This Peanut Sauce is the REAL DEAL: quick & easy to make with simple pantry ingredients. Perfect for spring rolls, salads, buddha bowls, noodles, stir fries and more! (Vegan + Gluten Free Option)
My secret to eating more veggies and ‘healthy’ food is always having a good sauce on hand. Having a damn delicious sauce makes everything taste much more delicious and actually enjoyable to eat.
Whats so special about this peanut sauce?
- it’s mega flavourful thanks to the fresh garlic, ginger and sesame oil
- it’s easily customizable
- it’s smooth, creamy and dizzle-able
- it’s multi-purpose– use it on EVERYTHING!
The sauce base is made with simple staple ingredients:
- Peanut Butter, the runny kind!
- Soy Sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
- Rice Vinegar
- Maple Syrup
- Sesame Oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Hot Sauce
Even if you don’t like spicy, I highly recommend adding in at least 1 tsp because it really does add to the flavour without making it actually spicy.
If you’re using this sauce as a dip, thin it out with 2 tbsp of water for a thicker consistency. If using as a dressing, add another 1-2 tbsp so it’s nice and drizzle-able.
Instead of the water, you could also use coconut milk to get a bit more sweetness and that coconut after taste that goes really well when adding something like red thai curry paste too!
The beauty of this sauce is in it’s versatility and customizability– this is THE sauce everyone should keep in their back pocket. You’ll never get tired of this sauce if you make these slight changes to them every once in awhile!
Peanut Sauce Variations & Add-ins:
- Hoisin Sauce: Great to add for in the peanut sauce for summer rolls!
- Mushroom Sauce: Love this for stir fries, it gives it a bit more of a savory profile.
- Miso Paste: Adds a bit more salty umami goodness.
- Lime Juice: Again, goes really well with the coconut + curry paste combo.
- Tamarind: Adds additional sweetness and great for Thai dishes.
For example, when I want a Vietnamese peanut sauce as a dip for spring rolls, I’ll make the base and add in 1 tbsp hoisin sauce and lime juice. If making a Thai peanut sauce for a satay tofu bowl, I’ll use coconut milk, red thai curry paste and add 2 tsp of tamarind and a quarter of lemon grass for the perfect dressing.
Once you’ve gathered and picked out your ingredients, all there is to making it is throwing it all into a blender or food processor.
Give it a good blend and it’s ready to be used!
Some of my fave ways to use this sauce (replace the dressings used in the recipe for this peanut sauce.):
- Rice/Grain Bowls
- Buddha Bowls: Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowls, Roasted Veggie Bowls
- Noodles (stir fries or over cold noodles): Vietnamese Vermicelli Noodle Salad, Pad Thai Zucchinin Noodles, Soba Noodle Salad
- Salad Dressing or Over Steamed Veggies: Lentil Roasted Potato Salad
- Dipping Sauce (fresh veggies, spring rolls, summer rolls, potatoes)
- Stove Top Tofu, Tempeh and Soy Curls
- Sandwich/Wraps/Burger Dressing
Basically everything. I mean, I can eat this by the spoonful– it’s THAT tasty.
If you recreate this Easy Vegan Peanut Sauce recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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Best Peanut Sauce
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
Description
Real Deal Peanut Sauce: a recipe to keep in your back pocket. Perfectly sweet, savory, creamy & drizzle-able. Easily customizable and so versatile! Perfect for spring rolls, salads, noodles and more.
Ingredients
Base Peanut Sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar (30g)
- 1.5 tbsp soy sauce (22g // or tamari for gluten free)
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp maple syrup (27g)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (15g)
- 1/4 cup runny peanut butter (60g)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (6g)
- 2 tsp ginger (10g)
- 2–4 tbsp water or coconut milk (30-60g)
- 2–3 tsp hot sauce of choice (10-15g // sambal oelek, chili garlic sauce, chili bean paste or sriracha)
Optional Add-Ins 1-2 tsp:
- red curry paste (if using, replace with hot sauce)
- hoisin sauce
- mushroom sauce (vegan oyster sauce)
- miso paste
- lime juice
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients (starting with lesser amounts) into a blender or food processor and blend until combined. Add more soy sauce or hot sauce to taste. If using as a dressing add 1-2 more tbsp of water or until desired consistency.
- If using any add-ins, start with 1 tsp and taste. Adjust amount to desired taste.
- Use as a dipping sauce for spring rolls and potato wedges or dressings for wraps, sandwiches, salads, stir fries, noodle bowls, grain and buddha bowls!
- Store peanut sauce in a air tight mason jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. Shake or whisk the sauce again before using.
Notes
- Helpful Equipment: blender, sauce jars, food processor, spatula, mason jar
- Nutritional Information Disclaimer: Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated on an online tool (Cronometer).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: sauces
- Method: blender
- Cuisine: vegan, gluten free, asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tbsp
- Calories: 85
- Sugar: 3.2g
- Sodium: 245mg
- Fat: 6.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 5.2g
- Fiber: 0.56g
- Protein: 2.3g
- Cholesterol: 0
SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓
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LOOOVE! I didn’t have runny peanut butter, so used the smooth peanut butter (that’s quite thick), but I didn’t need to add any more water to thin it out. I made the sauce without any add ons and it was soo good! Used it as a dipping sauce for shop bought vegan chicken satay skewers and homemade potstickers and had enough left over for extra dipping sauce for 2 more nights! So easy to make… I hate cleaning blenders so prefer to avoid using mine as much as possible, but this sauce is worth the cleaning! (especially cos it keeps for several days in the fridge too!) x
Delicious and so easy! Great on noodles, roasted veg, or tossed with cooked tofu. Gonna be a staple in my fridge from now on 🙂
SO GOOD- another great recipe. I am obsessed with this site and your instagram!
Made this with casher butter and apple cider vinegar, only because I had no PB, and no rice vinegar. still delicious! Mixed it in with a bed of salad and Japanese-style pasta with scallops So so good. .
Made this today as a sauce over cold cooked rice noodles with thinly sliced bell pepper, red cabbage and some left over roasted broccoli. I added the juice of one small lime to the sauce and this was AMAZING! This will be my go-to peanut sauce from now on. I found your site by accident but so glad I did! I will be a continuous follower now!
Had this in my thai lettuce wraps today. All I can say is YUM!
Good to know that works too! It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Wow great post.