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Peanut Butter Chicken – Ready in 20 Mins

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My Peanut Butter Chicken is packed full of flavour and ready in 20 minutes! This Thai Peanut Chicken is a great mid-week meal, with no fussy ingredients!
Large pan peanut butter chicken curry with green beans, chillies and coriander (cilantro)

I promise you right now, there is no better use for peanut butter than this recipe!

Something magical happens when you mix the peanut butter, lime and chilli to turn this into a lip smackingly great sauce.  I love anything Thai, but for once you don’t need all the fish sauce, shrimp paste, tamarind, garlic etc. to get that amazing taste.

This recipe was made as part of our  20 minute Tuesday series on YouTube which includes super tasty recipes like my Pan Fried Salmon with Spaghetti, One of Chis’s favourites Crispy Chilli Chicken, awesome Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps and many more quick and easy meals.
Pan of chicken and onion cooking. Scoop of peanut butter has just been added on top of chicken.

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Peanut butter – which is something that I HATE on it’s own bleugh! (sorry peanut butter lovers) is 100% the star of this dish.

Those red chilli add a great hit of heat, but feel free to leave them out if you don’t like it spicy.

Chopped red chillies being added to a pan of peanut butter chicken curry.

It’s all on the table in about 20 minutes, so this is a great mid week meal too.

Bowl of rice topped with peanut butter chicken with green beans, chillies and coriander (cilantro). Extra sauce being spooned on top.

I’ve been making this for years now, it’s one that my mum passed down to me.  I still have the recipe scribbled on a scrap of paper, dotted with oil spots from about 10 years ago!  Mum’s version also has beansprouts in, which I include sometimes, along with broccoli or mange tout or whatever bit of veg I have around.

Close up of a bowl of rice topped with peanut butter chicken with green beans, chillies and coriander (cilantro)

If you’re making this for kids who don’t eat chillies, I’d suggest leaving them out, dishing their portions up, keeping them warm and adding the chopped chillies to the rest of the pan.  Then just stir through for a minute or two.

If you’re anything like me and LOVE these Thai flavours then why not try one of these too:
Seafood Laksa
Thai Peanut Pork
Thai Yellow Fish Curry

If you’ve tried my peanut butter chicken then please rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing your thoughts and add-ons to my recipes!
You can also follow me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and TWITTERto see what I’m up to in the kitchen, what recipes i’m loving, and of course  YOUTUBE to see our latest recipe videos!

The Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe:

Bowl of rice topped with peanut butter chicken with green beans, chillies and coriander (cilantro)

20 Minute Peanut Butter Chicken

My Peanut Butter Chicken is packed full of flavour and ready in 20 minutes! A great mid-week meal, with no fussy ingredients!
5 from 5 votes
Print Rate
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian, Thai
Keyword: Any Time Of the year, easy dinner, quick, Takeout
Servings: 4 people
Author: Nicky Corbishley

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion peeled and sliced
  • 3 chicken breasts chopped into bite sized chunks
  • 1 heaped tbsp ground coriander
  • 300 ml chicken stock water + 2 stock cubes is fine (use bouillon for gluten free)
  • 2 heaped tbsp smooth peanut butter check if you need it to be gluten free, it usually is though
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 red chilli chopped finely (I use fresno chillies)
  • 200 g green beans ends chopped off and sliced into short lengths

To Serve:

UK (metric) - **Convert to US Measures**

Instructions

  • If serving with rice, put the rice onto cook first, then you can cook the rest of the meal whilst the rice is boiling.
  • Heat the oil in a large pan that has a lid, over a medium-high heat. Add in the chicken  and cook, turning regularly, until sealed (about 2-3 minutes).
  • Add the onion and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes, then stir through the ground coriander. 
  • Add in the peanut butter, juice of one of the limes and the stock. Stir, bring to a gentle bubble, then place the lid on and simmer for 7-8 minutes until slightly thickened. Check on it and stir a couple of times to make sure it doesn't catch.
  • Add in the green beans, taste and add in the remaining lime juice if needed.  Give everything a stir, and leave to cook for another 5 minutes with the lid off.  You can add a splash of water if it's starting to look too dry.
  • Serve with boiled rice, and sprinkle with chopped chillies (or sweet chilli jam) and coriander (cilantro).

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Can it be made ahead?
Yes, make it ahead (without the toppings), then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days. Heat thoroughly in a pan, adding a splash of water to help loosen it.
.
Can it be frozen?
Yes! Cool, cover and freeze (without the toppings), then defrost thoroughly overnight in the fridge before reheating in a pan until piping hot. You may need to add a splash of water to loosen it up.
.
Can it be made gluten free?
Yes, replace the stock with gluten free stock (water plus bouillon is fine). Make sure your peanut butter brand is gluten free.
.
What if I don't like chillies/spicy food?
Leave out the chillies entirely. This meal has still got plenty of flavour without the chillies.
.
Nutritional information is per serving - WITHOUT the serving suggestions of rice and sweet chilli jam.

Nutritional Information

Nutrition Facts
20 Minute Peanut Butter Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 455 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g 32%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Cholesterol 108mg 36%
Sodium 829mg 35%
Potassium 1147mg 33%
Total Carbohydrates 21g 7%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Sugars 7g
Protein 47g 94%
Vitamin A 14.1%
Vitamin C 64.9%
Calcium 6.7%
Iron 14.9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Mention @KitchenSanctuary or tag #kitchensanctuary on Instagram!

Equipment:

In order to make this Peanut Butter Chicken recipe you will need:

This is a remake of a recipe I first published in May 2014. Do you want to see how bad my photograpy was then? Ok here goes (cringe):
Black bowl filled with rice and peanut butter chicken curry with green beans. Chillies and coriander on top.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.

Reader Interactions

Comments

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  3. Omg I made this tonight with whole earth peanut and coconut butter – instead of the chopped chillies I added sweet chilli sauce at the end. Thoroughly delcisious and I think it will definitely become one of my weekly staple dishes.

    Reply

    • Hi Arlene,

      300ml is around 10 fl oz of stock or 1 and 1/4 cups.

      Most of our recipes have a **Convert To US Measures** option if you are struggling with any of the other measurements.

      Many Thanks

      Chris & Nicky

      Reply

  5. What a good idea! I loooove peanut sauce so I’m sure I would just love this. Plus the extra crunch from the peanuts on top!! Yum!

    Reply

  7. This is super tasty and so quick and easy. I used organic crunchy peanut butter as it’s what I had in the cupboard. Yummy

    Reply

    • Hi Teresa,

      This is a difficult one as we have not tried the recipe without the ground coriander and its a main part of the flavours of this dish. You could try substituting in 1/2 tbsp ground cumin and 1/2 tbsp mild curry powder instead but i havnt tried it so cant vouch for how it will taste.

      If you do try it please let us know how you get on.

      Many Thanks

      Chris & Nicky

      Reply

      • I didn’t have coriander either and substituted it with a few sprinkles of cumin. I haven’t had the original recipe but I thought it turned out awesome!

  12. My wife and I have been making this dish for years. I use my own home grown heat that will bring most to their knees. The funny thing is, no matter how hot or how not hot you make the sauce, the flavor is there and though you wouldn’t think it… Peanut butter and peppers go quite well together. Great post, thanks for sharing.

    Reply