Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice
Spicy Thai peanut sauce, drizzled over roasted sweet potatoes and bell peppers on a bed of rice. This is a healthy vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free recipe.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 12, 2024
Please tell me that I am not the only girl who leaves her keys in the door. Or loses her car in parking lots. Or drops her wallet on the sidewalk. Distracted is my middle name, but committing all three of those mistakes over the past few weeks is a personal record.
I suppose I have to tell you the stories now, don’t I? I’ll start with the best one. A couple of weeks ago, I took Cookie outside before dragging myself to bed. I was exhausted—apparently so exhausted that I left my keys in my door when I shut it behind me. Dumb, right? The next morning, I woke up and searched around for my keys. I couldn’t find them in any of the normal spots. It finally occurred to me to check the door. Aha! Keys. Relief.
Then I walked down the front steps, looked over to my left, and saw my car. My car was parked in front of the fire hydrant with a white ticket flapping underneath the window wiper. That’s not where I parked my car, you guys. I walked over to my car with trepidation and peered through the windows.
Everything inside my car seemed to be in order. I got in and noticed that the seat had been scooted back a few inches. All I know about the thief (borrower?) is that he’s a few inches taller than me, drives a manual transmission and has an iPhone, apparently, since he took my cord with him. That leaves a lot of suspects.
I’m still wondering what that stranger did in my car. Maybe he just wanted to cruise around the neighborhood. Maybe he ran out of beer and decided to drive over to the gas station. Maybe he intended to steal it, but quickly realized that stealing my beat-up car was a waste of time and brought it back. Maybe he dropped off some drugs. Let’s hope not. I just wish he’d dropped off the stuff in my trunk at Goodwill while he was at it.
The other stories aren’t so exciting. I was thirty minutes late to Bev‘s baby shower (she’s having twins!) because I lost my car on The Plaza. Then my wallet fell out of my grandmother’s little black purse in between Sur la Table and the corner. Thankfully, a good samaritan found the wallet and brought it to customer service, which is what I would have done for him. All said and done, I’ve really lucked out in all of these situations. I have a sixty dollar ticket to pay but that’s not the worst that could have happened.
Sometimes I wish I had someone around to catch my silly mistakes in real time. I make a lot of them. I do have you all, though. You let me know when I list garlic twice in a recipe, or when there’s a little too much pumpkin in my pancakes. You leave feedback for me in the comments section and tweet/instagram/email me photos of the recipes you’ve made at home, which makes me super happy. Even if I don’t respond right away, know that I’m listening and glad you’re here.
This recipe, for example, was inspired by a convincing comment left on my sweet potato fries recipe. Carla said, “These are wonderful and are even more unbelievable with THAI SPICY PEANUT SAUCE. Sorry to yell, but these two things were born for each other. Ketchup, honey, mayo based sauces do not do them justice.”
She sounded like she was onto something, so I grabbed a bottle of San-J Thai peanut sauce at the store and roasted up some sweet potato fries. She was indeed onto something. I did my best to recreate San-J’s version based on the ingredient list. I switched from fries to roasted sweet potatoes and made it a full meal by adding jasmine rice, red bell pepper, cilantro and chives. Thanks, Carla!
Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice
Bold and spicy Thai peanut sauce drizzled over roasted sweet potatoes and bell peppers on a bed of rice. The sauce would also be great on stir-fries and salads, or as a dip for raw vegetables. This is a healthy vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free recipe.
Ingredients
Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons water
Roasted vegetables
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1 inch long, ½ inch wide chunks
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, deseeded, and sliced into bite-sized strips
- about 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil)
- ¼ teaspoon cumin powder
- Sea salt, to taste
Rice and garnishes
- 1 ¼ cup jasmine brown rice (or any variety of long-grain brown rice)
- 2 to 3 green onions/chives, sliced into thin rounds (green and white parts)
- Handful cilantro, torn
- Handful peanuts, crushed
- Sriracha/rooster sauce on the side (optional)
Instructions
- Prep: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the middle and another rack near the top.
- Roast the vegetables: On a large, rimmed baking sheet, toss the sweet potato with a generous tablespoon of coconut oil, the cumin and a sprinkle of salt. Arrange them in a single layer, and set aside.
- On a separate, smaller baking sheet, toss the bell pepper with about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and a sprinkle of salt. Toss until lightly coated, and arrange them in a single layer.
- Roast the sweet potatoes on the middle rack for about 35 minutes, tossing halfway, and roast the peppers on the top rack for about 20 minutes, tossing halfway. The vegetables will be tender and caramelized on the edges when they are ready.
- In the meantime, cook the rice: Once the water is boiling, pour in the rice and give it a stir. Boil the rice for 30 minutes, then turn off the heat and drain the rice. Return the rice to the pot and cover the pot. Let the rice steam that way for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork and season with salt to taste.
- Make the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients. If the sauce is too thick or too spicy, whisk in a little more water.
- Serve: In bowls, divide the rice and roasted vegetables. Drizzle each bowl generously with sauce, and top with a sprinkle of green onions, cilantro and peanuts.
Notes
Storage suggestions: Leftover sauce should keep well, refrigerated and covered, for a couple of weeks. Wake up the flavors with a little bit of apple cider vinegar or tamari if necessary.
Make it gluten free: Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce that has a great flavor and is gluten free, unlike most other soy sauces. I like the San-J brand.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey for vegan sauce.
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.
Mmmm I wish I had this right now! Love the flavor combos. Have you tried almond butter in this recipe? I wonder how it would taste…
No, I haven’t tried almond butter! I bet it would be good. Please let me know if you give it a try.
That was quite a week! Look at it this way, someone returning your wallet made your day and theirs, and the phantom car borrower gave you a great story to tell FOREVER. I too have many distracted little mishaps. A few weeks ago I stuffed a check in my back pocket which apparently worked it’s way out on to the sidewalk and some kind stranger raced 3 blocks after me to return it. It’s the kind of thing that gives you hope, you know? :)
Rambling. Sorry about that.
Yes, I think Carla gave some sage advice! This dish looks mouthwatering.
Oh, I’m glad you got your check back! Thank goodness for all the nice people out there who return our things (although I’m not sure that taking my car was very nice in the first place). Anyway, have a great weekend, Marissa!
You and Carla have something going with this, it sounds amazzzing! Also, don’t fret, we all make those little silly mistakes and are around to look out for each other : )
did the phantom driver get the car keys from your keys left in your front door? I’d be worried phantom driver went to make a copy of my keys…or do you sleep walk and think you were taller than you are? Or do you have a brother leaving near by that likes to freak you out? Eeery…
Oh, but your sweet potatoes with spicy peanut sauce look divine.
All excellent questions, Giulia. :) I got my locks on my door changed, so I’m not worried about him getting into my apartment. I think he would have taken my car and my stuff that night if he’d really wanted it. As I walked over to my car, I wondered if I had sleepwalked (sleep driven?), but the seat was definitely scooted back. I actually thought the incident was kind of funny at first, because it is something my younger brothers might do, but they live in other states! Who knows.
Man, I’m sorry you’ve had such a crummy run of circumstances! If it’s any consolation, I’m the person that’s looking desperately for the iPhone/pencil/spoon that they’ve already got in their hand, and I’ve definitely been known to leave my keys all manner of places. You are not alone!
This recipe looks amaze-balls, by the way. Sweet potato and peppers go so so well together, and I love the addition of the sauce!
Thanks for commiserating with me, Harriet! Glad I’m not the only one. Hope you’ll give this recipe a try soon!
I’m loving the Thai flavors plus sweet potatoes!
Yum and yum and yum! Sweet potatoes + anything = divine.
Maybe he wanted to steal your parking spot :) I used to lock my keys in the car or forget the lights on very often, but luckily it’s been a few years since the last time. I’m definitely going to be making this soon.
Maybe! It was a pretty prime parking spot. :)
I bookmarked your site awhile ago and am so happy I checked in today. So excited to make this recipe! I’m gluten free and love finding new recipes to try. It gives me an excuse to find the perfect wine pairing for the food, too, which I often do on my blog, Wander & Wine. Check it out if you’re interested! Keep the beautiful photos and recipes coming. Cheers!
When it rains it pours, eh? Sorry to hear about your troubles! So weird someone did that to your car. Might be a good idea to change the locks just in case. I’m pretty paranoid when it comes to stuff like that though. :)
This recipe looks right up my alley. I was just thinking about pairing a SP with peanut sauce the other day. Glad to hear it’s so good!
Hope the rest of the month is smooth sailing for you!
Hey Angela! Don’t worry, I changed my locks. Definitely give sweet potato and peanut sauce a shot! I’m into it. Hope the cookbook is coming along well (it looks beautiful!).
This looks wonderful! I think your asian-inspired recipes are always good. Did you prepare a protein with this? If so, can you share what you did?
Hey Nora, I ate the recipe as is and found it to be very filling. The sweet potatoes and brown rice are complex carbs, and the peanuts add a little protein. I don’t cook meat, but one of my friends added shrimp to it and liked it that way.
I just made this and it was amazing. Everyone that ate it rated it a “love it” on our food scale. Thank you for sharing :)
Wow, that was quick! Thank you so much for commenting, Sarah. I’m really happy that you all loved the recipe!
Glad to hear you’re okay after a week like that. I’ve definitely done some of those things, although not always on the same day. This meal looks so comforting and perfect for fall.
This is definitely my kind of meal. Delicious!
Thai and sweet potatoes are made for each other. I love the combo and this is gorgeous. So my kind of meal!
Oh and trust me, I am the girl talking on her phone well searching the house for my phone! Loved your stories!
Oh, that’s funny! Have a great weekend, Tieghan!
I am still in shock that whoever took your car returned it. Impressive.
Also – peanut sauce and sweet potatoes is totally a genius move. I need this. Like…for a second dinner.
I am impressed as well. I almost wish they’d taken it so I could get a new one (is that bad?).
This is exactly the kind of meal that could be in the top ten of my Favourite ones !!! I love love love sweet potato and everything that has a hint of Asian food( or more) I’ll definitely make this !!!
Thank you so much for this recipe!
I will be making it for our Thanksgiving this weekend:-)
You have made me famous in the neighbourhood
for your Gingerbread Granola recipe !
It gets shipped to a nephew in the airforce in South
Korea- shipped to my kids who live out of town and
sent in cookie tins – and recently made for a neighbour
who needed some comfort.. You are the best!
I have told all my friends about your blog!
Please change the locks or re key them!
I’m the one who looks for my glasses and they are
on my head! Love your blog!
Peg, thank you so much for your delightful comment! I’m glad to know you’re out there enjoying and sharing my recipes. Thank you. And don’t worry, I got my locks changed the next day! Have a terrific weekend.
Oh my goodness, now THAT is a story!! The keys bit I totally get because I’ve done it several times before, but the car moving thing?! That’s crazy! And while we’re talking about crazy… this Thai peanut sauce. I’m trying it this weekend FOR. SURE. :)
Totally crazy! Hope you love the peanut sauce, Angela!
What a week! I’m so glad that at least everything turned out ok for you, it could have been much, much worse.
Thai peanut sauce is one of my favorite things to make – but I’ve never considered mixing it with sweet potatoes, one of my other favorite ingredients! The spicy-sweet combo sounds perfect. I’ll add some tofu and try this for dinner! Thanks!
Thanks, Katie! If you got a chance to try the dish last night, I hope you enjoyed it. I bet it would be great with tofu!
Don’t worry Kate, I have those weeks also!! I can’t remember a thing but boy, oh, boy that peanut sauce looks fabulous!
What a perfect Fall meal! Don’t feel bad I am constantly losing my keys and yesterday I filled up halfway with gas before turning of my car!! OMG. Some days you know…
Well, I’m pretty sure I filled up my tank while the car was running once, and it didn’t kill me! :) I am usually pretty good at hanging my keys on my coat rack by the door, but I definitely forgot to do that the night my car got stolen and came back. Some days, I swear…
Absolutely love a good and spicy peanut sauce!! Divine :)
Saw this one come through on my email, stopped by the store that afternoon and made it for dinner. My husband is a lover of all peanut sauces and this one didn’t disappoint! He took one bite and told me how awesome it was. I added avocado which was a great addition. Oh and I used a combo of brown and wild rice… totally going to be cooking with wild rice more often!
Thanks for another great recipe Kate :)
Holly, thank you for commenting! I am amazed that you made this recipe the day I posted it. Avocado and wild rice sound like wonderful additions!
Oh boy it must be scary to find your car in a different spot from where you originally parked it. Thanksfully everything was pretty okay.
BUT HEY your sweet potatoes look really tasty! I’m normally not a big fan of peanut sauce but maybe I should give this one a try. Who knows, maybe I’ll turn into a peanut lover!
Oh man, what a wild story about your car! I guess it could have ended worse. And I’m in love with all these flavors together! Perfect for a cosy Fall meal.
Hey, thanks Jacqui! It’s nice to hear from you. The car incident definitely could have ended worse. I got lucky. Hope you’re well!
Girl as soon as I saw “spicy Thai” in my inbox, I knew this recipe would be my jam! Sounds so delicious! I love how you styled this like a much prettier, more healthful take-out Asian dish. Wow! Going to make it! SO glad your car is ok, that would have weirded me out a lot. Back when I lived alone, my car was broken into, and while they were removing my stereo and music, their feet cracked the windshield. It scared me, living alone, I didn’t sleep well for some time. I’m glad nothing more than your phone charger was taken! Sorry about the ticket :( So not fair. Just glad you are ok.
Hey Sophie, thank you! Hope you’ll give this recipe a shot sometime soon. I’m sorry to hear about your car getting broken into. That is scary, unsettling and just plain wrong. Hope you’re sleeping better these days!
This recipe looks divine! Love it. And, that is SO freaky about your car, seriously. What a mystery! I love the thought of someone randomly taking your car for a spin and then returning it. (OK, not really, but you know what I mean.)
LOVE peanut sauce. I want to put it on everything. These sweet potatoes look amazing!
This is wonderful, can’t wait to try (hopefully this weekend!). Great food photos + styling, too.
Thanks, Jamie! Please let me know what you think of the cocktail!
When I saw this the idea of sweet potato and spicy peanut sauce immediately called out to me. This morning I was having a craving for a baked sweet potato for breakfast, and remembered this post. So I made some peanut sauce – not measuring anything but just kinda throwing it together – and poured it over the baked sweet potato. Uh — YUM!! Super delicious and even super easier to very quickly pull together. Five minutes including nuking the potato and making the sauce! Try it – you’ll like it! :)
Hey Jennifer! That’s such a great, simple idea. Thank you for sharing! I love sweet potatoes any time of day. I’ll try your idea the next time I get a craving. :)
I made this for my Mom this weekend and am eating the leftovers right now at work! SO good! Such a clean and simple dish that made me look like a gourmet chef. I will absolutely be making this again :) Thank you and keep the wonderful, healthy recipes coming!
Ara, thanks for commenting! I’m delighted that you and your mother enjoyed this recipe together.
Amazing! I added crispy baked tofu.
Thanks, Margaret! I bet tofu is a great addition.
would olive oil be a good sub for the coconut oil?
Yes! I’m sorry I didn’t include that substitution suggestion to the recipe. Just added it.
Ohhhhhhhh my gosh. I made this recipe last night for dinner and it was absolutely incredible. My husband and I looked at all of the cooked and prepared ingredients ready to be assembled on the plates and thought, “oh this is SO just two meals, it can’t possibly be split in to four!” So we piled up our plates with half of everything and went to town. We barely came up for air when we realized, “uh, yes this is four meals…but maybe just two dinners and two lunches because we didn’t stop in time to make four even plates.” It was very filling but incredibly delicious for a vegetarian, gluten-free recipe. I just devoured my lunch portion now and knew I needed to post about the awesomeness of the recipe. The secret, of course, is in the sauce: all at once spicy, sweet, savory and unami-ey. This is a total winner, Kate! Well done!
Lauren, so happy that you two enjoyed the sweet potato dish! Hip hip hooray!
Kate – I made this last night and added a number of stir fry vegetables to the mix. My mother loved it, but said: “I think I just like the sweet potatoes and sauce together best!” Serves me right for trying to tweak your recipe. :) You know best! Great combo.
Oh, that’s funny! Glad you both enjoyed the recipe. :)
This recipe is awesome…I made it for my whole family (8 people!) at Christmas and earned some major veggie-friendly brownie points with my mostly meat-eating kin. And then devoured an entire bag of celery eating up the leftover sauce…
That’s great to hear, Helen! So glad your family enjoyed the recipe. I should serve it to my carnivorous brothers sometime and get their opinions. And, your mention of the word “brownie” totally has me craving brownies… just added baking to my afternoon to-do list. :)
I think this may be my all-time favorite recipe of yours. I’m making this tonight for the millionth time. Addicted!!!! :)
So awesome. Thank you, Sheena!
Wow. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to make this dish, it was a perfect filling dish for an absolutely delicious dinner tonight. I added in some pumpkin to the mix as well and it tasted fabulous. Thankyou for sharing this delicious recipe I will definitely be making it again and again.
Now to count down the hours so I can finish off the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
Genevieve, thank you for commenting! So glad you enjoyed this dish. Your version sounds delicious!
Hi !
I made this for the boyfriend and me last night, and it was delicious enough to make him forget it was the third night in a row that we ate a meatless dinner ! — afterwards we ate half the jar of peanut butter and i’m not so proud of that but i have like 0 willpower when it come to peanut butter. The sauce is wonderful, and i love sweet potato so much, and peppers maybe more, so it was a perfect dish, really.
The night before we had your arugula, carrot and chickpea salad with wheat berries (well i used spelt wheat berries — i had to look that up in a dictionary, it’s epeautre in french and i hope the translation is right — because i had some in my pantry) which was reaaaaally good as well, the vinaigrette is perfect, and it was as pretty as it tasted good which is always a good thing.
Also, your blog is great, you are great, and my #1 go-to blog when i want to make a salad because they are all beautiful and filling and wonderful. All the best to you and Cookie !
Hey Aimelle! Thank you for your comment! I’m so glad you are both enjoying my recipes. Sounds like epeautre is indeed the correct translation for spelt. Thanks again, I’m happy you found my blog!
In college, I once had my entire house in a frenzy over the missing keys. We almost changed the locks. On day 7, we found them. In the bread basket. Under the pumpernickel.
I just want everyone to know that this sauce is AWESOME! I had to skin my peanuts by hand to make the peanut butter. But it was worth it. We used it on rice noodle pasta.
I did add a little green curry paste and freshly squeezed lemon to make it pop!
In the bread basket! Who’d have thought? I’m glad you finally found them. My friend just found her keys in the dog food bin, but she has a one-year-old daughter to blame for that one. Happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Your version sounds amazing.
You have given me an opportunity to remember my misplaced car story, which I have now shared on Facebook – after I pinned AND copied this recipe.
Haha, perfect! Hope you love this dish!
I make this recipe almost weekly and I really love it. In fact, I just made it again last night. My non-vegetarian husband has even requested it sometimes when I’ve asked what I should make. The ingredients are inexpensive and it’s easy to make and tastes great.
Yay! Happy to hear that, Tonya. Thanks for commenting!
Love, love, love!!! Where has this recipe been all my life? This is seriously so good. The flavor combo is amazing. Be sure to use all the toppings. I also added tofu for protein and stirred in some fresh spinach. Sweet potatoes and peanut butter are two of my favorite things so I don’t know why it took me so long to make this. I’ll have to half the recipe next time because you say it serves 4 but I ate it all myself. :)
Highly recommended!!!!
Thank you! So glad you loved this dish.
Although I’ve made dozens of your recipes, I’ve never commented before. They’ve all been delicious and so fun to make! You’ve inspired me so much. Anyway, what prompted the comment was this dish. Before I ate this, I was an avowed sweet potato-hater. Now, I cannot help but sing the praises of this dish. Sooooo delicious! Thanks for everything you do!
Thank you, Madeline! So glad to know that you’ve been enjoying my recipes. I love savory sweet potatoes, glad you’re on my side now!
Just made this last night. It was fantastic! I love your unique ideas for vegetarian dishes. The sweet potato and red bell pepper was a great combo. I added some charred onion (roasted with the bell pepper). Served with some Kirby cucumber spears. This is going to enter the rotation for sure.
Meant to say that the sweet potato and peanut sauce was a great combo!
Thanks, Aura! So glad you loved it. Your version sounds terrific!
This is my favorite meal, I make it all the time. I added black beans tonight to add in some protein (and because black beans are delicious!). It was so good. Totally not Thai but so, so good!!!
Hooray! Glad to hear it!
Hi Kate! I’m looking forward to trying this with some friends coming over. Question: I’m on a cleanse that does not permit peanuts. i’m thinking of using almond butter instead but wondering if you would suggest that, or another nut butter?
Thanks and I love your blog and also that you a re a yogi:)
Hi Barrie! I’m sorry I didn’t answer your comment sooner. I think almond butter would be great. Namaste!
This peanut sauce is so delicious! And the sweet potatoes, red peppers and rice are the perfect combo for the sauce.
Thanks, Amy! Glad you enjoyed it!
Had some chopped sweet potatoes in the fridge and headed to your site to see what I could make. This recipe is now one of my favorites! I love the peanut sauce. I was skeptical about the cumin and sweet potato together but it tastes great. Instead of brown rice, I used Lundberg’s Countrywild Rice–a blend of brown rices. Had my husband and daughter try a bite. The carnivore wants me to make this for dinner one night. Your recipes are extremely helpful on my vegan journey. Thank you!
Kia, thank you! So nice to hear that you come to my site for recipes, thank you! Glad you all enjoyed this crazy sweet potato dish!