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Satay lovers stop right here! This spicy Thai peanut chicken is cooked in one pan, is perfect for easy entertaining, and you can have it on the table in just 40 minutes. You’ll be dreaming about that spicy peanut sauce!
A show-stopping dish
Peanut butter chicken recipes – love them or hate them?
Meals with peanuts in them are my food heaven! You’ll often find this quick massaman chicken curry with sweet potato and peanuts on our table. These easy chicken satay skewers with peanut sauce are another midweek favourite.
You won’t go wrong with either of these yummy peanut chicken recipes. If however you’re looking for more of a show-stopper, then I can’t recommend this one-pan spicy Thai peanut chicken enough!
What’s so great about this recipe?
- It’s a one pan recipe. Big bonus. Especially when entertaining.
- When I’m eating this, I don’t want my meal to end. There aren’t many meals I say that about.
- It’s almost ridiculously easy to make. It almost makes itself. All you do is whisk together the spicy peanut sauce with these easy-to-find ingredients:
peanut butter, coconut milk, chicken stock, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, fresh red chili, garlic, ginger, honey
Pour it over chicken thighs and bake for just half an hour.
And that’s it. Done.
How to serve it
- Spoon the chicken and sauce into a nice serving dish.
- Sprinkle over colourful chopped green spring onions, red chilis, and extra crushed peanuts.
- Serve with rice, lime wedges and maybe a simple green salad.
- Naan bread or poppadoms are optional to mop up all that lovely spicy Thai peanut sauce. And there is a LOT of sauce in this recipe, because that’s how we like it around here!
Pro tip: Wear kitchen gloves when chopping up your chilis. One time I forgot and my hands were on fire!
Can I freeze this?
Absolutely! Simply let cool then freeze in glass containers for up to 3 months. Just make sure you freeze without the garnishes, of course!
Let defrost (ideally overnight in the fridge), then cover it with aluminium foil and reheat in the oven at 325F/160C for about 25 minutes or until properly heated through.
Alternatively, reheat in the microwave. I suggest reheating it at 50% power to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Check the chicken is piping hot after about 5 minutes, and if not keep reheating for a minute at a time until thoroughly reheated.
More easy Asian meals
- 15 minute Thai basil pork stir fry (delicious!)
- Perfect Thai chicken and butternut squash curry (On the table in 40 minutes and makes a TON. We ALWAYS have some of this in our freezer!)
- Sticky and delicious 15 minute Shanghai chicken
- Perfect Mee Goreng (spicy Indonesian noodles)
- Or take a look at all my Asian recipes!
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One-pan spicy Thai peanut chicken
Equipment (affiliate links)
Ingredients
Chicken
- ¼ cups peanut butter
- ¼ cups soy sauce
- ¼ cups coconut milk
- ¼ cups chicken stock blended into 2 tablespoons cornflour
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- ginger (thumb-width piece, at least)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (I used Japanese mirin, but Chinese is fine, too)
- 2 chilis small red
- 1½ pounds chicken thighs skinless boneless (I used 10 smallish ones)
Toppings
- 3 scallions (spring onions), chopped finely
- 1 handful peanuts salted is fine, crushed in a food processor or bashed with a rolling pin in a plastic bag
- 1 more red chili chopped finely
- lime wedges
- rice or rice noodles to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/355F.
- Slowly blend the soy sauce into the peanut butter in a jug or medium bowl, then blend in the coconut milk & stock/corn flour. Stir in the garlic, ginger, honey, rice vinegar & chilis.
- Arrange the chicken thighs in a large baking dish (I use 9 x 12 inch), then pour the sauce all over them.
- Cover with aluminium foil and bake for about 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce bubbling and thickened a little. 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, remove the foil, spoon the sauce all over the chicken again and then return to the oven uncovered – you might need to cook longer depending on the size of your chicken thighs (see notes).
- Spoon the chicken and sauce into individual bowls over rice or rice noodles (or into one nice larger serving dish with a separate bowl of rice/noodles) and sprinkle the spring onions, peanuts and remaining chili over. Eat immediately with lime wedges and poppadoms/naan bread if you like.
Notes
Sauce
Sometimes I find the sauce turns out a little thicker, sometimes a little thinner. It depends on how big the chicken thighs are. Bigger thighs means more juices running out during cooking and mingling with the sauce. To thicken slightly more, just add another tablespoon of corn flour blended with a bit of water or stock, drizzle and stir it into the sauce, then return to the oven for 5 more minutes.Gluten free?
Use gluten free soy sauce & chicken stock to make this dish gluten free.Nutrition
Note: This post has been updated from its original version to include step-by-step cooking instructions, an FAQ, and similar recipes. I hope you like it!
LH says
Wow, we loved this! Only change was using Sriracha and green bell pepper instead of chiles (sorry, it hurt my soul too, but that’s what I had) and I threw in some fish sauce. Had plain white vinegar but I used a little dry sherry too.
Made it with Alton Brown’s Baked Brown Rice, using broth and a little coconut milk in the rice for kicks and giggles. I liked my all-oven meal! Thanks 🙂
Helen says
Hello and happy new year! Thank you so much for leaving such a positive review of this. You’ve reminded me to make this again soon. It’s one of my older recipes but still a firm favourite. Absolutely nothing wrong with making a few substitutions with things you have in the cupboard! Have you tried the mee goreng too? Another favourite of ours!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
That looks just like a dish I would order in a restaurant. It looks delicious and I always go for peanut sauces. I can’t wait to make this for my family.
Helen says
Hi Marisa! Thanks so much for rating the recipe. I like to order dishes like this in restaurants too. I must admit I’m quite proud of myself for coming up with this one!
Dora King says
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipie it was a major hit in my peanut loving household! I loved this so much that I wrote up a little blog post of my attempt with a link to this post to spread the peanut love 👉http://www.thekingandpie.com/chicken-peanut-curry/
Helen says
Hi Dora – so happy you gave this a go! Will pop over to your blog and read your update!
Donna Blyth says
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I cooked it a couple of weeks ago and my partner is desperate for me to cook it again so doing so again tonight.
Helen says
Hi Donna. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this great feedback. It always makes my day to hear that someone’s enjoyed a recipe on the blog! Hope you both enjoyed it as much the second time! 🙂
Donna Blyth says
Yes we most certainly did and my partner has scored this dish 10 out of 10. Thanks so much for all the effort you’ve gone to with your blog. I’ll have to try some more of your recipes. I’m new to Pinterest so haven’t worked out how to mark it as tried and liked.
Helen says
Well, thanks again for the positive feedback, Donna. Really appreciate it, and now you’ve got me craving this meal again!
Hope you follow along with the blog this year – I’ve got some great changes coming up in March!
Donna Blyth says
As an update, Helen this dish along with your Pumpkin, Chorizo and Feta salad have made their way onto out table too many times to count. They are two of our favourite meals. If ever I ask my partner what I should cook he always asks for this! 😊
Helen says
Hi, Donna! Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for popping by and letting me know. The spicy Thai peanut chicken is one of my all time favourites and I’m actually thinking of making the salad again for Christmas day as we’re in Australia this year (=super hot, most likely!). That’s an old post but still a popular one. Thanks for the 5 star rating!!!
P.S. Oh, I’ve just seen you’re in Australia too!
Sheila says
Do you make this with skinless chicken thighs? If not, doesn’t the skin come out soggy unless you pan fry it first or broil it at the end?
Helen says
Hello, Sheila. Great question, and you’re absolutely right, this is made with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Thanks for pointing this out to me actually – I’ll change it in the recipe. Hope you do get around to making this – I’ve had great feedback so far!
Hannah says
Just tried this and it came out great! Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe!
Helen says
Hello Hannah. You’re so welcome! And thank you so much for taking the time to pop by and leave some feedback. I so appreciate that. You might enjoy my recipes for Singapore noodles and ‘mee goreng’ too if you enjoyed this!
Happy New Year!
Becky says
I am obsessed with any peanut/satay based dishes and this is exactly what I love. Going to try this with gluten free soy sauce and no onions sometime soon 🙂
Helen says
Hello Becky! Thanks so much for passing by and taking the time to comment. Peanut based dishes are my favourite too. Really happy you can easily make this gluten free, too! 🙂
Peter says
love, love, love this…. I’m glad I have subscribed, this is my type of food….Thanks Helen
Helen says
Hello, Peter. You’ve just made my day! I’m so happy you like this and really hope you give it a go. It’s definitely one of my favourite meals – just so, so full of flavour. I’ve got another Asian dish coming up soon – and I’m thinking about doing a satay stir-fry, too. Enjoy!
tammy says
I don’t have chilis, can I use chili garlic paste?
Helen says
Hello Tammy! I haven’t tried making it like this, but why not? You could give it a try as the recipe also has garlic in it, and then see if it’s spicy enough for you that way. I must admit the chilis add a great flavour and ‘oomph’ but you could always try it with some fresh chilis next time! Good luck and let me know how you go! 🙂
Shashi at RunninSrilankan says
I do love morning cooking shows too – before, they used to have Nigella Lawson on in the mornings and I used to love getting breakfast ready while listening to her potter on and on!
Speaking of things I love – Helen – wow – this one pan satay looks incredible! Gah – sorry to hear about your chili-cutting mishap – but, wow – fantastic job with this one!
Helen says
Oh yes, Nigella is so ‘soothing’, isn’t she? Thanks for the sweet comment, Shashi. I’m in love with this satay dish – happy you like it, too!
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Oh my goodness, my food hell was blood sausage and something that was clearly intestines…served during an Argentinian Christmas feast…just NO! This chicken definitely looks like my food heaven! Love the Thai and peanut flavors, looks totally delicious!
Helen says
Oooh, blood sausage!! That is very similar to the ‘boudin’ mentioned in the post. Isn’t it just disgusting!! Oooh, yuck! Glad you like the peanut chicken though, Denise. I feel a bit better about making you remember the blood sausage and intestines now!
Laura says
My husband is absolutely going to go weak in the knees over this! Thai food is his favorite, I’m just not that good at preparing it and send him out to him favorite restaurant. Guess I’m running out of excuses with this awesome recipe Helen. You put a good amount of peanut butter in there! I gotta feeling every bit of sauce will be used up!
Helen says
Believe me, Laura, I would only make this if it was super easy. I promise you it is! The only slight ‘hassle’ if you like is chopping up the chilis and onions. The sauce is super easy – just a matter of whisking together all the pastes and sauces. Do try it – you’ll never look back 😉
Joanne says
That peanut sauce is making my stomach growl…BIG TIME.
Helen says
Would be great with veggies or tofu, Joanne! 😉
Annie @ ciaochowbambina says
The first time I was introduced to satay was a number of years ago at a friends….let’s just say, it’s one of my most popular dishes that I now make for the kids. This looks divine! I love how you’ve taken it over the top with all those luscious chopped ingredients on top! Pinned!
Helen says
Thanks, Annie! The toppings do make it look rather snazzy, don’t they? I have a feeling this is going to become a regular meal in our house, too!