Peanut butter chicken is the kind of dinner that you wish you were eating every night. It’s easy, fast and so full of spicy, sweet, rich peanut flavour that you’ll wonder how you ever ate anything else. Top it with crushed peanuts, a cheeky squeeze of lime juice and some sweet juicy mango chunks to balance it all out. All ingredients are from Aldi for affordable ease!
Sweet & Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken
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Ingredients needed
- chicken
- natural peanut butter (you can use regular peanut butter for this, but I found it too thick in texture and too sweet in flavour)
- soy sauce
- fresh ginger
- garlic
- chilli flakes
- red pepper
- mango
Step by step- how to
- This is the easiest peanut butter chicken recipe on the internet! (Maybe not, but it’s right up there). There’s no marinating the chicken with this recipe because we want to keep the meat dry so that when it hits the pan we get a lovely golden colour, which means more flavour. The sauce gets mixed up on the side and requires nothing more complicated than a fork, spoon or whisk to mix it all together.
- Heat a drop of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and brown the chicken on all sides. While the chicken is cooking, mix the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and thinly slice the red pepper and dice the mango. Once the chicken is mostly cooked add in 1/2 the sauce and the slices of red pepper. If the sauce is a little too thick, then add some water to the pan 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s the consistency that you want.
- Continue to cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the peppers are softened. This should only take about 3-5 minutes depending on how thinly the peppers are sliced. Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thickened (but not too thick), serve over some rice or noodles. Top with the chopped mango, and coriander and some chopped peanuts. I always serve this with lime wedges and slices of fresh jalapeno peppers, but you can skip that part.
Making the peanut butter sauce
This really is just a satay style peanut sauce but with a minimalist ingredient list. As with any sauce, it’s all about the balance of flavour, but with Asian sauces, it’s especially important. A mix of sweet, salty, sour and savour are what bring this sauce together.
A mix of natural peanut butter (regular is too sweet for this recipe), garlic, ginger, lime juice and soy sauce make up with sauce. I’ve given measurements, but as with any recipe, it’s really important that you taste as you go and adjust to your own tastes.
Most peanut butter sauce recipes use fish sauce and palm sugar but Aldi doesn’t carry those, so we’re using soy sauce and the natural sweetness of the peanut butter to bring that salty/sweet flavour factor.
Storing, freezing and reheating
This peanut butter chicken is perfect for leftovers the next day. The flavours develop and marry together more. For storage, let the chicken cool completely and place in an airtight container with a tight-fitting lid. Place in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To freeze- follow the steps above and instead of placing in the fridge, place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat- thaw in the fridge overnight and re-heat either in the microwave or on the stovetop. If using the microwave, heat in 30 second bursts until the chicken is hot all the way through. For stovetop, place the chicken in a pan and heat on low until the chicken is hot. You may need to add some water to the pan because the sauce thickens as it cools.
This recipe has been on repeat in my house for a few weeks now and it’s not going away anytime soon. It’s a keeper for sure! ♡
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Sweet & Spicy Peanut Butter Chicken
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 300g Chicken breast, diced
To make the sauce
- 3 tablespoons smooth natural peanut butter
- 2–3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 2–3 tablespoons hot water
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
For serving
- diced mango
- 1/2 bunch basil
- 1/2 bunch coriander
- 3 tablespoons peanuts (chopped)
- rice or noodles
Instructions
- Heat a drop of olive oil in a non-stick skillet and brown the diced chicken on all sides. While the chicken is cooking, mix the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and thinly slice the red pepper and dice the mango. Once the chicken is mostly cooked add in 1/2 the sauce and the slices of red pepper. If the sauce is a little too thick, then add some water to the pan 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s the consistency that you want.
- Continue to cook until the chicken is no longer pink and the peppers are softened. This should only take about 3-5 minutes depending on how thinly the peppers are sliced. Once the chicken is cooked and the sauce is thickened (but not too thick), serve over some rice or noodles. Top with the chopped mango, basil, coriander and some chopped peanuts. I always serve this with lime wedges and slices of fresh jalapeno peppers, but you can skip that part.
Notes
- Note 1- Peanut butter: both types, natural and regular, work with this recipe but I highly recommend that you use natural because it has a richer peanut flavour and less sugar. We want a sweetness to the sauce, but we don’t want it too sweet.
- Note 2- Chicken: I’ve used chicken breast for the recipe, but you can use chicken thigh if you prefer. Just adjust the cooking time. Thighs cook more quickly than chicken breast because they’re usually smaller.
- Note 3- The nutrition information included has not taken into account rice or noodles that you would be serving the chicken with.
- Category: Easy Dinners
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: chicken, peanut butter, Asian, easy, Aldi recipes, budget meals
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