If you’re craving smoked chicken satay slathered in a creamy peanut sauce while you’re on your Whole30, I’ve got something for you: this nut-free version of the real deal!
Healthy Homemade Chicken Satay Recipe
These delicious paleo chicken satay skewers are an easy Whole30-friendly weeknight meal that you can cook at home or outside and taste like the real thing! Do you have Paleo Hoisin Sauce leftover after making Moo Shu Pork? Then use it to make nut-free Hoisin sauce – it’s delicious! You won’t even miss the peanut sauce!
What is satay?
Satay is a Southeast Asian dish consisting of seasoned grilled meat on skewers, typically served with a sauce made from soy and peanut butter. Although the dish originated in Indonesia, you can find it on menus in Thai, Malaysian and Singaporean restaurants.
Do you have to serve satay with a sauce?
Obviously not! These skewers are well seasoned and require no sauce. Sure, I prefer to slather them with nut-free Hoisin sauce, but whenever I don’t have leftover Paleo Hoisin sauce on hand, I just skip the sauce. By the way, if you want a hot sauce, I have a recipe for nut-free Thai hot sauce on page 58 of our Ready or Not! cookbook. (There is also another tasty variation of chicken satay on that page!)
Can I use other proteins?
YES! Feel free to substitute chicken legs, beef, pork, goat or any other meat you prefer. You can’t go wrong with grilled meat on a stick!
How can I do this in advance?
You can marinate the meat up to 12 hours in advance and the sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance – be sure to store both in sealed containers in the refrigerator.
ingredients
chicken satay
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Full fat coconut milk
- Thai red curry paste
- Medjool date, pitted and chopped: Instead of using brown sugar, I use a date to sweeten the marinade naturally.
- Garlic cloves
- Red Boat Fish Sauce: Don’t leave out the fish sauce! It gives satay that special umami flavor, which is not replicated by something like soy sauce!
- Ground turmeric
Nut-Free Hoisin Sauce
- Paleo Hoisin Sauce: I love my homemade hoisin sauce and it works perfectly with this sauce!
- Sun butter: To keep this recipe nut-free, I replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter. Almond butter will work even if you don’t need to keep it nut-free.
- Rice vinegar: If you don’t have rice vinegar you can replace it with lime juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Waterfall
How to make chicken satay
Cut the chicken breasts into half-centimeter strips and place them in a large bowl.
Combine coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, date, garlic, fish sauce and turmeric in a high-speed blender…
…and blend until smooth.
Pour the chicken satay marinade over the chicken strips and mix well.
Cover the chicken and let it marinate in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. I usually leave the chicken in the fridge while I prepare the side dishes for dinner.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, grab some soaked wooden skewers. Using one chicken strip at a time, carefully skewer the meat into an accordion shape. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces and the length of the skewer, you may have two to four pieces threaded securely onto a skewer.
Now you can choose how to cook the chicken skewers: grilled or in the oven. If cooking skewers on a grill, set the temperature to high heat. When it’s nice and hot, clean the grill and brush the grates with a fat with a high smoke point (e.g. ghee, avocado oil, etc.). Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. (You can even cook them in a skillet on the stove!)
If you choose to roast them in the oven, heat the oven to 400°F convection or 425°F (no convection). Place the skewers on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through, turning the skewers halfway through cooking. Cook for an additional 2 minutes if you want a little more color.
Time to make nut-free Hoisin sauce! Place the hoisin sauce, butter, water, and rice vinegar into a blender and blend until smooth. You can add a little more water if you prefer a thinner sauce.
Spread the sauce on the chicken satay and eat it! You can serve them as a main course or as an appetizer!
What’s the best way to store leftovers?
Store any leftover cooked skewers in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can quickly reheat them in a hot pan or in a 350°F oven for a few minutes. (Me? I like to eat them cold straight out of the fridge.)
Looking for more recipe ideas? Go to my recipe index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017) and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
chicken satay
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Cut the chicken breasts into half-centimeter strips and place them in a large bowl.
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Combine coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, date, garlic, fish sauce, and turmeric in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
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Pour the marinade over the chicken strips and mix well. Cover the chicken and let it marinate in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. I usually leave the chicken in the fridge while I prepare the side dishes for dinner.
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When you’re ready to cook the chicken, grab some soaked wooden skewers. Using one chicken strip at a time, carefully skewer the meat into an accordion shape. Depending on the size of the chicken pieces and the length of the skewer, you may have two to four pieces threaded securely onto a skewer.
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Now you can choose how to cook the skewers: on the grill or in the oven. If cooking skewers on a grill, set the temperature to high heat. When it’s nice and hot, clean the grill and brush the grates with a fat with a high smoke point (e.g. ghee, avocado oil, etc.). Place the skewers on the hot grill and cook for about 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.
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If you choose to roast them in the oven, heat the oven to 400°F fan or 425°F (no convection). Place the skewers on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes or until cooked through, turning the skewers halfway through cooking. Cook for an additional 2 minutes if you want a little more color.
Nut-Free Hoisin Sauce
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Time to make nut-free Hoisin sauce! Place the hoisin sauce, butter, water, and rice vinegar into a blender and blend until smooth. You can add a little more water if you prefer a thinner sauce.
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Spread the sauce on the chicken satay and eat it!
Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 19G | Protein: 41G | Fat: 19G | Fiber: 1G
Nutrition information is calculated automatically, so should only be used as an approximation.
