This Peanut Butter Chicken features a rich and creamy sauce made with peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, and lots of spices.
Bold, nutty, and packed with flavor, this chicken recipe is truly addicting. Ready in just 15 minutes and 3 steps, this is bound to be a new family favorite!
Peanut Butter Chicken
Today I’m sharing with you one of my favorite chicken recipes: Peanut Butter Chicken. This is one of those extremely rich, creamy, flavorful chicken dishes that just hit the spot and you want to keep making every week!
This Peanut Butter Chicken Is
- Ready in just 15 minutes.
- Creamy, nutty, and comforting.
- Packed with flavor thanks to the peanut butter, coconut milk, and spices.
- Easy to make.
- Perfect as a quick lunch or dinner.
- Great served over plain rice or with some Naan or Pita bread.
Ingredients
Chicken. I like using diced chicken breasts for this recipe but skinless, boneless thighs or wings will work too. When salting the chicken, make sure to not go overboard as you’ll add soy sauce later on so you don’t want to end up with salty chicken!
Peanut oil, coconut oil or a very subtle vegetable oil such as sunflower, canola, or vegetable oil. Don’t use olive oil because olive oil has a pretty strong flavor that just doesn’t belong to this dish.
Coconut milk. Use canned coconut milk for this recipe! Do not use regular coconut milk as it’s too thin and doesn’t have the same properties of canned coconut milk.
Peanut butter. Stick to creamy peanut butter, I love the creamy one by Jif (not sponsored).
Soy sauce. If you want this chicken to be gluten-free, please make sure you’re using gluten-free soy sauce as regular soy sauce isn’t gluten-free.
Vinegar. Your best option here would be rice vinegar but you can also use regular white or apple cider vinegar. I tested this recipe with apple cider vinegar and it was *delicious*!
Bay. You can use fresh bay leaves or dried bay.
Cinnamon. You can use ground cinnamon or cinnamon sticks.
Garlic. I usually stick to garlic flakes when doing this recipe because it’s quicker (powder will work too, maybe add more) but fresh garlic works too and it’s a great option if you don’t mind mincing a clove or two!
Anise star. Optional but recommended as it adds a lot of flavor to this dish!
Dried Sichuan peppers. These peppers are out of this world… I mean, spicy as *hell* so feel free to skip them if you don’t want your chicken to be spicy or you can substitute them with another kind of pepper or red pepper flakes.
Optional toppings: sesame seeds and spring onions, for some visuals and extra flavor!
How to make peanut butter chicken
STEP ONE: Cook the chicken in hot oil until fully cooked through. Chicken is ready when the center measures 165 F. I recommend using a kitchen thermometer for this step!
STEP TWO: Make the sauce. Add in the canned coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, spices, and simmer until thickened and reduced. The sauce should be extra smooth and creamy!
STEP THREE: Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds and spring onions!
Can I store peanut butter chicken?
You can but it’s definitely one of those dishes that is best eaten as it’s made! If you do have leftovers you can store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
I recommend reheating the chicken on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of canned coconut milk to loosen up the sauce. Make sure the chicken is fully heated through (165 F) before serving.
What to serve with this dish?
I recommend serving this chicken over rice so you can use the rice to soak up all that creamy sauce!
As a side, I recommend serving your favorite veggies or a salad to keep the meal balanced as this dish is very rich!
HAPPY COOKING!! I hope you’ll love this Creamy Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe as much as I do!
PS: Please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ if you make it! Your comments make my day!! You can also tag me on Instagram @itsdamnspicy 🌈💘
More chicken recipes you will love:
Peanut Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) peanut oil (or coconut, sunflower, canola, vegetable oil, NO olive oil)
- 1 lb (453 g) chicken breast (cut into cubes)
- Salt
- 1 cup (230 ml) canned coconut milk
- 1/3 cup (80 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp (25 ml) soy sauce (use gluten-free for GF eaters)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) rice vinegar (or white or apple cider vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried bay (or 2 bay leaves)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic flakes (or powder, you may want to use more if using powder)
- 1 anise star (optional)
- 1 dried Sichuan pepper (chopped, with seeds, optional)
- Sesame seeds and chopped spring onions (optional, for decorating)
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat, once the oil is hot add the cubed chicken, season with salt and cook for 6-7 minutes or until fully cooked through. Chicken is ready when the center measures 165 F. I recommend using a kitchen thermometer for this step.
- Make the sauce. Add the canned coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, dried bay, cinnamon, garlic flakes, anise, and Sichuan pepper. Mix to combine, and bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low if necessary. Simmer for 6-7 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and reduced slightly.
- Serve over rice and top with sesame seeds and spring onions!
Notes
📷 DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?! Tag @itsdamnspicy on Instagram and hashtag it #itsdamnspicy
Cindy says
A fast delightful dish. Will definitely be in our dinner rotation. The dish came together quickly. Used peral processed chicken and added after the sauce was made. Didn’t have coconut milk so used coconut cream, thinned with a little chicken broth. Added a few sliced mushrooms at the end. Served on baby spinich which added color and flavor.