Thai Peanut Shrimp

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

45 Comments

4.93 from 13 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
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Thai Peanut Shrimp has all the complex Thai restaurant flavors with a homemade peanut sauce with honey, garlic, ginger and lime in just 20 minutes!

Chicken Satay  and Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken are two of the most popular recipes on the blog for a reason, peanut sauce is AMAZING.

Thai Peanut Shrimp with crushed peanutsTHAI PEANUT SHRIMP

A ton of flavor and a short cook time make Thai peanut shrimp a great solution for a weeknight meal, especially when you already have a lot on your plate (pun intended.) It’s all made in one large skillet, which makes clean up ridiculously easy so you won’t be stuck under a mountain of dishes afterwards.

This may be one of our new favorite meals because of how quick and easy it is. The sauce recipe is quick and easy to follow, even if this is your first time making Thai peanut sauce from scratch. If you’re in a rush but are craving Thai food, this is a great new recipe to try out this week. You can even try making just the sauce for later recipes, since it goes great on everything from beef to salad.

HOW TO MAKE THAI PEANUT SHRIMP

  • Pour the vegetable oil into a large skillet and turn up the burner to medium high heat.
  • Add the shrimp to the large skillet and sauté them.
  • Take the shrimp out of the pan and set them aside for later.
  • Combine the sauce ingredients and let them reduce for five minutes.
  • Toss the shrimp back and stir them into in the peanut sauce.
  • Add fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts over the top as a garnish.

PLATE IT UP 

  • Red pepper flakes: sprinkle red pepper flakes onto the shrimp once you’ve plated it to give it a hint of spice and a pleasant crunch.
  • Rice noodles: instead of serving Thai peanut shrimp on rice, you can cook up rice noodles. The peanut sauce goes really well with the texture of the noodles.  <— This is one of my favorite dinners. EVER. I also like to do half rice noodles and half zoodles.
  • Greens: chop up some fresh vegetables like red bell peppers, green onions, snow peas, sweet potato or water chestnuts and sauté them with the shrimp or stir fry them separate and drizzle with peanut sauce.
  • Fish sauce: add just a dab of fish sauce to add rich umami flavor to your dinner. A little goes a long way, so start small and work your way up.
  • Crushed peanuts: pulverize shelled, peeled peanuts into crumbs and sprinkle them over your shrimp. The peanuts add a little salt and a whole lot of crunch.

Thai Peanut Shrimp up close

What to Serve with Thai Peanut Shrimp:

We love serving classic dim sum appetizers like Potstickers, Crab Rangoon, Egg Rolls, Spring Rolls or Coconut Shrimp with Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce and then we serve this shrimp over Chinese Steamed Rice or Lo Mein.

For a more unique twist on pairings here are some more fun ideas:

  • Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles: if you are counting carbs and don’t want rice with your Thai shrimp, you can follow the directions for zucchini noodles from this recipe. Keep in mind that zucchini noodles add a lot of moisture to a meal, so you make want to strain them once they’ve cooked.
  • Cold Thai Noodle Salad: light and refreshing, Thai noodle salad is fantastic for summer meals and won’t leave you too full to enjoy the main course.
  • Hot and Sour Soup: originally from China, hot and sour soup is an Asian comfort food that is delicious and hearty.

Shrimp Safe Cooking Temperatures:

According to the USDA’s website, shrimp is safe to eat at 145 degrees F (62.8 degrees C).

Some sushi restaurants will serve raw shrimp so you may feel like serving undercooked shrimp is not an issue. They are very careful in sourcing their seafood and making sure it is incredibly fresh. I can’t vouch for your local grocer, so please don’t try eating undercooked shrimp or you will remember this meal for all the wrong reasons.

HOW LONG IS IT GOOD?

  • Serve: don’t leave out for longer than 2 hours at room temperature, less if it’s a hot day.
  • Store: if you seal your leftovers in an airtight container they will stay good for 3 days.
  • Freeze: properly frozen shrimp is good for 3 to 6 months. I’d suggest reheating the shrimp closer to the 3 month mark than the 6 month mark.

Thai Peanut Shrimp in pan

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Dinner, then Dessert

Thai Peanut Shrimp

Thai Peanut Shrimp has all the complex Thai restaurant flavors with a homemade peanut sauce with honey, garlic, ginger and lime in just 20 minutes!
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Thai
Author Sabrina Snyder
Thai Peanut Shrimp with crushed peanuts
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 pounds shrimp 13-15 count peeled and deveined
  • 1/2 can coconut milk 7 ounces
  • 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger minced
  • cilantro for garnish

Instructions

  • Add the oil to a large skillet on medium high heat.
  • Add the shrimp to the pan cooking on each side for 1-2 minutes.
  • Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside.
  • Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic and ginger to the pan and let reduce for 5 minutes.
  • Add the shrimp back to the pan to coat.

Nutrition

Calories: 384kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 381mg | Sodium: 1424mg | Potassium: 317mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin C: 8.3mg | Calcium: 233mg | Iron: 4.1mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I thought it was just “ok”, but my husband loved it! Too much ginger for my taste. Obviously I will cut back the ginger next time.

    Reply

    1. Ginger is tricky and everyone has their own view of it. Kinda like cilantro. Good for you for trying out the recipe.

      Reply

  2. Made this.. and boy did this call me out yummy.. will try it with chicken chunks later this week.. thanks for sharing this recipe..

    Reply

    1. Shrimp is notoriously hard to reheat without it becoming rubbery. I would heat gently in your microwave on 50% strength while covered with a wet paper towel until just hot or over a double boiler stirring until just hot. It will never taste as good as the time it was cooked.

      Reply

  6. This was excellent! I did put curry flavoured peanut butter from the farmers market along with cauliflower florets and just delicious. Very easy one skillet supper, highly recommend

    Reply

  7. This is the first time I recommend a recipe. This one is so easy and so tasty. I love it and will become one of my favorites. Thank you for sharing

    Reply

  8. I see what looks like chopped peanuts but the recipe doesn’t call for any. Also, could I use chunky peanut butter?

    Reply

    1. Hi Terri! I do add peanuts just for looks, they don’t really help the flavor truly lol. And you could if you wanted!

      Reply

  9. This was so delicious! I stir fried shrimp for my husband and veggies (eggplant, onion, green beans and kale) for me and used half the sauce for him and half for me – oh my goodness- so good and made making vegan and non-vegan dinner super easy tonight!!! Thank you for a fabulous and simple recipe!

    Reply

  10. this looks like a fab recipe, really glad I found your website, some lovely interesting meals on here, making this tonight

    Reply

  13. This looks yummy. Love all of the Asian inspired recipes. Think I’ll make this one too, but will use chicken and serve over white rice.

    Reply

  20. Anybody have the nutrient label for this one at all? Or have I missed while skimming trhough this article and recipe if not my apologies thanks

    Reply

  21. I have not made this dish yet but I can’t wait to try it..my fav food! I love your blog and always look forward to your recipes..thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  22. Hi Sabrina,
    I love your recipes! Could you please tell me your favorite brand of fish sauce? Thanks,
    Jeannie

    Reply