Let’s be honest this recipe is all about the peanut dipping sauce. The Grilled Chicken Satay Skewers are just one way to get the peanut butter sauce into your belly! You can make this easy satay chicken recipe on the grill, in the oven, or on your stove-top.
Serve Chicken Satay With Peanut Sauce as an appetizer or as light main dish recipe.
Disclaimer: This post does contain affiliate links. Please see my Affiliate Link Policy All opinions are my own.
This recipe will make you look like a culinary rockstar even if you think you struggle in the kitchen. I promise this recipe is so easy!
I’ve made this chicken satay menu for countless parties because it’s so easy! This is a party food menu that I know everyone loves and it’s kid-approved.
Everyone is in love with the scrumptious peanut butter sauce!?
The peanut satay sauce recipe might be one of my most requested recipes.
Every time I serve this chicken satay, I get a million requests for the Thai peanut sauce recipe.
I must admit this peanut sauce is one of the best that I have ever had.
How To Make Chicken Satay
Chicken satay starts by first marinating chicken breast of thighs in a delicious satay marinade.
There are a few options for how you might serve satay. Traditionally, chicken satay is marinated and skewered and then cooked over a grill. This is my favorite way to make chicken satay.
Alternatively, you can bake the marinated chicken. Or cook this chicken right on your stovetop. Quickly browning the chicken in a pan is perfect for busy nights when you don’t have time to preheat the oven.
The chicken can be cut into bite-sized pieces or into longer ‘chicken fingers’ . Bite-sized pieces are perfect for toothpicks.
Grilled Chicken Satay
PRO-TIP: Soak bamboo skewers in water for an hour or so before using them on the grill. This helps to prevent them from burning up. OR us metal reusable skewers.
How to Grill Chicken Satay
- Prepare the chicken by cutting the meat into chicken tenders and marinating it for a few hours, up to overnight.
- Skewer one chicken tender onto the end of a skewer. If you prefer, you can skewer five to seven bite-sized pieces per skewer.
- Optional: Grill the marinated chicken tenders with no skewers at all.
- Heat a gas grill to high. Use an indirect fire if you are using a charcoal grill.
- Once the grill is hot, place the chicken skewers on the grill and sear.
- Once the skewers are seared, turn the heat down to medium, or move the skewers off to the side, cover and cook for approximately 6 minutes on each side.
- The internal temperature of your chicken should be 145℉.
- Remove the chicken satay skewers from the grill, place onto a platter an cover tightly with foil. Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Baked Chicken Satay
PRO-TIP: Line your baking sheets with parchment paper to make clean up super easy.
How to Bake Chicken Satay
- Preheat your oven to 450℉. (425℉ for convection)
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the marinated chicken satay on the parchment, giving the pieces of chicken a good amount of room so that they can brown nicely.
- Bake for 12 to 20 minutes. Oven temperatures vary so watch closely.
- Use a thermometer to check the doneness. The internal temperature should be 145℉.
- Remove the chicken from the oven, cover tightly with foil and rest 10 minutes before serving.
Stovetop Chicken Satay
PRO-TIP: Using a well-seasoned cast-iron pan or a wok will give you the best flavor and browning.
- Heat you pan or wok to medium-high heat.
- Add the marinated chicken satay in batches, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
- Cook on medium-high heat until the chicken is golden brown and firm to the touch.
- The internal temperature should be 145℉.
- Remove each batch as the chicken is done and set aside on a platter.
- Cover with foil for about 10 minutes before serving. (Because a lot of the chicken has been resting already as you brown each batch, this last resting step is optional.
Chicken Satay Marinade
Decide if you will be marinating your chicken in a large freezer bag or in a bowl or shallow dish.
Prepare the chicken: Use chicken breasts or thighs. Either cut the chicken in too long chicken fingers or cut into bite-sized pieces.
Add the chicken to your bag, bowl, or dish. Add the ingredients for the marinade to the chicken. Mix thoroughly.
Marinate the chicken for two hours at room temperature. The chicken can be marinated overnight in the refrigerator.
Make sure to bring you chicken to room temperature for at least an hour before cooking. If the chicken is cold in the center it may not be completely done all the way through.
Peanut Sauce Recipe
Have I mentioned that this is the best peanut sauce that you will ever make? Seriously you can eat this satay sauce right out of the bowl.
Ingredients that you will need for Thai Peanut Sauce;
- Smooth peanut butter — stabilized peanut butter is best in this recipe.
- garlic
- ginger
- crushed red pepper
- rice vinegar
- tamari or soy sauce
- fresh cilantro
- coconut cream
How to make the peanut satay sauce.
How else can you use the peanut dipping sauce?
This peanut dipping sauce also makes a fantastically flavorful peanut salad dressing.
All you have to do to turn this thick peanut dipping sauce into a pourable Thai salad dressing is to add a little bit more rice vinegar and water to thin it out.
Serve with my crunchy Asian Slaw.
Get this recipe in my cookbook! Or check it out in my Teriyaki Bowl Recipe
Chicken Satay Menu- What else to serve with a Thai Chicken Satay recipe.
I have a whole Chicken Satay Menu. This menu is always a crowd-pleaser. Plus it passes my leftover test — it is just as delicious cold, right out of the fridge!
My Asian Cucumber Salad is the perfect side dish for Chicken Satay. It’s crunchy, sweet and just a little bit spicy.
Coconut Rice with Fresh Mangoes
If you just want to eat spoonfuls of the Peanut Dipping Sauce…
Meal Prep: Chicken Satay Bowl Recipe
Meal prep can be healthy and delicious! Make a double batch of grilled chicken satay. Because chicken satay tastes just as good cold I recommend using this as one of your core proteins for weekly meal prep.
Get more meal prep recipes HERE!
Other Easy and Healthy Recipes that you should try:
- Lemongrass Shrimp with Vermicelli
- Easy Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Vegan Mushroom Lettuce Wraps
- Thai Chicken Meatballs
- The Ultimate Pho Thai Recipe
Did you make this recipe? If you loved it, make sure you leave a 5-star review and a comment! 👇
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Chicken Satay with Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 32 ounces boneless chicken breasts cut into tenderloins
Chicken Satay Marinade
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp aji-mirin
- ¼ cup water
- 3 cloves fresh garlic pressed
- 2 tsp fresh ginger
- 2 tsp crushed red pepper less, for less spicy
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Peanut Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter Stabilized peanut butter works best for this recipe.
- 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic pressed
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 tbsp cilantro finely minced
- 3 tbsp coconut creme
- fresh-squeezed lime juice optional
- water to thin, if needed.
Garnishes
- fresh limes cut into wedges
- fresh cilantro rough chopped
Instructions
Chicken Satay Marinade
- Add the marinade ingredients to large bowl or freezer bag and mix.
- Add the chicken that has been cut into either tenders or bite-sized pieces.
- Marinade the chicken for at least 2 hours. Up to overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on skewers.
- Chicken should be at room temperature before cooking to ensure that inside gets cooked to the propper temperature.
Grilling Chicken Satay
- Grill on medium-high, for 3 minutes each side. Alternately: Bake at 450℉, for 10-12 minutes or until done.
Baking Chicken Satay
- Preheat the oven to 450℉. (425℉ for convection)
- Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets for 10-12 minutes.
Stovetop Directions for Chicken Satay
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or a wok to medium-high.
Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy.
- Add a squeeze of lime juice if desired.
- Water: You may need to add a little water to thin the peanut dipping sauce to the desired consistency. Different brands of peanut butter differ in thickness.
- PRO-TIP: To make a Thai peanut dressing* simply thin the dipping sauce a little bit more. For the dressing, I usually add a few more tablespoons of the rice vinegar and then if it still needs to be thinner I will add some water until I am happy with the consistency.
Basmati rice + coconut creme + mangoes = are you kidding me?
The flavor, texture, and taste were just insane.
You are the master!
Thanks again Laura.
I am so happy to see you are harnessing your inner master chef. Thank you for all the support. I am glad that I can help you bring delicious food to your table.