Vegan Peanut Sauce is ready in just 5 minutes with a handful of pantry staples you probably have on hand right now! It can be used as a dipping sauce, salad dressing, in noodle dishes or drizzled on buddha bowls.
Sauces are life, am I right?
If I had to pick just one sauce to have for the rest of my life, I think this vegan peanut sauce would be it! I never get sick of it, and it adds so much flavor to otherwise dull food such as rice-veggie-bean bowls, salads and stir fried veggies.
Plus, you don’t need to get out your blender for this one. You simply whisk everything together in a bowl, and you’re done! It couldn’t be easier.
Peanut sauce ingredients:
- Creamy peanut butter
- Rice vinegar
- Low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
- Maple syrup or agave
- Ground or fresh ginger
- Sriracha hot sauce, to taste
- Coconut milk, water, or another non-dairy milk to thin
How to make peanut sauce:
In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth. Add coconut milk, water or another non-dairy milk as desired to thin the sauce. If your peanut butter is particularly thick, you may need to add more liquid. Taste, and adjust by adding more hot sauce, soy sauce or sweetener.
What does vegan peanut sauce go with?
- Salads
- Noodle dishes
- A dip for fresh spring rolls or cut vegetables
- Buddha bowls (rice-grain-veggie-tofu or bean bowls)
- Drizzled on stir-fried or roasted vegetables
- On marinated tofu
How to store leftover peanut sauce:
Leftover vegan peanut sauce keeps for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, in a covered container. When ready to use, give it a little stir. If it’s too thick once refrigerated, add a little water to thin.
Can peanut sauce be frozen?
Yes, the sauce freezes well. A great idea is to freeze the sauce in an ice cube tray, then once frozen, pop the cubes into a freezer bag and store. This will give you individual peanut sauce cubes, perfect for adding flavor quickly to ingredients you have on hand. Let frozen peanut sauce thaw, or microwave if needed.
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Vegan Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce use tamari for gluten free
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup OR agave
- 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger or 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce
- 2-6 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk, as needed SEE NOTE
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth. Start with just 2 tablespoons of coconut milk, and add more as needed to thin the sauce.
- If serving as a dip, sprinkle with crushed peanuts. The sauce also goes well with noodles, buddha bowls, fresh spring rolls, tofu and salads.
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen in a freezer safe container.
Notes
- Peanut allergy? Use almond, cashew or sunflower seed butter.
- Gluten free? Make sure to use gluten free tamari instead of soy sauce.
- For the additional liquid, I used coconut milk (not the canned variety), but you can use water, or unsweetened soy, almond, cashew or even hemp milk. Using canned coconut milk would make the sauce a lot creamier, so feel free to use it if that sounds good to you!
Nutrition
How many servings does this make.
It makes about 1 1/2 cups of sauce (depending on how much coconut milk you use).
This recipe sounds wonderful! What can I substitute the rice vinegar?
Lime juice would be a good substitute. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
So good!
Thank you for sharing your review! I’m glad you like the peanut sauce!
I know this is a weird comment but got a peanut allergy here… can I substitute cashew butter?
Sure! It will just be cashew flavored, but that’s not a bad thing!
Just made this peanut dressing following the recipe exactly with the optional almond milk instead of coconut milk. The hubby said “this is the best peanut dressing you have ever made”. 10 fingers up for this one. Thanks so much.
Hi Cindy. Thank you! Glad you guys loved it!
just made this sauce and your vegan buddha bowl! my entire family loved it…i put all sauce ingredients in my vitamix and it blended nicely…
eva
Made this without any sweetening to accompany the Buddha Bowl — so easy, and everyone loved it.
I love to hear that!!
Can you use honey instead of maple syrup or agave? Thanks!
Sure.
Truly is the best peanut sauce! I love this for dipping salad rolls and as a dressing for buddha bowls with rice, chickpeas, cucumber, carrot, cabbage, greens, and some cilantro.
I’m so glad you like it!
Super yummy! Easy to make. I air fried the tofu 370 for 12 minutes- it really made the meal. Yummy!!
Great tasting and a simple recipe! I’ve made it twice. Once with the maple syrup following the recipe and one time subsituting the syrup with hoisin sauce. Both time it tasted great, but I have to say I prefer the flavor of the sauce made with hoisin sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
Wonderful, thank you!
I’ve made several peanut sauces in the past, including this one, but can never seem to get it fully mixed. There’s always slivers of peanut butter or tiny chunks left in the sauce. I usually just mix it with a fork. Any suggestions on how I can get it to be smoother? For this sauce, I used water to thin and this one tastes AMAZING! Great recipe!
I usually have to use a whisk to get it smooth, a fork wouldn’t get it there. Also, if my natural peanut butter is really chunky, I will put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, or use an immersion blender to get it smooth. Hope that helps! Glad you love the taste of the sauce!
I like this a lot as salad dressing.