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This Thai Chicken Satay recipe made in an Air Fryer is off-the-charts DELICIOUS! Thanks to a no chopping satay marinade, the chicken is super flavorful and bubbly delicious out of the fryer. The smell is UBER DELICIOUS and you’ll be astonished how EASY it is!
With only 10 ingredients, this is a great Asian style chicken marinade for summer BBQ or meal prep. Stovetop instructions are also included!
Thai Chicken Satay is one of my favorite dishes whenever we eat out. The chicken tastes earthy and little sweet, and with a light charcoal smoky flavor. Today’s recipe is a simplified version, made in an air fryer. It is my answer to those days when you want a Thai Satay Chicken, but –
- Don’t have time to hunt down specialty ingredients,
- No time to soak and thread the skewers, and
- You just want something easy and it still tastes A-MAZING! This is for you. 🙂
The smell is SUPER GOOD when the chicken fries up in an air fryer or hits the stove, you’ll know they are going to taste amazing.
What Does Chicken Satay Taste Like?
This Thai-inspired Chicken Satay recipe with the marinade tastes earthy, savory, and with a kiss of sweetness. It’s far more complex than teriyaki chicken and is a popular street food in southeast Asia. I use boneless and skinless chicken thighs so that every bite is tender and flavorful.
This dish is usually served with a satay dipping sauce or a peanut sauce mixed with soy sauce. I’ve made this dish several times without dipping sauce and it’s tasty enough to eat on their own. If, however, you like to kick the flavor over the top, try my no peanut Thai “Peanut” Sauce to make it extra tasty!
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Thai Chicken Satay Marinade
This dish tastes uber yummy that you might be surprised how few ingredients go in the dish! Here’s what you need –
- Turmeric powder
- Coriander powder
- White pepper
- Cumin powder
- Dairy-free creamer, or melted coconut cream
- Fish sauce
- Coconut aminos
- Ginger
- Hot sauce
How To Make Thai Chicken Satay
- Marinate the chicken with turmeric, coriander, cumin, white pepper, dairy-free creamer, fish sauce, coconut aminos, grated ginger, and hot sauce for at least 30 minutes.
- Lightly drip off the marinade and from here you can air fry, pan fry, or barbeque!
See easy? This Thai-inspired Chicken Satay recipe makes a great everyday as well as party food. Kids will love it!
Meal Prep Version
This dish is perfect for meal prep – just dump and store!
- Add all the ingredients to a large freezer friendly ziplock bag.
- Gently mix well with the seasonings.
- Squeeze out the air and store the bag flat until it’s solid frozen.
- Defrost a night before in the fridge with a tray underneath.
What To Serve With Chicken Satay
Serve it with Thai Chicken Fried Rice (made with shirataki rice), Keto Fried Rice (with garlic chips!), or Broccoli Fried rice!
If you want to go all out with a homemade Thai banquet, serve this Thai Chicken Satay on the side with Thai basil chicken, Air fryer chicken wings, Green curry chicken, Crispy Thai chicken salad, Whole30 Pad Thai, Thai Chicken Curry Noodles – Khao Soi, Keto Pad Woon Sen, or Keto Pad See Ew!
More Paleo Thai Recipes
For A Fresh Side Salad
Try my Mandarin Orange Salad, Smoked Salmon Salad, Japanese Potato Salad, Broccoli Pesto Salad, Grilled Peach Salad, Thai beef salad, or Watermelon Fruit Salad.
More Paleo Salad Recipes
This Air Fryer Thai Chicken Satay is a new favorite in my household. Trust me, this dish smells so good the moment the chicken gets fried up, you’ll know immediately tonight’s dinner is gonna be GREAT! With only 10 ingredients and no chopping, this dish comes together in a snap. Pair it with fried rice and a big bowl of salad, you’ll love every single bite!
Thai Chicken Satay Recipe (Paleo, Keto, Whole30)
Ingredients
Thai chicken satay marinade:
- 1.5-2 lbs chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 0.5 tsp white pepper
- 0.5 tsp cumin powder
- 4 tbsp dairy-free coffee creamer or melted coconut cream
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos or 1 tbsp low sodium/gluten-free tamari
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp hot sauce I use Frank’s original hot sauce
- Avocado oil cooking spray for the air fryer basket
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, marinate the chicken thighs with ingredients from turmeric to hot sauce. Gently mix well and cover the bowl. Store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day before cooking.
- To air fry, lightly spray the fryer basket with avocado oil. Slightly drip off the marinade and place the chicken thighs into the basket in one layer with some space between each piece. Please do not over crowd the basket. I cook mine in two batches.
- Air fry at 370F (188C) for 15 minutes on the first side and 8-10 minutes the second side or until the chicken is cooked through. Please note that cook time varies, depending on the type of air fryer.
- To pan fry (stovetop), add 1 tbsp avocado oil to a well-heated skillet. Pan fry 6 minutes the first side and 5-6 minutes the second side over medium heat or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Serve hot or at room temperature. The chicken is very tender and flavorful and you don’t need a dipping sauce however if you like to kick the flavor over the top, try my Paleo Thai “Peanut” sauce. Serve it over a big bowl of salad greens or Keto garlic fried rice!
Notes
This dish is perfect for meal prep – just dump and store!
- Add all the ingredients to a large freezer friendly ziplock bag.
- Gently mix well with the seasonings.
- Squeeze out the air and store the bag flat until it’s solid frozen.
- Defrost a night before in the fridge with a tray underneath.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fabulous!!!! Serve with Thai Peanut Salad. Have made this many times, everyone loves it. Simple and delicious.
Thank you so so much for sharing. I’m so happy to hear that. 🙂
Easy and delicious… will definitely be making again
Thanks so much!
This chicken is AMAZING! So delicious, everyone in the family cleared their plates and it was definitely not too spicy for the kiddos. My only tip for others using their air fryers: 25 minutes (total) was WAY too long for my air fryer. Second batch was perfect at 15 minutes (7:30 minutes per side). So, I would strongly suggest checking your chicken at 10 minutes. The recipe clearly states to check your chicken because different air fryers cook at different speeds, and I’m just here to highlight that advice!! (But my husband and I still ate the overcooked chicken thighs. The flavor was still SO GOOD!) I served this with the air fryer baby bok choy, and it was all delicious! I have seriously never had a bad outcome with any of your recipes! Thank you!!!
Thanks for sharing. Super helpful. Appreciate it. 🙂
I was thinking that was Bok Choy. Can you tell me what you have underneath the chicken in the picture? Some kind of rice perhaps?
Yes those are cauliflower blend rice with carrots and broccoli.
Thanks!
This was GREAT! Chicken Satay has always been a favorite and now to be able to make it in the air fryer! YAY1 I served it with a yummy Thai Peanut Salad
Thank you so much. So happy to hear. This is an easy and great marinade for chicken lovers!
This is a staple in our home now – so good and pretty darn easy.
Thank you! So happy to hear!
So easy! Soooo good!! New regular staple in our house!!
This was fantastic and fabulously easy to prepare after chauffeuring my kids around all day. Winner winner chicken dinner! This will be going in our regular rotation.
Thank you, Catherine! So happy to hear the kids love it! A father said to me the same thing, too!
I LOVE this recipe. I’ve made it as is, with chicken breast, and with tofu. All delicious! It’s so easy to put together. Definitely one to make every week.
That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing!