Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Bold marinade, juicy chicken, and an irresistible peanut sauce—these Thai-style grilled chicken skewers have it all.
I first discovered this wonderful Thai chicken recipe in the Costco magazine, but it comes from from Alice Currah, the talented voice behind the blog and book Savory Sweet Life. The marinade—a blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, and spices—infuses the grilled chicken with bold Thai flavors. But it’s the rich peanut sauce that truly steals the show. When I served this dish to my family about ten years ago, my then-young son went back for seconds on the steamed broccoli I’d served alongside. Seeing my surprised look, he said, “Mom, this sauce would make anything taste good.” I couldn’t agree more—I’m always half-tempted to skip the chicken and eat the sauce like soup!
“This Thai chicken is our new favourite — makes me want to visit Thailand! We had steamed vegetables and sticky rice as sides. It was a beautiful meal.”
What You’ll Need To Make Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers With Peanut Sauce
- Soy sauce, dark brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil & garlic: The base of the marinade—salty, sweet, citrusy, and full of garlicky flavor.
- Curry powder, ground ginger, cardamom & salt: Add warm, fragrant spice to the marinade, giving the chicken its Thai flavor.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: Pounded and cut into chunks for easy skewering; the lean base that soaks up all the flavor from the marinade.
- Coconut milk, peanut butter, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, Thai red curry paste & lime juice: Blended into a rich, tangy, and slightly sweet peanut sauce with just a touch of heat.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep the chicken. Pound the chicken to an even ½-inch thickness. This both tenderizes the meat and ensures even cooking. If you don’t have a meat mallet, a rolling pin or a saucepan will both work well. Next, cut the chicken into chunks.
Step 2: Marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Add the chicken, toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight for the best flavor.
Step 3: Make the peanut sauce. While the chicken marinates, make the sauce. Combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, dark brown sugar, soy sauce, and Thai curry paste in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in the lime juice at the end to brighten it up.
Pro Tip: This sauce is gold—double the batch and keep extras in the fridge for grain bowls, noodles, or even as a veggie dip during the week.
Step 4: Thread the chicken. Once the chicken is done marinating, thread the chunks onto skewers, dividing them evenly.
Pro Tip: If using wooden/bamboo skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes beforehand so they don’t catch fire on the grill (yep, it happens).
Step 5: Grill and serve. Grill the skewers for about 5 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve warm with the peanut sauce and lime wedges. Leftovers? Chop the chicken and toss it into a salad, wrap, or rice bowl—don’t forget to drizzle with that extra sauce to tie it all together.
Video Tutorial
More asian-Inspired Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Thai Marinated Grilled Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Juicy grilled chicken, bold Thai flavors, and a peanut sauce so good you’ll want it by the spoonful.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
- Zest of one lime
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For the Peanut Sauce
- 1 (13-oz) can coconut milk (do not use low fat)
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 2 limes
For Serving
- 1 lime, cut into wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Prep the Chicken: Pound the chicken breasts to an even ½-inch thickness between two pieces of wax or parchment paper. Cut the breasts into 1½-inch pieces and set aside.
- Marinate the Chicken: Make the marinade by combining the soy sauce, dark brown sugar, lime zest, vegetable oil, garlic, curry powder, ginger, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix until chicken is evenly coated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Make the Peanut Sauce: In a medium saucepan, whisk the coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, soy sauce and red curry paste until evenly combined. Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Stir in the fresh lime juice and set aside.
- Grill the Chicken: Preheat the grill to high heat. Meanwhile, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers. Grease the grill. Place the skewers on the grill and cook for about 10 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken skewers with the peanut sauce and lime wedges, if desired.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Calories: 547
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 14 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 52 g
- Sodium: 1106 mg
- Cholesterol: 152 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Wow, this was so delicious. It is full of flavour and not complicated to make. I served it to my adult son who asked me for the recipe. We are both careful about what we eat, following close to a ketogenic diet so I reduced the brown sugar by half in the marinade and eliminated it from the sauce. It was perfect. Thanks for a real keeper Jenn!
I tried this recipe today and it was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! My husband doesn’t really care for chicken breast as he thinks it always taste dry but this one came out tender off the grill. He even came back for seconds. I had also tried another peanut sauce from another site that claimed to be an authentic Thai recipe and it so thick on peanut butter that we couldn’t even eat. This one is PERFECT, you can still taste the peanut but not overpowering at all, just the right combination of flavors. We liked it on everything (over grilled potatoes, steamed rice). My son is vegetarian so although he did not eat the chicken, he loved the sauce. Thanks Jenn for yet another superb recipe. I can’t wait to try your Thai Crunch Salad recipe and the coconut cupcakes from your cookbook, which I received Tuesday.
Glad you enjoyed the chicken! And thank you for purchasing the cookbook – I hope you find many new favorites to prepare. 🙂
Having never made this before and to boot never cooked with coconut milk I’m assuming I grabbed the wrong one. Mine doesn’t say low fat but does say unsweetened. Wrong one yes?
Hi Bob, You absolutely got the right thing – it should be unsweetened. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This recipe is superb! (as is every recipe on this website, I’m a huge fan!) Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong for me did go wrong, but it had nothing to do with this great recipe AND I discovered multiple ways to cook the chicken. First, my chicken was slightly frozen and I didn’t have time for more than an hour marinade (still amazing). Second, my grill flame kept going out because it was really windy! So I had to move the chicken off the grill to the oven broiler. This was looking promising and the chicken was starting to get a grilled look, but then my gas oven broiler kept going out! (It was not a good day for flames apparently). So I ended up cooking the chicken on the stove top in a frying pan. Despite all the odds against me, the chicken turned out so good! My toddler and 3 year old loved it and so did my husband and I. The sauce is so scrumptious I could eat it on anything. I can’t wait to try it again the right way. Thanks Jenn for great recipes that always turn out wonderfully. I’m so confident with your recipes I’m not afraid to try them out for the first time with dinner guests (tested and perfected!). You never disappoint and I can’t wait to get your cookbook I preordered!
Hi Jen, I really would like to try this recipe, but my son has a severe allergy to peanuts. What can I substitute for Peanut butter here? Kind regards/Hai
Hi Hai, Almond butter should work if he is able to have that.
Hi Jenn, I wanna make this but I wanna know if I can use natural sugar-free PB or it has to be the regular with sugar and salt PB?
Sure, Serena, that should be fine. You may find that you want to add a pinch of salt to the sauce, but taste it first as you might not find it necessary. Enjoy!
This recipe is perfect! Sometimes peanut sauces can be overwhelming but this one is just right. I served these skewers with a pearl couscous salad.
Great recipe. The chicken was very moist and flavorful; perfectly seasoned. The coconut season was wonderful. The lime juice provided a nice freshness to the sauce. The chicken and sauce was a great combination. We served the rice and sauce over rice. Roasted vegetables as a side dish. Recipe a definite keeper.
My husband and I love this recipe. After reading the other reviews, I decided to cook it under our gas broiler for approximately 7-8 minutes on each side. The sauce is my favorite! I’ve used the leftover sauce to top broccoli florets or even as a salad dressing.
I want to make this recipe, but I had a few questions. I don’t have a mallet to pound out the chicken, is there something else I could use? Also, is there another way to cook these maybe in the oven or on the stovetop? (We don’t have a grill).
Hi Ashley, no worries about not having a mallet; any number of other items will work to pound the chicken. Check out some options here. And it’s perfectly fine to cook these in the oven – I would use the broiler and cook them for the same amount of time that the recipe indicates – about 5 minutes per side. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn. I have some boneless pork loin chops that I need to use. Do you think they would work with this recipe?
Sure, I think it would work. Please LMK how it turns out!