Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
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Fire up the grill for marinated Thai chicken skewers served with a creamy peanut dipping sauce that’ll keep everyone reaching for more!
I first discovered this wonderful recipe in the Costco magazine, but it comes from Alice Currah, the talented voice behind the blog and book Savory Sweet Life. The marinade—a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and spices—perfectly seasons the grilled chicken. Yet, it’s the rich peanut sauce that truly steals the show. When I first served this dish to my family about ten years ago, the reaction from my then-young son was memorable. After he went for seconds of the steamed broccoli I served alongside, and seeing my surprised look, he simply said, “Mom, this sauce would make anything taste good.” Honestly, I couldn’t agree more—I am always half-tempted to skip the chicken entirely and just slurp up the sauce like soup!
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers With Peanut Sauce
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by pounding the chicken breasts to an even 1/2-inch thickness. This both tenderizes the meat and ensures it cooks evenly.
Cut the chicken into chunks.
Make the marinade by combining the soy sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cardamom and salt in a bowl. Add the chicken to the marinade, then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining the coconut milk, peanut butter, dark brown sugar, soy sauce and red curry paste in a medium saucepan. Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn the heat down and cook a few minutes more. Finish the sauce with freshly squeezed lime juice.
Once the chicken has marinated, thread the chunks onto skewers.
Grill the chicken about 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Serve with the peanut sauce and lime wedges. If you have leftovers, try serving the chicken over a salad; the chilled sauce makes an excellent dressing.
Video Tutorial
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Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Fire up the grill for marinated Thai chicken skewers served with a creamy peanut dipping sauce that’ll keep everyone reaching for more!
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
- Zest of one lime
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For the Peanut Sauce
- 1 (13-oz) can coconut milk (do not use low fat)
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
For Serving
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the Chicken: Pound the chicken breasts to an even ½-inch thickness between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. Cut the breasts into 1½-inch pieces and set aside.
- Marinate the Chicken: Make the marinade by combining the soy sauce, dark brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix until chicken is evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Make the Peanut Sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and red curry paste until evenly combined. Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the fresh lime juice and set aside.
- Grill the Chicken: Preheat the grill to high heat. Meanwhile, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers. Grease the grill. Place the skewers on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken skewers with the peanut sauce and lime wedges, if desired.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Calories: 547
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 14 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 52 g
- Sodium: 1106 mg
- Cholesterol: 152 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Very good recipe. The peanut sauce was too runny so instead of cooking it 3 minutes I simmered it for 20 to thicken it up. Turned out very good.
My 4 kids loved this. Big hit in our house! The sauce is delicious and reminds me of the peanut sauce I ate as a kid with my grandparents. It’s much more runny than the thick peanut sauce that I get nowadays in my local thai restaurant. I prefer it this way though, I feel the flavor is more complex. I did not think it was too sweet at all but you could easily adjust that to taste. The chicken by itself is very good- tender and aromatic- but truly the star of the dish is the peanut sauce so if you’re not into thai peanut sauce you may find the satay lacking and in need of something for dipping. We love this though and it’s joining the monthly meal rotation.
My family (and every friend who I’ve made this for – it is now my go to recipe for guests) LOVES it. Because the sauce makes a lot, I usually bottle some as a takeaway for guests – it’s a hit!
I’ve tried 3 of your recipes and love all of them. I just found you recently, but have you as my go-to site for new recipes!
The marinade is good. Did not care for the peanut curry sauce. It was way, way too sweet. I only used 1/4 cup brown sugar rather than the recommended 1/3 cup. My PB is fresh ground at the market so no added sugar there. I added more PB, more curry, more soy to try to balance the flavors. Finally added fish sauce and that managed to cut the overwhelming sugar taste. It was worth a try but I will go back to the recipe I developed. This is the first recipe from this site that we did not love.
Could I make this with boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts? How long would I grill it for?
Hi Dianne, Yes, you can definitely make this with thighs. The cook time should be a little closer to 15 minutes, but keep an eye on them. Enjoy!
Omg! So delicious!!! We couldn’t stop eating it!! My husband raved. The chicken was unbelievably tender. It melted in your mouth! Thanks!
The coconut peanut sauce is absolutely incredible!
This is a really delicious recipe. It makes a lot of sauce. It’s really good with jasmine rice. Pretty easy too.
Could I grill the chicken breasts whole versus cutting them into chunks? This looks amazing!!!
Sure – just keep in mind that the cook time may be a bit different. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Easy and delicious! The sauce is amazing!
Yet another five star recipe! WOW! This meal was delicious! I thought it was perfect as is. It had so much flavor! My husband wished it had a tiny kick to it so I suppose you could add crushed red pepper. I served it with rice and sautéed zucchini. The sauce – oh the sauce!! So delicious! Thank you again Jen!