Keto Chicken Satay Sheet Pan Dinner

This Keto Chicken Satay Sheet Pan Dinner is inspired by the popular flavors of Chicken Satay, including that yummy peanut sauce. A simplified preparation that eliminates the skewers and grilling, this dairy free low carb chicken sheet pan meal will be a hit with the entire family!

We love chicken satay and order it every time we visit our favorite Thai restaurant here in Roatan. I obviously took a few liberties with this Keto chicken satay version, both to cut carbs, and to make it a sheet pan dinner rather than a grilled skewer recipe as it is traditionally prepared in Southeast Asia.

The delicious marinade, peanut sauce, and cucumber garnish make this keto chicken satay sheet pan dinner a pretty tasty substitute for the real thing.

For a more authentic satay experience though, you can absolutely skewer the chicken after marinating and cook on the grill – time and weather permitting. Without question, grilling adds another level of flavor that you just can’t get with baking – but it’s not always practical unfortunately.

The most time consuming part of this Keto Chicken Satay Sheet Pan Dinner recipe is going to be the marinating. The longer you let that chicken soak in a tasty bath of the coconut milk, spices, and aromatics, the more tender and flavorful your end result will be.

I recommend a minimum of 2 hours, with an overnight marinade being ideal. You can also freeze the chicken in the marinade and then thaw it when you’re ready to cook.

Once you’ve finishing marinating, you’re ready to bake (or grill.)

Traditionally Chicken Satay is served as a street food or appetizer, but I’ve added cauliflower rice here to make it a complete low carb meal.

To keep this keto chicken satay easy, concentrate the flavors, and minimize clean up, we’re baking our cauliflower rice right on the sheet pan with the marinated chicken. The end result is a mellow flavor and slightly chewy texture that is more reminiscent of real rice than boiled or steamed cauliflower rice in my opinion.

But now we’re getting to the best part of any satay dish, and that’s the ubiquitous peanut sauce!

Salty, sweet, spicy, and with a punch of ginger and garlic, this crave-worthy peanut sauce is definitely the star of the show. Still, there isn’t a single thing on this plate that isn’t bringing something delicious to the table.

The crunchy cabbage and cucumber bring color and texture, the lime a welcome acidity, and the cilantro a freshness that brightens up the warm, rich flavors of the chicken and peanut sauce.

But wait, there’s more! 😂

This Keto Chicken Satay Sheet Pan Dinner is perfect for meal prepping in advance, because it’s equally delicious as a cold salad preparation as it is fresh out of the oven!

So you can be enjoying this chicken dinner all week long. 🙌🏻

I mean it just keeps getting better and better, am I right?

I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for you guys to try it and report back! Meanwhile, since there are always questions, I’m going to include a little FAQ before the recipe:

Is this Keto Chicken Satay Sheet Pan Meal really spicy?

There is curry powder in the marinade and jalapeño in the peanut sauce, but I wouldn’t call this dish extremely spicy as written. It’s got more of a warmish vibe, but if you are serving it to kids or are very sensitive to spice then I’d reduce the jalapeno in the peanut sauce to 1 teaspoon instead of a full tablespoon. Then taste it and you can always add a little more to get just the right amount of heat for your family.

If, like me, there’s no such thing as too spicy, then I recommend using a spicier pepper like Serrano or red Thai chili to really get your nose running!

Is there a peanut free option for the satay sauce?

Yes! You can substitute almond butter for the peanut butter, or even sunflower or cashew butter if almonds are an issue for you.

Can I substitute other proteins for the chicken in this keto satay recipe?

Also yes! Depending on the region, satay is made with a wide variety of different proteins, so almost anything can work. For the flavors in this particular marinade and peanut sauce, I recommend pork, shrimp, or tofu as solid options.

Beef can work but it has a stronger flavor and is less appealing for this in my opinion. I also have a Keto Teriyaki Beef Skewers recipe that you might want to try if beef is what you’re working with.

If using shrimp, don’t marinate longer than 2 hours, and depending on the size of them (if they are on the small side) you may need to cut down on the baking time so they don’t dry out.

Does it matter what sweetener I use for this recipe?

Not really. I used granulated erythritol in my version, but any sugar free sweetener will work here. Monkfruit would be my other go-to, but you can use stevia, Sucralose, or whatever sweetener you prefer.

If you’re Paleo but not keto, you can use maple syrup or honey to sweeten. Erythritol measures the same as sugar, so if you’re using something highly concentrated like liquid stevia, you’ll have to figure out the conversion so it doesn’t turn out too sweet.

Ok that should do it, let me know if you have any other burning questions about this recipe in the comments and I’ll add them to the FAQs for easy reference.

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