Ready for something a little different for dinner? Try this Thai Pumpkin Chicken Satay served with a pumpkin- peanut butter dipping sauce.
Thai Pumpkin Chicken Satay
If it’s sounding weird, go ahead and throw that thought out the window. This chicken is good. And the sauce is amazing. It’s a family-friendly recipe, so be sure and share with the kids. Everyone loves a good dunking recipe!
What is “Satay?”
Satay is a Southeast Asian dish consisting of small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer and served with a spiced sauce that typically contains peanuts. That describes this recipe perfectly!
How to make Thai Pumpkin Chicken Satay:
You’ll begin by making the sauce. The sauce is a delicious, unique blend of flavors, and it’s great for dunking chicken! It’s basically a blend of pumpkin puree, evaporated milk and peanut butter. The evaporated milk is important because it helps give the sauce a creamy texture. Regular old milk won’t do that!
The sauce is flavored with green onion, lime juice, cilantro, soy sauce, cayenne pepper and little bit of sugar. The spiciness of the sauce is completely controlled by you and how much cayenne you opt to add to it. The peanuts shown in the photos here are just a garnish- meant to show you that the sauce is peanut flavored!
The sauce makes a great marinade, so you’ll take 1/2 cup of the sauce and combine it with the chicken to let it marinate in the fridge for about an hour.
Then you’ll get out your skewers. You’ll use the shorter, 4-inch skewers for this recipe. Those skewers can be found at World Market and usually at party stores too. Or they’re easy to order on Amazon. Marinated chicken, red bell pepper and green onion are strung onto the skewers. The Thai Pumpkin Chicken Satay skewers can be grilled or broiled.
Serve the cooked chicken skewers with the dipping sauce. This can either be served as an appetizer or a main dish. Everyone will love this unique dish!
TIP: Use leftover wooden skewers for making mini fruit-kabobs at your next party!
Here are a few more Thai-themed recipes you might like to try:
- Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
- Thai Chicken Tenders with Broiled Pineapple Slaw
- Pad Thai Shrimp
- Thai Pork Stir Fry
- Spicy Thai Noodles
- Thai Summer Salad
- Thai Beef Tacos with Lime Cilantro Slaw
- 15-Minute Thai Basil Chicken
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Thai Pumpkin Chicken Satay
Ingredients
SAUCE:
- 1 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin puree
- ⅔ cup evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
- 2 whole green onions, chopped
- 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
CHICKEN:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 bunches green onions (white parts only), cut into 1-inch pieces
- Thirty 4-inch wooden skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
Instructions
PREPARE THE SAUCE:
- Place the pumpkin, evaporated milk, peanut butter, chopped green onions, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar and cayenne pepper in blender or food processor; cover. Blend until smooth.
PREPARE THE CHICKEN:
- In a medium bowl, combine ½ cup of the pumpkin mixture with the chicken; cover. Reserve the remaining pumpkin mixture. Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
- Take chicken pieces out of their marinade, and alternately thread the chicken, bell peppers and green onion pieces onto skewers.
- Preheat the grill or broiler. Grill or broil, turning once, for 10 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink. Heat the remaining pumpkin mixture; serve with satay for dipping.
Notes
- WW points are a serving of 3 skewers with sauce.
- For gluten-free, use brands of soy sauce and peanut butter that are known to be GF.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Perfect seasonal recipe. Looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!