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. Watch the 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!
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, and 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).
FAQS
- Peanut Allergy? Substitute almond butter and toasted slivered almonds!
- Making it ahead? Feel free to keep the noodles and veggies, separate from the dressing, crushed peanuts and herbs until ready to serve!
- Storage: This salad will keep 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
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. My absolute favorite.
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 Asian Salads You’ll Love!
- 40 MAKE-AHEAD VEGAN SALADS!
- Vietnamese Noodle Salad
- Sesame Cabbage Noodle Salad
- Simply Suwanee’s Thai Glass Noodle Salad
- 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
More from Feasting At Home
Thai Noodle Salad | 60-sec video
Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8
- 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! Watch the video.
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. *See notes for rice noodles. Cook pasta according to directions on the package. Drain and chill under cold running water, drain.
- Peanut Sauce. While noodles are cooking, add all the peanut sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. (You can do this up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate.)
- Prep your veggies. Slice, grate, and chop.
- Combine. 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 it well, generously. (Save any 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
Rice Noodles: If cooking pad thai style rice noodles, 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 cup
- Calories: 214
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 280.5 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
My family and I loved this! I cheated and used prepared slaw mix and added precooked chicken from Trader Joe’s. I also cut the cayenne down to 3/4 tsp. but ended up wishing I’d gone with a teaspoon or more. My noodle choice was a fresh Udon, heated by microwave, tossed in a little sesame oil and then chilled. All other ingredients were fresh. I’ll be making this again and again this summer. ☀️
Awesome Lara, great tips on making it quick! Appreciate your review, so helpful!
This looks delicious! I’m thinking of taking this on a camping weekend. Would you recommend mixing it the day before we leave or keeping it all separate (pre-chopped, sauce made) and mixing when we are ready to eat it? Thank you!
Hi Jamie, I would mix just before serving to keep the veggies fresh as possible.
This salad is honestly one of the best I’ve ever had!!
Quick question… can this be frozen?
The peanut sauce freezes well on it’s own but I don’t think the fresh veggies will hold up to freezing.
This is literally the best salad ever! Love love love the peanut sauce. I added crispy tofu to mine. Admittedly, I still warm it up in the microwave 😹 😇 it’s delicious and I will make it over and over again ❤️
Oh warm actually sounds good! Thanks for reviewing Angeli.❤️
I had very high expectations and it exceeded them. I couldn’t believe how delicious this recipe turned out.
Great to hear! Thanks for taking time to leave a review.
This salad is fresh and amazing! Love this recipe and make it often. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Liz, happy you are enjoying!
I did not see jalapeno in the list of ingredients, yet it is referenced in the directions! ??
Hi Ann- yes it is in the ingredient list- you may have been looking in the dressing area?
Nice crunchy cool salad for first warm days.
Glad you enjoyed this Joan! Appreciate your review.
It’s good but sauce ended up too liquidy after the blender. I let it sit in fridge overnight and that helped alittle.
Oh interesting, not sure why that happened. Maybe the type of peanut butter?
We love fresh Vietnamese spring rolls but they are a bit complicated for the large groups we entertain, so I was thrilled when I saw your Thai noodle salad with peanut sauce that has basically the same ingredients, but not wrapped! We made it yesterday, and it was fantastic! I omitted the jalapeño, and forgot the noodles, but it was still SO Good! I love the freshness of the citrus in your peanut sauce, but my husband prefers the peanut sauce I make with vinegar! This is going to be one of my go to salads! Thank you Sylvia!
Awesome to hear Lila!
Loved it!
Yay, thanks Marie, for taking time to leave a review!
Great salad! I absolutely love it. I do find I have to cut down on the sesame oil for my tastes, and I think adding shrimp takes it over the top. Thank you for making this!
So glad you like this Kati! I do find sesame oil does vary in flavor from brand to brand- glad you adjust to taste. Thanks for taking time to leave a review!
The veggie prep was a little time consuming, but I am glad I made it. I used linguini, omitted jalapeno and peanuts, added broccoli florets. The dressing is yummy 😋. This was a big hit at the birthday luncheon!
Glad you gave it a try Patricia! Appreciate you taking time to leave a review.
this is a favorite recipe of mine. I use Soba noodles and refrigerate the veg separate from the dressing until ready to eat using fresh Soba noodles at that time. Amazing
Perfect. So happy you are enjoying!
This is my favorite lunch prep meal. I usually add an avocado as well. I’ve made this for times already.
Great to hear! Thanks for leaving a review. 🙂
Love this noodle salad! I made it for a small lunch birthday get together and it was a big hit. I added a little extra on the veggies and noodles, and had leftovers after 3 of us each had a generous helping. I think it will work with almost any veggies, and maybe hard boiled eggs, cheese, garbanzo beans, you name it. The sauce is delicious and I am so glad there was extra for my next salad! Thanks for the share.
Wonderful Patricia, have fun playing around with it! Appreciate you taking time to leave us a review.
This is always delicious and everyone enjoys eating it. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Thanks Ellie, appreciate the kind review!
Absolutely delicious, easy, colorful and healthy, thank you! I used garlic tahini instead of sesame oil.
Glad you enjoyed Dawn! Thanks for taking time to let us know.
Can you tell me, with rice noodles is this vegan? I have friends for dinner tonight. One is vegetarian and another is vegan. This seemed like something everyone would like. I just need to know if I can make this vegan.
Yes, this recipe is 100% vegan. 🙂
This on one of my favorite recipes. I use angel hair or regular spaghetti noodles.
Wonderful to hear this Jane!
I love the recipe, but in the past, I have had difficulty working with rice noodles, even after cooking them and rinsing them with cool water I could not incorporate them into the dish. Well they seem to stick together. Any advice?
Hi Teresa, I have the best luck with placing them in a baking pan and pouring hot water over them, letting them soak until soft. I noted the recipe. 🙂
When cooking with rice noodles, I always coat them with a little oil and that prevents them from sticking
Nice and fresh. My spouse thought the dressing had too much peanut butter, but maybe he just is not a fan, but may try almond butter next time. I did think it kept in fridge well to eat over several days.
Thanks Heather give it a go with almond butter and let us know what you think.