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
Thai Noodle Salad | 60-sec video
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! 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: 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
Made this salad for lunch . It was very tasty and filling . I used broccoli slaw too and Abel pasta noodles . Turned out really good . Thanks Silvia for another great recipe .
Perfect Rohini- glad you enjoyed it!
Your recipe is great, but can you not put the recipe in a format that doesn’t waste 4 sheets of paper?
Hi Elli- are you printing the recipe card itself? Or the whole post. When I print, I get 2 pages?
This was delicious. It probably tastes better with peanut butter (I don’t eat peanuts) but the almond was a nice substitute. I also used maple syrup and halved the measurement.
Perfect Ana- thanks for sharing. 🙂
Whilst incredibly delicious, this is not vegan if it has honey in it.
Yes, of course Jojo- feel free to use the other options- agave or maple. 🙂
Delish! I could drink this dressing. And I love the flavor of the mint and basil in it. Didn’t have peanuts, but had mixed nuts so chopped some of those to scatter on top. I’m a texture girl so I loved all the crunching!
Perfect Lisa- I’m the same, the more texture the better!
This salad is AMAZING. I’ve made this several times, topped with sesame ginger tofu, and it’s just perfect. Thank you for sharing this! ❤️
Thanks Marikki!
If you cook the noodles ahead how do you keep them from sticking together. I would love to make this for a potluck.
Hi Heidi- I would toss with a little oil. Or just toss with the dressing ahead. 😉
Absolutely delicious! The peanut sauce was perfect. Definitely one of the better Thai noodle salad recipes I’ve made. Thank you!
Thanks Anni!
Made this for the second time! Very fresh and flavorful
Great to hear Radmila!
One of my all time favorite dishes. I just love Sylvia’s recipes.
thanks so much Trisha!
Huge, huge fan of this dish! Thank you, Sylvia! Quick question: how many days in advance can I prep the peanut sauce? Is it like your peppercorn szeczuan sauce which keeps for ten days?
hi Ali! I would say more like 4-5 days, max!
I made tonight and we loved it. So fresh tasting. Followed the directions exactly..easy and delicious.
Great to hear!
Delicious! Yummy, crunchy salad and great sauce.
Thanks Tamzen, appreciate this!
super easy to make and tasted great! Had leftovers and look forward to having them for lunch. Every recipe that I have made from your post have always come out perfect and everyone enjoys the meal. thank you !!!
Thanks Irene!
SO DELISH!!! Everyone loved this dish — I’ve had best luck with angel hair pasta, broken into 2″ length. For protein, I baked tofu and added to the noodles. The Sauce works really well on tofu.
Perfect Oak! Glad you enjoyed!
Well I going the other 5 stars for this dish. It took a little longer to assemble but definitely worth it. The real upside is it all can be made a ahead!! I served mine with cooked broccoli as a side dish and I made the ginger sesame tofu. It was all excellent.
Perfect!
Love this! Make it with the tofu and it’s so delicious!! Thank you!!
Absolutely love your recipe and have made it on numerous occasions. There is not a mouthful left as it is quickly demolished by all! Love the touch of orange juice too. I’ve made with chicken or shrimp on the side, as well as by itself. Actually I’m having for dinner tonight.
thanks Tatiana!
This is an extremely good variation with the orange, but I must admit I’m a bit of a traditionalist so it got a healthy shot of fermented fish sauce added to it. Definitely a keeper
Perfect David! I totally get it!
This was so good. You’re right the peanut sauce is balanced and really yummy.
This looks delicious but I am allergic to oranges.. What do you recommend since it is the secret ingredient?
Lemon or limes, but you may need to adjust sweetness, add more to taste. 🙂
Here’s how good this recipe is and, of course, only because of the awesome dressing; I immediately had a tastegasm. Seriously, I’m kind of sorry I invited people over. I could have easily put on my elastic waist pants (if I had any) and eaten this whole thing by myself. Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s definitely a keeper.
Hali- you made me chuckle! Thanks and so glad you enjoyed this!
I have been REALLY into Thai food lately, I can’t wait to give this a try!
So good. We doubled the recipe for 8 people and there weren’t any left over.
Great to hear!
Hi! Sylvia,if all the different flavors of foods, I really enjoy the Chinese or oriental foods. I really loved this recipe.
Oh Good! Glad to hear it Lillie!