Nut-Free "Peanut" Sauce

Gluten-free peanut sauce in a white bowl next to bowls of coconut aminos and red pepper flakes and a blue plate with grilled chicken skewers on it.

3 from 2 votes

This delicious Thai-inspired Nut-Free "Peanut" Sauce is thick, creamy and so simple to make. With just a few pantry ingredients you'll have a gluten-free, vegan, Paleo and Whole30-friendly sauce ready to go!

Prep Time5

Cook Time0

Total Time5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indonesian, Southeast Asian, Thai, Vietnamese

Servings: servings

Calories: 176kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

⅔ cup sunbutter, preferably with no sugar added
½ cup water
2 tablespoons coconut aminos (see note)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
fine sea salt, to taste
1 teaspoon honey optional (omit for Whole30; see note)
spritz of lime juice optional (see note)

Instructions

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together. You can do this by hand but I prefer using a mini food processor, regular blender or stick blender so the pepper flakes are minced and blended into the sauce as opposed to big whole flakes that can stick in your throat.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.
Recipe yields about 1¼ cups sauce.

Notes

The sodium content in coconut aminos can vary wildly by brand. I made this recipe using Big Tree which has a relatively high sodium content. If using Coconut Secret or another brand with lesser sodium, you can replace part of the water in the sauce with an equal amount of coconut aminos. Or leave the amounts as is but be prepared to add salt at the end if necessary.

I don't find the addition of the honey and lime juice to the sauce to be necessary but some people like it that way.

Storing this peanut sauce

You can store this sauce in the fridge for up to 1 week.

You might have to add more water to loosen it.

Freezing this peanut sauce

You can freeze this sauce for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

You might have to add more water to loosen it once it thaws.

Nutrition