Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
These easy, flavorful Thai inspired chicken skewers are marinated in coconut milk and spices, then grilled and served with a delicious spicy peanut sauce for dipping.
Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Anytime we go out for Thai food, we ALWAYS order the satay! My husband is obsessed with coconut milk and peanut sauce, so I thought I’d surprise him with his favorite appetizer, and serve it as a main dish instead. So good you’ll skip Thai take-out!
He gave these the thumbs up, so I will def be making them again. The chicken marinade I adapted from a recipe I found on the Food Network, but I used my tried and true peanut sauce recipe that never fails me. To lighten it I used Better N Peanut Butter which I really love in sauces (they carry at Trader Joe’s) but regular peanut butter would also work. To make it a main dish, we served it with rice and sliced cucumbers. These would also make a great appetizer if you’re entertaining outdoors this summer!
To prevent the sticks from burning, I recommend soaking them at least one hour while the chicken marinates.
How To Make Chicken Satay
Grilled Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 -1/4 pounds thin sliced boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
- 16 large Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water
- lime wedges, for garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped peanuts, for garnish (optional)
For the Peanut Sauce (makes 1/2 cup):
- 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp Better’n peanut butter
- 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, Tamari for gluten-free
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the marinade ingredients except the chicken. Slice the chicken into long, thin strips, about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide, and add to marinade. Turn chicken to coat, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or longer.
- Meanwhile, prepare the peanut sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until smooth, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Prepare grill to high heat and thread marinated chicken onto soaked bamboo skewers. Place on grill and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Serve with lime wedges and peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro and peanuts.
Nutrition
Made this last night! It was phenomenal!!
This is a fabulously tasty recipe. The marinade is great for tofu, too. We were able to have a great grilled dinner for the both chicken eaters and vegans.
DELICIOUS! I’ve made this recipe many times. I loved it so much that I drove to my best friend’s house an hour and a half away and we made it together. It’s an excellent summer favorite.
I love that!!!
Is there something to substitute for red curry paste.?
This sounds fantastic – does anyone have a recommendation for a side dish, preferably something with vegetables or fruit in it?
I served some cucumbers in a quick pickle brine and a sliced potato salad with scallions, capers.
Hi again! Sorry I have one more question – where can I find the Better’n Peanut butter on Long Island. I’ve never seen it. Also – is there a good substitution in case I can’t find it? Thanks so much! Can’t wait to make this!!
Hi! Going to make this tonight – is there anything I can sub the curry paste for? Not a big fan of curry but if it is absolutely needed I’ll use it. 🙂
Typically when I think of “skinny” Asian recipes I don’t think of them as being too flavorful or authentic but you have proven me wrong. My boyfriend is Thai and he loves this recipe as well as the pepper steak one (as do I!). The only change I make is using regular peanut butter and I triple the batch of sauce because everyone loves it so much.
Whoops I also forgot I use Thai golden mountain sauce instead of soy sauce.
I love, love, love this recipe!! It’s also a family favorite at my house, but I’m having a heck of time finding the Better N Peanut Butter. I’ve tried it with regular peanut butter, but my family noticed and the reviews were not a favorable. Anyone else have idea on possible substitute other than regular peanut butter?
I’m not really a lover of chicken but trusty your recipes. ( I think I tend to overcook chicken ) Will this blew it out of thewater!! This was the tastiest most tender chicken I have ever made. So so good. And the sauce! I made extra, so I’m going to use it with some shrimp skewers layer this week. Every single recipe I have tried of types has been amazing. Thank you for making me love chicken
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was excellent! Loved the peanut sauce and the marinade! My 16 yo son ate 6 of them!!
I made the skewers for dinner last night & they were very good! I thought they looked and tasted exactly like the skewers we order at our local Thai restaurant.
I really liked the format that allowed you to email the recipe. I used to email them to myself and then print them, and email them to my bestie.
Wonderful! My whole family loves Thai and I was excited to see this recipe. My 14 year old who is in a “anti chicken “ phase even loved it and complimented it. She went back for seconds. Loved by the whole family so this one is a definite keeper!
Do the calories and WW points include the peanut sauce? Is the serving size for the sauce 3 tbsp or so?
Unbelievably good! Any curry paste will do for the marinade, and we used PB2 for the peanut sauce.
Family cannot wait for me to make it again.
Just omit the sriracha. You can add just a little to your sauce if you want to spice it up. I have same problem with my kids.
Delish and easy to make! Definite crowd pleaser!
I have not made this yet. I am allergic to fish and assume fish sauce is made with fish? Can this be substituted or omitted? Thanks 😁
use soy sauce in place
Would I be able to bake this using whole thin cut chicken breast and then pop into the broiler for the last few cooking minutes to get that grill feel? It’s too cold to grill and I need to make this again to contribute enjoying my life.
Sure!
this is my favorite. I even requested it on my birthday 🙂
The recipe states 4 skewers is one serving. Is that correct? Looks and sounds delicious!
You have to make this, it is amazing! You can reduce the spicness by using less sirrcha.
Made this tonight, marinated for 8 hours, it was slammin’! We liked it better that the satay we get at
Our favorite Thai restaurant. Will be making this again, soon!
What does everyone do with the surplus coconut milk – could you make extra sauce & freeze?
I freeze it in a jar
Thank you Gina! We are fans of chicken satay and I was excited to try your recipe. I adjusted the siracha sauce to suit our taste. Our family loved it! I served it over cauliflower rice flavoured with cilantro and lime (from the cilantro lime rice recipe). It was amazing. The peanut sauce was perfect and so much better than prepared!!! We love your recipes! Thank you for sharing your culinary creativity!
I lightened this up a bit by using almond coconut milk instead – tasted great!
Can I substitute green curry sauce?. Don’t have red.
Sure
Excellent! My family adored this! It’s so easy to make and uses basic ingredients we had on hand. Will definitely be making this version of chicken satay over and over again.
Good sides other then rice? We did rice but it was kinda blah and veggie sides?
I made Skinnytaste Pineapple fried rice and just omitted the shrimp from her recipe, plus I doubled the sauce to add into my rice and it was delicious.
Just clarifying since I never made anything like this before. Is it Canned coconut milk or the kind in the carton? Thank you!
canned
Have you tried to make the sauce with almond butter instead?
No but I am sure it would be good
Does the calorie count include the calories for peanut sauce? If not, how many calories in the sauce?
yes
how could I make this low sodium…since I can’t have too much salt.
Amazing!! Made it for a gathering of 13 adults. I made mine keto-friendly using Swerve (erythritol) confectioner sugar for sweetener. A little more sriracha and some avocado oil. Served it cold for people to dollop on their skewers (we had other skewers going too so many used the sauce on those as well). It has a nice little heat that suddenly says hi and doesn’t overwhelm. Yummy!! I’m really glad I tripled the recipe as we have some left for the ample leftovers. My wife loved it for a Mother’s Day dinner. Served with a big Greek Salad. Will definitely be keeping this on the monthly schedule!
SO AMAZING!!!!! Love love love it!
Think just the marinade sans chicken could be frozen? I hate to waste the rest of the can of coconut milk. Love everything you do!
Sure
I made this last night. Hubbie could not believe this is a Skinny recipe. These are so good. Thanks for the recipe! Def a keeper.
Just made these tonight and they are absolutely delicious. Served over a bed of basmati rice with a side of pickled cucumber salad. Subbed cayenne pepper for sriracha (didn’t have it on hand), and used a little ground ginger instead of fresh grated and it was still amazing! I also didn’t use cilantro (never been a fan). Hands down one of my favorite recipes from skinny taste!!
One of our favorite meals! Thanks Gina!!!
Hi! I entered this in the weight watchers recipe builder using the exact same ingredients and it came out to 3 freestyle points per serving. How come it’s showing this as 6 in the recipe information? I even entered all of the ingredients that I knew had 0 points to be sure I didn’t make a mistake….
I will double check
Can you marinate the chicken overnight or would that be too long? Does the peanut sauce hold well if frigerated? I want to prep everything tonight for dimmer tomorrow.
I made this tonite. It was so amazing. I doubled the recipe because I am feeding four very large, athletic boys. I did not use the fish sauce because the name itself, makes me cringe. I marinated the chicken for 3 hours at room temp, while I cooked other meals. The chicken was so amazing in of itself but with the sauce? So incredibly yummy. I don’t have a grill but the cast iron skillet did the chicken very well and no need for the sticks. Thank you for this recipe!!!
OMG this was soooo good. I ate one serving and my hollow-legged boyfriend gobbled up the other three servings. So unfortunately, no leftovers. I think I cooked the sauce a little too long, it definitely thickens as it cools. When I tasted it on its own I was worried, it’s pretty spicy, but with the chicken it was perfect. I didn’t use the fish sauce, because I didn’t have any on hand, and I used prepared peanut butter powder, still DELISH! I broiled them instead of grilling. Served with a simple Asian salad and it was a perfect meal.
Delicious!
For anyone who is trying to substitute fish sauce because you don’t like the smell – get over it! It’s just one of many flavours in the marinade, but this does not end up tasting like fish.
Case in point: my picky flatmate LOVES satay but hates all things fish – I didn’t tell him that this marinade contained fish sauce… and he was none the wiser (he loved this and is taking leftovers for lunch).
By the way, I didnt bother with the skewers (sorry) and used a broiler for 3-5 min on each side (my pieces were a bit thicker) – DELICIOUS! Served with rice, slices cucumber and tomato.
Great recipe but 2-3 minutes grill time is not near enough time.
2-3 minutes each side, or until cooked through. 🙂
My husband and I are currently living in Israel and its hard to find recipes using only spices they have available here. This recipe was PERFECT and delicious. My husband said its his new favorite meal. Thank you Gina!!!!!
OH. MY. DELICIOUSNESS!!!!!!!! These were so amazing! I have to admit, I halved the Sriracha chili sauce (I thought it was almost too spicy with half, and my hubby was bemoaning that it didn’t have more heat…!), but what a fabulous flavor on both the chicken and the sauce! HUGE hit in our house! Thank you!
Hello. I’ve been a loyal Skinnytaste follower for many years now. When I make a Skinnytaste recipe I only look at the ingredients first and the prep time if it is available. This prep time was incorrect and it ruined my dinner plans for my family. The prep time says 30 minutes when it should really say 4 hours and 30 minutes or more. I have been frustrated with Skinnytaste lately because this has happened on countless occasions. Either the prep time is wrong OR there is no prep/cook time provided. If this could be fixed I feel it would help many more Skinnytaste customers make their dinners run smoothly.
This should be the total cook time.
I love so many of your recipes and love the photos and easy to follow instructions. I’ve never made satay’s and was wondering if they would work with chicken tenderloins which I prefer to chicken breast strips. Also if I use more chicken can I double all the ingredients in the sauce recipe? ( My husband drowns everything in sauce). Thanks!
Sure!
I just took the chicken off the grill and tried a piece … SO GOOD. this is going in my regular rotation!
I marinated chicken breast whole (slashed the tops to allow for more flavour penetration) and grilled as is. I plan to slice it up & eat it in a grain/greens bowl with peanut sauce on top.
Thank you for a new favourite (seriously, i haven’t even had supper yet and i know this is a winner)!
Made these on the grill and they were delish!! Marinaded overnite and doubled the sauce! Very good!
Made this last night exactly as written on the grill. It was very good! Will definitely make again.
love the way you styled this picture – where do you find that giant leaf you used under the food?
thank you!
Is this spicy? Wondering if my kids would eat it.
Yes, it’s spicy but sooo good!
Seriously. SOOO good! You peanut noodles are a winter favorite in my house, so this was a fun way to bring a similar tasting dish into our summer menu. My husband is now obsessed! Thank you!!
Awesome!!
Absolutely delish! Made them for dinner last night and they were great. Don’t skimp on the seasonings- it all comes together better than the sum of the parts. I used chicken breast but might try thighs next time for even more tender kabobs. This is definitely going in my keeper file!
My husband and I absolutely love Thai food, but our daughter is highly allergic to peanuts (sigh). We want her to experience all types of delicious food, and at only 5 she is already a foodie. What do you recommend as a substitute for peanut butter (knowing full well there really is no true, tasty delicious substitute)? Do you have a favorite to cook/bake with? We LOVE every single one of your recipes, and your tasty food has helped me loose 15 lb on ww!
how about trying cashew butter instead of peanut?
How far in advance can I prepare the peanut sauce?
Is the SP value only the chicken, or does it include saice. If it dies inclue the sauce, how much is one serving of sauce?
I believe it is 6 pts total including the sauce, chicken 3 pts, sauce 3 pts. The sauce was 3 pts for the 1/2 cup (I used pb2 instead of the pb she lists). So, if you’re going to make the chicken for a group, you’ll want to multiply the sauce amount as necessary per person.
Is it important to marinate for 4 hours or more? I wanted to make it tonight after work and would not have that much time.
These were fantastic, particularly the peanut sauce. Thank you!
Sauce is perfect. Great Recipe, Thank you
Frances
Just wanted to tell you I have tried these and they are absolutely delicious. I did not have light coconut milk so I used regular (which is quite high in calories). The slightly higher calorie count didn’t bother me, it was worth every single calorie and gave it a rich taste.
I have a small complaint though. I use a website where I save my favorite recipes for personal reference and need to copy ingredients and steps. I do include the link to the recipe page in the notes to revisit, but that’s about the only place I need it to appear. I don’t need it to be included after every single ingredient and preparation step. This clipboard hijacking is quite annoying and I’m not sure it does anything for the website or the users. Is there a way to get rid of it? Deleting the inserted text after every copied step is tedious.
Made these and served with an asian salad! So so good!
My husband makes curries on a weekly basis so we don’t have “curry paste”. What ingredients (spice combo) are comparable?
Thank you!
HUGE hit in our family. We used chicken thighs instead of breasts. Super moist. Sadly very few leftovers. We will be making this one again and again. Thanks Gina!!
Great!
Amazing ! Served as an entree for a crowd. Easy to prepare ahead….served with rice (with some coconut milk stirred through) and naan bread.
Yum! Sounds good!
I did this as an entree with rice and naan breads. It was perfect. Everyone loved it. I had leftovers so had them cold with a salad. Thank you Gina !
I made these last night- awesome. All there of my kiddos, even my 11 year old son enjoyed. When plans were changed, I did marinate overnight, and I doubled the dipping sauce. Yum!
Would 2 Tablespoons of prepared PB2 work instead of the Better n, Peanut Butter?
Yes.
Do you think this would be okay to marinate overnight?
What do you serve with it? Rice? What veggie?
I’d put this with a salad of lightly blanched green beans, sliced shallots and red onions and chilli and cucumber slices.
Can these be oven cooked?
Please put this on next week’s Menu Plan. It looks great!
These are right up my street! Thanks for another great recipe!
A question for ya, what substitute could you use for the fish sauce, I am allergic??
Use soy sauce
I LOVE CHICKEN SATAY!! Favorite thai food ever, thank you thank you thank you!!!
This looks delicious! I don’t have a grill currently, do you think you could bake these? If so, what temp and how long would you guess? Thank you!!
Just about anything that can be grilled can also be broiled for about the same duration. Baking would not give you the right flavor/end result.
Wauw it looks so good and great pictures!!
Can I make this without fish sauce; maybe add some extra soy sauce?
Sure
I hate to be the “i need a substitute person”- these look incredible! But i am allergic to coconut (so inconvenient now that coconut is like the trendiest food on the planet. Would regular or almond milk work?
Sure, I think it would be fine
This looks fantastically delicious. I love peanut satays! Just bookmarked this for later this week!
What would be your suggested alternative to fish sauce?
Thanks
Worcestershire sauce is made from anchovies, so that might be a decent substitute.
We just used a bit of low-sodium soy sauce and it was fine.