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Thai Noodle Salad with the BEST EVER Peanut Sauce- loaded up with healthy veggies! This vegan salad is great for potlucks and Sunday meal -prep and lasts up to 5 days in the fridge. Gluten-free adaptable. Includes a 35-second video. 
Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable. ~Mary Oliver~
The other day I got a hankering for an old standby we used to have on the Mizuna menu, the vegetarian restaurant my friend Tonia and I started together way back when. Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce. Here it’s made with rice noodles and a boatload of crunchy veggies- cabbage, carrots, bell pepper and radish, then tossed in the most flavorful, balanced Peanut Sauce ever!
This vegan Thai Noodle Salad is great made-ahead salad, and keeps well for 3-4 days in the fridge -perfect for midweek meals and lunches, or potlucks and gatherings. Top this with flavorful Sesame Ginger Tofu or baked chicken for added protein if you prefer. So delicious!
How to Make Thai Noodle Salad! |30-sec Video
Yes, I may be biased – I’ve had many versions of Thai peanut sauce, here and throughout Thailand, but this Thai Peanut Sauce is still hands-down my all-time very favorite! Not too sweet, perfectly balanced.
Expert Tip:
The secret ingredient in this recipe is fresh orange juice, giving it a delicious brightness. I highly recommend making a double batch of the Thai Peanut Sauce to use with spring rolls or buddha bowls. If you are like me you will be eating it by the spoonful. It’s that good! (Also know that this works with almond butter too!)
How to make Thai Noodle Salad!
- Cook the noodles. It starts with 6 ounces of dry noodles. So here again, the salad is actually, by volume more veggies than noodles- my kind of salad! Use linguine, soba noodles, Pad Thai-style rice noodles, brown rice noodles or seriously any pasta you have in your pantry. I personally love rice noodles here.
- Prep the veggies and herbs. You’ll need 4 cups of shredded veggies- red cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, radishes, plus green onions, jalapeño, and cilantro (or basil) and place in a large bowl.
- Make the Peanut Sauce.
- Combine the noodles, veggies, herbs and peanut sauce in the mixing bowl.
- Garnish with toasted, crushed peanuts if you like! Or try this Peanut Chili Crunch!
- Add protein if you like: shredded or baked chicken, baked tofu, crispy tofu, or shrimp.
What veggies to use?
- red cabbage
- bell pepper
- carrots
- radishes
- cucumber
- jicama
- use any veggie that will stay crunchy in the salad for several days.
The light and creamy peanut sauce is a nice contrast.
Make this as spicy as you want. I love adding fresh, finely chopped jalapeño to the salad for a little added heat.
Toss it up and serve it in a serving bowl.
Garnish with the roasted crushed peanuts and chopped scallion at the end ( so they stay fresh and crunchy).
Peanut Allergy?
Substitute almond butter and toasted, slivered almonds!
Healthy, delicious and filling- I love having this Thai Noodle Salad on hand for a quick healthy snack too!
Here is the Thai Noodle Salad topped with the Baked Sesame Ginger Tofu.
Hope you enjoy this vegan Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing. Make a batch on Sunday and have it throughout the week- you’ll love yourself for it- I promise!
More recipes you may like:
- 40 MAKE-AHEAD VEGAN SALADS!
- Easy Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing
- Soba Noodle Salad
- Asian Cucumber Salad
Hope you enjoy this one – please rate and share your comments below! Pinning and sharing is always appreciated too!
xoxo
Vegan Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Vegan, Salad
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A simple delicious recipe for Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce, loaded up with healthy veggies. Vegan and Gluten free, this make-ahead salad is perfect for midweek lunches or large gatherings. Add Sesame Ginger Tofu for added protein!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dry noodles (brown rice noodles, pad thai style rice noodles, soba noodles, linguini)
- 4 cups mix of red cabbage, carrots and radish, shredded or grated
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped (or sub basil and mint)
- 1 tablespoon (or less, or more) jalapeño, finely chopped
- 1/4–1/2 cup roasted, crushed peanuts ( optional garnish)
Thai Peanut Sauce ( You may not need all- so save extras for another use.)
- 5 thin slices ginger- cut across the grain, about the size of a quarter.
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup peanut butter ( or sub almond butter!)
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice ( roughly 1 large orange)
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice ( roughly 2 limes)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or GF Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (Note: Tamari will turn this unpleasantly dark)
- 1/3 cup honey, agave, or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper ( or a squirt of sriracha sauce)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Add this Baked Sesame Ginger Tofu (Optional)
Instructions
- Cook Noodles: Cook pasta according to directions on package. ( See notes for rice noodles) Drain and chill under cold running water.
- Blend the Peanut Sauce: while noodles are cookig, blend the peanut sauce ingredients together using a blender until smooth.
- Toss: Place shredded veggies, bell pepper, scallions, cilantro and jalapeño into a serving bowl. Toss. Add the cold noodles to the serving bowl and toss again. Pour some peanut sauce over top and toss well to combine- no need to use all, just use enough to coat well. ( Save the extra sauce for any leftover salad-as it can soak up the sauce overnight.)
- Taste: Adjust the salt (to your liking), add chili flakes if you want, or more lime, and serve, garnishing with roasted peanuts and cilantro and a lime wedge.
Notes
Noodles: If cooking pad thai style rice noodles, add the noodles to a pot of boiling water. Turn heat off, stir and let steep 2-3 minutes until tender, drain and run under cool water. Alternatively, pour boiling water over the noodles in a baking dish, let soak until softened, drain.
Salad will keep 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/8 cups
- Calories: 286
- Sugar: 13.3 g
- Sodium: 374 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.9 g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 3.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: thai noodle salad, thai noodle salad recipe, Vegan thai noodle salad, thai salad, best peanut sauce, peanut sauce recipe, vegan thai noodle salad recipe
I just made the peanut sauce and it is a bit of a “runny” consistency. Just want to make sure that is correct? Followed recipe exactly! Could I add some arrowroot to thicken up??
Hi Kristin, yes, it is a thinner sauce, to better coat the noodles. 🙂
This was incredibly delicious! My husband who is not vegan, and will not normally eat Thai loved it!!
★★★★★
Oh so great to hear Mary!
This really is the BEST peanut sauce ever. I have tried so many different, very good ones, and this one is my favorite by far. I make this weekly. Sometimes I add tofu, sometimes we eat it as is. It is so fresh tasting and I love that it lasts in the fridge for days and still tastes great. My toddler daughters have loved this dish since they first tried it!
Great to hear Lilly!
This recipe is very easy, very adaptable, and so tasty! I lightly cooked the vegetables and they were delicious.
★★★★★
Great Devon!
I made this one evening my tot were at my mother in law’s and it definitely was worth making !
I have made this several times and both my husband and I love it and surprisingly my mum too.
Currently got most of the ingredients in to make another big batch !
Thank you for your recipe!
Thanks, Hannah- so happy you enjoyed this!
This salad is SO YUMMY! I finally got a food processor so it comes together even quicker now. I love all of the fresh veggies and the peanut sauce is delicious. I enjoy this salad year round and it keeps very well in the fridge.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Kathy!
Very nice, with a touch of spice 😊 I used much less cayenne than suggested and found it spicy enough. I also put in all the dressing. Yum!
Great Elaine!
I’m giving this 4 stars because the guests at the potluck said they liked it and took home the leftovers. I cut back on the red pepper because some guests don’t like spicy food – and if it were left out, I don’t think I’d miss it. I felt there are too many noodles and not enough sauce. I barely tasted the sauce once it was mixed in and by the next day, I couldn’t taste it at all. It’s good but not my favorite Thai noodle salad. It also took far longer to put together than I’d hoped – what with all the shredding and multiple dishes to clean.
★★★★
Hi Melisende- I originally had a note to double the sauce recipe in the recipe card. But after reading your comment, I manually doubled the recipe for the sauce, and updated the recipe card. Yes it is much better when the noodles are saucy! I agree. 🙂