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
What a fabulous recipe, I was a bit unsure about the orange juice in the dressing, but wow it was awesome and I am seriously fussy about peanut sauce.
Thank you so much
So obsessed with this salad! I’ve been eating it everyday for the past 3 days !
SO delicious! I used standard rice pad Thai noodles. Took this to a pot luck and it was completely gone long before our gathering was over. Thanks for a great recipe!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe- and appreciate you taking the time to rate! Thank you !!!
This is SO good I’m going to hurt myself! I can’t stop. Who needs dessert? I’ll just have another serving of this awesome salad please.
This was delicious the day I made it, and maybe even better the next! I added a little fish sauce for some authentic funk, but it was great before that too. Will definitely make this again!
So glad you enjoyed!
Thank you for this recipe! I doubled the dressing and added chicken. This gets better every day it has a chance to blend in the fridge. My family loves it!
Made a double batch today for a baby shower this weekend. If the ladies like this as much as my household does it will be a winner and with all the flavors in the sauce how could they not. Definitely a keeper
This sounds yummy, just about to make it tonight! Does it matter whether the peanut butter is salted or not?
I used salted
This is a great recipe. I def. altered the sauce a touch to suit my taste as I like a little more garlic and a little less sweet, but that’s just my preference. I put prawns on top. This will definitely be a go to meal prep item going forward!!
I just made this and used powdered peanut butter. Delish!
This Thai noodle salad tastes truly amazing, I’ve made the dish at least 5 times and it’s so easy to put together! Thank you Sylvia! ( also my daughter’s name) ❤️ Your recipes never let me down and I have so many I want to try! x
Awesome!Great to hear…thanks!
Just made this and it’s delicious!! I added chili paste, blood orange juice, and sugar snap peas. The only note I have is to double or triple the peanut sauce because it is FANTASTIC. I could eat spoonfuls of that sauce, and I did. Great recipe, thank you for sharing.
Delicious and used up so many odds and ends in the refrigerator. My body felt great after eating it too. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thanks!
thank you!
TROP BON! MERCI.
The sauce seemed to dry out when I refrigerated the noodles and sauce mixed together. Any tips?
This recipe was so good. Nice and crunchy. I used soba noodles. Will make this again
Holy wow is this good! I made it with strips of chicken that I pan fried in sesame oil with garlic and ginger. I’ve been sharing this recipe with everyone and cooking it for all of my friends. It’s a huge hit every time. Thanks!
Thanks Laura! Appreciate you and all your comments and sharing! xoxo
Hi Sylvia! I discovered your blog a few days ago and this is the first recipe I tried and I absolutely LOVED it. The peanut sauce was new to me but it’s so delicious. I’m amazed that such an easy and fast meal can taste so good! This recipe makes me want to try more of your recipes and I think they will help me discover a new way of eating.
Hi Laure, thanks for your kind comment- welcome to the blog- super happy you are here.
Definitely the best peanut sauce evah!! The sauce alone is amazing and combined into a noodle salad is perfect. I even make this sauce by itself to go with fresh spring rolls or satay chicken, it’s that good!
Glad you like it and so Perfect with fresh spring rolls. 🙂
I made this for a bunch of friends to serve with some thai curries. It was a huge hit and I had to send the recipe to several friends afterwards. Great when you have a mix of vego/vegan/carnivore people to feed. The sauce is so yummy.
It will be a staple in our home from now on. Chooks loved the leftovers too 🙂
I have a tub of undressed mixed chopped vegi’s in the fridge, left over from Asian Slaw I made yesterday. The peanut sauce sounds divine. Can’t wait to try it today. Thank you for the inspiration!
Really good Sauce !
Made this yesterday for Christmas lunch and it was absolutely delicious. Everyone loved it.
Awesome Steph- glad you all enjoyed!
I am planning to make this tomorrow. Can you clarify the orange? Is it just the 1\4 cup of juice?
Yes, just ¼ fresh orange juice.
Amazing recipe!!! So delicious and healthy. Thanks for sharing this.
You are so welcome and glad you liked it!!!