Simple peanut sauce (for spring rolls, satay & noodles)

Use this delicious peanut sauce for spring rolls or satay. Drizzle it on bowls or toss it with noodles. It’s amazing that just 7 ingredients can add so much flavor to a dish!

This is an easy, pantry-friendly, no cook sauce. It uses peanut butter straight from the jar. Plus, it is made without coconut milk or added sugar. Vegan and gluten free.

Peanut sauce makes everything better. It’s nutty, tangy, and a little spicy.

It can be used as a dipping sauce with satay or summer rolls. It can be drizzled over rice bowls or roasted broccoli.

It’s delicious tossed with hot or cold noodles. You can even thin it out, and use it as a salad dressing.

One thing is a guarantee. When peanut sauce is involved, leftovers won’t be a problem.

What’s perhaps even better is how simple this sauce is to make! This peanut sauce recipe uses just 7 ingredients.

No food processor or blender is required. Just a bit of stirring.

How can something so tasty be this effortless?

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need for this mouthwatering sauce.

Peanut butter: Either crunchy or creamy. I recommend a natural peanut butter with two ingredients – peanuts and salt.

Some peanut butter brands add all sorts of ingredients like palm oil & sugar. It’s just not necessary.

Peanut butter has enough oil and flavor all on its own without adding a bunch of other stuff.

Plus, when you grab peanut butter with other miscellaneous ingredients, it throws off the balance of the sauce.

Tamari: This Japanese soy sauce adds salt and umami. It can be found in the center aisles of the grocery store next to other soy sauces.

Remember to grab gluten free tamari to keep this dish gluten free.

Rice vinegar: Rice vinegar adds tang and balances the tamari.

Look for it next to other types of vinegar in the grocery store aisles. Or it’s sometimes by the soy sauces.

Sriracha: This chili pepper sauce adds a bit of heat and garlic. Use any type of sriracha you enjoy.

If you don’t like spicy food, use less or omit it.

Water

Garlic: Finely grated or minced garlic adds bite. I recommend using a Microplane zester to get the garlic almost paste-like, which makes it easy to intertwine with the sauce.

If you’d prefer it can be replaced with about ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder.

Ginger powder: Ginger powder adds a peppery, flowery, lightly sweet edge.

If you’d prefer, ginger powder can be replaced with 2 teaspoons of freshly grated ginger.

Step by step instructions

Put the following into a medium sized bowl:

• Peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
• Tamari
• Rice vinegar
• Sriracha
• Water

Use a fork or whisk to get out any lumps & fully combine.

Once the sauce is completely smooth, add:

• Finely grated or minced garlic
• Ginger powder

Make it your own

Tweak the ingredients or preparation method to make this easy peanut sauce your own.

• The sauce can be made in a food processor or blender instead of stirring by hand.
• If your sauce is too thick, add more water.
• If your sauce is too thin, add more peanut butter.
• Replace the sriracha with sambal oelek or any brand/style of hot sauce you enjoy.
• If you aren’t into spicy food, add less sriracha or none.
• Replace rice vinegar with lime juice.
• Add maple syrup or agave syrup for sweetness.
• Add a drizzle of sesame oil for nuttiness. (A little goes a long way!)
• Replace fresh garlic with garlic powder.
• Replace ginger powder with freshly grated ginger.

Serving ideas

This delicious sauce is perfect for dipping, drizzling, and dunking.

Use peanut sauce for spring rolls or with any of these recipes:

• Spring roll tortilla wraps (as a dipping sauce)
• Tofu satay (as a dipping sauce)
• Baked tofu bowls (instead of tahini dressing)
• Cold peanut noodles (instead of peanut sauce in recipe)
• Green salad with peanut dressing (thinned out to replace salad dressing in recipe)

Storage

Store peanut sauce in an airtight covered container in the refrigerator. It will keep for about a week.

The sauce will thicken over time. When you’re ready to use it, add a splash of water & stir to thin it out.

Peanut sauce also freezes well. Put it in a freezer bag or storage container. It can freeze up to 3 months.

Move it to the refrigerator to thaw when you’re ready to use it. Add a splash of water to thin it out, as needed.