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Try this Asian Peanut Sauce recipe once, and you’ll want to have it one hand at all times! This Paleo and Whole30 Asian-inspired “Peanut” Dressing is made with nutty delicious almond butter. It’s seriously my new favorite Whole30 salad dressing on the blog. Trust me, you’ll want to drizzle it on everything!
Since we are going into a new season, many of you asked to see more salad dressing and salad recipes. So it’s time to share my new favorite dipping sauce/salad dressing – Asian Peanut Sauce!
And in case you landed on my blog the first time – hi, welcome! – I share Asian-inspired Paleo recipes so most of the dishes you see on my blog are Paleo friendly and a majority of them are also Whole30 and low carb. Peanuts aren’t part of the Paleo diet so today’s Asian-inspired “peanut” sauce is made with almond butter! It tastes just as yummy, if not better. 🙂
Let me tell you, this sauce is creamy, savory, and sweet and it calls for basic pantry ingredients. Chances are you probably already have them at home! It’s perfect for jazz up salads, noodles, bowls, and more!
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Table of Contents
- Uses of Asian “Peanut” Sauce
- How to make Asian Peanut Sauce with no peanuts and/or nut-free
- What’s special about this Asian-inspired Paleo and Whole30 Peanut Sauce Recipe
- It tastes wildly different from my Thai Peanut Sauce.
- It’s smooth and drizzle-able.
- It’s naturally sweet.
- Paleo Whole30 Peanut Sauce Recipe Tips
- What can you do with this creamy Asian “Peanut” Sauce?
- More Asian-Inspired Salad Dressings:
- Dishes that go well with the peanut sauce:
- Asian “Peanut” Sauce Recipe (Paleo, Whole30, GF)
Uses of Asian “Peanut” Sauce
Salad dressing aside, this Asian-inspired peanut sauce is wonderful over zoodles, shirataki noodles, or rice noodles and served with low carb egg rolls. You can also drizzle it on steamed or blanched vegetables or roasted sweet potatoes for extra flavor and texture.
How to make Asian Peanut Sauce with no peanuts and/or nut-free
- Stir well the nut butter.
- Whisk together almond butter with coconut aminos, canned Mandarin orange juice, rice vinegar, grated garlic, and ginger.
- Slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking the sauce at the same time to make it extra creamy smooth.
You can also use cashew butter or sunflower seed butter (for nut-free). This is a simple and no cook peanut sauce recipe!
What’s special about this Asian-inspired Paleo and Whole30 Peanut Sauce Recipe
This Whole30 peanut dressing uses everyday ingredients that are easy to find at the grocery store.
It tastes wildly different from my Thai Peanut Sauce.
My Thai peanut salad dressing tastes just like the flavor you get in Bangkok. It has tamarind, curry paste, and coconut milk). This Chinese-inspired peanut salad dressing uses coconut aminos, almond butter, garlic, and ginger. I love them both and now you have two to swap and have fun! 🙂
It’s smooth and drizzle-able.
The beauty of this salad dressing is that you can play around with each ingredient and adjust the flavor to your own liking! Let the dressing sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes and the sauce will become thicker. To thin, simply add a bit of Mandarin orange juice. It’s so good that sometimes I wish I could drink it like a milkshake. 🙂
It’s naturally sweet.
I use the juice from canned Mandarin oranges that are mixed with pear juice. You can also use orange juice (with no pulp) and no added sugar. And it goes without saying that this Asian-style peanut dressing works beautifully with my Mandarin Chicken Salad
Paleo Whole30 Peanut Sauce Recipe Tips
- I love this sauce the way it’s written below, but feel free to customize it.
- You can substitute cashew nut butter or sunflower seed butter (nut-free) for almond butter.
- Substitute orange juice (with no pulp) for Mandarin orange juice (from a can) or use fresh squeezed juice from Tangerine.
- Let the dressing sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes so that the flavor can developer deeper and the texture will turn thicker.
- Add more nut butter for a thicker texture. If it’s too thick, thin it with fruit juice.
What can you do with this creamy Asian “Peanut” Sauce?
There are so many ways to enjoy this dressing. I love adding it to my shirataki noodle bowls or a delicious big bowl of Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad.
If you love peanut sauce, you’ll also love my spicy peanut noodles, garlic chili noodles, and cucumber noodles with Thai peanut sauce.
More Asian-Inspired Salad Dressings:
- Whole30 Ranch Salad Dressing
- Roasted Sesame Dressing
- Creamy Ginger Salad Dressing
- Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
- Thai Dipping Sauce (Nam Jim Jaew แจ่ว)
- 5 Whole30 Salad Dressing Recipes
- More Paleo Salad Dressings
Dishes that go well with the peanut sauce:
- Smoked Salmon Salad Recipe (swap the peanut sauce for the mustard dressing)
- Bang Bang Shrimp Recipe (dip the puffy shrimp in the peanut sauce)
- Bok Choy Salad (try the salad with this peanut-flavored dressing)
- Roasted Cauliflower Recipe (swap the Asian peanut sauce for lemon tahini sauce)
- Thai Peanut Sauce Cucumber Noodles (Try the cucumber noodles with this Chinese version of peanut sauce)
- Chinese baked orange chicken!
This Asian Peanut Sauce is new on the blog but it has quickly become one of my favorite Whole30 salad dressings. It’s creamy, savory, little sweet, and totally satisfying! I already have great plans for using this salad dressing and can’t wait to hear what you think and see your lovely creations!
If you give this recipe a try, please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. My readers love learning from each other and your comment also helps my blog grow organically. Thanks so much. I appreciate it!
Asian “Peanut” Sauce Recipe (Paleo, Whole30, GF)
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp almond butter or cashew butter, sunflower seed butter
- ⅓ cup Canned Mandarin orange juice or orange juice no pulp, tangerine fruit juice
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 0.25 oz garlic grated
- 0.25 oz ginger grated
- 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Stir-well the nut butter. In a large mixing cup, add ingredients from almond butter to vinegar. Stir-well.
- With one hand holding a whisk, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking at the same time to emulsify the sauce.
- Let the sauce sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. The flavor will develop further and the texture will turn extra creamy smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is my go-to recipe for whole30 compliant peanut sauce. It is DELICIOUS!
Thank you so much. Appreciate it!
I do not have a cooking scale. How can I measure .25 ounces of garlic using teaspoons or some other method?
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I see. I will start with a small quantity and taste and adjust. For 0.25 oz, start with 1 small clove. If not enough garlicky flavor, use another small clove. Hope that helps!
THIS IS SO GOOD!
Thank you so much! 😀
Thank you so much for this!! It’s freaking delicious and taste identical to peanut sauce. My 2 year old is allergic to peanuts and he loved this on rice. I love that I can now have something similar to peanut sauce in the house. You nailed the flavor!
Thank you, Libby! So happy to hear!
So good!! My husband and I love it!! I had to use white ACV (didn’t have rice vinegar) and I used freshly squeezed OJ (didn’t have canned mandarins). Delish!! Definitely will be using this recipe regularly
What can I use instead of the mandarin orange juice to make keto?
Try keto honey like this recipe – https://iheartumami.com/honey-sriracha-chicken/
You’re weren’t kidding when you said this sauce is addicting! I made it for the mandarin chicken salad and it’s amazing! I’m going to be eating it the rest of the week. I’m definitely going to keep this sauce recipe. I’ve bought bottles of peanut sauce, but this is so much better, taste- and health-wise.
Hehe, Lori! Thanks!
So easy, delicious, and loved by everyone in the family! I made this sauce tonight (used cashew butter and fresh squeezed orange juice) and it was fantastic. We used it for “Asian” fish tacos, so good and so quick and easy — thank you Chih Yu!!
Thank you so much, Felsha. I so appreciate it!