Ground Thai Peanut Chicken is an easy homemade version of a classic takeout dish with rich peanut sauce made with peanut butter, soy sauce, and brown sugar.
This simple Dinner Recipe has similar ingredients and flavors to Baked Thai Peanut Chicken, but this version is made in one pan on the stovetop in under 15 minutes. It truly doesn’t get any easier!
GROUND THAI PEANUT CHICKEN
This simple and delicious recipe for Ground Thai Peanut Chicken is the perfect weeknight dinner to make in a hurry. All you have to do is whisk together the sweet and slightly spicy peanut sauce, then cook the ground chicken in a pan and pour the sauce over the top. The chicken comes out sticky, tangy, and tender with hardly any effort.
Using the ground chicken makes this a slightly lightened version of classic Thai chicken recipes. For more lightened up homemade Asian dishes try Ground Sweet and Sour Chicken and Ground Orange Chicken. They all come out just as delicious and kid-friendly as your favorite takeout but are a little healthier. This dish also uses cornstarch to thicken up the sauce instead of flour so it’s completely gluten-free.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH GROUND THAI PEANUT CHICKEN
When it comes to adding sides to make this a more filling meal there are lots of options for how you serve it. Firstly, you can always toss some chopped vegetables in the pan to cook along with the chicken like a stir fry. Of course, making some sticky brown or White Rice is always great to serve your chicken over. You can also prep a Noodle Salad to serve on the side.
Another classic Thai dish is chicken lettuce wraps. You can serve this Peanut Chicken inside of delicious lettuce to make easy, homemade lettuce wraps.
MORE HOMEMADE THAI RECIPES
Thai Peanut Shrimp
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken Wings
Pad See Ew (Thai Stir Fried Noodles)
Chicken Pad Thai
HOW TO MAKE GROUND THAI PEANUT CHICKEN
- Sauce: In a bowl combine ginger, garlic powder, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and sriracha to make the sauce. It will take some work to get the peanut butter mixed in, but just keep whisking it together until well combined.
- Cornstarch: In a separate bowl combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in 1 tablespoon of water. Let the cornstarch dissolve in the water and set aside.
- Cook: Add a tablespoon of oil and the ground chicken to a large pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken until the chicken starts to form a crisp crust. Use a spatula to break apart the ground chicken and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Make sure there is no pink chicken remaining. Once the chicken is cooked add the peanut sauce and bring it to a boil. Add in the cornstarch mixture and stir it for a few seconds until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and serve with rice.
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VARIATIONS ON GROUND THAI PEANUT CHICKEN
- Meat: You can use this same peanut sauce over other kinds of meat besides chicken. Try using ground turkey, ground pork, or ground beef.
- Crunchy Peanuts: To add a nice crunchy texture to the chicken mixture either use crunchy peanut butter or just add in crushed peanuts at the same time you add the sauce.
- Spicy Chicken: To add some heat to the chicken recipe try mixing in some extra sriracha sauce or sprinkling in some red pepper flakes.
MORE SIDES FOR GROUND THAI PEANUT CHICKEN
Perfect Brown Rice (Baked Brown Rice)
Cold Thai Noodle Salad
Stick of Butter Rice
Easy Thai Green Curry Noodles
HOW TO STORE GROUND THAI PEANUT CHICKEN
- Serve: You can keep Thai Peanut Chicken at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
- Store: The cooked Ground Chicken will stay good in the fridge for 3-4 days. Wait for the chicken to cool then store it in an airtight container.
- Freeze: This is also a great recipe to freeze and save for later. You can keep the frozen chicken for up to 4 months. When you’re ready to reheat the chicken let it first defrost in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 carrot , finely diced
- 1 cup broccoli florets , diced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons sriracha
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- To make the sauce combine the ginger, garlic powder, peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and sriracha.
- To make the cornstarch mixture, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the chicken broth and set aside.
- To a large pan add 1 tablespoon oil and the carrots, cooking them for 5 minutes.
- Remove the carrots and add in the ground chicken.
- Cook until a good crust forms before breaking apart, then finish cooking by breaking it apart with a spatula.
- Add in the broccoli pieces and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Once the chicken is cooked add sauce and bring it to boil.
- Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan and cook for just a few seconds, stirring until it thickens.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hello, perhaps I don’t see this in the recipe-when do you add the carrots back in?
Yikes, you’re right Connie. Sorry about that. Add them in with the cooked chicken :). Let us know what you think of the recipe!
Very tasty. We will add more veges next time, and less peanut butter, which made a rather thick sauce.
This was so yummy. I read the comments before making it and was watching for it to be too thick, but it actually wasn’t for me. My chicken seemed to have a lot of fluid as it cooked so that may have made the difference. Not sure. It was delicious!
Hi! I tried this recipe, and it’s very “peanut buttery”. And my sauce mixture was more like a paste. Is it really 1/2 cup peanut butter? And mine was very dark, the color of peanut butter. Any ideas? Thank you!
I am so sorry, I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
It sounds like it got too thick in cooking, I would thin that with chicken broth. If it felt too peanutty try it with 1/3 cup, that part is more or less to taste. Just be careful it can thicken very quickly.
Sabrina this is your 1st recipe that failed me! It was so dry that I didn’t use the cornstarch mixture at all. The recipe does say “To make the cornstarch mixture, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the remaining 1 tablespoon of water and set aside.” Remaining water? Was there another part of the recipe that should have had water? What can be done to make enough sauce to boil for 10 minutes and not be so dry. The flavor was wonderful just really dry. I’d like to try it again.
Help?
Hi Jennie, I’m so sorry this comment was lost. I have adjusted the recipe, the additional chicken broth instead of water should help tremendously. So sorry it didn’t turn out for you last time.
I thnk this looks delicious. I don’t see carrots or broccoli in the recipe. Is this the right photo for the recipe? The recipe sounds delicious but the photo doesn’t seem to match it.
Hi Caroline, I’m so sorry I just saw this comment. The recipe was adjusted to show the vegetables. Sorry for the error in the card!
There was trouble., Made the sauce as directed. Peanut butter was thick and when mixed with rest of ingredients, was thick . When put with the chicken it wouldn’t melt in for a sauce texture. So I added 2 small glasses of water and did not put the cornstarch bin. Quite tasty but needed sauce!
I am so sorry, I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
Pat, sorry you ran into difficulty with the recipe. Pan temperatures can be tricky to deal with and it might have reduced your sauce too much before you added in the chicken. If it happens again, try adding a couple tablespoons of water back in.
My sauce was thick already, so I did not add cornstarch. Did I do something wrong?
I am so sorry, I am just seeing this tonight. I am sure the recipe has long been cooked/or not but I still want to try to help.
Nancy, kitchen conditions can sometimes lead to a sauce reducing more than expected, if it worked out fine and tasted delicious without needing cornstarch to thicken, well, then I guess it worked out perfectly!