Easy Creamy Peanut Sauce

This is my favorite peanut sauce recipe. It is made with just 6 key ingredients, and it is a great dipping sauce or dressing for salads.

This is my favorite peanut sauce, and I use it in so many dishes. I love serving it as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, or tossing it with cooked rice noodles and sliced cabbage for a quick salad. You can even use the peanut sauce to flavor your protein of choice, such as pan-fried tofu, baked chicken, or some grilled shrimp. It’s made with ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry, and you can adjust the seasoning to your liking.

CAN I USE SOMETHING BESIDES CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER?

Yes! I made this peanut sauce with crunchy peanut butter once, and I quite liked the crunchy bits of peanuts in my sauce. You can also use almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter. You may want to adjust the seasonings because the other nut butters have a slightly different flavor profile.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THE PEANUT SAUCE SPICY?

I would add a bit of cayenne pepper. Start with 1/8 teaspoon of the cayenne pepper, taste, and add more as needed. Alternatively, replace the sesame oil with a nice spicy chili oil. You can add a small drizzle of sesame oil for flavor, if you like.

ADDITIONAL COOKING NOTES FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE

• If you are making the sauce with the peanut butter from the bottom of your jar, consider adding an additional 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of oil to the recipe. Because the peanut butter at the bottom tends to be more dry, you may need a bit more oil to get the sauce to reach a creamy consistency. Peanut oil or olive oil will work well for this purpose.
• When you first start stirring the ingredients for the peanut sauce, the peanut butter will feel very stiff. Don’t worry. Just keep working the peanut butter with a fork or whisk and stir constantly. In a few minutes, the peanut butter will blend with the rest of the ingredients.

TRY THE PEANUT SAUCE WITH THESE RECIPES!

• Tempeh Lettuce Wraps (Vegan)
• Rainbow Vegetable Spring Rolls
• Shrimp Spring Rolls with Strawberries

Easy Creamy Peanut Sauce

★★★★

4 from 1 reviews

• Author: Lisa Lin
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup filtered water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (use tamari if gluten free)
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. In a mixing bowl, use a fork or whisk to mix all the ingredients together. The peanut butter will be quite stiff at the beginning, but do not worry. Just keep working it into the liquids. In a few minutes, the sauce will reach a creamy consistency.
2. Use the peanut sauce as a dip for appetizers, a salad dressing, or a sauce for noodles! Refrigerate any leftover peanut sauce for up to a week.

Notes

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Amount for 1/4 cup: Calories: 239, Total Fat 18.3g, Saturated Fat: 3.3g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 333mg, Total Carbohydrate: 13.3g, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 7.5g, Protein 8.4g

• SUBSTITUTIONS: You can replace the rice vinegar with lime or lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. You can also replace the maple syrup with honey or agave.
• The spring rolls are based off of my Rainbow Vegetable Spring Rolls recipe. The spring rolls also have pan-fried tofu, which I seasoned with my Sweet Chili Sauce.