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Five Minute Peanut Satay Sauce

Mar 25, 2025 | 0 comments

Five minutes and five ingredients are all that stand between you and this gorgeously creamy peanut satay sauce. Just mix your ingredients and you’re done. It truly could not be easier. Brilliant as a dipping sauce, paired with grilled chicken, tossed through salads and noodles or dolloped onto toast!

Peanut satay sauce in a small bowl with a spoon.

I like to think of this lovely peanut sauce as a cheat’s version of satay sauce. Generally that’s cooked with coconut milk, and often includes freshly ground peanuts and a longer list of ingredients.

Here, we skip all the complicated steps to create a sauce that is SO incredibly moreish and just as good (if not better!) that a classic peanut satay sauce.

It’s truly as easy as mixing your ingredients in a bowl, and then pouring in water until you reach your desired consistency. And it takes less than five minutes. I use this sauce ALL the time so love having it on hand – it’s great dolloped on top of grilled chicken or beef, tossed through noodles for a speedy meal, used as a salad dressing, as a wonderful dipping sauce for dumplings or Vietnamese spring rolls – the possibilities are truly endless.

Ingredients

Ingredients for peanut satay peanut sauce laid out and labelled.
  • Peanut butter. Use natural peanut butter (so anything that lists just peanuts and salt in the ingredients list). Using a brand that has added sugar will impact the flavor of the sauce.
  • Sweet chili jam. This is a brilliant shortcut ingredient because it gives you a lot of flavor in one go – garlic, ginger, chili, acidity and sweetness – you can use a store-bought jam or sweet chili sauce, but if you have time, I recommend giving this sweet chili jam a go for the best flavor.
  • Fish sauce. This provides a layer of deep savoriness that soy sauce alone can’t mimic, so I urge you to use it if possible. You can get vegetarian fish sauce too (this is normally made with mushrooms). I promise it won’t make the sauce tasty fishy! If you really don’t want to use it, just replace it with more soy sauce.

How to make it

Add the peanut butter, sweet chili jam, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil to a small bowl. Use a fork to mix into a thick paste, then mix in the water until you reach a sauce with the consistency of double cream.

Five ways to use the sauce

Got a question?

How long will the peanut sauce last?

It will keep for at least 1 week, stored in the fridge (if you don’t use it all immediately!)

Like this recipe? Try these easy, speedy sauces next

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Peanut satay sauce in a small bowl with a spoon.

Five Minute Peanut Satay Sauce


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  • Author: Kate Phillips
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 10 servings 1x

Description

Five minutes and five ingredients are all that stand between you and this gorgeously creamy peanut satay sauce. Just mix your ingredients and you’re done. It truly could not be easier. Brilliant as a dipping sauce, paired with grilled chicken, tossed through salads and noodles or dolloped onto toast!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sweet chilli jam
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions

  1. Mix the ingredients. Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam to a small mixing bowl, or a large jar.
  2. Add the water. Use a fork (or a small whisk if you have one) to mix the ingredients into a thick paste. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of water, mixing as you do, until the sauce reaches the consistency of double cream. PRO TIP: Add more water if you’d like the sauce runnier, and remember it will thicken up as it sits.
  3. Use and store. Use as a dipping sauce, salad dressing, dollop onto grilled chicken, beef or tofu, toss through noodles or dollop onto toast. 

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: If you don’t want to use fish sauce (though I highly recommend it and it won’t make the sauce taste fishy!), replace it with more light soy sauce. Natural peanut butter just means a brand that lists just peanuts (and sometimes salt) in the ingredients. Stay away from anything with added sugar because it’ll change the flavor of the sauce. You could use smooth or crunchy peanut butter.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The sauce keeps well in the fridge for at least 1 week, if you don’t use it all immediately!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: The possibilities are truly endless with this sauce. I use it in this charred peanut chicken recipe, and in these chicken satay flatbreads. You could use it as a dumpling dipping sauce (try it with chicken and mushroom potstickers, juicy pork dumplings, mini dumpling cups or drizzle it over smash dumpling tacos). It’s also the dressing I use in this satay crispy rice salad. Aside from that, you can toss it through noodles, spoon it over rice or salads (it’s lovely with this crunchy Asian slaw or smacked cucumber salad) or just smear it on toast or high-protein bagels.

  • Prep Time: 5
  • Category: sauces
  • Method: no cook
  • Cuisine: asian

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
  • Calories: 99
  • Sugar: 3.3g
  • Sodium: 236mg
  • Fat: 8g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.5g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 6.1g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Carbohydrates: 5.1g
  • Fiber: 0.7g
  • Protein: 3.2g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

Welcome!

I’m Kate, the creator behind Dished. I love creating flavour packed, simple (ish) recipes for you, designed for every day and special occasions.

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