If you love Thai food, you’ll love this easy peanut butter chicken recipe! This delicious dish has a simple peanut sauce full of the best flavors. It’s rich, flavorful, and easy to make!
Chicken with Peanut Sauce
Juicy chicken thighs and creamy peanut sauce make for a flavor-packed dish!
It’s the perfect option for busy weeknights where all you want is some quick comfort food. Not only that, but it’s packed with healthy fats that’ll go great with white rice and crisp veggies.
This Thai peanut butter chicken makes for a delicious meal!
Why You’ll Love this Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe:
- Thai Flavors: Take your tastebuds abroad with this delicious dinner recipe! The peanut sauce is Thai-inspired and make for the ultimate comfort food.
- One-Skillet Recipe: All you need for this peanut butter chicken is a food processor (or blender) and a skillet (or wok)! No more piles of dishes to contend with after cooking!
How to Make Peanut Butter Chicken
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Blend peanut butter sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender.
- Coat chicken in the seasoning mixture, then cook in a wok/skillet, in batches.
- Drain the skillet, add the chicken back in, and cook it in the peanut sauce.
- Serve it with rice, veggies, or whatever you like.
Peanut butter chicken is an easy weeknight meal consisting of chopped chicken thighs sautéed in a sweet and savory peanut sauce and served over rice.
If you have a peanut allergy, fear not! You can still make this dish with a different nut butter, tahini, or sunflower seed butter. It will taste slightly different, but it will still be delicious! You can skip the chopped peanuts as well.
While both are peanut-based sauces, satay sauce is usually made with coconut and has fewer spices in it than peanut sauce.
You sure can! Use an equal amount of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of the thighs.
Peanut butter chicken is a little bit sweet and a little bit spicy. For less spice, omit the cayenne pepper.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- As peanut butter cools, it will begin to harden again. So be sure to use it while it’s still warm.
- If your peanut sauce is too thin, add a little more peanut butter to thicken it up. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out.
Make Ahead Instructions
The peanut sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
If you plan to serve this chicken with rice or veggies, I recommend making them up to 1 day in advance as well and storing in airtight containers in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover peanut butter chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a splash of water if needed to loosen the sauce.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze peanut butter chicken in an airtight container or Ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Substitutions
- If you have a peanut allergy, you can use another nut butter, tahini, or sunflower seed butter instead. Omit the chopped peanuts as well.
- You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth if you prefer.
- You can use oyster sauce in place of the hoisin sauce.
- For a gluten-free alternative, use tamari or coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder instead.
- If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can use ⅛ teaspoon of ground ginger instead.
- Feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs.
- Leave out the cayenne pepper if you don’t want this dish to be too spicy.
- You can use any other neutral oil, such as peanut or canola oil, in place of the vegetable oil.
Serving Suggestions
- Brown or white rice
- Ramen or udon noodles
- Sautéed vegetables
- Egg drop soup
- Chicken lo mein
- Roasted vegetables
- Cauliflower fried rice
- Asian cucumber salad
- Thai peanut cauliflower steaks
Tips for the Best Peanut Butter Chicken
- If you plan to serve this dish with rice and veggies, make sure to prepare those sides ahead of time!
- Coating the chicken in cornstarch makes it more tender and helps the sauce stick to it and thicken.
- The chicken is finished cooking when it is 165°F internally on an instant-read thermometer.
- For a thicker sauce, simmer for longer. Keep in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
There you have it! I hope you’ve enjoyed the deliciously awesome flavors of this peanut butter chicken! The creamy peanut sauce and juicy chicken thighs are so tasty with some steamed rice and veggies, making it the perfect meal for the whole family to enjoy. Happy eating!
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic about 4 cloves
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
For the Chicken
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into chunks
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper optional
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup lightly salted roasted peanuts chopped
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Serve With (optional)
- White or brown rice
- Fresh or steamed vegetables
- Lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the peanut sauce by adding the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse until combined, smooth, and creamy; set aside.½ cup natural peanut butter, ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth, ¼ cup hoisin sauce, 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- Add the chunked chicken to a large bowl. Sprinkle the cornstarch, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne over the chicken then toss to coat.1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, ¼ cup cornstarch, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok set over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, in batches, for 3-4 minutes undisturbed. When they begin to look golden, stir and flip the pieces and cook 2-3 more minutes to brown the other side. Remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.¼ cup vegetable oil
- Drain any excess oil from the pan and return it to a medium-low heat burner. Return the chicken to the pan and pour the peanut sauce over it, tossing to combine. Sprinkle in half of the peanuts and stir. Bring the mixture to a low simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is warmed through.½ cup lightly salted roasted peanuts
- Transfer the finished chicken to a serving dish. Garnish with remaining peanuts and cilantro, and serve with rice and vegetables.Fresh cilantro, White or brown rice, Fresh or steamed vegetables, Lime wedges
Notes
- If you have a peanut allergy, you can use another nut butter, tahini, or sunflower seed butter instead. Omit the chopped peanuts as well.
- You can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth if you prefer.
- You can use oyster sauce in place of the hoisin sauce.
- For a gluten-free alternative, use tamari or coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder instead.
- If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can use ⅛ teaspoon of ground ginger instead.
- Feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of thighs.
- Leave out the cayenne pepper if you don’t want this dish to be too spicy.
- You can use any other neutral oil, such as peanut or canola oil, in place of the vegetable oil.
- If you plan to serve this dish with rice and veggies, make sure to prepare those sides ahead of time!
- Coating the chicken in cornstarch makes it more tender and helps the sauce stick to it and thicken.
- The chicken is finished cooking when it is 165°F internally on an instant-read thermometer.
- For a thicker sauce, simmer for longer. Keep in mind that the sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Nutritional information does not include optional ingredients.
Janet hallett says
Really nice flavour
Becky Hardin says
Thanks for stopping by, Janet!
Helen says
This was really delicious, with a great combination of diverse flavors. I followed the recipe but did have to add more broth at the end because the sauce thickened very quickly and a bit too much. Definitely one I’ll be making again!
Becky Hardin says
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and what worked for you, Helen!