Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe – Easy, Flavorful, and Creamy Dinner Idea
This easy peanut butter chicken recipe is a delicious meal that’s sure to become a family favorite.
Combining the creamy richness of peanut butter with savory chicken, this flavorful dish is perfect for those who love bold, delicious flavors. You can whip it up in under 30 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights.
Check out more flavorful chicken recipes and discover a new favorite dish today!
Pair it with rice or noodles for a complete meal.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chicken
Gather your ingredients:

To make the peanut butter sauce for chicken, saute garlic until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the peanut butter, allowing it to soften and combine with the garlic and ginger.
Smooth peanut butter works best to create a silky, rich sauce. If you prefer more texture, crunchy peanut butter can be used for added crunch.
Adjust the sweetness by balancing the peanut butter’s richness with honey or brown sugar. Adjust the amount to suit your taste; more for sweetness or less for a more savory flavor.
If you like a little heat, add chili flakes, sriracha, or even a dash of hot sauce.
To ensure your chicken stays juicy and flavorful, pound it to an even thickness before cooking. This helps it cook uniformly and prevents dryness.
After adding the chicken back into the sauce, let it simmer for several minutes to absorb all the delicious peanut flavors.
Garnish with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, or chopped peanuts to bring brightness and texture to your dish.
Cooking chicken with peanut butter sauce typically takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
What to Serve with Peanut Butter Chicken
Crispy peanut butter chicken pairs well with a variety of sides that complement its rich, creamy sauce.
- White or Brown rice is a classic choice to soak up the peanut sauce.
- Rice noodles or even udon work well to balance the creamy peanut sauce.
- Serve with stir-fried or steamed crisp veggies like broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, or snap peas for a fresh and crunchy contrast.
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes pairs with the savory and sweet flavors of peanut butter chicken.
- Cucumber Salad or mixed greens salad with a tangy dressing provides a refreshing, cool balance to the creamy dish.
- For a fun twist, pair the dish with naan or flatbread to scoop up the sauce and chicken.
These sides help balance the rich, bold flavors of peanut butter chicken and make for a delicious, well-rounded meal!
Looking for more easy dinner ideas? Discover Dinner Recipes with Peanut Butter, flavorful Recipes Using Chicken Thighs or how to make perfect Baked Whole Chicken for your next dinner!
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Peanut Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 garlic cloves chopped
Instructions
- Dice chicken.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a sauté pan. Brown chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, make your peanut sauce: whisk together soy sauce, creamy peanut butter, brown sugar, remaining olive oil, ground ginger and white vinegar.
- When chicken is browned, stir in sauce and cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce is warm.
- Serve Peanut Butter Chicken over white rice.
going to have to try this out one day
Always looking for new ways to serve chicken. Also going to try this with my tofu. Yummy sounding. Stopped by from SITS Girls.
I am definitely trying this recipe. My family loves chicken no matter how I make it.
I didn’t have white vinegar, so I used apple cider vinegar instead. Still amazing and so easy! I loved it.
Made sauce with veg oil didn’t see olive oil in above story before putting sauce together. Still good. Will try olive oil next time!
@Emmie, in the ingredient list it says oil and then the instructions it says olive oil
My family and I don’t like chicken breast I wonder if it would be good with chicken thighs, I may have to try it
Yes absolutely! I make it with thighs all the time!
I did make the recipe & used coconut oil. We liked it a lot & will definitely make it again. Thank you
yes! I used to do that when I first started making this recipe years ago.
This is quite yummy, but the amount of ginger is a little too much for me. I also strongly recommend using low sodium soy sauce, or it gets to be wayyy too salty. Great with broccoli and white rice (I make my rice with chicken stock and butter for extra flavor)
make this chicken but bake it on shish kabob sticks and serve with a plum sauce …we call it pb&j chicken
What kind of oil do you need for this meal?! Olive oil or Vegetable oil?! Thank you so much for your help!!
I use olive.
Just wanted to say this was awesome. I have a toddler who only wants peanut butter and jelly, so this was my way of parlaying that into a more nutritious dinner. Thanks!
This makes me so happy!
What if I have everything but the ginger. Will it still be good?
Absolutely! Many times I forgo the ginger and it’s just as delicious!
This was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Thank you!!
Can I use chunky peanut butter and teriyaki sauce instead of soy?
Yes, the only probably with chunky is that it will be harder to whisk into a smooth sauce.
Delicious! Easy! I made with skinless, boneless thighs and had so much yummy sauce for the rice- Thank you!
I went thru these comments and didn’t see my question, but you state in one area to saute the garlic with the peanut butter, but there’s no garlic in the ingredients–did you mean the ginger? or does this recipe also include garlic?
I updated the recipe to include 1-2 cloves of garlic.