Vietnamese Peanut Sauce (Easy Peanut Sauce for Spring Rolls)

This Vietnamese peanut sauce is creamy, savory, and slightly sweet with a deep aromatic flavor that comes from cooking the garlic and shallots first. If you've ever made fresh spring rolls at home and wished you had a really good dipping sauce to go with them, this is it. It takes about 10 minutes to make and it's so good you'll want to put it on everything.

The Best Peanut Dipping Sauce

Most peanut sauces you'll find online are just peanut butter stirred together with a few ingredients in a bowl. This Vietnamese-style peanut sauce is different. Cooking the garlic and shallots in oil first before anything else goes in makes a noticeable difference in the final flavor. Raw garlic in peanut sauce can taste sharp and one-dimensional. Softened in oil it becomes sweeter, more mellow, and way more complex.

The peanut butter gives it that rich, creamy base. The hoisin adds a sweet, savory depth that you can't quite put your finger on but can't stop eating. The rice wine vinegar balances everything out with just enough brightness to keep it from feeling heavy. Together they make a sauce that's thick enough to cling to every bite of a fresh spring roll but smooth enough for easy dipping.

I also love how easy it is to adjust the consistency. Start with a quarter cup of milk and stir it in gradually until the sauce is exactly where you want it. Thicker for dipping, thinner for drizzling over noodles or grilled chicken. It's completely flexible.

This sauce is also great way beyond spring rolls. Try it as a dipping sauce for summer rolls, lettuce wraps, dumplings, grilled shrimp, chicken skewers, or roasted vegetables. Once you make it you'll find yourself putting it on everything.

Ingredients

This sauce uses simple ingredients that create a rich, restaurant-style peanut dipping sauce.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 ounce minced shallots
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• ¼ to ½ cup milk of choice

How To Make Vietnamese Peanut Sauce 

Step 1: Cook The Garlic and Shallots

Heat the neutral oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and minced shallots. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until they soften and smell fragrant. Keep the heat low so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Step 2: Add The Sugar, Water, and Vinegar

Stir in the brown sugar, water, and rice wine vinegar. Mix until the sugar starts to dissolve and the mixture looks smooth. The vinegar adds brightness, while the sugar balances the salty, savory flavor of the hoisin and peanut butter.

Step 3: Add The Peanut Butter and Hoisin

Add the peanut butter and hoisin sauce. Stir until the sauce becomes smooth and fully combined. Once everything is mixed, remove the saucepan from the heat so the sauce doesn’t get too thick or scorch.

Step 4: Thin With Milk

Gradually pour in the milk a little at a time, stirring after each addition. Start with ¼ cup for a thicker sauce, then continue adding milk until it reaches your desired dipping consistency. Use up to ½ cup if you want a thinner, more pourable sauce.

Step 5: Serve

Serve the peanut sauce warm, room temperature, or chilled with spring rolls. If the sauce thickens as it sits, stir in a small splash of milk or water before serving.

Expert Tips For The Best Peanut Sauce

• Cook the garlic and shallots on low heat. Garlic burns fast and burnt garlic will make the whole sauce taste bitter. Low and slow is the move here, just a few minutes until everything is softened and fragrant. You're not trying to brown anything, just coax out the flavor.
• Use creamy peanut butter. Creamy peanut butter blends smoothly into the hoisin and liquids without any fuss. Natural peanut butter can work but it tends to make the sauce a little grainy and can separate more easily. Standard creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy gives you the most consistent results.
• Add the milk slowly. This is the most important tip for getting the texture right. Peanut sauce can go from perfectly thick to way too thin really fast. Add a splash at a time, stir it in completely, and then decide if it needs more. You can always add more milk but you can't take it out.
• Take the pan off the heat before adding the milk. The sauce continues to thicken as it heats up, so pulling it off the burner before you start thinning it gives you much better control over the final consistency.
• Taste it after you add the milk. Adding milk mellows the flavor, so give it a taste once it's thinned out. If it needs more depth add a little extra hoisin. If it needs brightness add a small splash of rice wine vinegar. If it needs sweetness add a pinch of brown sugar. Adjust a little at a time.
• Use a neutral oil. Canola, vegetable, avocado, or grapeseed oil all work perfectly here. Skip the strong olive oil because it competes with the peanut and hoisin flavors and throws off the balance of the sauce.
• Make it thicker for dipping. If you're serving this with fresh spring rolls, start with closer to a quarter cup of milk. A thicker sauce clings to the rice paper and filling instead of sliding right off.
• Make it thinner for drizzling. If you want to use it over noodle bowls, salads, or lettuce wraps, add closer to a half cup of milk or thin it out with a little water until it's pourable.
• Don't panic if it looks too thick while it's warm. Peanut sauce thickens as it cools, so let it sit for a few minutes before you decide it needs more liquid. Give it a stir after it's cooled slightly and it'll likely be right where you want it.

What To Serve With Peanut Sauce

This sauce was made for spring rolls, but once you have a batch in the fridge you'll find yourself reaching for it constantly. It works as a dipping sauce, a drizzle, and everything in between.

• For dipping: Fresh spring rolls, summer rolls, shrimp rolls, chicken rolls, tofu rolls, rice paper rolls, lettuce wraps, dumplings, and chicken or shrimp satay skewers. If it's meant for dipping, this sauce belongs next to it.
• For drizzling: Spoon it over vermicelli bowls, rice noodle bowls, noodle salads, or grilled chicken and shrimp. It also makes a great sauce for Buddha bowls and grain bowls when you want something creamy and flavorful instead of a vinaigrette.
• For snacking: Use it as a dip for raw vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, snap peas, and cabbage. It's one of those dips that makes people eat way more vegetables than they planned to.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of peanut sauce is served with spring rolls?

The peanut sauce served with fresh spring rolls at Vietnamese restaurants is a cooked sauce made with peanut butter and hoisin sauce as the base. It's thicker and richer than a Thai peanut sauce and has a sweet, savory, nutty flavor. That's exactly what this recipe is.

What's the difference between Thai peanut sauce and Vietnamese peanut sauce?

Thai peanut sauce typically uses coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce, and lime juice. Vietnamese peanut sauce is hoisin based, which gives it a sweeter, deeper flavor. This recipe is Vietnamese style, the kind you get served alongside fresh spring rolls and gỏi cuốn.

Can I make peanut sauce without hoisin sauce?

Hoisin is a key ingredient in this recipe and hard to replace exactly, but in a pinch you can substitute it with a mix of soy sauce, a little honey or brown sugar, and a small splash of rice wine vinegar. The flavor won't be identical but it'll still work as a dipping sauce.

Can I make this peanut sauce ahead of time?

Yes and it actually tastes better the next day once the flavors have had time to settle. Make it up to 3 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stir it well before serving and thin it out with a little milk or water if it's thickened up in the fridge.

How do I thin out peanut sauce that's too thick?

Add liquid a small splash at a time and stir between each addition. Milk gives it a creamier consistency, water thins it out without adding flavor, and warm water works fastest. Don't add too much at once -- peanut sauce can go from thick to too thin quickly.

Why did my peanut sauce separate?

Separation usually happens when the sauce cools down or if natural peanut butter was used. To fix it just stir it vigorously or warm it gently over low heat and stir until it comes back together. Adding a small splash of warm water while stirring can also help bring it back.

Can I make this peanut sauce vegan?

Yes, it's easy to make completely vegan. Just use a plant based milk like oat milk or coconut milk instead of regular milk. Everything else in the recipe is already vegan friendly. Coconut milk in particular gives it an extra rich and creamy texture.

How long does peanut sauce last in the fridge?

Stored in an airtight container it keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Give it a good stir before serving since it will thicken up as it sits. If it's too thick straight from the fridge just stir in a splash of warm water or milk to loosen it back up.

Can I freeze peanut sauce?

Yes, peanut sauce freezes surprisingly well. Store it in a freezer safe container or zip lock bag for up to 2 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and stir well before serving. You may need to add a splash of milk or water to get it back to the right consistency after thawing.

What's the best peanut butter to use for peanut sauce?

Creamy peanut butter gives you the smoothest and most consistent results. Standard brands like Jif or Skippy blend easily and don't separate. Natural peanut butter can work but tends to make the sauce grainier and more prone to separating. If natural peanut butter is all you have make sure it's well stirred before adding it.

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