Almond butter chicken satay is a Thai inspired peanut free recipe where chicken pieces are fed onto a skewer, marinated then grilled and served with an almond butter dip.
This Thai chicken satay is to die for and let me tell you why. I’m actually my rendition of south east Asian satay which would normally be made with peanuts. As this is paleo approved I took the liberty of spinning the recipe on it’s head by doing an almond butter chicken satay instead.
What’s chicken satay?
In case you are unfamiliar with what chicken satay is, then let me inform you. Chicken satay is dish where meat (chicken, beef or pork) is seasoned and then skewered where it is grilled barbecued and served with a dipping sauce.
Although the origins of this dish connect to Indonesia, other south east Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand eat this popular street food too which explain the title name.
The inspiration for making Thai satay chicken
A male friend of mine who I went to college with during my late teens, invited me to a Thai themes birthday dinner he was hosting. At this dinner party I sampled some chicken satay and it was very succulent and tender.
I had no clue what the dipping sauce was but found it addictive. The food at the restaurant was very authentic, I’d heard many reviews about this establishment and this was partly why I accepted the invite. I knew one day I would love to make a peanut free version of satay chicken because I prefer the taste of almond butter and knew so many people who suffer from peanut allergies.
Are chicken satay skewers healthy?
Chicken satay within itself isn’t unhealthy at all. The core problem with a lot of the east Asian food that’s sold in the western hemisphere is loaded with unnecessary fillers like MSG – a toxic chemical flavour enhancer and this saddens me as it gives a bad rep to Authentic east Asian food.
When I visited relatives in Canada, there was a huge Asian community across the entire GTA (Greater Toronto Area). When I eat in these predominately Asian areas I could immediately taste the difference. It wasn’t salty or had an acquired after taste.
When making Asian food it’s best to learn how to make it from scratch at home so you’re able to control what goes in it and not have to worry about MSG or other additives.
How to make chicken satay with almond butter
This chicken satay was purposely made with almond butter as opposed to peanut so my paleo audience can reap the delicious benefits along with the gluten free crew. It’s succulent and tastes identical to the peanut butter version only legume free.
The marinade – You’ll be pleased to know there isn’t a lot of prep and marinating going on – no overnight marinating (yahoo) yes I will let you off just this once.
Satay skewers – make sure to feed each individual piece of chicken onto the skewer – metal or wooden.
Save half of the marinade for the dipping sauce – yes the marinade doubles up – half for marinating and the reserved portion for a dip – two in one ain’t bad.
Grilling your chicken – I grilled the almond butter chicken satay to a fine crisp, if you luckily own a broiler than use as instructed. If not, it’s perfectly fine to follow my method of grilling both sides of the meat.
Satay dipping sauce – self explanatory really, serve your skewers with
Why you should make this Thai inspired almond butter chicken
- It’s low in carb making it perfect for a weight loss lifestyle
- Paleo friendly and free from gluten
- Contains no legumes/peanuts for thos afflicted with peanut allergies
- Tastes amazing……try the dipping sauce……yummy!!
Serving ideas for almond butter chicken satay
- Salad (as pictured)
- Vegetables
- Grain free noodles like used in this cajun chicken zoodles recipe
Thai chicken satay
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts cut into chunks, washed and dried
- 1/2 a cup of almond butter
- 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp. coconut palm sugar
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp. of coconut aminos
- 1 1/2 tsp. of himalayan pink salt
- 5 large wooden skewers presoaked
Instructions
- Massage the pink salt into the chicken chunks in a bowl and feed the chunks onto each skewer leaving a few centimetres at the bottom of each skewer free to hold and set aside.
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend into a smooth consistency. The mixture should be a smooth (not runny paste) this will thicken with time.
- Divide the marinade evenly, pouring one half of the almond sauce over the chicken to act as a marinade.
- Allow the meat to infuse and marinate for 1 - 2hours.
- Crack up the broiler/grill on high heat and grill the meat thoroughly on each side until both sides are golden brown.
- Serve with a side of veggies, dipping sauce or quiona (gluten not paleo option).
Notes
Nutrition
This looks amazing. I am going to triple the recipe for my 35th college sorority reunion this weekend. (38 sisters are coming from all over the country for this reunion!) So many of us are now GF and dairy free. Selfishly I offered to bring this so I could eat something that would fill me up for the night of laughter, probably tears and a few glasses of wine.
Sounds wonderful! Save me some and I hope you have a great weekend.
i will try this tonight ,,
and thank you for this charl???
You are welcome and enjoy!!
This looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try!
I promise you will enjoy it Karly, feedback has been positive thus far 😉
I never leave comments, but this was the most delicious thing I ever made. I’m not particularly talented in the kitchen, so 100% of the credit goes to you and your recipe, which I followed to a T. It’s testament to the fact that pallets of butter and barrels of sugar are no match for the right combination of bold flavors. That you made it paleo is even more impressive. Thank you for sharing your culinary genius.
Aww thank you so much for your wonderful feedback Chad. I try to make my recipes as easy as possible to follow.
I would LOVE to have a whole bunch of these! Good stuff
Awwwww thank you!
Charla, immediately I saw your post I had to rush over to check it out. I love your healthy twist to this popular appetizer. Great recipe! By the way what is coconut aminos?
Thank you, Coconut aminos is made from the sap of the palm tree with unrefined seas salt. It’s healthier than soy sauce it is not processed and doesn’t unstablise the hormones. It’s a great choice for people who want to avoid soy.