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.
Can these be baked as well?
Hi Leanne, You can cook these in the oven, but I’d broil them. Cook them for the same amount of time that the recipe indicates – about 5 minutes per side. Enjoy!
Well folks I am a huge OUAC fan, Jenn’s cookbook and blog are always my first stop for recipes. However this dinner was the hit of all the dinners I cooked this summer. My hungry, health conscious adult children and their kids went crazy it this skewered Thai curry chicken skewers, sauce, rice and salad! The only add on I had was Raita. Leftovers were equally good!
Best peanut sauce ever. All you need is a spoon.
I’ve made this many times and never fails to get huge raves.
(Hint: Ladies, you can wear this as perfume, I swear!)
Amazing! There were so many levels of flavor. The best part was that I didn’t have to go out and buy a lot of bottles of this and that. I printed this one out and have it filed under favorites. I also learned that pounding the chicken really does make it tender. AND, I had a grill brush on my shopping list, but instead, saw your brilliantly simple idea of using a tong and a paper towel dipped in oil to prep the grill and tried that instead.
I also thought the peanut sauce would be too sweet and too runny, but when all was said and done, the flavors balanced each other so well, and the sauce was perfect.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Another winner. Delicious!
Quick question. We had a lot of extra sauce. Will it freeze well?
JoAnn
Hi JoAnn, I haven’t frozen the sauce before. I think it would work, but the texture may be a little grainy when thawed. Glad you enjoyed!
Fantastic flavor, followed to the tea and ended up with a delicious meal! This was my hubby’s first time eating a peanut sauce and he REALLY liked it. Great recipe, thank you.
Could I cook this loose on a flat grill pan?
Don’t have skewers. Sounds SO good!
Sure – hope you enjoy!
Agree this sauce is amazing! My family all devoured this. So so good! Will definitely make it again.
I had a hard time grilling my chicken chunks skewered and would probably leave the pieces whole next time.
Family Favorite! I made the peanut coconut sauce the day before so only had to grill the chicken. Perfect recipe for a busy night! The peanut coconut sauce is by far the winner of this recipe! I made extra and used it for the week as a crudités dip. I finished off the meal with basmati rice and steamed snow peas. A must try!
These are quite good! However, I think I might have made a mistake of some sort when making the sauce as it was rather runny and lacked the punch of flavor that these recipes normally deliver. I would still recommend the recipe though! I have been cooking nearly exclusively from this website for about a year now and am learning a lot. My only frustration is that it takes me roughly double Jenn’s estimated time to make the recipes. I need to take a cooking class to see if I can get some tips to help me be more efficient!
Be aware that bottled Thai curry sauce can vary in heat, so if you’re lacking “punch” it could be your curry sauce is mild. You can always add hot sauce – such as Siracha – to kick it up a notch.
I’m usually a big fan, but this recipe didn’t quite do it for me. I’m not sure if I did something wrong because the chicken didn’t really look like the picture. Overall, it was tasty but probably not worth the effort to make it again. I enjoyed the peanut sauce but it wasn’t quite as flavorful as I had hoped. A solid recipe but not nearly as good as some others like the Peruvian chicken, Tandoori chicken, and honey lime sriracha chicken in my opinion.