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 husband and I love this recipe! We eat it very often. Thank you!
Fabulous
Whole family loved it. Super easy to make. My husband said “I could eat this every night!”
Omg! This recipe is so good! I used the agave sweetener and added a chopped serrano pepper to blend in with the sauce for an extra kick. Will definately be using this recipe often!
Glad you enjoyed this!
The sauce was way too sweet. Unfortunately this is a total miss for me
Sorry about that! I think something may be off here-the sauce is really not very sweet. Did you use the recipe multiplier? It has been malfunctioning.
My first peanut sauce! This was so easy and so tasty – I feel like I want to put this peanut sauce on so many things, yummo!
Great to hear and happy you liked it!
Super simple and so very good! I love how adaptable this salad is..and you are right-the peanut sauce is amazing!!! A new favorite in our house!
Love this! So healthy and tasty, this eipl be a regular lunch option from now on.
This is incredibly delicious & the peanut dressing is to die for!!! So yummy!
The best
Amazing 💖💖
I just made the peanut sauce and wow! That’ll be good on anything. We don’t have room for an actual blender, but an immersion blender in the measuring cup worked perfectly.
This was delicious! Fresh, filling and something different from chicken and rice or meat and potatoes. AND bonus … my caveman husband liked it too. I topped it w salmon. I definitely think the dressing should be made ahead because at first it was a bit runny but thickened up nicely after a couple hours in the frig. LOVED it, thank you!
This was divine ! I didnt have orange juice so put in more lime juice – which didnt turn out to be such a good idea because i ended up adding jaggery to balance the sourness. What could be a substitute for orange juice or can it be skipped ? But it was an absolute smacker, LOVED it !
I really think the orange juice elevates it.
Another fabulous winner. Thanks Sylvia. Delivered it to a friend who just had a baby and the husband just texted me asking for the recipe!
Thanks Deborah- so happy this worked for you!
Delicious! My granddaughters beg me to make it. Love your blog.
Thanks Jerri, glad you are enjoying it!
I made this last night, my eldest daughter who refuses to eat any “asian’ food, after a nightmare meal in Wagamamas year ago, could not get enough. The entire family loved it – the sauce is wonderful! Thank you
This salad is healthy, filling (I used whole grain noodles) and easy to prep. Can easily eat this four days in a row for lunch, which I do regularly 😉 (you just don’t get tired of it!)
Regarding the sauce: it truly is the best peanut sauce ever! Will be using this for other purposes as well.
One question regarding the peanut sauce, you mention making a double batch to save for another use; how long can you keep the sauce in the fridge/can you stick it in the freezer?
Thanks and happy you liked this! 🙌 The sauce keeps 4-5 days in the fridge. I haven’t tried freezing, but I bet it would be fine!
haven’t tried it yet but wondering if you could add shrimp?
Absolutly! Shrimp would taste good with this!
I need to bring a vegan gluten free dish to a work potluck, would this be gluten free? I did make it for my family and they loved it, so I am hoping I can take it so my coworkers can also enjoy it.
Hi Kim, yes if you use rice noodles and a GF soy sauce like Liqiud Aminos, then it is gluten-free. 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Perfect for hot summer days.
Just made this and I wish I quadrupled the recipe!!! Perfect summer noodle salad. The dressing is to DIE for will be making this again once it’s devoured. I used soba pad Thai noodles and they were perfect :)) thank you!!!!
Hahaha! Love it. Glad you liked it.
Splendid recipe (& it’s vegan/gluten free). It works well for super bowl parties or picnics and a great accompaniment to coconut shrimp, teriyaki chicken wings, asian pulled pork sliders or whatever. It is worth it to 3x the sauce recipe & freeze portions for later. Next I want to try your chinese eggplant.
I love your site but wish you would add a recipe box section for my favorites.
I have not made this recipe yet – it looks amazing. I have Trader Joe’s coconut aminos. Have you tried them? Do you think they would cause discoloration? Can’t wait to make this.
Im not sure, give it a try?
Delicious