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!
- Soba Noodle Salad
- Superfood Walnut Pesto Noodles!
- Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing (no noodles)
- Summer Pasta Salad w/ Cilantro Pesto
- Sesame Cabbage Noodle Salad
- Rainbow Chopped Salad with Herbed Yogurt Dressing
Hope you enjoy this one – please rate and share your comments below! Pinning and sharing is always appreciated too!
xoxo
SHOP! Serve your beautiful salad in our Wooden Bowls or Ceramic bowls – both found at our Bowl and Pitcher Store!
Print
Vegan 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
- 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
- ½ bunch cilantro, chopped (or sub basil and mint)
- 1 tablespoon (or less, or more) jalapeño, finely chopped
- ¼–½ cup roasted, crushed peanuts ( optional 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, agave, or maple syrup
- 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 your 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.
Salad will keep 4 days in the fridge.
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 followed the recipe exactly and it was out of this world! Thanks for the recipe!
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Awesome Krystal! Glad you enjoyed this!
This looks great, but how on earth did you get your calories calculated? 6 oz rice noodles alone is 260 calories. +peanut butter and sesame oil and sweetener is way over 286!
Hi there, the calories are calculated per serving- so 1/6 of the recipe ( there are 6 servings here) or 1 1/4 cups. 🙂
Hello Sylvia. Still licking my lips after this divine salad. That peanut sauce is soooo delicious. I decided to toast sesame seeds instead of sesame oil to up the calcium with some extra to sprinkle into the salad as well. I also decided to add some raw red onion to the sauce as an experiment (and less the children can pick out). I can imagine making a BIG batch and packing it for my work lunches. Love all your recipes and amazing photography. We are wanting to go more plant based and love that you make it so easy to find wonderful recipes under collections.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe. Thank you for giving me inspiration for my company potluck.
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Awesome Jen!
I made this salad and my family and i loved it! I used rice vermicelli noodles and they soaked up the dressing well. This recipe is a keeper! Next time I’ll try adding fish sauce to the dressing.
★★★★★
Thanks Jean!
Absolutely delicious. One of my favorites to make on a hot day. It is so good and the dressing is amazing!
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So happy you enjoyed this!
Love this recipe. How long will the dressing keep for?
Up tp 4 days!
I just made it and it’s absolutely delicious! I don’t usually make vegan recipes, but this was amazing! I don’t think the salad will keep 4 days in the fridge; we’ll probably all gobble it up way before then. Excellent recipe; no changes need to be made to it.
★★★★★
Thanks Gabrielle!
Hey Sylvia- I am planning to make this tomorrow 🙂 Would regular basil be okay in this or does it need to be Thai basil? Thank you!
Hey Laura- regular basil is fine! Thai basil elevates. 🙂
Perfect, thank you! Just made the sauce and it is *chef’s kiss*