Peanut Dipping Sauce
Healthy peanut sauce to serve as dip or drizzle over Asian dishes! You can toss this savory peanut sauce with noodles, too. It's good every which way!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 27, 2024
Since we’re entering the season of potlucks and barbecues, it’s time to share my go-to peanut sauce recipe. It’s creamy, savory, a little spicy and totally satisfying.
Bonus? This flavorful sauce is easy to make.
Make some peanut sauce and drizzle it on everything! This peanut sauce also makes a stellar veggie dip. Store-bought veggie dips are notoriously full of preservatives, but not this one.
Watch How to Make Peanut Sauce
Uses for Peanut Sauce
Veggie dip aside, this peanut sauce is wonderful over noodles and served with spring rolls. You can also drizzle it on steamed or roasted vegetables for some extra protein and tons of flavor. It’s great with mango, too!
Recipes Featuring Peanut Sauce
If you’re craving more of a complete meal or eager for more peanutty goodness, check out these recipes on Cookie and Kate.
- Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Thai Mango Cabbage Wraps with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce
- Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice
- Summer Rolls with Spicy Peanut Sauce
- Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
Peanut Sauce Tips & Variations
I love this sauce the way it’s written below, but feel free to play around with it.
- For a more traditional Thai peanut sauce, you can substitute coconut milk for the water. This will mellow the other flavors a bit.
- For an extra burst of fresh flavor, add a squeeze of lime juice and/or some chopped cilantro.
- If the sauce too thick for your purposes, simply thin it out with some additional water or coconut milk or lime juice.
Please let me know how you like this peanut sauce recipe in the comments! I always love to hear from you.
Peanut Dipping Sauce
You can serve this healthy peanut sauce recipe as a dip or drizzle over Asian dishes! You can toss this savory peanut sauce with noodles, too. It’s good every which way! Recipe yields about 1 ⅔ cup sauce.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup reduced sodium tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 to 4 tablespoons water or coconut milk, or as necessary to reach your desired consistency
- Optional garnishes: sprinkling of chopped roasted peanuts and additional red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients until well blended. If your peanut butter is particularly thick, you may need to use the full 4 tablespoons of water to thin out the mixture (or more, if necessary).
- Feel free to adjust to taste here—for example, sometimes I want my sauce more savory and add another clove of garlic, or a little sweeter, so I add extra honey.
- If you’re serving the sauce as a party dip, transfer it to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and red pepper flakes for some visual interest!
Notes
Recipe adapted from my broccoli rabe peanut soba noodles and peanut-sesame slaw.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use gluten-free tamari, not regular soy sauce.
Storage suggestions: Store this dip in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a week. You may need to whisk it again before serving or wake up the flavors with a little splash of vinegar.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I recently had a dish at a trendy restaurant in Cleveland that I couldn’t wait to reproduce at home. Your peanut sauce created a dish as amazing as the one I had there.
Lightly cooked a few vegetables, shredded a rotisserie chicken, stirred in your peanut sauce and served over jasmine rice. Served with crushed peanuts, extra red pepper flakes, lime slices, and chives. Even the picky “I hate peanut sauce” people had seconds.
Oh, I’m so glad this worked out, Amanda!
Enjoyed! Put it on baked tofu, rice, and broccoli. Did not have honey so instead i used a tablespoon and half of that honey ginger tea crystal stuff. Worked far better than I feared. Cheers!
Great! I’m so glad it worked out so well, Gabriele.
I just found your site and after trying several recipes I bought your book also. I always think it funny that people will say what a good recipe something is and then proceed to explain all the modifications they have made to it. Well, me too, apparently!
I changed the rice vinegar to lime juice to sharpen the taste, reduced the honey and ginger and garlic somewhat, used whole peanuts, and then blended the whole thing in the food processor. The basic ingredients were mostly there, so I too can declare that the recipe is good!
Haha! I always encourage people to experiment in the kitchen and tweak recipes to what’s available to them and what tastes good. Your version sounds delicious!
I made this sauce recently and even though I did not have ALL of the ingredients it was still delicious. Making it again today. We are not vegetarians here but I love your recipes nonetheless. Delish always!!!!!
Great! Thanks, Eunice!
Peanut Sauce was amazing! I doubled the ground ginger and added a squeeze of half a lime for zest! Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this recipe with Spring Rolls today. My husband and I loved it, and it was also a hit with the teens, tweens, and toddlers. Thank you.
Yum! I love the spring rolls with this sauce. Happy everyone loved it!
This sauce is devine! It was simple to make and hard not to eat it all at once! I made it to go with your baked tofu and it was delicious.
I’ve made this delicious peanut dipping sauce at least a dozen times. Whipping up a batch today for my Christmas eve veggie platter. I follow the recipe almost exactly– a tad less garlic and a little more ginger. Excellent! Thank you, Kate.
You are welcome, Jennifer! Thank you for your review. :)
was fantastic used as dipping sause for my grilled chicken satay. lover of heat so i used a bit more red pepper flakes
I love red pepper! Adding more sounds like a great way to add more kick. Thanks for sharing, Benita.
This was my very first time making peanut sauce and let me just say this recipe was so delish. I subbed a few things. BecauE I didn’t have rice vinegar, I used balsamic vinegar (kept measurements the same), and I used unsalted peanut butter instead of regular peanut butter, 4 tablespoons of honey instead of 3 and I cane out absolutely perfect. Will def be trying again in the near future. Thank you so much for this quick 10 min recipe.
Welcome! Thanks for sharing, Sharon. If you would want to leave a star review since you liked it so much, I would appreciate it.
This was my very first time making peanut sauce and let me just say this recipe was absolutely delish. I subbed a few things. Because I didn’t have rice vinegar, I used balsamic vinegar (kept measurements the same), and I used unsalted peanut butter instead of regular peanut butter, 4 tablespoons of honey instead of 3 and it came out absolutely perfect. Will def be trying again in the near future. Thank you so much for this quick 10 min recipe.
You’re welcome! Thank you for trying it even with the substitutions. I’m happy it worked well for you.
SO good. Exactly what I’ve been searching for!
Wonderful!
Awesome sauce! Put it with roasted spaghetti squash, topped with a bit of basil and green onion. Was delicious.
That sounds wonderful, Hilda!
I tried this and made it exactly and it turned out watery and like a soup. So weird
Hi Melissa, I’m sorry to hear that! Was your peanut butter really thin to begin with? I just adjusted the recipe to offer a range for the water amount. I’m sorry this one didn’t work out for you like it did for me!
I made a double batch of this last week when I had my extended family over, and it got rave reviews! I kept it warm in a small crockpot and let everyone ladle it over roasted veggies, quinoa, and rice. It’s a great vegan protein option for Asian-inspired food!
That’s a great way to do it, Lisa! I love that. Thanks so much for your review.
I added toasted sesame oil instead of water and it worked fantastically. Drizzled over quinoa and grilled chicken and carrot slivers.
Sounds delicious, Megan!
This was delicious. Salty and tangy and savory. I enjoyed it on my meats and veggies.
Love that description, Jen! I appreciate the review.
Beautiful sauce. I used crunchy peanut butter, lemon instead of vinegar. Jaggery instead of honey. Dipped some crunchy lightly steamed vegetables, with some brown rice! Delicious.
Thank you
Thank you, for sharing! I appreciate the review.
Very good, needs a day in the fridge to meld the flavors. I used it as a veggie dip, so added 2T mayo for extra creaminess. Caught a guest scraping the remainder out of the dish with a spoon and eating it!
Ha, that’s awesome! Thank you, Victoria for sharing. I appreciate the review.
Can you substitute apple cider vinegar for the rice vinegar?
Yes! That will work.
Thank you, I love this recipe! I use it a lot with my stir frys!
It’s so good! I love that this is a go-to sauce for you, Julia.
I’m not sure how anyone who made this recipe is still healthy! I think there’s a major typo. It calls for 1/3 cup of low sodium soy sauce or tamari. That’s insane! I wish I would’ve caught it ealier, as I tripled the recipe so it was costly. Most recipes call for 2-3 tablespoons at most. It’s so salty. It had to be thrown away.
Hi, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. The soy sauce amount is correct, although you’re welcome to try it with less next time.
I just tried this recipe with the peanut sauce alternative, and it is so so amazing! As a college student this is a pretty simple recipe so I appreciate that, thank you!
You’re welcome, Gabrielle!
Thank you so much for this peanut sauce recipe!! I had a bunch of zoodles that I wasn’t sure what to do with so I drizzled this over them and it was soooo amazing!!
You’re welcome! That sounds like a great way to use it, Hannah.
Incredible!! My entire family loved it. Dad wins big tonight!
Great! Thanks for your review, Chris.
Made this today, and even my 1 year old loves dipping his chicken in it! Will definitely make again (next time I’ll try the coconut milk instead of water).
I love that! Thanks for sharing, Alysha!
OMG, sooooo good,
I’m so glad you loved it!
Great recipe. I added more vinegar and soy sauce to taste. My family really enjoyes it and devoured their vegetables. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
Made this tonight with 1/2 honey and 1/2 maple syrup because that’s all I had! Equally as tasty. We’ve been eating it with red peppers and carrots all night! Thanks for the great recipe, this will probably be a go to from here on out :)
Thank you for sharing, Addie!
This sauce is soooo delicious! Definitely my new go-to peanut sauce. Also, I’ve been trying out your recipes for the past month, and really like all of them. You’ve done such a good job here. Thanks for your passion and hard work!
I’m excited you have been enjoying so many of them! Thanks for your review, Meg.
I love everything about this sauce! I’ve now made it three times. The first time was a birthday dinner and we made Thai wraps with spring roll wrappers. The sauce paired very well with them.
Thank you, Karen! I’m glad you love it.
This is truly amazing! I modified it a wee bit, but your recipes are spot on and this is sooooo delicious!
I’m glad you loved it, Lydia!
Hi Thank you so much for adding me can’t wait to get cooking love grilling all my veg. And fruit on the grill Thank you so much.
You’re welcome!
This sauce is SUPER good! I ate it with fresh vegetable spring rolls with rice paper and this sauce is a perfect compliment.
Thank you for your review, Shanny!
Thank you for this excellent peanut sauce recipe! Made it yesterday with shrimp spring rolls, it was easy to make and a good portion for leftover dipping sauce. Will be coming back to this!
You’re welcome, Nathalie!
Too much vinegar….tastes more like a salad dressing than a dipping sauce.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it, but thank you for your feedback!
I am not a cook and have never made peanut sauce but love thai food. I saw this recipe for peanut sauce and thought why not. It was so easy and wow it is delicious. It was so good and easy. I look forward to trying more recipes.
Hi Kate thanks for this – I lost my go to peanut sauce recipe along the way (which I really used for ratios anyway as I play with it all the time). I used your recipe with the water option and added a small bit (1/4 tsp for halved recipe) of each of the following: tamarind paste, galangal, and miso paste. I was confident with the red pepper, and I now have a lovely dipping sauce for my Vietnamese spring rolls. Thanks!
Late night dinner with a gal pal and searching for a perfect peanut sauce recipe, that was easy, yet delicious. This one hit the mark 100%! Thanks so much…..
After a few years of making this, thought I should comment to say this sauce plus multi colored peppers and cucumbers is one of my go-to lunches for work. So yummy!
Thank you, Anna!
I loved reading your story of your first date with your husband. Mine is a tough nut in a restaurant but I do try to eat home lots. I will follow your ideas. Thanks. Going to make spring rolls now!
wendy
Thank you! :)
I recently tried your recipe and I loved it!! I will definitely make it again. It is a keeper. Thank you for sharing it will all of us.
Can this be frozen for future use?
I haven’t tried freezing this one, sorry!
Hello I was just wondering if you use unsweetened or sweetened peanut butter for this recipe?
Hi there! I always buy unsweetened. If you’re using sweetened, you may want to reduce the amount of honey.
This was the best peanut sauce I’ve ever made. It was a huge hit for a few people who don’t like restaurant style peanut dip. I added some lime juice and it was unreal. 10/10
I love to hear that, Toni! Thanks so much for your review.
Love love love this recipe! Used it over healthy ramen noodles with chopped red bell pepper, carrots, cilantro and sprouts. Sooo good!!
Hello! Love this sauce! Can you freeze it?
Hi Ashley, I don’t freeze all my recipes. However, I don’t think I would recommend this one.
This recipe is delicious! Savory yet sweet. Plus it is extremely simple! I totally recommend this recipe!
*Do not, do not, do not* try to skimp on or swap ingredients. I made this sauce maybe a year ago and it was wonderful, almost heavenly.
I made it again today and jeez what a mess. White vinegar is NOT the same as rice vinegar. Sugar is NOT the same as honey. Dry ginger is NOT the same as fresh grated. Cayenne pepper is NOT the same as red pepper flakes. Leaving out the water/coconut milk was okay flavor-wise, but texture was gloppy. I can’t believe I managed to screw up such a good recipe so badly.
Again, better to stick to what’s written and not sub things out.
I keep coming back to this magical sauce/dip again and again! I’ve used it with roasted veggies, tofu, salads. It even makes raw broccoli taste delicious. Amazing! ;)