This easy Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe is a perfect delicious dinner meal for any day of the week. With only four ingredients and 30 minutes in the kitchen, you can create a wonderful dinner for the entire family. The recipe features chicken, onions, peanut butter, and canned tomatoes as the main ingredients.
Is this chicken with peanut butter sauce a family-friendly recipe? How do you make it? What kind of ingredients do you use? Read forward so you can learn more about this gem.
Chicken and Peanut Butter are perfect together.
Peanut butter chicken stew is a delicious dish you can make in no time.
There are many versions of this recipe, and they are all good. Some versions use chicken.
Some use lamb or beef. Ginger, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, or even coconut milk are also used.
However, if you want a quick dinner and the simplicity of a good, basic dish for the entire family, this is a great option for you.
It is one of my favorite dinners to cook super fast.
My daughter always loved this super easy peanut butter chicken recipe, and I make it quite often.
As with most of my recipes, we always went for easy, delicious dishes that would use simple, natural ingredients.
This great recipe is no exception to the rule.
Chicken with this easy peanut sauce is the perfect combination for any day of the week, as it is ready in about 30 minutes.
It is comfort food, low carb, and keto friendly as it is also very rich in proteins and healthy fats.
It also uses simple ingredients that most people have in their kitchens.
Basic ingredients required for this flavorful dish:
(For ingredient quantities, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this article)
- Chicken
The best part is that you can make this dish with either raw or already-cooked chicken.
Raw chicken:
The recipe is versatile, and you can use whatever part of the chicken you like.
To show you how the recipe is made, I used boneless skinless chicken breasts.
However, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs or drumsticks, or boneless chicken thighs.
Cooked chicken:
This version will take less time to make the stew, as the chicken is already cooked. Think rotisserie chicken, roasted chicken, or boiled.
- Peanut butter
Traditionally, this stew is made with roasted peanuts.
The common practice is to grind the peanuts into a paste, but you can definitely use regular peanut butter to make your life easier.
You will need only two generous tablespoons of peanut butter to obtain a creamy sauce for the recipe.
Most Americans have a jar in their pantry. For this dish, though, you should use plain natural peanut butter with no sugar added to it. I like natural creamy peanut butter.
However, crunchy peanut butter is also acceptable.
If you want more texture, throw a handful of chopped peanuts in the sauce for more texture.
- Canned tomatoes
To make this peanut butter sauce, a 1/2 cup of canned diced tomatoes or tomato pure for this peanut butter sauce is all you need.
- Onion
Use a large onion and dice it small.
- Butter and oil
The traditional oil for the recipe is palm oil, but we live in the US, and palm oil is not something we cook with regularly, so I used a mixture of olive oil and butter.
Butter makes everything better when you brown meats with it. You can also use vegetable oil, it is your personal preference.
- Chicken stock or water
I prefer low-sodium chicken stock as I like to control the salt in the food, and sometimes regular stock is very salty.
Use regular water if you do not have any stock or broth in the house.
- Optional spices:
Cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, paprika, black pepper or garlic powder are great options if you want to add spices to the dish.
Related: Chicken Stewed in Tomato Garlic and Cinnamon- Kota Kapama– a Greek dish made with chicken, tomato sauce, and cinnamon.
How to make peanut butter chicken:
Step One. Gather the ingredients and prepare them for the dish.
Cube the chicken and dice the onions. Set aside.
Note:
I used chicken breast this time, but chicken thighs or chicken drums are also good.
You can use larger chicken pieces if this is how you like it.
Step two. Saute the chicken.
Using a large skillet, melt the butter and oil on medium heat.
Add the chicken and brown it for about 15 minutes until cooked.
If you use chicken thighs or drumsticks, brown them on each side.
Step three. Cook the Onions.
While the chicken is cooking, add the diced onion to the skillet.
Season with salt and pepper.
Step four. Add the canned tomatoes and water or chicken broth.
When the meat is cooked and the onions are soft, add diced tomatoes in tomato sauce and mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
Also, add water/chicken stock to make a sauce.
Allow the chicken to simmer in that sauce for about 10 minutes.
Tip: You can also use tomato puree or tomato paste instead.
Step five. Add peanut butter.
Now is the time to add some of this delicious peanut butter.
Mix well to coat the chicken with the creamy peanut butter sauce.
Add more water to dissolve the peanut butter if the sauce is too thick.
You want a smooth, creamy consistency for this sauce, but you do not want a soup.
Simmer the chicken in peanut butter sauce on low heat for about 5 minutes.
Taste for salt and add if there is a need for it.
At this point, you are ready to serve it. I mean, how easy was that?
How do I serve this peanut butter sauce and chicken?
This recipe for peanut butter chicken is perfectly served in a small bowl over cooked rice.
Plain, steamed rice, for an easy and complete meal.
Jasmine rice or brown rice are delicious options, but rice noodles don’t sound too bad either.
Sprinkle some diced green onions on top as garnishing, if you want to be more fancy. Your whole family will be pleased.
Traditionally, this stew is served with couscous, fufu, quinoa, or even sweet potatoes.
If you want to keep it on the low-carb or keto-friendly side, use cauliflower rice.
It will definitely be a delicious meal.
How to store leftover peanut butter chicken:
Store the leftover chicken and peanut butter sauce in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze it for up to three months.
When ready to eat, defrost it in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat it in the microwave or the stovetop on medium-high heat.
I am allergic to peanut butter. What else can I use?
I never replaced the peanut butter in this recipe.
However, you might be able to use almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seeds butter instead.
I do not know how the dish will taste, but please come back and let me know.
We might be into something here!
Related: Pantry Staples Checklist
You can add some cooked vegetables next to the rice and chicken. Broccoli works very well.
More easy recipes to love:
Chicken Stewed in Tomato Garlic and Cinnamon- Kota Kapama
Easy No Breaded Fried Chicken Thighs
Acorn Squash With Chicken & Fennel
10 Bone-In Chicken Breast Recipes
More recipes with rice:
As a dessert, you can quickly make these cookies, which are also naturally gluten-free.
Would you like more recipes that use peanut butter?
Triple Layer Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Peanut Butter Snowball Cookies
Enjoy!
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Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 big chicken breasts cubed
- 1 large onion diced
- ½ cup diced tomatoes in tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 cup hot water or low-sodium chicken broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
If you make the recipe with raw chicken:
- Melt butter in the pan on medium heat and add the oil.
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place it in the pan. Fry it on both sides until golden brown. You can also chop it if you prefer it this way.
- Add the chopped onion and saute it until soft and translucent.
- Add the diced tomatoes in the tomato sauce and water and simmer the chicken for about 10 minutes.
- Add the peanut butter to the pan. Mix well to coat the chicken.
- Bring to a boil, constantly stirring to make a sauce.
- Lower heat to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Taste for salt and pepper.
- Serve over cooked rice.
Video
Notes
- Melt butter in the pan. Add the oil and the chopped onion and saute it until soft.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the pieces of cooked chicken.
- Stir the peanut butter into the pan.
- Add hot water and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Lower heat to a simmer for another 4-5 minutes.
- Taste for salt and pepper.
- Serve over cooked rice.
Nutrition
maura
Thursday 5th of August 2021
Thanks! This was very easy and tasty and I also really appreciate how concise and too the point the instructions were!
Mary H
Sunday 20th of December 2020
I made a spicy version tossing the chicken with Tabasco sauce before cooking and adding thyme and nutmeg to the sauce. We call it African Chicken.