This easy Thai Peanut Sauce is creamy, savory, sweet, and full of flavor! Perfect for spring rolls, noodles, salads, bowls, and dipping.
This Thai Peanut Sauce is one of those sauces you’ll want to drizzle on everything! Creamy, savory, a little sweet, and packed with flavor, it takes just minutes to make and instantly transforms even the simplest meal.
Use it as a dipping sauce for Spring Rolls, toss it with noodles for our Thai Noodle Salad, or drizzle it over Buddha bowls, roasted vegetables, tofu, or chicken. It's an easy little sauce to have in your back pocket.
And there's a secret ingredient that gives it an extra layer of flavor and keeps you coming back for another spoonful. More on that below!
This is my go-to peanut sauce. Made it over a dozen times and never fails to impress! With Thai noodle salad, salad rolls, dip for crispy tofu… the list goes on. Highly recommended!
Why You'll Love this Peanut Sauce!
- Perfectly balanced. Creamy, savory, tangy, and slightly sweet, without being heavy or cloying.
- The secret is fresh orange juice. It adds a bright, fresh sweetness that brings the whole sauce to life and keeps you coming back for more.
- Ready in 5 minutes. Just whisk everything together-no cooking required.
- Light and drizzleable. It's creamy without being overly thick, so it beautifully coats noodles, salads, vegetables, and bowls-and makes a fantastic dipping sauce.
Thai Peanut Sauce Ingredients
- Peanut butter - Use natural, unsweetened peanut butter; creamy or crunchy both work. Substitute almond butter for a peanut-free version.
- Fresh orange juice - The secret ingredient! It lightens the sauce and adds a fresh, subtle sweetness that makes this peanut sauce especially craveable.
- Garlic & ginger - Fresh is best here, adding aromatic warmth and depth.
- Fresh lime juice - Adds bright acidity and balances the richness of the peanut butter.
- Soy sauce - Brings salty, savory umami flavor; use tamari or liquid aminos for gluten-free.
- Toasted sesame oil - Adds nutty, toasty depth and richness.
- Maple syrup or honey - Adds just enough sweetness to balance the salty, tangy flavors; use maple syrup to keep it vegan.
- Cayenne or sriracha - Adds a touch of heat; adjust to your taste.
How to make Peanut Sauce
Peanut Sauce is speedy and easy to make. Simply add the ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth! Adjust salt and heat levels to your liking!
Storing Thai Peanut Sauce
Peanut Sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, in a sealed glass jar. It can also be frozen for up to 6 months!
Chef's Tips
- Adjust the consistency. Natural peanut butter varies quite a bit in thickness. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in a little water or orange juice until perfectly drizzleable.
- Balance to taste. Peanut sauce is all about balance! Add more lime for tang, soy sauce for saltiness, maple syrup for sweetness, or sriracha for heat.
- Use fresh citrus. Fresh orange and lime juice really make this sauce sing-especially the orange juice, which is the secret to this recipe.
How to Use Thai Peanut Sauce
Use this Thai Peanut Sauce as a dipping sauce for Spring Rolls, toss it with noodles for our Thai Noodle Salad, or drizzle it over Buddha bowls, grain bowls, tofu, chicken, and roasted or raw vegetables.
It's also delicious thinned with a splash of water or lime juice and used as a creamy peanut dressing for salads and slaws. We also have this Thai Peanut Dressing.
Please rate this recipe and share your feedback in the comments below. ❤️ Have a fabulous week.-xo Sylvia
More Sauces You’ll Love!
- For a thicker style, Satay Sauce, I really like Suwanee‘s 5-minute Satay Sauce.
- Basil Vinaigrette
- Thai Peanut Dressing
- Sesame Ginger Dressing
- The Best Miso Dressing
- Flavorful Ponzu Sauce
- Green Tahini Sauce
Description
Creamy Thai Peanut Sauce with the perfect balance of savory, sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors. Whip it up in minutes and use it for dipping spring rolls, dressing noodles and salads, or drizzling over bowls, vegetables, tofu, and more. Vegan and gluten-free adaptable.
Ingredients
- 6 thin slices of ginger- cut across the grain, about the size of a quarter. (No need to peel)
- 2 fat cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (roughly 1 large orange)
- 1/3 cup lime juice ( 2 limes)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or Gluten-free Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (Note: Tamari will turn this unpleasantly dark)
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, ( or honey, palm sugar or agave,)more to taste
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame oil (6 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter (chunky or smooth, or sub almond butter!)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- optional: 1 -2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or a squirt of sriracha sauce)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender – ginger, garlic, orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, maple, sesame oil, and peanut butter and salt, and blend until smooth. Taste. Adjust sweetness, salt and cayenne to your liking.
- Note: Unripe limes can make this too tart. Adjust by adding more sweetness. Find your perfect balance.
- Use this on salads, or as a dipping sauce for spring rolls and satays.
Notes
- The Orange Juice makes this… and is a MUST!
- Peanut sauce will last up to 5 days in a sealed jar in the fridge.
- Peanut Sauce can be frozen, just whisk well after thawing.
- For added depth or “umami”, feel free to add a tiny splash of fish sauce. Not necessary though!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tablespoons
- Calories: 189
- Sugar: 9.1 g
- Sodium: 695.1 mg
- Fat: 14.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.2 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 3.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I just discovered your food site and am totally dazzled by everything! Question: is this peanut sauce to thick for the squeeze bottle and needs to be in a jar?
Hi Nancy, It does thicken once refrigerated. It may be too thick- I guess it depends on the tip of your squeeze bottle?
Yes. And if thinning out the sauce with some water to begin with?
You could but you don’t want to risk diluting the flavor!
Love this sauce!!!
Thanks Jenny, glad to hear it!
Thank you so much for this yummy recipe! I bought the toasted sesame oil from the link you provided & it makes all the difference. So good!
So glad you enjoyed it Mary!
Absolutely loved. It’s not as thick as some other recipes I’ve used, which I prefer. Great depth of flavor. What comes to mind is it tastes “fun” somehow! It definitely makes me smile when I taste it 🙂
Me too. 🙂
Utterly amazing recipe and super quick and easy to make. I also used grapefruit juice as I didn’t have any orange juice – was wonderful. Basic quantity made loads and I’ll definitely be freezing some.
Glad you enjoyed this Charlie!
Peanut Perfection! I didn’t have an orange (or OJ) so I squeezed a ruby red grapefruit instead and it worked fine. Grapefruit flavor undetectable. Just mentioning in case anyone else finds themselves in the same situation:-)
Ooo yummy Carolyn, I will have to try that!
Halved it the first time, it sounded like too much. I was so wrong! Had individual dipping dishes, and “caught” my adult daughter literally drinking it from the dish!
Hahaha, that is so funny. Love it!
Love your recipe
Please tell me how much ginger is 6 thin slices
Am not sure how much to use
Thank you
A heaping tablespoon. 🙂
Amazing.
Thanks Katherine!
This truly IS the BEST peanut sauce. I have made other peanut orange sauces in the past which were disappointing and used oj concentrate. Fresh orange juice is indeed a must here. I am making your Thai noodle salad tomorrow and the Thai burritos in a few days, but I might need to make another batch of sauce by then. I was glad nobody could see me as I slid my fingers beneath the blender blades to get every last drop of sauce. So delicious! A few spoonfuls later I decided to have a regular tossed green salad for lunch with probably too much of this dressing (is it possible?) Just had to come back and tell you how much I am enjoying this! I used the maple syrup and 1 tsp of cayenne. Not too hot, not too sweet, not too salty…..JUST right! Peanut perfection!!
Yay Pam! You are not alone in adoring this sauce! So glad you enjoyed.
This was very easy to make, I didn’t have fresh ginger or garlic so I used frozen cubes of each and still turned out good!
Glad to hear it worked out for you!
This recipe is a staple whenever I make veggie-filled dishes…and as Sylvia says, the fresh orange juice literally MAKES this recipe. Don’t skip it.
Thanks Elli!
This is a total family favorite at our house, and if I had my way I’d put that peanut sauce on everything!
Same here!
I am always a bit skeptical about “best ever” titles, but I had to remind my spouse many times that it was a dipping sauce, not a main dish. It really is the “best ever” Thai Peanut Sauce!
Thanks, Joseph- and coming from you means a lot!
My family loves peanut sauce but I never made it until now. It was a success. I’m definitely making more for freezing.
Awesome Valerie!
Superb and so simple to make!
Thanks Sharon!
I think that best ever” as a descriptor may apply here- this is a fantastic sauce! Perfect balance of everything – I made it yesterday for the rice noodle salad and today I’m making it for satay that I’m bringing to a party tomorrow. Mmm!
Awesome Laura!
OK yes, this is the best ever peanut sauce–the orange is a great addition. I use less sesame oil because I find it overpowers and I’ve been know to sub crunchy peanut butter when that’s what I have (it smoothens out in the blender),but it all works. Love using amber maple syrup in asian dressings–the caramely flavours go so well. cheers, b
Are you writing a cookbook soon? I need to bookmark so many of your recipes!
Glad this worked for you Bri- no cookbook in the works yet, but soon a site redesign so you can save recipes.
Delicious! Now I understand why you would like to eat it by the spoonful. Thank you for this recipe!
Great to hear Ana!
I just made your peanut sauce and I want to bathe in it! It tuned out amazing! Thank you.
Ahaha! Glad you liked it!
This is the best dipping sauce ever!
Just delicious! I could eat this sauce straight up by the spoonful. I’ve never made peanut sauce before (new to Thai cuisine) – and actually still haven’t. I subbed in Almond butter for the peanut butter. It’s terrific, and the organic tamari I used gave it a beautiful depth of color. A new favorite. Also made the Thai noodle salad mentioned, adding yellow pepper and snap peas, and using organic soba noodles. The hubs said, “You need to put this in the regular rotation”. We both loved it. Continued gratefulness to Sylvia for sharing!
Thaks Leslie! Glad you both enjoyed!
I wonder if organic almond butter would be an acceptable sub? I avoid peanuts (and peanut butter) due to glutamate, which is neurotoxic (Dr. Russell Blalock). Thoughts?
Hi Leslie- almond butter works great here!
Terrific! Looking forward to trying it. BTW Thank you SO MUCH for all you do! You taught me Sourdough bread in 2020 when I found your site and video (so well done and helpful). I’m loving the nutrient-rich, plant-based recipes that you post every weekend. They inspire me! XO from the North Georgia Mountains 🙂
Yay Lesley- so happy you are here! xoxo
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but I am wondering do you have a place on your web site to save recipes? I found a pomegranate dressing that sounded so good, but I have looked for it and looked for it and have not been able to find it again. The peanut dressing sounds so delicious. It’s one of my favorite dressings and I also love your web site.
You can now save recipes on the site- click on the My Recipe Box Tab at the top. 🙂
Yup. It is. The best ever. Thank you soooo much!
thanks Ana!