Easy 5-Minute Vegan Peanut Sauce

If you’re after a sauce that you can put on pretty much anything and make it taste amazing, this vegan peanut sauce will quickly become a staple in your house.

You’ll never buy store-bought peanut sauce again! Super quick and easy to make without all the added preservatives, thickeners, fake flavours, high sugar, and other non-allergen friendly ingredients like dairy, corn and gluten. 

We’re obsessed with this peanut sauce in our house. We have it at least every second day. So, naturally, I had to share our go-to recipe with you. I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to post this recipe (facepalm).

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How to make vegan peanut sauce

It’s so easy that you’ll be wondering why you’ve been buying a store-bought one this long. 

All you need is:

• Peanut butter – our star nutty ingredient
• Tamari – for the saltiness and umami flavour
• Maple syrup – to add a touch of sweetness
• Lime juice – for the tang and to balance out the sweetness
• Sriracha – a Thai sauce that helps add a bunch of heat
• Garlic powder – to add more flavour and balance to the sriracha sauce

Six ingredients is all you need to make this vegan peanut sauce that is perfectly balanced.

Even though I say it’s perfectly balanced, it is for me. I would recommend that you use this as a guide and adjust it to your liking. If you like more tang, less salt, a tad sweeter, more heat, adjust it to your liking. 

What is peanut sauce used for?

Peanut sauce can be used for so many different dishes! Here are some ideas:

• Buddha bowls
• Noodle bows
• Stir fry’s
• As a dipping sauce for rice paper rolls or spring rolls
• Salads
• Burgers
• Wraps
• Veggie and tofu skewers
• And so many other dishes!

How do you make soy-free peanut sauce?

Most peanut sauce recipes contain either soy sauce or tamari (a gluten-free version of soy sauce), however, both contain soy. 

There are a few other options that you can experiment with to make it soy-free, try a vegan fish sauce, coconut aminos, or Braggs liquid aminos in place of soy/tamari sauce.

What is the best way to store homemade peanut sauce?

If you don’t use your sauce straight away, you can store it in an airtight container or jar in the fridge for up to one week. When you’re ready to use it, add some water or coconut milk and give it a stir as it would have thickened. Adjust the consistency to your liking.

The best peanut butter to use for this peanut sauce recipe

Use peanut butter where the ingredients are 100% peanuts. No sweeteners or added salt. 

That way, you can control the balance of flavours in the sauce easier.

Also, make sure to mix the peanut butter to incorporate the oil if it’s sitting on top of the jar before use.

Not every peanut butter is the same, some are runnier than others, and some have a better flavour than others. Keep that in mind when making this sauce. It may be a little different in taste and consistency.

I buy crunchy peanut butter 90% of the time (I think I’d get in trouble with my husband if I didn’t), but decided to use a smooth one for this recipe. You can use either, I just wanted to create a great base recipe to give you options to build upon.

If you like the crunch, either use crunchy peanut butter or crush some peanuts into the sauce. 

Tips and tricks to make this vegan peanut sauce recipe

• If you’re not using sriracha, use a chilli paste, chilli powder or cayenne pepper for the heat component and add an additional small amount of maple syrup to balance it out. Sriracha has sugar added to it so you will need to replace that sweetnesses that is added by this ingredient if taking it out. 
• If you don’t have limes on hand, swap it out for lemon juice or even rice vinegar. 
• If you’re using soy sauce instead of tamari, please make sure to use less as it’s saltier. Try making it first with half the amount and then increasing it to taste.
• Add fresh ginger and coriander for a more Thai flavour profile. You’ll need to use a blender here.
• I’m based in Australia, so my measuring spoons are, unfortunately, slightly different from the ones that you get in the US. Please keep that in mind when making my recipes.

This vegan peanut sauce is not an authentic Thai-style sauce. I wanted to create something that is a little different where you use just a jar to make it. No blender is needed, which helps you get to enjoy the sauce faster rather than doing the dishes. Isn’t that always a great thing?!

Other basic recipes you’ll love:

1. Tahini Dressing
2. Easy Garlic Parsley Sauce
3. Vegan Crispy Shredded Tofu
4. How to Make Vegan Béchamel Sauce (Two-Ways)
5. Easy Vegan White Sauce
6. Lemongrass Tofu

If you try this recipe, let me know! We’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest. Or Pin It for later!

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