Thai Noodle Salad with the BEST EVER Peanut Sauce- loaded up with healthy veggies! Vegan and Gluten-Free!
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 eeeeeeeeeever!
This Thai Noodle Salad is great made-ahead, 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-second 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.
The secret ingredient 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!)
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. Toss the pasta with 4 cups of shredded veggies. Add scallions, jalapeño and cilantro (or basil) and toss with the flavorful peanut sauce. Top with toasted, crushed peanuts.
The salad gets more and more flavorful each day.
Veggies like cabbage, carrots and radishes, stay crunchy in the salad, even over 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 cute serving bowl.
Garnish with the roasted crushed peanuts and chopped scallion at the end ( so they stay fresh and crunchy).
Healthy, delicious and filling- I love having this Thai Noodle Salad on hand for a quick healthy snack too!
Here it is with the Sesame Ginger Tofu….so good!
A fridge full of make-ahead salads, that’s what we’ve been feasting on at home this week. Super handy and time-saving, these are easy mid-week meals! Make a batch on Sunday and have throughout the week!
RELATED: MAKE-AHEAD VEGAN SALADS!
Hope you enjoy this one and if you do, please pin or share!
xoxo
Sylvia
SHOP! Serve your beautiful salad in our Wooden Bowls or Ceramic bowls – both found at our Bowl and Pitcher Store!
Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Vegan, Salad
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: Thai
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 cabbage, carrots and radish, shredded or grated
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 3 scallions, sliced
- ½ bunch cilantro, chopped (or sub basil and mint)
- 1 tablespoon (or less, or more) jalapeño, finely chopped
- ¼–½ cup roasted, crushed peanuts ( garnish)
Thai Peanut Sauce ( tip! make a double batch and save the rest for another use)
- 3 thin slices ginger- cut across the grain, about the size of a quarter.
- 1 fat clove garlic
- ¼ cup peanut butter ( or sub almond butter!)
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice ( roughly ½ an orange)
- 3 tablespoon fresh lime juice ( 1 lime)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or GF Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (Note: Tamari will turn this unpleasantly dark)
- 3 tablespoons honey or agave
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ –1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( or a squirt of sriracha sauce)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Sesame Ginger Tofu (Optional) Go to Link
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 the peanut sauce over top and toss well to combine.
- Taste: Adjust the salt (to you liking), add chili flakes if you want and serve, garnishing with roasted peanuts and cilantro and a lime wedge.
Notes
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.
Keywords: thai noodle salad, thai noodle salad recipe, thai salad, best peanut sauce, peanut sauce recipe, vegan thai noodle salad recipe
Omg! This recipe is so good! I used the agave sweetener and added a chopped serrano pepper to blend in with the sauce for an extra kick. Will definately be using this recipe often!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed this!
The sauce was way too sweet. Unfortunately this is a total miss for me
Sorry about that! I think something may be off here-the sauce is really not very sweet. Did you use the recipe multiplier? It has been malfunctioning.
My first peanut sauce! This was so easy and so tasty – I feel like I want to put this peanut sauce on so many things, yummo!
★★★★★
Great to hear and happy you liked it!
Super simple and so very good! I love how adaptable this salad is..and you are right-the peanut sauce is amazing!!! A new favorite in our house!
★★★★★
Love this! So healthy and tasty, this eipl be a regular lunch option from now on.
★★★★★
This is incredibly delicious & the peanut dressing is to die for!!! So yummy!
★★★★★
The best
★★★★★
Amazing 💖💖
★★★★★
I just made the peanut sauce and wow! That’ll be good on anything. We don’t have room for an actual blender, but an immersion blender in the measuring cup worked perfectly.
★★★★★
This was delicious! Fresh, filling and something different from chicken and rice or meat and potatoes. AND bonus … my caveman husband liked it too. I topped it w salmon. I definitely think the dressing should be made ahead because at first it was a bit runny but thickened up nicely after a couple hours in the frig. LOVED it, thank you!
★★★★★
This was divine ! I didnt have orange juice so put in more lime juice – which didnt turn out to be such a good idea because i ended up adding jaggery to balance the sourness. What could be a substitute for orange juice or can it be skipped ? But it was an absolute smacker, LOVED it !
★★★★★
I really think the orange juice elevates it.
Another fabulous winner. Thanks Sylvia. Delivered it to a friend who just had a baby and the husband just texted me asking for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks Deborah- so happy this worked for you!