Peanut Sauce substitute

Best substitute

Peanut butter whisked with soy, lime, sugar and chili

Makes about half a cup, which replaces half a cup of jarred sauce

Best for satay dipping sauce

Close match

The two-minute homemade version, and genuinely better than most jars.

Other peanut sauce substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Sunflower seed butter, in the same recipe
Different taste
1 for 1 in place of the peanut butter
The best nut-free build for schools and peanut allergies.
What changes
Best for
peanut-free households, school lunches, noodle salad dressing
Sunflower butter is darker, more strongly roasted and faintly bitter compared with peanut butter, so the finished sauce tastes deeper and less sweet. Add an extra teaspoon of sugar and a little more lime to balance it. It also thickens more as it sits, so make it looser than you think you need. Check the label for shared-facility warnings if the allergy is serious.
3Cashew butter or almond butter
Different taste
1 for 1 in place of the peanut butter
Other nut butters standing in for the peanuts.
What changes
Best for
a milder, creamier sauce, cold noodle dressings, when peanut butter is out but other nut butters are not
Cashew butter is the closer of the two: mild, sweet and very creamy, so the sauce comes out smoother and less roasted, almost gentle. Almond butter is drier and grainier, needs noticeably more liquid, and tastes greener and slightly bitter. Both need a touch more salt than peanut butter does because they are less savoury on their own.
4Tahini, in the same recipe
Different taste
1 for 1 in place of the peanut butter, plus an extra teaspoon of sugar
Sesame paste standing in for the ground peanuts.
What changes
Best for
cold sesame noodles, salad dressings, nut-free cooking
Sesame is savoury and slightly bitter where peanut is sweet and rich, so the result reads more like a Chinese sesame noodle sauce or a Middle Eastern dressing than like Thai satay. It works well, it just is not the same flavour. Add the extra sugar, a few drops of toasted sesame oil to make the sesame direction deliberate, and slightly more lime.
5Sweet chili sauce with soy and lime
Taste and texture differ
3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon lime juice
A thin, sweet-hot dipping sauce that is not peanut sauce at all but does the same job at the table.
What changes
Best for
spring rolls, chicken satay skewers, fried snacks
Be clear about what this is: a completely different sauce that happens to work in the same position on the plate. It has no fat and no body, so it slides off rather than clinging, and it is much sweeter and sharper. As a dip for skewers or rolls it is excellent. As a dressing for a peanut noodle salad it will not work, because the salad needs the fat.
6Powdered peanut butter reconstituted
Different texture
3 tablespoons powder plus 4 tablespoons water, then season as above
Defatted peanut flour whisked back into a paste.
What changes
Best for
lower fat versions, long pantry storage, when the jar is empty but the powder is not
The peanut flavour is right, but most of the fat has been pressed out, so the sauce is thinner, less glossy and less satisfying in the mouth. Whisk in a teaspoon of neutral oil or a tablespoon of coconut milk to give it some body back, and expect it to separate more as it sits.

What is Peanut Sauce?

Peanut Sauce is Peanut sauce, sold as satay sauce and known in Thailand as nam jim satay, is a thick sauce built on ground roasted peanuts loosened with coconut milk or water and seasoned with soy or fish sauce, lime, sugar and chili, served with grilled skewers, spring rolls and cold noodle salads.

Cooking tips

Peanut sauce thickens dramatically as it cools and again in the fridge. Make it looser than you want to serve it, and thin it with a splash of hot water and a quick whisk right before it goes on the table.
Add the liquid slowly. Peanut butter seizes into a stiff, oily lump the moment the first liquid hits it, and every first-timer thinks they have ruined it. Keep whisking and adding water a spoonful at a time and it turns smooth and glossy.
Taste for all four things: salt from soy or fish sauce, sour from lime, sweet from palm or brown sugar, and heat from sriracha or chili flakes. A peanut sauce that tastes flat is almost always short on lime or salt rather than short on peanut.
If you are warming it for noodles, simmer it for 30 seconds at most. Boiling peanut butter with coconut milk can split it and make it grainy and oily.
A grated garlic clove and half a teaspoon of grated ginger take the homemade version from good to very good, and a teaspoon of red curry paste is what many Thai kitchens use to give nam jim satay its background warmth.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use peanut butter instead of peanut sauce?

Not straight from the jar; it is far too thick and has no salt, sour or heat. But peanut butter plus warm water, soy sauce, lime and a little sugar is peanut sauce, and it takes two minutes. That combination is not a compromise, it is the actual recipe.

Can I just leave the peanut sauce out?

It depends what job it is doing. If it is a dip for satay skewers, yes, you can skip it and serve the skewers with lime wedges, sweet chili sauce or a cucumber relish, and the meal still works. If it is the dressing on a noodle salad or the sauce coating a stir-fry, no, because the dish has no other source of fat or seasoning and will taste bare.

What is the difference between satay sauce and peanut sauce?

In most kitchens they are the same thing, and the words are used interchangeably. If you want to be precise, Indonesian bumbu kacang tends to be thicker and darker, sweetened with kecap manis and sharpened with tamarind, while Thai nam jim satay is looser, made with coconut milk and often a spoonful of red curry paste. Both start from ground roasted peanuts.

How do I make peanut sauce without peanuts?

Sunflower seed butter is the closest substitute and behaves almost identically, just darker and less sweet, so add an extra teaspoon of sugar. Tahini also works but pushes the sauce toward sesame. For a serious peanut allergy, check labels for shared-equipment warnings, since seed and nut butters are often made on the same lines.

How long does homemade peanut sauce keep?

About a week in a sealed jar in the fridge. It will set very firm and may separate a little; stir it and loosen it with a spoonful of hot water. It does not freeze especially well, because the emulsion breaks and goes grainy on thawing.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Peanut Sauce substitute

Other peanut sauce substitutes

2Sunflower seed butter, in the same recipe

3Cashew butter or almond butter

4Tahini, in the same recipe

5Sweet chili sauce with soy and lime

6Powdered peanut butter reconstituted