100 Unexpected Ways to Enjoy Peanut Butter

Georgia Peanut-Fried Chicken Recipe

J.C. and Jo Bell revolutionized peanut butter a few years back when they were charged with creating something amazing from America's massive peanut surplus. PB2, a powdered peanut butter, is a culinary dream ingredient. Cut 5 0/50 with Wondra flour, it makes for an unparalleled dredge for chicken. This dish retains the gentle sweetness of peanut, and has most of the crunch of true-to-form fried chicken.

Nutty Fried Rice Recipe

We incorporate lots of nutty flavor into traditional fried rice using sesame oil, cashews, peanut butter, and sesame seeds.

Indonesian Shrimp Sate with Creamy Peanut Sauce Recipe

Make a shrimp version of this popular Indonsian grilled dish by marinating shrimp in soy sauce and ginger and serving with a traditional peanut sauce made with peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, and cilantro.

West African Peanut Chicken Recipe

A couple of years ago we attended an "Africa" night at a local university, where a variety of wonderful African foods were served for dinner. The thing I liked best was a delicious peanut chicken dish that sent me scampering for a recipe as soon as I got home.  My family loves this adaptation of the original, served over rice. The original recipe calls for homemade peanut butter. If you'd like to use fresh ground peanut butter, you can grind your own at the grocery store,  whirl some roasted peanuts in your food processor, or buy a jar of natural peanut butter.  

Thai-Style Pork Stew Recipe

Peanut butter melds with classic Asian flavors to lend this one-dish meal a Thai flair. Lime makes a perfect accent.

Grilled Chicken with Sweet and Savory Peanut Sauce Recipe

This twist on the traditional Asian chicken dish has a very unique flavor, largely due to the use of peanut butter cups as the central flavoring agent. That's right, we created a rich sauce using a blend of soy, rice wine vinegar, seasonings, and chocolate-peanut butter cups.

Broccoli Chicken Salad Recipe

Betsy Dasenko, a reader from Corvallis, Oregon, submitted this recipe, which makes a terrific packed lunch, side dish, or potluck contribution. We used Skippy brand peanut butter for a smooth, slightly sweet sauce. You can use natural peanut butter if you prefer, but you may want to add a pinch of sugar so the flavors are balanced.

Sweet Potato Medallions with Almond Sauce and Chickpea Salad Recipe

It may seem too good to be true, but it's not: This impressive plate requires only 5 ingredients (water, oil, salt, and pepper are freebies). This recipe calls for almond butter, but you can use any nut butter you like--try peanut, cashew, or sunflower butter. And if canned chickpeas aren't in your pantry, try cannellini or navy beans.

Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce are a special dinner treat for kids. They'll not only love the dipping sauce but the skewers make dinnertime fun.

Sesame Noodles Recipe

This Asian-inspired pasta salad features penne pasta and veggies coated in a homemade peanut sauce. 

Chicken and Noodles with Peanut Sauce Recipe

A thick peanut sauce makes this dish rich and satisfying. It's great served at room temperature or cold; add a touch of warm water to loosen the noodles if serving cold.

Peanut and Squash Soup Recipe

Hailing from Senegal, the mildly spicy, slightly sweet Peanut Squash Soup would be well complemented by a side of stewed collard greens or Swiss chard.

Skewered Chicken with Spicy Peanut Dip Recipe

Leftover peanut dip is tasty on fresh celery and carrot sticks for a quick snack. It can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to a week.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe

Powdered peanut butter (which you'll find on the nut butters aisle) adds richness here; if you'd rather not use it, sub more flour. Find plum sauce in the Asian foods section.

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Mango Salad Recipe

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Mango Salad delivers a wonderful combination of flavors, and this one-dish meal is on the table in just 40 minutes. The mango adds a nice sweetness to the overall dish while the peanut butter adds a mild peanutty flavor to the dressing.

Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Marinate chicken in a coconut milk-curry powder mixture and serve with this spicy peanut sauce for an easy and economical Indonesian-style grilled main dish. Serve with a side of steamed, fried, or cauliflower rice (if that's more your style), a side of coconut soup, or eat the chicken drizzled in the peanut sauce in some crispy lettuce wraps. These chicken skewers are definitely a go-to make-ahead recipe. Enjoy these for a fun family dinner, or make them the star appetizer recipe of any of your upcoming festivities. 

French Toast Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipe

What kid (or grown-up, for that matter) wouldn't love this ooey-gooey sandwich? Serve the souped-up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with fresh fruit.

Indonesian Vegetable Salad with Peanut Dressing Recipe

This is a simplified version of the splendid Indonesian salad called gado gado, which along with satay is practically a national dish, often served with crunchy shrimp crackers. It uses shortcut ingredients in the sauce--peanut butter, curry paste--to speed things along. For a spicier dressing, stir in sambal oelek or Sriracha.

Spicy Chicken and Sunchoke Stir-Fry Recipe

Sunchokes take the place of water chestnuts in this tasty stir-fry. Look for Thai peanut sauce in your supermarket's ethnic foods aisle.

Malaysian Chicken Pizza Recipe

Malaysian chicken pizza is a pie with a spicy, sweet, peanut butter and soy sauce-based sauce that seemed ahead of its time in 1991 when it first ran. Twenty years later and it’s still a new adventurous pizza for most people. If you like barbecue chicken pizza, you’ll love this.

Crunchy Chinese Chicken Salad with Wonton Chips Recipe

Picky kids can shun international flavor, but not this dish. With savory Peanut-Lime Dressing and crunchy wonton chips, kids will clean their plates and ask for seconds.

Cucumber and Noodle Salad Recipe

Intensely flavorful Chinese sausage is worth seeking out for this salad. If you can't find it, bacon also pairs well with the sweet cucumbers and peanut dressing.

Chicken Kebabs with Cucumber Noodles Recipe

Marinated in a little honey, ginger, soy sauce, and peanut oil, Asian-inspired Chicken Kebabs with Cucumber Noodles are paired with cucumber noodles to create an easy weeknight dinner.

Grilled Chicken with Peanut Sauce Recipe

This is such a simple, flavorful chicken recipe. This quick and easy peanut sauce adds lots of flavor to grilled chicken with minimum fuss. Serve it with steamed vegetables and rice for an inspired busy weeknight dinner that the whole family will enjoy.

Chicken Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Save time, money, and calories by making this simple stir-fry in the comfort of your own kitchen. Want more for later? Try doubling the batch of peanut sauce and using it as a dip for grilled chicken kebabs tomorrow night!

Chicken with Peanut-Butter Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Peanut Butter Sauce Recipe

Carolyn says: "Cook this batter immediately after mixing to keep the pancakes springy and light. The whole wheat adds flavor."

Peanut Butter Berry Recipe

You'll never make a boring bowl of oatmeal ever again.

Soba Noodle and Pork Casserole Recipe

This is not your mom's creamy noodle casserole. After this dish, miso cream sauce will be your new go-to sauce for everything. It only has 3 ingredients, it's perfectly seasoned and creamy, and just thick enough to hold up to a good noodle. The creaminess is complemented by the crunchiness of the peanuts and panko in this casserole and the green onion and cilantro brighten it up. Make this dish gluten-free by replacing the panko with extra peanuts and using gluten-free miso. We think Togarishi-- a Japanese 7-spice blend found at Asian markets-- is worth the buy, but if you cannot find it use Chinese 5-spice. 

Peanut Butter and Chicken Noodles With Carrot and Cucumber Ribbons Recipe

Everything tastes better in a bowl.

Spicy Thai Chicken Kabobs Recipe

Stir up a superfast peanut sauce, and marinate the chicken before you head out for the day. The remaining ingredients can be quickly put together when you get home from work.

Orange-Sesame Noodles with Grilled Shrimp Recipe

A generous splash of fresh-squeezed orange juice gives a lift to traditional peanut soba noodle salad. Leave off the shrimp if you want to make this vegetarian. Or top with grilled chicken strips, pork, or steak for another variation.

Spicy Peanut Chicken over Rice Recipe

This spicy peanut chicken recipe makes enough to freeze leftovers, which keep for up to a month. Spoon single servings into airtight containers; thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and reheat in a saucepan. You can increase the crushed red pepper, if you like; a dollop of yogurt on top balances the spiciness.

Chicken Noodle Bowl with Peanut-Ginger Sauce Recipe

Make the dressing and prep the veggies the day before, and dinner will be on the table in minutes.

Spicy Shrimp and Peanut Noodles Recipe

Beef Kabobs with Broccoli Slaw and Peanut Sauce Recipe

We tested with tri-tip and rib-eye steak, but use your favorite cut.

Cold Peanut-Sesame Noodles Recipe

The secret to Andrew Zimmern's cold noodle recipe, inspired by the ones he had in China's Sichuan province, is the oil that gets drizzled on top. Made with chiles, Sichuan peppercorns and lots of spices, it is called Ma La ("numbing and spicy").

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing Recipe

At only 260 calories per serving, this chicken salad with the taste of Thai serves as an easy entree or easy appetizer.

Tempeh and Green Bean Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Tempeh is a high-protein soy product that originated in Indonesia; substitute extra-firm tofu, if desired.

Peanut-Broccoli Pasta Recipe

Peanut Noodles with Tofu Recipe

These creamy noodles are a crowd pleaser, and you can easily change out the tofu for chicken if you like.

Warm Peanut and Sesame Noodles Recipe

Serve this dish as an easy side, or top it with grilled chicken or shrimp for a light dinner. Leftovers will be even better for lunch the next day.

Peanut-Broccoli Stir-fry Recipe

Peanut-Baked Chicken Recipe

Beef Sate with Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe

Flank steak cooks quickly when thinly sliced. The dipping sauce is inspired by traditional Indonesian condiments that often accompany this dish.

Cold Peanut Noodles with Shrimp Recipe

The noodles absorb the sauce quickly, so serve shortly after tossing all the ingredients together. If you can't find fresh Chinese egg noodles, substitute spaghetti or linguine.

Pork Strips with Peanut Sauce and Rice Noodles Recipe

Rice noodles soak up liquid quickly, so if you're not serving immediately, reserve about 1/4 cup cooked sauce, and add to remaining pork mixture just before serving, tossing gently.

Soba and Slaw Salad with Peanut Dressing Recipe

Total time: 40 minutes. Look for soba noodles, rice vinegar, chile paste, and soy sauce in the specialty-foods aisle of your supermarket or in Asian markets. Use packaged slaw mix in place of the red cabbage and carrot if you're in a hurry. Try this recipe with coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken instead of shrimp.

Crab Cakes on Mixed Greens with Peanut Vinaigrette Recipe

The dressing on this side salad is an unexpected peanut vinaigrette, which brings and updated flavor to the classic crab cake.

Flank Steak with Hot Peanut Sauce Recipe

By keeping the meat serving to a sensible three-ounce cooked portion and using the low-fat but flavorful flank cut, this entrée limits saturated fat while offering plenty of iron and protein. Prepare steamed rice and sautéed baby bok choy while the meat marinates.

Sautéed Chicken with Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipe

This easy weeknight meal uses a nutty dipping sauce to elevate the simple chicken main dish into something worth saving to your "must make" file.

Pork Saté with Peanut-Mirin Sauce Recipe

Skewers of marinated meat called satés are a popular street food in Indonesia. Mirin is a sweet, low-alcohol rice wine found in the Asian foods section of many supermarkets.

Chicken Sate with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Try this flavorful, slightly spicy Asian saté for an easy weeknight chicken dinner.

Spicy Soba Noodles with Chicken in Peanut Sauce Recipe

Classic Asian flavors come together to create a quick and easy chicken dish with spicy soba noodles that you can have on the dinner table in no time.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Satay Sauce Recipe

We turn the traditional appetizer of chicken skewers and dipping sauce into a main course by spooning the satay sauce over sliced grilled chicken breasts. This dish pairs well with Cucumber, Carrot, and Orange Salad.

Sweet Potato Noodles with Shrimp and Thai-Style Almond Sauce Recipe

Smarter carbs are easy with the handy spiralizer--it works like a pencil sharpener to create long strands of veggies. Find the tool at kitchen stores and amazon.com.

Banh Mi Bowls Recipe

We deconstruct the classic Vietnamese sandwich for a whole-grain bowl that's perfect for make-ahead lunches or dinner. If you haven't quick pickled your own vegetables before, you'll be suprised by how easy it is. Not sure how to use the rest of the chile paste? Try tossing green beans with a couple teaspoons (along with honey, soy sauce, garlic, and canola oil) and roasting, spread a little on grilled cheese, and add it to dressing for cucumber salad. 

Chicken Dan-Dan Noodles Recipe

Welcome to our easy version of this Sichuan street-food classic, with ground chicken instead of pork, and fresh vegetables rather than preserved Chinese ones. A dan-dan is the pole, balanced on the shoulder, that vendors use to tote containers of noodles and sauce.

Thai Crunch Bowl with Salmon Recipe

This is a riff on the Korean rice dish bibimbap, in which various toppings are arranged over a bed of rice. Here, Thai crunch bowl must-haves such as thinly steamed edamame, shredded red cabbage, and broiled salmon top brown rice.

Sweet Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli Recipe

You can substitute angel hair pasta or rice noodles for soba.

Lemongrass Ginger Chicken in Lettuce Cups Recipe

Our version of the classic Chinese restaurant dish brings in tart-hot Southeast Asian flavors. We've used medium-size lettuce leaves here for a main course; if you want to make appetizers, just choose small leaves.

Winter Squash and Tofu Panang Curry Recipe

Nutty whole grains make a perfect bed for a bowl of saucy winter veggies in this cozy one-dish meal of Winter Squash and Tofu Panang Curry.

Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Chinese Chicken Salad, from readers Heather Wheeler and Joanie Demer, comes together quickly when the chopping and toasting is completed in advance. Simply assemble this Asian-fusion salad before serving and enjoy!

Chicken Saté with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Classic Indonesian satés feature skewered meat, fish, or poultry that is grilled or broiled. Total time: 45 minutes.

Cold Sesame Noodles with Roasted Pork Recipe

Like ramen? You'll love this fresh update. Save that flavor packet for another use; you won't need it here.

Thai Chicken Pizza Recipe

Turn pizza night upside down by giving it bold Thai flavor. Pair with an Asian-inspired salad loaded with crunch veggies and peanut vinaigrette.

"PB and J" Steak Stir-fry with Rice Recipe

Red pepper jelly and creamy peanut butter combine to transform comfort-style stir-fry into a must-make one-dish dinner. Your kids will love it, and not just because it has a great name.

Caribbean-Style Pork Recipe

With their crisp texture and sweet flavor, bell peppers are a nice complement to the pork in this dish. If you plan to use peppers within a day or two, keep them at room temperature for better flavor.

Glazed Chicken and Szechuan Noodle Salad Recipe

Garnish noodles with cilantro, if you have it on hand.

Pineapple Chicken Satay Recipe

Thai-Style Ribs Recipe

These ribs marinate all night and then slow-cook all day to get their incredible flavor.

Slow-Cooker Size: 6-quart

Szechuan Pork Recipe

Fresh sliced pineapple makes a nice companion for this one-dish meal.