Vegan Satay Sauce

This creamy, nutty, mildly spicy vegan satay sauce is versatile and flavourful as a dip, drizzle over salads or tossed with noodles. This quick, easy side dish recipe adds a delicious Asian-inspired taste to your plate.

What is satay sauce?

Satay sauce, also known as peanut sauce, originates from Southeast Asia and is traditionally served with grilled meat skewers. Its rich, savoury and slightly sweet flavour makes it a fantastic accompaniment to a variety of dishes, including plant-based meals such as grilled tofu or tempeh.

This vegan satay sauce recipe has an authentic taste and uses simple, dairy-free and gluten-free ingredients.

Ingredients for satay sauce

This recipe uses natural unsalted peanut butter as the base for its rich, nutty flavour. To prepare this satay sauce, you will require:

• Natural unsalted peanut butter: choose a variety without added sugar or oil, smooth or crunchy.
• Coconut milk: adds a creamy texture and slightly mellows the peanut taste. You only require a small amount, so if you want inspiration to use up your leftover coconut milk, you could try tofu satay, broccoli soup with coconut milk or black rice pudding with coconut milk and mango.
• Garlic and ginger: adds warmth and flavour complexity.
• Soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos: provides an essential salty umami taste.
• Rice wine vinegar and lemon/lime juice: acid balances the richness and brightens the flavour.
• Sesame oil: enhances the toasty, aromatic flavour.
• Brown sugar or maple syrup: adds a hint of sweetness to balance the flavours.
• Sriracha, chilli powder or flakes: gives a gentle heat. I like to use Sriracha because it also gives the sauce a depth of colour.

That’s it! You could garnish the final sauce with crushed or finely chopped peanuts, a lime wedge and a sprig of coriander. However, it depends on how and what you serve it with.

How to make satay sauce (dip)

You can make peanut sauce in minutes!

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.
2. If serving warm, gently heat in a saucepan over low-medium heat.
3. Adjust the consistency for dipping or drizzling by adding warm water a little at a time.

Ways to use

Satay sauce is incredibly versatile. Here are some delicious ways to enjoy it:

• As a dip: perfect with fresh cucumber sticks or rice paper rolls. Serve in a small bowl, either warm or cold, with a garnish of peanuts, lime and coriander.
• Over noodles or rice: toss it through warm noodles or drizzle over rice bowls.
• With grilled chicken, tofu or tempeh: try it with tofu skewers over a cucumber quinoa salad.
• As a salad dressing: use it with an Asian-inspired slaw, chicken salad or satay noodle salad.
• In a Gado Gado: serve with steamed vegetables, hard-boiled eggs and rice for a simple Indonesian-inspired dish.

If you want more inspiration to elevate your salads, find more homemade sauce and salad dressing recipes here.

Storage

Leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. If it thickens, stir through some warm water before serving.

Peanut-free alternative for satay sauce

If you have a peanut allergy, you can substitute peanut butter with almond butter.

Tahini (made from sesame seeds) is also an excellent alternative for a completely nut-free option. Since tahini has a slightly more bitter flavour than peanut butter, you may want to adjust the sweetness or acidity, such as brown sugar and lemon/lime juice.

Have you made this satay sauce?

I’d love to hear how you used this sauce. Share your thoughts in the comments or tag me on social media @tansy_joyfuleating with your creations.

If you love satay, you may like to try my recipes for tofu satay and pineapple satay fried rice. The latter uses pineapple to add sweetness and acidity to cut through the richness of the peanut butter.