This tender, well-spiced keto satay chicken is grilled to perfection and served with a sweet and tangy peanut satay sauce. You'll be licking your plate with this one!
When grilled, this well-spiced chicken turns deliciously tender and juicy with areas of crispy, charred chicken. The peanut satay sauce is just as delicious — it's peanutty, sweet, savory, creamy, and a little sour with the right amount of spice.
We went though SO many iterations of this chicken satay before we were finally happy with it. We ate variations of chicken satay everyday, for lunch or dinner, for about a week. It just didn't seem to end. When hubby finally asked, "Can we make this again tonight?" That's when I knew we had our recipe.
Thankfully, this chicken satay is easy to make. It takes just a few minutes to make the chicken marinade, and if you're in a rush, you can marinate for just 20 minutes. Then, simply grill the chicken for about 4 minutes per side — until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
The peanut sauce is even easier. Just heat the peanut sauce ingredients on low heat until smooth in consistency and heated through, and you're done — about five minutes total.
Each serving of this keto satay chicken with peanut sauce is just 2.7 net carbs.
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What is Satay?
Satay is a popular street-food in Southeast Asia (such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand) in which the meat, in this case chicken, is chopped and skewered and, most often, grilled with a marinade. It's typically served with a dipping sauce made with peanuts and other ingredients — but sauces vary by region or country. Satay can be made with other types of meat including beef, pork, goat or even fish and tofu.
Key Ingredients
Only 8 total ingredients for the chicken satay and peanut sauce! Here are notes on key ingredients:
- Chicken: You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts for the chicken skewers. Chicken thighs are typically more juicy and tender, but breasts can be a little easier to work with. I prefer chicken thighs and my husband prefers chicken breasts. It's a toss up at our house.
- Full-fat coconut milk: We highly recommend Aroy-D coconut milk for best results. It's one of the best coconut milks out there. You'll use ¼ cup for the chicken marinade and ½ cup for the peanut sauce.
- Red curry paste: We use Mae Ploy curry pastes since they're one of the best in the market. If you don't have red curry paste, you could swap with green or yellow curry paste.
- Fish sauce: Fish sauce adds a salty, umami flavor to the marinade and peanut sauce. If you don't have on hand, you could swap with soy sauce (but it's not quite the same).
- Peanut butter: Be sure to use a sugar-free peanut butter for the peanut sauce. We like Organic Santa Cruz Peanut Butter, which you can get as smooth or crunchy (both work well in this recipe).
How To Prepare
Marinate the chicken: In a large bowl, mix ¼ cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon red curry and minced garlic cloves. Stir until thoroughly combined. Cut the chicken into 1 ½- to 2-inch pieces that are roughly the same size. Place the cut chicken into the marinade and let marinate for at least 20 minutes. If you have the time, we recommend marinating the night before or morning of grilling.
Make the peanut sauce: In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together ½ cup coconut milk, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, ½ tablespoon red curry paste, ½ tablespoon lime juice, ½ tablespoon fish sauce and 1 teaspoon Swerve Sweetener. Be sure to heat the sauce at a lower temperature to prevent liquids from separating. Continue stirring sauce until smooth and heated. Remove from heat and place in small serving bowl.
Grill and serve: After marinating the chicken, thread onto skewers, leaving a little space between each piece of chicken. Heat the grill to high and place the skewers directly over the heat and grill for about 4 minutes. Flip the skewers and grill for an additional 3 to 5 minutes (for total 8 to 10 minutes), until thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Remove skewers from grill, plate and serve with peanut sauce and lime wedges (for squeezing juice over chicken).
Recipe FAQ
It depends on the ingredients. Some meat marinades include sugar and other high-carb ingredients. Because of this, some restaurant satays may not be keto-friendly. To be sure, we recommend making a low-carb and keto-friendly satay at home.
Again, it really depends on the ingredients. Some sauces include real sugar, which makes them higher in carbs. For example, Thai Kitchen peanut satay sauce includes real sugar and is 8 carbs per serving. Our keto-friendly peanut satay sauce is just 2 net carbs per serving.
Yes, you can swap the chicken with pork, shrimp, or beef. You'll just need to adjust the cook times based on the protein, so you don't overcook it.
Yes, you can bake the chicken skewers on a lined, rimmed baking sheet at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken reaches 165 degrees on a thermometer.
Related Recipes
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Keto Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts or tenders
Marinade
- ¼ cup Aroy-D Coconut Milk or other full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste or other red curry paste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Peanut Sauce
- ½ cup Aroy-D Coconut Milk or other full fat coconut milk
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ tablespoon Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste or other red curry paste
- 3 tablespoons Santa Cruz Organic Light Roasted Creamy Peanut Butter or other no added sugar peanut butter
- ½ tablespoon lime juice PLUS more for squeezing over grilled chicken
- 1 teaspoon Swerve Granular (add another teaspoon if you prefer sweeter)
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken: If using bamboo skewers, soak 4 to 6 skewers in water for 20 minutes before grilling. In a large bowl, mix ¼ cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon red curry and minced garlic cloves. Stir until thoroughly combined. Cut the chicken into 1 ½- to 2-inch pieces that are roughly the same size. Place the cut chicken into the marinade and let marinate for 20 minutes (or you may do the night before or morning of grilling).
- Make the peanut sauce: In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together ½ cup coconut milk, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, ½ tablespoon red curry paste, ½ tablespoon lime juice, ½ tablespoon fish sauce and 1 teaspoon Swerve Sweetener. Be sure to heat the sauce at a lower temperature to prevent liquids from separating. Continue stirring sauce until smooth and heated. Remove from heat and place in small serving bowl.
- Grill and serve: After marinating the chicken, thread onto skewers, leaving a little space between each piece of chicken. Heat the grill to high and place the skewers directly over the heat and grill for about 4 minutes. Flip the skewers and grill for an additional 3 to 5 minutes (for total 8 to 10 minutes), until thermometer reaches 165 degrees. Remove skewers from grill, plate and serve with peanut sauce and lime wedges (for squeezing juice over chicken).
Notes
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts for the chicken skewers. Chicken thighs are typically more juicy and tender, but breasts can be a little easier to work with.
- We highly recommend Aroy-D coconut milk for best results. It's one of the best coconut milks out there.
- We use Mae Ploy curry pastes since they're one of the best on the market. If you don't have red curry paste, you could swap with green or yellow curry paste.
- Be sure to use a sugar-free peanut butter for the peanut sauce
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