Easy Peanut Butter Chicken

by Anna Chwistek

Juicy chicken fillets coated in a Thai red curry peanut sauce, served in a bowl with jasmine rice and crisp veggies. A scattering of thinly sliced scallions, fresh cilantro and chopped roasted cashews add a bright punctuation to this kicky dish. 
A delicious meal you may just start making every week.

serving dumplings | Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken

This recipe holds some of the best flavors: a rich peanut sauce, enlivened with scallions, ginger, lots of garlic, coconut milk and of course red curry paste. It’s creamy, a little spicy and very hearty and savory. You can dig into these flavors after about 30 minutes of cooking.

First we whisk the peanut sauce together and marinade the chicken in this flavor bomb before being cooked. Then we sauté the garlic with ginger, simmer the sauce and add the chicken to hang out in all those flavors and continue to cook for a couple minutes. The result is a deeply flavorful dish with super-juicy chicken breasts.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.

serving dumplings | Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken

RECIPE NOTES

You can mix the recipe up a little if you want to.

  • For example, you can use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
  • Or chopped peanuts instead of cashews.
  • Serve with a cucumber salad, roasted broccoli or green beans.
  • Swap out the rice for naan.
  • Whatever you do, just make sure to garnish with plenty of scallions, nuts, cilantro and some extra chili flakes. Enjoy!

serving dumplings | Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken

More easy chicken recipes:

Cooking Video

Easy Peanut Butter Chicken

 

Yield: serves 2

Easy Peanut Butter Chicken

peanut butter chicken
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

peanut butter sauce

  • 250 ml/1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  • 100 g (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp) natural peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp honey
  • juice from 1/2 lime
  • 2 small chicken breasts, boneless/skinless

additional

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • 3 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 tsp each: ground cumin, ground coriander, crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup/120 ml unsalted chicken broth
  • toasted cashew nuts, or peanuts, for serving
  • fresh cilantro, for serving
  • chopped scallions, for serving
  • jasmine rice, or naan, for serving

Instructions

    1. Make the peanut butter sauce. In a large bowl, combine coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, red curry paste, turmeric, sesame oil, honey and lime juice.
      Add chicken breasts to the mixture, coating both sides. Set aside.
    2. In the meantime, mince the garlic and grate the ginger.
      Cook the rice, if making.
    3. Heat the oil in a skillet, remove chicken breasts from the peanut butter sauce and add to skillet. Cook the chicken over medium heat, for 5 minutes per side or until fully cooked and browned on both sides. Remove from skillet and place on a clean plate. Cover with foil.
    4. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, chili fakes and coriander to the same skillet. Sauté over low heat, for 2 minutes or until soft. Add peanut sauce and bring to a simmer. Add chicken broth, simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add more chicken broth if the sauce is too thick.
    5. Place the chicken back into the skillet. Allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes.
    6. Top with cashews, scallions, fresh cilantro and some extra crushed red pepper flakes. Serve with rice or naan. Enjoy!

Notes

Calories Per Serving: 512 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Did you make this recipe?

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© Anna Chwistek
Category: Meat

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13 comments

  • Made this & loved it!! Allergic to peanuts, so used sunbutter and it actually worked great. Thank you!

    Reply

  • This recipe was delicious! My whole family loved it and there were hardly any leftovers! Great, fresh, nutty flavor. Used chicken thighs instead of breast and worked great. Thank you for posting!

    Reply

  • Delicious recipe!! Such fresh, nutty, Thai infused flavor! Used chicken thighs instead of breast and it worked great. Thank you for the post!

    Reply

  • Made this and loved it – boyfriend said it’s in the top 5 things I’ve ever made! One question – could I freeze with the raw chicken in the marinade? Then defrost and cook later? Or best to cook then freeze? Thanks

    Reply

    • Thanks so much! I am so happy to hear this! Yes, you can easily freeze the chicken raw in the marinate. Happy cooking!

      Reply

  • So you use the marinade for cooking after the raw chicken was marinated in it!? This that ok? I never reuse marinade that has raw chicken usually.

    Reply

    • yes, we’re turning the marinade into sauce here. We do this by bringing it to a boil. This is a complete, rolling boil to ensure that all of the bacteria is gone (you need to reach 165°F/75°C). So the most effective way to kill the germs and make the marinade safe to eat is to boil it. Happy cooking!

      Reply

  • Does this make enough sauce for more than 2 servings (if I up the chicken to4) or do I need to double everything?

    Reply

    • Hi, I would recommend to add 1 cup chicken broth instead of 1/2 cup broth. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Enjoy the recipe!

      Reply

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