This salad dressing is so delicious and is made without fish sauce. In other words, it's vegan! This vinaigrette makes for a great dip for fresh spring rolls or egg rolls.
If you love Thai food, try this 5-minute Thai salad dressing recipe. It is made with simple ingredients that you can find in your pantry.
This Thai peanut sauce is so easy to make. You don't need to use any fancy kitchen equipment to make this dressing.
For example, a high-speed blender, food processor or a mixing bowl and a whisk all work great for this one.
This dressing captures the flavor of Southeast Asian food that we crave after eating at a favorite Asian restaurant.
Why This Recipe Works:
- It's vegan. This Thai peanut sauce is made without fish sauce.
- It's very nutritious and filling. Peanut butter is packed with protein, fiber and monounsaturated fats (good fats that are found in natural foods such as olives and avocados). Apple cider vinegar could lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar, help you lose weight and boost energy. You can read more apple cider vinegar benefits here.
- 5 minutes is all it takes to whip up this easy dressing.
- Versatility! You can use it as a dressing for any salad or noodle or as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, spring rolls, satay or crispy tofu.
- Also, you can modify this peanut sauce recipe for any occasion. For Spicy Thai Sauce, just add some Siracha or sambal oelek!
The Ingredients
You can find most of the ingredients in your pantry so you can whip it up on a whim. If you look through the list you won't find any ingredients that are bad for you or hard to find.
To make this Thai dressing, you will need: peanut butter, fresh lime juice, agave nectar, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and sesame oil.
You can use smooth or chunky peanut butter according to your liking.
Vegan Thai Peanut Sauce:
To add sweetness to the sauce, I used organic agave nectar. Agave nectar has a more neutral flavor than honey. It's 1 ½ times sweeter than sugar, and about 50% sweeter than honey.
In fact, Agave nectar is a natural sweetener derived from the core of the blue agave plant. It's used in many different foods as a healthy vegan sweetener and as a healthy sugar substitute.
In short, its the sweetener I turn to most since keeping an eye on my health. However, feel free to use honey or sugar instead of agave nectar (but if you do I recommend using less of it).
A homemade salad dressing like this is a great starter you can use to reverse engineer a salad or dish around it.
Juicier vegetables with a bit of crunch like cucumbers or sugar snap peas come to mind when I taste this dressing. With it doubling as a dipping sauce it can easily be used to brighten up the taste of a platter with these or other veggies.
A Dressing For Health AND Taste:
In conclusion, I know quite a few people that are on a health kick to lose weight or improve their sugar and cholesterol levels, and feel like the only way they’ll be able to keep eating salads is by “cheating” with an unhealthy dressing. It’s really not necessary.
There are so many delicious dressings out there that don’t compromise the other healthy choices you’re making.
Even if your palate is accustomed to a lot of salt and sugar you can find great tasting substitutions in every entrée, side, sauce or dressing.
When I have a homemade salad dressing that I really like I can reverse engineer a salad around it.
Juicier vegetables with a bit of crunch like cucumbers or sugar snap peas come to mind when I taste this Thai salad dressing. With it doubling as a dipping sauce it can easily be used to brighten up the taste of a platter with these or other veggies.
Recommended products: Vitamix Blender, Peanut Butter, Apple Cider Vinegar
Check Out Asian Recipes:
- Nasi Goreng
- Soba Noodle Salad
- Minced Pork Noodles
- Fried Rice with Egg, Ham, and Shrimp
- Best Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Shrimp and Green Peas Stir Fry
- Chinese Eggplant with Minced Pork
- Sweet Potato Noodles
Check Out More Thai Recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Thai Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
- ½ cup water, or ¾ cup of water if you like the dressing less thick
- 1-2 tablespoon agave nectar
- 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce, or about 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar OR 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar, or more according to your liking
- ½ lime, juiced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil, you may skip this if you don't like the taste
- 2 teaspoon fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients above in a high speed blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. You can refrigerate them for a couple of days.
Amanda Love says
I can't believe it's that easy to make! Had I known this, I would have made a peanut sauces at home. Thai food is really great and it would be nice to have it for dinner without going out. Thanks for the recipe!
Annemarie LeBlanc says
I did not know it was that easy to make. This peanut sauce would also taste good with grilled meats. I was able to try that once and it was delicious!
3CITYGIRLSNYC says
This is one of the only dressings I craved during my pregnancy! store bought ones are just not the same compared to homemade dressings. Yum!
Dannii says
I make something very similar and I can't control myself around it haha. It's a great dip for summer rolls.
Julie says
Thought I would leave a comment as I actually did make the sauce. It is fantastic. I only had Jif creamy peanut butter so I used that instead of unsweetened and used honey instead of agave nectar. The rest was followed exactly. I added siracha to my portion as i like things spicy. I will make this a lot. Used it over brocolli slaw. Very good!
rika agustini says
Thanks for the awesome review Julie! Can't wait to try this sauce on broccoli slaw!
Jeanette says
Count me in! I would use this all the time! It has everything in it that I love! This would totally hit the spot!
Melissa Chapman says
I am vegan but my son loves shrimp so thai food seems like a great way for us both. I love a good peanut sauce for dipping.
Amber Myers says
Yum, what a great dressing! I've always liked a thai dressing, but I haven't had in ages. I need to make this!
Tasheena says
I think I have everything on hand to make this recipe. I can't wait to give it a try.
Liz Mays says
Oh I'd love to use this on some salads. The flavor must be so nice and I'm liking that it's on the healthier side.