Thai-Inspired Cilantro Sauce

By the Gracious Vegan

This sauce is based on Kim Campbell’s pesto in a stuffed tomatoes recipe. I tweaked the ingredients and re-imagined it as a sauce to use on everything. It’s hard to imagine cilantro, peanut butter, and flaked coconut coming together into such a tasty sauce, but they do. With no oil, this sauce is also super healthy. It goes with everything: rice, noodles, proteins, baked potatoes, and roasted vegetables. You may not believe how delicious peanut butter, coconut, cilantro sauce is until you make it and taste it for yourself.

Makes about 2 cups

In a high-powered blender add all the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.  (See note below about blenders.)

• 6 garlic cloves

• 2 jalapeño chilis, sliced and deseeded

• 4 cups well-packed fresh cilantro leaves and thin stems (about 2 bunches)

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/3 cup all-natural peanut butter

• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce (I like to use Thai light soy sauce) 

• 1 Tablespoon roughly chopped fresh ginger or ginger paste

Check for seasoning (you may or may not need to add salt). The sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a week. 

Note: If you make only half of the recipe, beware that your blender may not be able to blend it. When I make a half-recipe, I put the ingredients in a 4-cup measure and use my stick blender to create the sauce. 

Timing: 10-15 minutes

Gluten-free