Peanut Lime Dressing

A silky smooth, massively flavorful Peanut Lime Dressing that works beautifully in and on so many different things. We like this on our Thai Peanut Noodle Salad so much, but it’s wonderful as just part of a simple green salad, drizzled into lettuce wraps, or served as a tangy dipping sauce alongside satay-style chicken or other grilled meats.

No matter how you shake (or blend, actually) it, this is a fantastic “fridge door” dressing to keep on hand, and we can’t wait for you to give it a try. Read on for a few more details about this awesome dressing, or simply jump ahead to the recipe itself.

This dressing is reminiscent of a Thai-Style Satay Sauce and is anchored by store-bought creamy peanut butter. So, unlike a traditional peanut sauce or satay sauce, we’re taking a bit of license here in the name of expediency and using peanut butter. It works beautifully and results in a smooth, creamy dressing that requires no sieving or straining.

Uses for this Thai-Style Peanut Lime Dressing

There are a number of recipes on My Kitchen Little that would be made all the more delicious with the addition of this peanut lime dressing – many salads, in fact. But this is such a dynamic and versatile dressing/sauce that I think it would support a lot of different recipes.

On My Kitchen Little

• This dressing would be amazing served alongside our easy baked chicken wings (these wings would taste great with anything though, to be fair).
• Our citrusy grilled chicken is a very simple and very adjustable main course that has bright, charred citrus flavors running throughout each bite. This dressing is so lime-centric that it would be AMAZING served alongside this grilled chicken. The citrus components would go beautifully together.
• You could of course use it with my Vietnamese Rainbow Spring Roll Bowls as well.

Around the Web

• Any simple green salad would be made all the better by this delicious Peanut Lime Dressing. This collection of simple green salads from my dear friends, Sonja and Alex Overhiser, fits the bill beautifully.
• Use this dressing as a dipping sauce on a charcuterie board – what a fantastic way to add a little global flavor to a simple board, right? My friend Kelsey slays the charcuterie game here in Charleston (where I live), and I look to her for inspiration in my own creations.
• Similarly, you could use this dressing as a dipping sauce for fresh breads as well (my friend Amanda has a treasure trove of great bread recipes – I say start there.) Like an Italian restaurant the serves olive oil with a little balsamic vinegar at the table, to start the meal, this dressing would be amazing when served alongside some fresh bread, rice cakes, or simple spring rolls to start any Southeast Asian-inspired meal.

All About Peanut Lime Dressing

Is peanut sauce Thai?

Peanut sauce is so often attached to Thailand, and recipes of Thai origin. But what you may or may not be interested to know is that peanut sauce actually traces its roots to Indonesian cooking. When we as Americans think of “peanut sauce,” or in this case – peanut dressing – we’re usually thinking of what is really more of a “satay sauce.”

Satay sauce, or “bumbu kacang,” is popular in Indonesian cookery, as it typically accompanies satay, or grilled meats served on a skewer.

So! When you see recipes or menu items that include Thai-peanut sauce – you can actually go right ahead and give the true credit to Indonesian cooking. That said, you will see peanuts used in a lot of Thai recipes as well, and Malaysian, Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian as well.

Peanuts originally made their way to Indonesia from the Philippines, the legume having originated in Mexico and arriving in the Philippines as a result of Spanish colonization.

What is the best peanut butter to use?

Creamy peanut butters are typically the best for recipes like this one, as they will blend seamlessly into a smooth, creamy dressing with little to no effort. If I’m being totally real with you (I’m always totally real with you) you can use any creamy peanut butter you have on hand.

I keep JIF Natural in my pantry at all times, as it isn’t greasy at all and requires no stirring to blend it together. It works beautifully for this, but any smooth and creamy variety that you like or already have will be great.

How to make oil-free peanut lime dressing

If you want to skip the oil in this dressing, you absolutely can. I’ve had people ask me this question before, with other dressings or sauces, so I thought I’d offer an alternative, oil-free option for you, if you’re interested.

Oil-Free Peanut Lime Dressing

To make this recipe without any oil at all, you can simply omit it, and substitute a little bit of water to help thin things out a bit, until you reach a consistency that works for the recipe at hand.

In this case, I’d also recommend using maple syrup or honey, in place of the sugar, as the consistency of either would help smooth out the dressing, as an oil would.

What you’ll need

This dressing is very simple and straightforward. The ingredients are really flavorful and make for one powerhouse sauce/dressing that is great on so many things. That said, you should feel free to tweak the amounts of things, as you see fit, or to even add some things to the mix that seem fitting.

Maybe a half garlic clove or some freshly grated ginger. Some cilantro or scallions would be great, or Thai basil as well. Have fun, and make it yours.

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

Juice of ½ lime

2 tsp fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

3 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Sriracha (optional)

⅓ to ½ cup vegetable, canola, or olive oil

How to Make this Peanut Lime Dressing

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Adjust the amount of any ingredient to suit your taste preferences – more soy sauce, extra lime, a little more oil to a thinner dressing, etc. Make it yours!

If you like the looks of this peanut lime dressing, you might also want to check out:

Candied Bacon Dressing

Loaded Pasta Salad with Grilled Artichoke Dressing

Tomato Vinaigrette (on my Pizza Night salad)

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