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Easy Thai Chicken Satay in a thick and creamy peanut sauce! A special ingredient makes this satay taste incredible. KETO and LOW CARB RECIPE!
The one ingredient I add into it covers over 10 ingredients so YOU don’t have to worry about forgetting anything in the supermarket! This is a quick and easy Chicken Satay recipe using bone-in chicken thighs.
Why This Recipe Works
The thing about this Satay Chicken recipe is that it may not be the authentic real deal directly from Thailand, BUT it IS incredible. TASTES like take-out Thai, which to me is a crucial part of eating. This recipe is my answer to those moments you want a Thai Satay Chicken, but either:
- Don’t have time to cube chicken or soak skewers. Or thread chicken onto those skewers while trying to avoid stabbing fingers and palms with said skewers.
- Sometimes we just want an easy route. This is for us.
Ingredients
- Chicken: Use bone-in or boneless chicken thighs- they’re the best cut for this recipe.
- Coconut milk: For the peanut sauce and the marinade. Use full fat coconut milk- the low fat version just won’t have that richness and creaminess you’re looking for.
- Peanut butter: All natural creamy peanut butter is the best choice! You’ll need this, again, for the marinade and the sauce.
- Thai red curry paste: This one’s my secret ingredient- it packs in all those delicious Thai flavors without you needing to get all those individual ingredients from a specialty store.
- Soy sauce: For the umami deliciousness. I love using Kecap Manis sweet soy sauce.
- Fish sauce: Just a dash, for some extra flavor.
- Brown sugar: To balance the other flavors with a bit of sweetness. Use palm sugar or jaggery instead if you have those at hand.
- Veggies: You’ll need fresh garlic, limes and some red chilies.
- Tamarind: To lend a bit of tangy, sour flavor.
- Peanut oil: I used peanut oil to fry the chicken, just for that bit of additional flavor. You can make do with regular cooking oil too, if you don’t have peanut oil.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
Step By Step
Asian chicken recipes have become my go-to on weeknights, mostly because I find myself craving Asian takeout more often than I’d like. My Honey Chicken Stir Fry and Roasted Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs have both been absolute hits
- Pre-Heat: To make the Thai chicken satay, start by preheating your oven to 400°F
- Marinade: In a large, shallow bowl, combine peanut butter, coconut milk, curry paste, brown sugar, salt, soy sauce and the fish sauce.
- Sear chicken: Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and sear it on both sides until browned.
- Bake until cooked: Transfer the chicken to a prepared baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
- Peanut Sauce: While the chicken is in the oven, combine ingredients (except the lime juice) for the peanut sauce in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then, turn down the heat, let thicken slightly. Take it off heat and stir in lime juice.
- Assemble and serve: Arrange the chicken on a serving plate and pour the peanut sauce over it. Garnish with chopped cilantro, lime wedges and red chilies.
Enjoy this creamy Thai chicken satay with some steamed Jasmine rice or Chow Mein to make it a wholesome and filling meal. If you’re looking for a low carb option, try my Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice or classic Cauliflower Fried Rice. And if you’re a salad person, you can whip up some Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Salad minus the chicken, and serve it with the chicken satay.
Recipe FAQ’s
You absolutely can! Just make sure you preheat the Air Fryer and grease the basket before you add the chicken in. It should take just about 10 minutes (at 350 degrees) for the chicken to be completely cooked.
Store your leftover chicken satay in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and reheat in a pan or the microwave. You may need to top it with some more of that peanut sauce too!
You can use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the chicken (it should be 165 degrees or more), or just slice through a piece to check if the juices run clear, and the chicken is no longer pink.
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Easy Thai Satay Chicken
Ingredients
For The Chicken Marinade:
- 4 tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/4 tablespoon light brown sugar packed, omit for keto
- 1 1/4 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon Kecap Manis sweet soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 skinless chicken thighs bone-in or out
- 2 teaspoons peanut oil for frying
For the Peanut Sauce:
- 1 1/3 cup coconut milk all remaining milk from the tin
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter all natural preferable
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce Kecap Manis
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar packed, omit for keto
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1/2 tablespoon Tamarind puree optional
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
- 1 handful cilantro to garnish
- 3 lime wedges to garnish
- 1 red chillies sliced to garnish
Instructions
- For the chicken marinade, mix together the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, curry paste, sauces and salt in a large, shallow bowl until well combined and creamy. Add in the chicken, turning to coat completely with the marinade. Allow to marinade for at least 10 minutes to half an hour in the refrigerator (if time allows).
- Preheat oven to 400°F | 200°C.
- Heat oil in an oven-proof pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken until browned on each side and fragrant (about 8-10 minutes each side). Transfer to the oven and continue cooking for a further 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through (juices run clear and no longer pink inside).
- While the chicken is in the oven, combine all Peanut Sauce ingredients into a saucepan EXCEPT for the lime juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer until combined and thickened (about 5-6 minutes). Once thick, take off heat and stir in the lime juice (start with 1 tablespoon and adjust accordingly to suit your tastes).
- Serve the chicken with the peanut sauce: either pour it all into the pan with the chicken OR serve separately.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, lime wedges and red chillies.
Notes
- Boneless chicken breasts can be replaced. Adjust cook times accordingly.
- Replace Fish Sauce with Soy Sauce
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I want your recipe please that look so Good
I know this blog post is a little old, but in case you are still listening, THIS WAS AMAZING! I bought a new Food Saver and decided that this was how I was going to meal prep. So I made your recipe (as written) and it was the bomb dot com. Had most everything on hand. I specifically looked up satay chicken and this came up so I gave it a shot.
So I just marinated a big batch of chicken thighs using your recipe after my test batch. IT IS THAT GOOD. I put it over rice with roasted broccoli. YUM and YUMMERS. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have it printed out. My freezer is full of single portion air-vacuumed satay chicken thighs. If I could figure out how to save the sauce that would be phenomenal. It is really the icing on the cake. I mixed it all in with my rice and omg. Like I was at a Thai restaurant.
And for all you people that say that you “changed a few things and it was terrible”…do not leave a review after you changed anything. You are leaving a review on the way the recipe was written. God I hate that.
Best regards, and thank you.
Kim
Made this for me and the hubby tonight. Excellent, deep, rich flavor to the chicken thanks to the peanut sauce.
Very delicious. Will make again. My only complaint is that the prep time is way beyond ten minutes. Delicious nonetheless. Thank you.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing. We put the chicken over Thai noodles and it was so good!
I have used this recipe multiple times and it is ALWAYS a hit! It tastes like it came out of a restaurant! I like to add red bell peppers to mine for color. I’m making it for Thanksgiving as we tend to not like to eat traditional turkey. I always look forward to making this a day ahead and letting the chicken marinate overnight. It really is so SO good! Thank you so much for writing this recipe!
Does the sauce have a peanut butter taste? I’m not sure if I would like that, but wonder if I’m missing out on something tasty.
The Thai satay chicken is so delicious and decadent. Excellent and saucy with with white rice. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
This was a HUGE success!! I actually switched it up a bit and used chicken breast cut into strips and then cooked in my air fryer at 400° for 13 minutes, flipping over at halfway mark. I did it in two batches… it was perfect. I served it over Coconut Jasmine Rice. Best Satay ever! Thank you!
Omg…..this recipe is amazing!! It even rivals restaurant Thai satay. I used lite coconut milk to reduce the fat content….and it was incredible! In fact, I am making it for the second time as I type this. Love it. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Great recipe, Thx Karina..