Peanut Sauce
Last Updated on August 19, 2024 by Krista Reseck
Let me introduce you to a simple, flavorful sauce made from pantry ingredients: peanut sauce.
This sauce looks ordinary. But the creamy combination of flavors can transform a dish from drab into fabulous.
Once you taste peanut sauce you’ll find multiple ways to eat it. I’ve listed ten ways to get you started. Use your imagination and creativity for even more ways.
10+ Ways to Serve Peanut Sauce
Veggie Dip: Dip cucumbers, carrots, celery, jicama, and other fresh vegetables.
Pasta Sauce: Thin with coconut milk or pasta cooking liquid and toss with cooked rice noodles or pasta.
Dipping Sauce for Fresh Spring Rolls: Wrap leftovers—vegetables, tofu or tempeh–plus shredded carrots, cucumber strips, and fresh herbs in rice wrappers.
Asian-Style Salad: Toss with napa cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro.
Wraps: Spread on a flour tortilla or collard wrap stuffed with vegetables and tofu. Serve extra sauce for dipping.
Veggie Drizzle: Drizzle over roasted or steamed vegetables.
Veggie Power Bowls™: Drizzle over a bowl of cooked quinoa, baked tofu cubes, roasted broccoli, and microgreens. Top with chopped peanuts and cilantro.
Broccoli Salad: Toss with finely chopped broccoli or broccoli slaw, sliced green onions, chopped red bell pepper, and cilantro.
Stir Fry: Stir into stir-fried vegetables and tofu just before serving.
Sweet Potato Topping: Drizzle over baked sweet potatoes topped with sautéed kale.
Thai Salad: Serve with a rainbow of spiralized vegetables.
Food Prep Tips
Make peanut sauce at the beginning of the week and use it in a variety of ways throughout the week.
The next week try a different sauce such as Sesame Ginger Dressing or Avocado Dressing.
Substitutions
This peanut sauce is incredibly flexible.
Peanut allergy? Substitute almond or cashew butter.
Nut allergy? Substitute sunflower butter.
No fresh ginger? Substitute powdered ginger.
No sugar? Substitute maple syrup, date syrup, or stevia.
Need it to be sugar-free? Reduce the lime juice and omit the sugar.
No tamari or soy sauce? Substitute Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, coconut aminos, or salt to taste.
Don’t have a blender? Finely grate the ginger and whisk the ingredients together.
Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons lime juice or lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon gluten-free tamari or soy sauce
- 1-3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, date syrup, coconut sugar, or granulated sugar
- 1-2 inches peeled fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp powdered ginger)
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- dash cayenne to taste
Instructions
- Process peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, water, sugar, ginger, garlic, and cayenne in a blender until smooth.
- Thin with water to desired consistency as needed.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
- It will thicken when cold. Thin with water as needed before serving.
Notes
- Substitute ½ teaspoon ground ginger for the fresh ginger
- Add 1-2 tablespoons cilantro or 1-2 green onions before blending.
- Peanut-Free: Substitute almond butter for peanut butter.
- Nut-Free: Substitute sunflower butter for the peanut butter.
- Sugar-Free: Decrease lime juice to 1 tablespoon. Omit sugar. Or sweeten with date syrup. Thin with coconut milk instead of water.
- Whisk together in a bowl. Mince ginger and garlic.
- Peanut Sauce will thicken when cold. Thin with water as needed before serving.
- Cut fresh ginger into 1-inch pieces and freeze for longer storage.
- Meal Prep Tip: Make this versatile and flavorful sauce at the beginning of the week to use as a dipping sauce for veggies or fresh summer rolls. Drizzle on broiled tofu, baked sweet potatoes, or Veggie Power Bowls.™
- Veggie Dip: Dip cucumbers, carrots, and celery.
- Pasta Sauce: Thin with coconut milk or pasta cooking liquid and toss with cooked rice noodles or pasta.
- Dipping Sauce for Fresh Spring Rolls: Wrap leftovers—vegetables, tofu, tempeh plus shredded carrots, cucumber strips, and fresh herbs in rice wrappers.
- Asian-Style Salad: Toss with napa cabbage, red cabbage, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro.
- Wrap: Include in a flour tortilla or collard wrap stuffed with vegetables and tofu.
- Veggie Drizzle: Drizzle over roasted or steamed vegetables.
- Veggie Power Bowl™: Drizzle over a bowl meal of cooked quinoa, baked tofu cubes, roasted broccoli, and microgreens. Top with chopped peanuts.
- Broccoli Salad: Toss with finely chopped broccoli or broccoli slaw, sliced green onions, chopped red bell pepper, and cilantro.
- Stir Fry: Stir into stir-fried vegetables and tofu just before serving.
- Sweet Potato Topping: Drizzle over baked sweet potatoes topped with sautéed kale.
Dear Heather, Thanks for the versital, ”have the ingredients” in the pantry Peanut Sauce! This is so reasonable to make. I first tried it at a roadside market in Yacma, WA.whre it was quite spendy.
You are welcome! Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!