes, or even 2-ingredient dough garlic naan or 2- ingredient dough cheese naan.
Watch How to Make Charred Peanut Butter Chicken
Like this recipe? Here are more quick chicken ideas to try
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
Charred Peanut Butter Chicken with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients
Method
- Marinate the chicken. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, the grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric to a bowl and mix to combine.Add the chicken thighs, then mix through the marinade to coat well. Set the chicken aside while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Make the pineapple salsa. Add ½ cup of chopped pineapple to a small bowl along with 1 tablespoon of pineapple juice, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, the chopped mint leaves, and scallions. Mix to combine, then set aside.
- Make the peanut sauce. Pour ½ cup of peanut butter into a small bowl, along with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam. Use a fork to mix the ingredients well, then slowly pour in the water, mixing as you go.It'll look like the sauce has split, but keep mixing, and it'll come together into a smooth, creamy sauce with a pourable consistency. If it's a little thick, add a little more water and mix.
- Heat your pan. Set a large pan over high heat. I like to use a cast-iron griddle pan to get the gorgeous striped marks, but any pan is fine. You could also barbecue the chicken, or pop it under your broiler (grill) for 7 or so minutes on each side until gorgeously charred.
- Cook the chicken. Once the pan is hot, arrange the marinated chicken in the pan on one layer. Cook for 7 minutes on one side, resisting the urge to move the chicken around. You want those lovely charred marks for maximum flavor.After 7 minutes, flip the chicken over. Place the halved lemon, cut sides down, onto the pan with the chicken, then cook for another 7 minutes, or until the chicken hits 165°F (74°C) using a probe thermometer in the thickest part (or slice into a piece and check there are no pink bits). Remove the chicken and the lemon from the pan.
- Garnish and serve. Pour the peanut sauce onto a lipped serving plate, then arrange the charred chicken on top. Spoon over the pineapple salsa, then finish with a scattering of chopped peanuts. Serve the charred lemon wedges on the side.
Can you sub the sweet chilli jam with sweet chilli sauce? Or would it change the texture too much? Fresh chilli’s are so expensive at the moment Thanks
Yes you definitely can!