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
This recipe reminded me of a dish from a local restaurant my husband and I order often. We always get tofu as you suggested here, so I added fried cubes of tofu. It was very close to the one we order, fresh tasting, and quite delicious!! The sauce is complex and truly addictive. I also love the look, the information, and the healthy recipes on your site. I appreciate the numerous recipes that give meatless/vegan options. This is the way my family aspires to eat, so thanks for your support!!!!
Do you use the whole lime and orange including the rind or just the juice n quantities as indicated?
Just as indicated in recipe. 🙂
This is amazing!!! Loved it!!
Amazing! All the flavors make it the perfect dish! The peanut sauce was by far the best I have ever made!
This salad was so good. Added chicken to make it a meal. This recipe is a definite keeper. I will make again! Very easy to make.
I made this for a family dinner and it was a huge hit. My son in law and daughter rarely take second helpings as they are watching their weight but they did take second helpings this night and asked for the recipe. I will make this often. Excellent summer recipe.
??❤️?oh thankyou Tis so yum loved it & other reviepies thankyou its wounderfull find lm not so good with wheat /dairy love your sauces so hard to find all’s good thank you ?
Fantastic! If you are in the fence try this recipe!
This is soooo delicious! I have made it with tofu, chicken, stirfry noodles, and just extra veggies instead of noodles. Always yummy! The roasted peanuts add such a nice extra crunch and flavor.
Naomi- love how you have adapted and made it your own. Thanks for sharing!xoxo
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you for my new favorite salad!
I make myself this salad today and put some in the fridge for tomorrow 🙂
LOVE it!
Great to hear Milli! Thanks for the comment and rating and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love it too. 😉 xoxo
This is a perfect recipe!!! My new addiction! Thank you so much for sharing this! I’ve also made it with almonds and almond butter for a peanut allergy friend and it was delicious too!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Awesome Melissa, yes, good with almond butter too!
OMG I just made this and it is indeed outrageous! Threw in some leftover veggies I prepared for rice paper rolls, boiled up some noodles and wow, the dressing is indeed exceptional. It hits all the tangy and spicy notes. I feel bad for anyone who doesn’t or can’t eat cilantro and peanut butter 😉
Hahaha…I do too Ruthy! 😉 glad you liked it!
This looks beautiful! Do I see corn in there as well?
Nice Post..
Thanks for sharing this Healthy food rand recipes ideas with us..
I love to cook these Yummy and healthy food…Please share more cooking ideas with us.
We enjoyed this! I made the tofu to go along with. The dressing for the salad was perfect, but I had a lot of leftover marinade for the tofu. I skipped adding any extra salt to the dressing as the soy sauce gave it all saltiness it needed. Will definitely make it again!
Really good! Love the sauce ?
This is absolutely delicious! I’ve had other peanut sauce recipes and variations of this theme salad, but this one takes the cake. Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes. I’ve been trying so many, it gives me great joy as I look forward to trying another one as often as I can. Your website was a true gift of discovery and I have shared it with numerous people looking for healthy, delicious recipes. As someone who loves to cook, and regularly reads recipes for fun, your insight, photos, and attitude have been keeping me excited to step back into my tiny kitchen!
thank you.!
Susan! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and for your very kind words! So sweet…. and it totally made my day! Also, HUGE thanks for sharing the blog, always appreciated! Have a beautiful week.xoxo
I love the recipe. Tried it and it was Delicious. But the serving utensils are just to die for. Everything just come together in that plate. Where did you get them from?
Amy
Maryland
Thanks- found them at thrift store I think.
Yum! Exactly what I hoping for and dreaming of! Made it originally to be a side to my marinated thai duck shish kabobs. I had some of the leftovers for breakfast the next morning. Tonight it’s getting paired with chicken on the grill. Yum!
Sounds delicious Ellen!Thanks for sharing!
Great tasting healthy main dish. Even better for lunch next day.
Thanks Dianne!
Made this last night. Great flavor and even my picky husband said it was good. But I have a question — is the Thai Peanut Sauce supposed to be on the thick side or thin side? My sauce was rather thin and sunk to the bottom of the bowl; I had to keep stirring my noodle salad as I ate to keep it all incorporated. Seeing all the liquid going into the blender, I skipped the honey and added 4 Medjool dates to get the sweetness and cut the liquid. I still found this pretty thin.
Made this with the Sesame Ginger Tofu…..that was bite-my-hand-off DELICIOUS! Wish I had leftovers this morning!
This was fast, easy, and delicious!
Thanks Mary!Glad you liked it!!!
This was a total hit with my family. I made this with the sesame ginger tofu. My family of carnivores ate every last bite. They raved about how good this was. I also included cucumbers to the salad, and more sriracha to the dressing since we tend to like the spicy side of life.
Perfect, glad you adapted to your tastes!
Thank you, this is absolutely delicious! I made extra sauce so I wonder how long it will keep in the fridge?
One week!
I just happened across this recipe while looking for an entirely different recipe. This recipe is fantastic! I was highly skeptical that the peanut sauce would work out, especially without fish sauce. It is delicious! I also made the ginger sesame baked tofu. This was a winner as well (I usually do not like tofu–I am now a believer). I look forward to trying other recipes.
I’m so glad you tried the tofu! Good for you!!!