Easy Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce is a delicious and versatile sauce that's used for a variety of dishes, including spring rolls, satay grilled meats, and noodles. This classic Thai peanut dipping sauce recipe packs a lot of flavor!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
There's nothing quite like the taste of fresh spring rolls dipped in a delicious peanut sauce. This easy Thai peanut sauce is made with just a few simple ingredients, but it packs a big flavor punch. It's perfect for dipping spring rolls, satay skewers, or even vegetables.
The combination of peanut butter, soy sauce, mild curry, and coconut milk creates rich and complex flavors that are sure to elevate many recipes.
- Very Easy to make. very easy to make. You only need a few simple ingredients, and the whole process takes about 10 minutes.
- Economical. Much less expensive than ready made Thai peanut sauce in the grocery store. And, you probably have most ingredients, if not all, in your pantry.
- So versatile! versatile. This easy Thai peanut sauce can be served with a variety of dishes, so you can always find a way to use it up. I like to serve it with spring rolls, but it's also perfect for grilled meats like our Satay Grilled Chicken Leg Quarters, noodles, rice bowls, and even thinned out as a salad dressing.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Peanut Dipping Sauce Ingredients
- How to Make Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- Substitutions and Variations
- Equipment
- Storage and Reheating
- Tips for Success
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Food Safety
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
- 📖 Recipe
Peanut Dipping Sauce Ingredients
Roasted peanuts is my preference when making this Thai peanut sauce, but you can also make this recipe with peanut butter (creamy or crunchy), or even dry ground peanuts (sold as PB2).
For vegan versions, make sure to source vegan soy sauce and vegan hoisin sauce.
- Roasted peanuts - Or equal amount of peanut butter.
- Sesame seeds - Toasted white sesame seeds.
- Coconut Milk - The kind in the can.
- Chili paste - Any kind, sriracha, Thai chili sauce, etc.
- Brown sugar - You can also use date sugar.
- Hoisin sauce - Or, soy sauce. If available, fish sauce is even better.
- Soy sauce - Regular or dark soy sauce.
- Balsamic vinegar - Or, tamarind juice or paste works also. You want a sweet, tart taste.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce
This easy Thai peanut sauce takes just minutes to pull together. Just use care to not bring the ingredients beyond a low simmer, as the peanuts will thicken up and stiffen the sauce.
If this happens, remove from the burner and stir in about ½ cup of additional coconut milk, or even water.
Prepare the Peanuts
- If using roasted peanuts (preferred), process them first. If using peanut butter, skip this step.
- Add the roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds to the mini processor.
- Pulse the peanuts and sesame seeds until ground to the coarseness you prefer.
Heat Ingredients In a Sauce Pan
- In a small pot, add the coconut milk, chili paste, brown sugar, hoisin sauce (or fish sauce), chili paste, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar to a low simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes (it will thicken a little).
Add The Ground Peanuts
- Stir in the ground peanut and sesame seed mixture. If using peanut butter, add it to the sauce pan now.
Reduce Heat And Simmer
- Reduce heat and simmer the peanut dipping sauce on medium heat for a few minutes until the peanut sauce has thickened to a dip consistency.
- Adjust consistency using additional coconut milk or water if the sauce is too thick. You'll want a thinner consistency peanut dipping sauce recipe for spring rolls than for peanut satay sauce.
- Remove from heat and pour into clean Ball canning jars, bail jars, or serving bowls. Serve with your entree and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
There's nothing quite like the taste of fresh spring rolls dipped in a delicious peanut sauce. This easy Thai peanut sauce is made with just a few simple ingredients, but it packs a big flavor punch. It's perfect for dipping spring rolls, satay skewers, or even vegetables.
Serve it with our Moo Ping (Thai Pork Skewers), or as a peanut satay sauce for our Satay Grilled Chicken Leg Quarters. This peanut dipping sauce is good on so much more also!
Some additional serving suggestions for using peanut dipping sauce are:
- Teriyaki Chicken Skewers
- Frozen Egg Rolls (in the Air Fryer)
- Miso Baked Branzino
- Thai Cashew Chicken
- Panda Express String Bean Chicken Recipe
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few substitutions and variations using this peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls, peanut dipping sauce, or grilling peanut satay sauce recipe:
- No roasted peanuts on hand, no problem. Use an equal portion of chunky peanut butter.
- You can also make PB2 peanut dipping sauce by using the dehydrated, ground peanut butter powder sold by PB2.
- Hoisin sauce can be replaced with fish sauce, but more people have hoisin in the refrigerator than fish sauce usually. You can use the two interchangeably in this recipe. Fish sauce is more authentic, but Hoisin is often more available.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this Thai peanut sauce, or peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls.
- Mini Cuisinart Food Processor
Storage and Reheating
- This peanut dipping sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- To reheat, thaw peanut dipping sauce in the refrigerator overnight and then warm it in a saucepan over low heat until heated through.
Tips for Success
- If you want a spicier sauce, add more red pepper flakes.
- To make a thinner peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls, add some extra coconut milk and gently stir in.
- Do not bring sauce to a boil, as the ground peanuts will 'seize up' and stiffen the sauce.
- You can use an equal portion of chunky peanut butter if you don't have roasted peanuts on hand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Either creamy or crunchy peanut butter instead of whole roasted peanuts in this recipe. Creamy peanut butter will just be a smooth Thai peanut dipping sauce.
Yes, you can use other types of nuts in this recipe. For example, you could use almond butter, cashew butter, or hazelnut butter. You could also use a combination of nuts.
Yes, you can make this peanut dipping sauce recipe without hoisin sauce. However, the sauce will not have the same flavor profile. If you don't have hoisin sauce, you can substitute fish sauce in this Thai peanut dipping sauce recipe.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
Connect with Smells Like Delish!
📖 Recipe
Easy Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanuts roasted - or ½ cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- 14 oz coconut milk canned
- 1 tablespoon chili paste like sriracha or Thai chili sauce
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Hoisin or fish sauce
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce dark or regular
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or tamarind paste/juice
Instructions
- Add the roasted peanuts and toasted sesame seeds to the mini processor.½ cup peanuts
- Pulse the peanuts and sesame seeds until ground to the coarseness you prefer.2 tablespoon sesame seeds
- n a small pot, add the coconut milk, chili paste, brown sugar, hoisin sauce (or fish sauce), chili paste, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar to a low simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes (it will thicken a little).14 oz coconut milk, 1 tablespoon chili paste, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoon Hoisin, 3 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Stir in the ground peanut and sesame seed mixture. If using peanut butter, add it to the sauce pan now.
- Reduce heat and simmer the peanut dipping sauce on medium heat for a few minutes until the peanut sauce has thickened to a dip consistency.
- Adjust consistency using additional coconut milk or water if the sauce is too thick. You'll want a thinner consistency peanut dipping sauce recipe for spring rolls than for peanut satay sauce.
- Remove from heat and pour into clean Ball canning jars, bail jars, or serving bowls. Serve with your entree and enjoy!
Notes
- If you want a spicier sauce, add more red pepper flakes.
- To make a thinner peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls, add some extra coconut milk and gently stir in.
- Do not bring sauce to a boil, as the ground peanuts will 'seize up' and stiffen the sauce.
- You can use an equal portion of chunky peanut butter if you don't have roasted peanuts on hand.
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