Is peanut sauce keto friendly? This keto peanut sauce recipe is! Most Thai peanut sauce has carbs in the form of added sugar. Lucky for us, it’s easy to make peanut sauce low carb. You’ll love using this keto peanut sauce for spring rolls or keto chicken satay. Get tips on making gluten free peanut sauce, vegan peanut sauce, and more!
Sugar free peanut sauce? Oh yes, my friends, let’s make it happen. This peanut sauce is perfect for diabetics or anyone else who is looking to cut carbs.
There are actually two main types of peanut butter sauce sold in the US. One is a sweet peanut sauce, appropriate for using as an ice cream topping. The other type is a savory Thai peanut sauce, good for satay.
Today’s recipe is for a low carb Thai peanut sauce. I have tons of ideas for using this keto satay sauce, including the colorful veggie bowls in the recipe card below.
This recipe is so simple and so delicious. I think you’re going to wonder why you didn’t add low carb peanut sauce to your life sooner.
I mean, sure, you can get jars of peanut sauce in most major grocery stores. This homemade version is so much tastier though. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Jump to:
📋 Carbs in Peanut Sauce
How many carbs does peanut sauce have? The peanut sauce carb count is 3.6 grams of net carbs per serving. This is for ¼ of the recipe below, a very generous portion.
To compare, the Thai Kitchen Gluten Free Peanut Sauce has 7 grams net carbs per 2 tablespoons. You can fit a lot more peanut sauce into your low carb diet with this recipe. That’s a good thing in my book.
⭐ Keto Peanut Sauce Benefits
Why make low carb peanut sauce? Here are a few benefits of peanut sauce for you:
- Healthy fats: Creamy peanut sauce is packed with heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
- Umami: Fish sauce elevates this recipe a bit by adding some umami goodness. (And you need a vegetarian or vegan option, check out the FAQs for tips.)
- Spicy peanut sauce: You can make this peanut sauce spicy (or not spicy), depending on the amount of red pepper flakes you add. It’s up to you!
- 5-minute peanut sauce: Did I mention how easy this peanut sauce is? You can whip it up in under 5 minutes!
- No blender: Clean up is a snap with this recipe, since you don’t need to clean a blender or food processor. This peanut sauce comes together easily by whisking it in a bowl.
- Energy booster: If you’re on a high calorie diet, peanut sauce is a super way to add some extra protein and fat to dishes.
- Plant based: This plant-based recipe is packed with beneficial components such as antioxidants and flavonoids, similar to other plant foods. You’re getting an assortment of essential vitamins and minerals as well.
- Inexpensive: Peanut butter is a cheap whole food that that is shelf-stable. It’s a great option for saving money on your grocery bill.
- Delicious: Low carb peanut butter sauce is tasty on so many things. It’s perfect for picky eaters who like to dip things, and for anyone who loves the taste of peanut butter.
🥣 Keto Peanut Sauce Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make keto peanut sauce:
- Keto-friendly peanut butter (creamy)
- Extra virgin olive oil (or peanut oil)
- Reduced-sodium soy sauce
- Unseasoned rice vinegar
- Minced garlic cloves
- Fish sauce
- Fresh grated ginger
- Water (as needed, for thinning the sauce)
- Red pepper flakes (for spicy heat, optional)
Specific quantities of ingredients are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
To make this a keto peanut sauce recipe, the ingredients should all be free of added sugar. You need to use a natural peanut butter. The only ingredients in it should be peanuts and (maybe) salt.
Is Jif peanut butter keto? Regular Jif peanut butter contains added sugar from white sugar and molasses, which are not keto friendly foods. Jif natural peanut butter also contains added sugar.
If you like Jif brand, they carry a keto peanut butter with no sugar added. The ingredients are peanuts, palm oil, and salt. Alternatively, Trader Joe’s has peanut butter containing peanuts and salt only.
Aside from the peanut butter, you’ll also need to ensure the other ingredients, such as rice vinegar, contain no sugar. Unseasoned rice vinegar is keto friendly, and a good choice for this peanut sauce.
If you don’t want to thin this peanut sauce with water, you could use coconut milk instead. Coconut milk will make your low carb peanut sauce extra creamy.
The kitchen equipment you need for this recipe includes a whisk, a good knife (or garlic press), and a grater for the ginger. That’s it!
🔪 How to Make Keto Peanut Sauce
Finely mince the garlic (or use a garlic press). Grate the fresh ginger root.
Whisk all of the peanut sauce ingredients together, except the water. Add the water a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.
Some brands of peanut butter are thicker than others, and this can impact how much water you’ll use. See, I told you this was an easy recipe!
🥜 How to Use Peanut Sauce
So, now that you have it, what do you do with peanut sauce? One idea is to make the healthy rainbow vegetable bowls recipes below.
Here are some other ways to use peanut sauce:
- Dip for chicken skewers
- Lettuce wraps
- Keto peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls
- Drizzled on pancakes or savory crepes
- Drizzled on air fryer frozen vegetables
- As a salad dressing for Asian salad
- On noodles or zoodles
- Stir fry sauce
🌡️ Leftovers
Low carb peanut butter sauce can be kept in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. A glass mason jar is perfect for storage. You can freeze peanut sauce in a pinch, but the texture may become a little grainy with thawing.
💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). Peanuts are a legume, but they provide more fat by calories than protein. Because it is so high fat, peanut sauce is an excellent way to add some extra calories into meals.
If you are looking to gain weight, peanut sauce is an energy-dense condiment that may help with your goals. Unlike salsa, tomato sauce, and mustard, peanut sauce packs a lot of calories into a small volume. It's often easy to eat a lot of calories in peanut sauce or peanut butter without becoming full.
If you want to include peanut sauce in a moderate calorie meal, try adding it to lean protein, fruits, and veggies. The chicken veggie peanut sauce bowls below are the perfect example of what this might look like. (Low carbers can skip or swap out the fruits and veggies that don’t align with that plan.)
Serving lean protein and produce with peanut sauce adds low calorie volume plus protein and fiber to keep you full. The assortment of colorful vegetables are a delight to the eyes as well as the tastebuds.
FAQs
Peanut sauce may or may not be gluten free depending on the ingredients used. Instead of the soy sauce in this recipe, use wheat-free tamari or coconut aminos. You also need to ensure that the fish sauce you use is gluten free.
For vegan peanut sauce, you need to omit or swap out the fish sauce. This vegan fish sauce may be a good plant-based substitute for regular fish sauce.
Peanut butter is not Paleo-compatible because peanuts and other legumes aren’t permitted on Paleo. Legumes, such as peanuts and soy, aren’t Paleo friendly due to their high lectin and phytic acid content. (FWIW, I don’t agree with that rationale for cutting legumes in the diet for the general population.)
Aside from sugar free peanut sauce, there are many other keto sauces to try. Alfredo sauce, sugar-free teriyaki sauce, keto pesto sauce, hot sauce, and sugar-free BBQ sauce are a few examples.
Here’s a Chinese peanut sauce (Sichuan) to check out. The ingredients are: soy sauce, peanuts, sugar, water, soybean oil, distilled vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, cayenne, and xanthan gum. Check the label of the Chinese peanut sauce you want to buy to learn the exact ingredients used.
The net carbs in a serving of Thai peanut sauce depends on the brand you buy. Thai Kitchen peanut satay sauce contains 7 grams net carbs per 2-tablespoon serving. A Taste of Thai peanut sauce mix has 14 grams net carbs per serving.
👩🏻🍳 Other Sugar Free Recipes using Peanut Butter
Looking for more sugar free recipes with peanut butter? Check these out:
- Sugar Free Banana Popsicles
- Peanut Butter Avocado Smoothie for Weight Gain
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
- Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies (these are keto!)
Please note that by “sugar free” I mean no added sugars. The recipes above may contain natural sugars from fruit and dairy.
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The Disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats no sugar post. Let's get cooking!
📖 Recipe
Keto Peanut Sauce (Low Carb, Sugar Free Recipe)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup peanut butter (sugar free)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (unseasoned)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger, fresh
- crushed red pepper flakes (optional, for added heat)
- 4-6 tablespoons water (as needed to thin sauce; can also use coconut milk)
Instructions
- Finely mince the garlic (or use a garlic press). Grate the fresh ginger root.
- Whisk all of the peanut sauce ingredients together, except the water. Add the water a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
🥗 Keto Peanut Sauce Serving Idea
- 1 recipe keto peanut sauce (above)
- 24 ounces butternut squash spirals, frozen (680 grams; I used Green Giant brand)
- 1 cup small tomatoes, chopped (I like Villagio Marzanos)
- 1 medium red pepper, chopped small
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup mango, chopped (I used a champagne mango)
- 1 cup pineapple, chopped
- 12 ounces grilled or rotisserie chicken breast, chopped (340 grams)
- 1 cup edamame, shelled
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped (optional for more heat)
- 2 cups baby kale, massaged (don’t pack it down)
- ¼ cup scallions, sliced
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
Nutrition information is for one serving of the peanut sauce only. The complete meal (chicken veggie bowls with peanut sauce) provides 567 calories per serving.Nutrition
This post is an update on a 2020 post sponsored by #Foodiechats in partnership with the Georgia Peanut Commission. Did you know- peanuts are the official state crop of Georgia, and about half of the peanuts produced in the United States are there. Amazing!
Teresa Davis says
Laura Scudder Peanut Butter has no added sugar. It’s our fave.
Summer Yule says
Great tip! I'm not sure I've seen that brand in my area, but I'll be sure to look out for it 🙂
Terrified Amateur says
A treasure chest, Summer, of vibrant colors! Easy on the eyes, which also tells me exactly what delights await the taste buds.
Topping it with an oh-so-peanut-y sauce is a beautiful touch. It plays well with the ingredients beneath - the creamy enrobing the tang, the green oil anticipating similar flavor profiles within. such as edamame and kale. Etc., etc.
Oh, and no, I never heard of green peanut oil before. I use "regular" peanut oil almost exclusively with Thai and in other southeast Asian cuisines, but the green oil is news to me. Actually, with the ginger and the lick of flame (if you dare), your salad definitely proclaims Thai or Javan inspiration.
By the way, congratulations on intriguing the Georgia peanut people. What's the term my friend uses? You're an influencer, Obviously, the Georgians know who will showcase their product perfectly.
Summer Yule says
You are so kind! I’m glad you liked this one. I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was able to get this partnership that aligns with the types of foods/recipes that I promote. Very lucky!
I loved trying out the green peanut oil! I think taste-wise the difference between regular and green peanut oil is similar to the difference between toasted and not toasted sesame oil. The former having a far stronger flavor than the latter. I like them both for different purposes!
Yes, I think there are some Thai influences in this one too.
I might be more of a “micro influencer” but it’s all fun either way. I’d love to be paid to develop recipes for and eat delicious foods for the rest of my life. What a dream that would be, eh?
Terrified Amateur says
You've built it, Summer, and here they come.
The Georgia people are just the first to emerge from the cornfield.
How's that for a Field of Dreams?
Summer Yule says
Indeed! Hopefully I'll learn to cultivate the green thumb needed for the field to continue to flourish 🙂