These easy, flavorful Thai-inspired chicken satay skewers are marinated in coconut milk and spices and then grilled and served with a delicious spicy peanut sauce for dipping.
Chicken Satay Recipe
Anytime we go out for Thai food, we always order the satay! My husband is obsessed with coconut milk and peanut sauce, so I make this chicken dish all the time as a meal with some jasmine rice and cucumber salad. For more of my favorite Thai recipes, try this easy Pad Thai, Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad, and Thai Chicken Peanut Lettuce Cups.
Chicken satay with peanut sauce is popular in many countries in Southeast Asia from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. When grilled it has a delicious smoky sweet flavor, and the lime juice gives it a bright pop of flavor. The marinated meat can be made a day ahead if you want to make this for a party.
Chicken Satay Ingredients
- Coconut Milk: I used canned light coconut milk to reduce the calories.
- Fish Sauce: The fish sauce does not make the satay taste fishy. I highly recommend using it!
- Red Curry Paste: If you don’t have red curry paste, sub green curry or use curry powder instead.
- Brown Sugar adds a little sweetness.
- Cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro, omit it.
- Seasoning: Turmeric, salt, black pepper
- Chicken: Thinly slice boneless, skinless chicken cutlets into strips about three inches long and one inch wide.
- Garnish: Cilantro, peanuts, lime wedges
What is peanut dipping sauce made of?
- Broth: Use low-sodium chicken broth.
- Peanut Butter: I used creamy peanut butter
- Soy Sauce: Choose low-sodium soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free.
- Honey: You can swap honey with agave syrup
- Sriracha: If you’re serving people who don’t like spicy food, omit the sriracha, and people can drizzle it over their chicken if they want the extra heat.
- Ginger: Grate a teaspoon of fresh ginger.
- Garlic: Mince one garlic clove.
How to Make Chicken Satay
- Chicken Satay Marinade: Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and then add the chicken. Marinate the protein for at least four hours or up to overnight.
- Spicy Peanut Sauce: Whisk all the peanut sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook until smooth, stirring constantly. Set it aside to cool to room temperature.
- Bamboo Skewers: To prevent the sticks from burning, soak them for at least one hour while the chicken marinates. Then thread the chicken onto them.
- Grill: Set the grill to high heat, and cook the chicken for two to three minutes on each side until it’s cooked through.
- Serve the chicken satay with lime wedges and peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro and peanuts.
What to Serve with Chicken Satay
To make this a main dish serve it with Jasmine rice or coconut rice and sliced cucumbers. These skewers also make a great appetizer if you’re entertaining outdoors this summer.
How to Freeze
Leftover chicken satay lasts up to four days in the fridge or three months in the freezer. Freeze the chicken in zip-locked bags or airtight containers. Then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave.
If you don’t want to waste the rest of the canned coconut milk, save it for another recipe or double or triple the marinade, and freeze the other half for later. To use it, thaw it in the fridge and then marinate your chicken according to the instructions. You can also freeze the peanut sauce.
Variations
- Chicken: Swap cutlets with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, beef or boneless chicken thighs. And if you want to save some time, use chicken tenders.
- Allergic to peanut butter? Substitute almond butter.
- Allergic to fish sauce? Sub soy sauce or tamari.
- No grill? You can also use a grill pan or broil the chicken if you don’t want to grill it.
- Want to make them even easier? Skip the sticks and saute them in a hot skillet or air fry them 400F, about 7 to 8 minutes.
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken
- Thai Chicken Fried Rice
- Peanut-Braised Chicken Breasts
- Asian Chicken Chopped Salad
Grilled Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 -1/4 pounds thin-sliced boneless chicken breast, cutlets
- 16 large Bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water
- lime wedges, for garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped peanuts, for garnish (optional)
For the Peanut Sauce (makes 1/2 cup):
- 1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce, Tamari for gluten-free
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the marinade ingredients except the chicken. Slice the chicken into long, thin strips, about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide, and add to marinade. Turn chicken to coat, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or longer.
- Meanwhile, prepare the peanut sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook until smooth, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Prepare grill to high heat and thread marinated chicken onto soaked bamboo skewers. Place on grill and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Serve with lime wedges and peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro and peanuts.
This is so delicious! Only change I made was to make more peanut sauce because it was so wonderful. Serves with cilantro lime rice and Asian cucumber salad.
This is just GREAT GREAT GREAT Patio Food. Can cook right while guests enjoying wine. Sauce can be prepared in advance. Just a great greens salad. I had made some homemade na’an. Just THIS MEAL. Perfect. Thank you
Looks great, looking forward to trying it out, thanks
great taste! would make again.
Yum. What a great recipe thank you. Served with Thai Cucumber salad.
Absolutely delicious! Wouldn’t change a thing! Came out perfectly! I served with the cilantro-lime rice and a cucumber salad.
Thanks Amy!
Made it exactly as written and was excellent. Was nice with Nishiki rice and limes with cilantro.
Next time will add a little jalapeño to the marinade and a bit more ginger, a little jalapeño, a touch more soy sauce, garlic and Siracha to the peanut sauce. Excellent recipe!
I see it’s 4 WW points but is that for just the chicken or including the dipping sauce?
My family LOVED this recipe!
We were practically licking the sauce from the bowl, it was so good. Another winner!
So flavorful!
Thanks for the great recipe! I marinated the chicken overnight and cooked it in a cast iron skillet instead of on the grill. Definitely a repeat recipe.
Can you make this in advance and freeze it in the marinade, thaw and cook later?
Sure
Fabulous meal with so much flavor! My husband says it needs to be on our regular rotation. I served it with a pineapple coconut rice and we sliced up a small watermelon to go with it. The peanut sauce is amazing!
Made these for a party and they were a hit! Makes a lot of peanut sauce, used garlic chili sauce instead of sriracha, used regular chicken breast instead of cutlets, did not use red curry paste, used curry powder instead of turmeric
It wasn’t my favorite, and I love most of everything I cook from skinnytaste. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. I don’t like the flavor of chicken with peanut sauce. I don’t think I’ll make it again.
I did it in the air fryer and left out the siracha. It was very good.
So good! My partner is allergic to peanuts, so I used almond butter and sliced almonds. Realized too late that I was out of sriracha so I used chili crisp and served over some coconut rice. This one’s a keeper!
Where can you find fish sauce and curry paste
most supermarkets in asian aisle or amazon.
My husband won’t stop talking about how delicious this was. Maybe the best chicken recipe I’ve made.
Yay!!
The only thing I would change is DOUBLE the peanut sauce! It is so good on everything! This is a great recipe! The chicken is wonderful! Thank you Gina!
I’ve been making your recipes for years and have to say – this one knocked them all out of the park. WOW! Everyone in my family gave it a thumbs up – even the picky eater. I subbed Barney Butter (almond) for PB due to allergies and I would have never known it was different. New family fav! I also served with coconut rice and a thai cucumber salad which was perfect together 🙂
This was amazing!!! The chicken had a wonderful flavour. The peanut sauce was not overpowering with peanut butter like others I’ve tried, just a perfect balance with all the other ingredients. I will definitely be making this again, and again, and again 😀
I completed the meal with coconut rice and a Thai cucumber salad.
My whole family loved this and my daughter proclaimed that it needed to be in regular rotation! I served it with the Skinnytaste coconut rice and a salad.
This is just a perfect, straightforward light meal loaded with flavor. I served with just plain Jasmine rice(enough fragrance naturally) and a Korean cucumber salad. Meal presents beautifully
what would you suggest instead of the fish sauce as the sodium is off the chart.
My whole family loved this recipe, which never happens! I used powdered low fat peanut butter for the sauce and it turned out perfectly. I also used only 1 tsp of fish sauce in the marinade because it is quite strong. But any recipe that can please all 3 of my picky kids is an A++!
If I use regular peanut butter, is the measurements the same?
Has anyone marinated these overnight?
I marinaded overnight and it was delicious!
This is hands down the best chicken satay I’ve ever made. And I’m picky. It’s now my go-to recipe. I make it in the winter under the broiler, and in the summer on the bbq. Everyone loves it – even my kids who pour the peanut sauce on everything. I finish the peanut sauce after the boil with a couple tsps of cornstarch pre-dissolved in cold water. I find it just gives it a bit more thickness. And I double the sauce recipe because it’s delicious!
I am a chef and I never comment on recipes but this was delicious! I made it with your edamame fried rice, didn’t feel like I was on a diet at all! Thank you! Oh! Made your eggplant rollatini last night as well, the bomb!
This looks so good, I’m allergic to peanut butter is there anything i can substitute it with?
Almond butter
Made this last night! It was phenomenal!!
This is a fabulously tasty recipe. The marinade is great for tofu, too. We were able to have a great grilled dinner for the both chicken eaters and vegans.
I will have to try that!
DELICIOUS! I’ve made this recipe many times. I loved it so much that I drove to my best friend’s house an hour and a half away and we made it together. It’s an excellent summer favorite.
I love that!!!
Is there something to substitute for red curry paste.?
Garlic red chili sauce
This sounds fantastic – does anyone have a recommendation for a side dish, preferably something with vegetables or fruit in it?
I served some cucumbers in a quick pickle brine and a sliced potato salad with scallions, capers.
If you’re making it in summer, I would make a gorgeous salad with large dices of mango & avocado with finely diced red onion, red peppers, seedless tomatoes, cilantro, a large chilli and a big squeeze of lime juice, delish!
Hi again! Sorry I have one more question – where can I find the Better’n Peanut butter on Long Island. I’ve never seen it. Also – is there a good substitution in case I can’t find it? Thanks so much! Can’t wait to make this!!
Hi! Going to make this tonight – is there anything I can sub the curry paste for? Not a big fan of curry but if it is absolutely needed I’ll use it. 🙂
Typically when I think of “skinny” Asian recipes I don’t think of them as being too flavorful or authentic but you have proven me wrong. My boyfriend is Thai and he loves this recipe as well as the pepper steak one (as do I!). The only change I make is using regular peanut butter and I triple the batch of sauce because everyone loves it so much.
Whoops I also forgot I use Thai golden mountain sauce instead of soy sauce.
I love, love, love this recipe!! It’s also a family favorite at my house, but I’m having a heck of time finding the Better N Peanut Butter. I’ve tried it with regular peanut butter, but my family noticed and the reviews were not a favorable. Anyone else have idea on possible substitute other than regular peanut butter?
I’m not really a lover of chicken but trusty your recipes. ( I think I tend to overcook chicken ) Will this blew it out of thewater!! This was the tastiest most tender chicken I have ever made. So so good. And the sauce! I made extra, so I’m going to use it with some shrimp skewers layer this week. Every single recipe I have tried of types has been amazing. Thank you for making me love chicken
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was excellent! Loved the peanut sauce and the marinade! My 16 yo son ate 6 of them!!
I made the skewers for dinner last night & they were very good! I thought they looked and tasted exactly like the skewers we order at our local Thai restaurant.
I really liked the format that allowed you to email the recipe. I used to email them to myself and then print them, and email them to my bestie.
Wonderful! My whole family loves Thai and I was excited to see this recipe. My 14 year old who is in a “anti chicken “ phase even loved it and complimented it. She went back for seconds. Loved by the whole family so this one is a definite keeper!
Do the calories and WW points include the peanut sauce? Is the serving size for the sauce 3 tbsp or so?
Unbelievably good! Any curry paste will do for the marinade, and we used PB2 for the peanut sauce.
Family cannot wait for me to make it again.
Just omit the sriracha. You can add just a little to your sauce if you want to spice it up. I have same problem with my kids.
Delish and easy to make! Definite crowd pleaser!
I have not made this yet. I am allergic to fish and assume fish sauce is made with fish? Can this be substituted or omitted? Thanks 😁
use soy sauce in place
Would I be able to bake this using whole thin cut chicken breast and then pop into the broiler for the last few cooking minutes to get that grill feel? It’s too cold to grill and I need to make this again to contribute enjoying my life.
Sure!
this is my favorite. I even requested it on my birthday 🙂
The recipe states 4 skewers is one serving. Is that correct? Looks and sounds delicious!
You have to make this, it is amazing! You can reduce the spicness by using less sirrcha.
Made this tonight, marinated for 8 hours, it was slammin’! We liked it better that the satay we get at
Our favorite Thai restaurant. Will be making this again, soon!
What does everyone do with the surplus coconut milk – could you make extra sauce & freeze?
I freeze it in a jar
Thank you Gina! We are fans of chicken satay and I was excited to try your recipe. I adjusted the siracha sauce to suit our taste. Our family loved it! I served it over cauliflower rice flavoured with cilantro and lime (from the cilantro lime rice recipe). It was amazing. The peanut sauce was perfect and so much better than prepared!!! We love your recipes! Thank you for sharing your culinary creativity!
I lightened this up a bit by using almond coconut milk instead – tasted great!
Can I substitute green curry sauce?. Don’t have red.
Sure
Excellent! My family adored this! It’s so easy to make and uses basic ingredients we had on hand. Will definitely be making this version of chicken satay over and over again.
Good sides other then rice? We did rice but it was kinda blah and veggie sides?
I made Skinnytaste Pineapple fried rice and just omitted the shrimp from her recipe, plus I doubled the sauce to add into my rice and it was delicious.
Just clarifying since I never made anything like this before. Is it Canned coconut milk or the kind in the carton? Thank you!
canned
Have you tried to make the sauce with almond butter instead?
No but I am sure it would be good
Does the calorie count include the calories for peanut sauce? If not, how many calories in the sauce?
yes
how could I make this low sodium…since I can’t have too much salt.
Amazing!! Made it for a gathering of 13 adults. I made mine keto-friendly using Swerve (erythritol) confectioner sugar for sweetener. A little more sriracha and some avocado oil. Served it cold for people to dollop on their skewers (we had other skewers going too so many used the sauce on those as well). It has a nice little heat that suddenly says hi and doesn’t overwhelm. Yummy!! I’m really glad I tripled the recipe as we have some left for the ample leftovers. My wife loved it for a Mother’s Day dinner. Served with a big Greek Salad. Will definitely be keeping this on the monthly schedule!
SO AMAZING!!!!! Love love love it!
Think just the marinade sans chicken could be frozen? I hate to waste the rest of the can of coconut milk. Love everything you do!
Sure
I made this last night. Hubbie could not believe this is a Skinny recipe. These are so good. Thanks for the recipe! Def a keeper.
Just made these tonight and they are absolutely delicious. Served over a bed of basmati rice with a side of pickled cucumber salad. Subbed cayenne pepper for sriracha (didn’t have it on hand), and used a little ground ginger instead of fresh grated and it was still amazing! I also didn’t use cilantro (never been a fan). Hands down one of my favorite recipes from skinny taste!!
One of our favorite meals! Thanks Gina!!!
Hi! I entered this in the weight watchers recipe builder using the exact same ingredients and it came out to 3 freestyle points per serving. How come it’s showing this as 6 in the recipe information? I even entered all of the ingredients that I knew had 0 points to be sure I didn’t make a mistake….
I will double check
Can you marinate the chicken overnight or would that be too long? Does the peanut sauce hold well if frigerated? I want to prep everything tonight for dimmer tomorrow.
I made this tonite. It was so amazing. I doubled the recipe because I am feeding four very large, athletic boys. I did not use the fish sauce because the name itself, makes me cringe. I marinated the chicken for 3 hours at room temp, while I cooked other meals. The chicken was so amazing in of itself but with the sauce? So incredibly yummy. I don’t have a grill but the cast iron skillet did the chicken very well and no need for the sticks. Thank you for this recipe!!!
OMG this was soooo good. I ate one serving and my hollow-legged boyfriend gobbled up the other three servings. So unfortunately, no leftovers. I think I cooked the sauce a little too long, it definitely thickens as it cools. When I tasted it on its own I was worried, it’s pretty spicy, but with the chicken it was perfect. I didn’t use the fish sauce, because I didn’t have any on hand, and I used prepared peanut butter powder, still DELISH! I broiled them instead of grilling. Served with a simple Asian salad and it was a perfect meal.
Delicious!
For anyone who is trying to substitute fish sauce because you don’t like the smell – get over it! It’s just one of many flavours in the marinade, but this does not end up tasting like fish.
Case in point: my picky flatmate LOVES satay but hates all things fish – I didn’t tell him that this marinade contained fish sauce… and he was none the wiser (he loved this and is taking leftovers for lunch).
By the way, I didnt bother with the skewers (sorry) and used a broiler for 3-5 min on each side (my pieces were a bit thicker) – DELICIOUS! Served with rice, slices cucumber and tomato.
Great recipe but 2-3 minutes grill time is not near enough time.
2-3 minutes each side, or until cooked through. 🙂
My husband and I are currently living in Israel and its hard to find recipes using only spices they have available here. This recipe was PERFECT and delicious. My husband said its his new favorite meal. Thank you Gina!!!!!
OH. MY. DELICIOUSNESS!!!!!!!! These were so amazing! I have to admit, I halved the Sriracha chili sauce (I thought it was almost too spicy with half, and my hubby was bemoaning that it didn’t have more heat…!), but what a fabulous flavor on both the chicken and the sauce! HUGE hit in our house! Thank you!
Hello. I’ve been a loyal Skinnytaste follower for many years now. When I make a Skinnytaste recipe I only look at the ingredients first and the prep time if it is available. This prep time was incorrect and it ruined my dinner plans for my family. The prep time says 30 minutes when it should really say 4 hours and 30 minutes or more. I have been frustrated with Skinnytaste lately because this has happened on countless occasions. Either the prep time is wrong OR there is no prep/cook time provided. If this could be fixed I feel it would help many more Skinnytaste customers make their dinners run smoothly.
This should be the total cook time.
I love so many of your recipes and love the photos and easy to follow instructions. I’ve never made satay’s and was wondering if they would work with chicken tenderloins which I prefer to chicken breast strips. Also if I use more chicken can I double all the ingredients in the sauce recipe? ( My husband drowns everything in sauce). Thanks!
Sure!
I just took the chicken off the grill and tried a piece … SO GOOD. this is going in my regular rotation!
I marinated chicken breast whole (slashed the tops to allow for more flavour penetration) and grilled as is. I plan to slice it up & eat it in a grain/greens bowl with peanut sauce on top.
Thank you for a new favourite (seriously, i haven’t even had supper yet and i know this is a winner)!
Made these on the grill and they were delish!! Marinaded overnite and doubled the sauce! Very good!
Made this last night exactly as written on the grill. It was very good! Will definitely make again.
love the way you styled this picture – where do you find that giant leaf you used under the food?
thank you!
Is this spicy? Wondering if my kids would eat it.
Yes, it’s spicy but sooo good!
Seriously. SOOO good! You peanut noodles are a winter favorite in my house, so this was a fun way to bring a similar tasting dish into our summer menu. My husband is now obsessed! Thank you!!
Awesome!!
Absolutely delish! Made them for dinner last night and they were great. Don’t skimp on the seasonings- it all comes together better than the sum of the parts. I used chicken breast but might try thighs next time for even more tender kabobs. This is definitely going in my keeper file!
My husband and I absolutely love Thai food, but our daughter is highly allergic to peanuts (sigh). We want her to experience all types of delicious food, and at only 5 she is already a foodie. What do you recommend as a substitute for peanut butter (knowing full well there really is no true, tasty delicious substitute)? Do you have a favorite to cook/bake with? We LOVE every single one of your recipes, and your tasty food has helped me loose 15 lb on ww!
how about trying cashew butter instead of peanut?
How far in advance can I prepare the peanut sauce?
Is the SP value only the chicken, or does it include saice. If it dies inclue the sauce, how much is one serving of sauce?
I believe it is 6 pts total including the sauce, chicken 3 pts, sauce 3 pts. The sauce was 3 pts for the 1/2 cup (I used pb2 instead of the pb she lists). So, if you’re going to make the chicken for a group, you’ll want to multiply the sauce amount as necessary per person.
Is it important to marinate for 4 hours or more? I wanted to make it tonight after work and would not have that much time.
These were fantastic, particularly the peanut sauce. Thank you!
Sauce is perfect. Great Recipe, Thank you
Frances
Just wanted to tell you I have tried these and they are absolutely delicious. I did not have light coconut milk so I used regular (which is quite high in calories). The slightly higher calorie count didn’t bother me, it was worth every single calorie and gave it a rich taste.
I have a small complaint though. I use a website where I save my favorite recipes for personal reference and need to copy ingredients and steps. I do include the link to the recipe page in the notes to revisit, but that’s about the only place I need it to appear. I don’t need it to be included after every single ingredient and preparation step. This clipboard hijacking is quite annoying and I’m not sure it does anything for the website or the users. Is there a way to get rid of it? Deleting the inserted text after every copied step is tedious.
Made these and served with an asian salad! So so good!
My husband makes curries on a weekly basis so we don’t have “curry paste”. What ingredients (spice combo) are comparable?
Thank you!
HUGE hit in our family. We used chicken thighs instead of breasts. Super moist. Sadly very few leftovers. We will be making this one again and again. Thanks Gina!!
Great!
Amazing ! Served as an entree for a crowd. Easy to prepare ahead….served with rice (with some coconut milk stirred through) and naan bread.
Yum! Sounds good!
I did this as an entree with rice and naan breads. It was perfect. Everyone loved it. I had leftovers so had them cold with a salad. Thank you Gina !
I made these last night- awesome. All there of my kiddos, even my 11 year old son enjoyed. When plans were changed, I did marinate overnight, and I doubled the dipping sauce. Yum!
Would 2 Tablespoons of prepared PB2 work instead of the Better n, Peanut Butter?
Yes.
Do you think this would be okay to marinate overnight?
What do you serve with it? Rice? What veggie?
I’d put this with a salad of lightly blanched green beans, sliced shallots and red onions and chilli and cucumber slices.
Can these be oven cooked?
Please put this on next week’s Menu Plan. It looks great!
These are right up my street! Thanks for another great recipe!
A question for ya, what substitute could you use for the fish sauce, I am allergic??
Use soy sauce
I LOVE CHICKEN SATAY!! Favorite thai food ever, thank you thank you thank you!!!
This looks delicious! I don’t have a grill currently, do you think you could bake these? If so, what temp and how long would you guess? Thank you!!
Just about anything that can be grilled can also be broiled for about the same duration. Baking would not give you the right flavor/end result.
Wauw it looks so good and great pictures!!
Can I make this without fish sauce; maybe add some extra soy sauce?
Sure
I hate to be the “i need a substitute person”- these look incredible! But i am allergic to coconut (so inconvenient now that coconut is like the trendiest food on the planet. Would regular or almond milk work?
Sure, I think it would be fine
This looks fantastically delicious. I love peanut satays! Just bookmarked this for later this week!
What would be your suggested alternative to fish sauce?
Thanks
Worcestershire sauce is made from anchovies, so that might be a decent substitute.
We just used a bit of low-sodium soy sauce and it was fine.