Peanut Sesame Noodle Salad – a simple Thai-style cold noodle salad with an addictive peanut butter & sesame dressing that you will love. Perfect for meal prep. Gluten-free , Nutfree option
Peanut Noodle Salad, a satisfying vegan noodle salad that is so quick and easy and looks so pretty with all those added veggies! Thin Asian noodles are infused with a creamy tangy, sweet and spicy peanut sesame soy sauce dressing.
This sesame noodle salad is the simply perfect salad for a hot day. You can work ahead of time and make the noodles and the dressing the day before.
Then toss the noodles and let them soak in all the flavor from the dressing overnight.The next day, just toss it with your veggies and sprinkle with peanuts right before serving. Yum!
To up the protein, add some fried tofu or chickpeas or edamame to the salad. If you want to take this to a potluck picnic, double the recipe! This one is a crowd pleaser the whole family will love.
More noodle recipes:
- Indo Chinese Chilli Garlic Noodles
- Peanut Butter Noodle Casserole Vegan
- Vegan Garlic Noodles
- Gochujang Noodles Stir Fry
- Green curry noodles
- Hoisin noodle stir fry
Recipe Card
Vegan Peanut Sesame Noodle Salad
Ingredients
For the peanut butter sauce:
- 1/4 cup (64.5 g) peanut butter
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 an inch of ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce , use tamari for Glutenfree
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or sugar
- 2 teaspoons sriracha or sambal oelek or use Gochujang for variation
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
For the salad:
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) of pad thai noodles or linguini or rice linguini cooked according to instructions on the package
- 2 cups of thinly sliced cabbage I use a mix of red and green cabbage and heaping cups
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced julienne carrots or you can use raddish
For garnish:
- Sesame seeds and roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Make the sauce. Add all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender and blend until smooth and set aside. Taste and adjust flavor, salt, sweet, tang
- Cook your pasta or noodles according to the instructions on the package if you haven't already. Wash in cold water and set aside.
- Chop up your vegetables and set aside.
- Add the noodles and vegetables to a large bowl then add in your peanut butter sauce and toss well.
- Taste and adjust salt and flavor then top with sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, and green onions and serve.
Video
Notes
- To make it Nutfree - Use tahini or sunflower seed butter instead of peanuts and use sunflower seeds and hemp seeds instead of peanuts
- to make it Soyfree use coconut aminos
- the recipe is gluten-free if you use Glutenfree pad Thai noodles or other rice noodles
Nutrition
Ingredients:
- for this salad, I like pad thai noodles or linguini or rice linguini
- peanut butter is the base for the sauce
- toasted sesame oil, sriracha, garlic, and ginger add an Asian twist
- rice vinegar lightens up the sauce
- soy sauce is used instead of salt
- a bit of sweetness is needed to balance out the saltiness – we add maple syrup or sugar
- veggies: I like a colorful mix of thinly sliced cabbage, red bell pepper, and julienne carrots
Tips:
- add any veggies you want
- I use pad Thai noodles but you can use anything from linguine to ramen to rice noodles, udon, soba, yakisoba, lo mein noodles, or sweet potato noodles
- I like to add creamy peanut butter to my sauce but you could also use tahini instead.
- To make it Nutfree – Use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of peanuts and add sunflower seeds and hemp seeds
- to make it Soyfree use coconut aminos
Make the sauce. Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth and set aside.
Cook your pasta or noodles according to the instructions on the package if you haven’t already. Wash in cold water and set aside.
Chop up your vegetables and set aside.
Add the noodles and vegetables to a large bowl then add in your peanut butter sauce and toss well.
Taste and adjust salt and flavor then top with sesame seeds, roasted peanuts, and green onions and serve. For variation , add in some cooked edamame or other beans or some cubes of tofu.
Make it a warm noodle salad
You can also enjoy this salad warm! If you’re not a fan of eating cold noodle you can mix all the ingredients before the noodles have cooled down and enjoy this peanut Noodle Salad warm.
Storage:
This salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can double this recipe and add it to your meal prep goodies for the rest of the week.
alice toth
I made this with Trader Joe’s thick Thai Wheat Noodles that I warmed in a pan with some seared, marinated extra firm tofu. The sauce has a great balance of flavors. This dish is beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. Will definitely make again.
Vegan Richa Support
Yay!
Diane
I used the same noodles . It made for a great chew !
Vegan Richa Support
🙂
Avon Kleinman
This is a quick and easy recipe to make. The peanut sauce is so delicious and the recipe is totally adaptable. Thanks again, Richa! 🙏
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed
Elizabeth Belden Handler
I like to use 1/2 peanut butter and 1/2 tahini when I make my version of this, and I julienne carrots and thinly slice broccolini then add them to the pasta the last five minutes of cooking. Our local farmers market has an organic, vegan pasta maker who makes spicy linguine which is amazing in this dish.
Vegan Richa Support
Yummy.
Leesa B.
Another delicious and easy recipe! This is my 4th salad of yours this week! It’s been hot here and I wanted to have salads ready just to get out for dinner! I quadrupled the recipe and soooo glad I did! YUM! Another one to go in my regular rotation! Great to put in lunches. I airfried some tofu or put on top as well! So good! Particularly love the dressing! I used powdered peanut butter instead of regular but didn’t notice any difference. Thanks again for a great recipe! My whole family enjoyed this one as well!
Vegan Richa Support
fourth@ wow
Arianne
I truly love all of these recipes! They’re easy to make, take little preparation time and taste really great.
Vegan Richa Support
so nice to hear
Lauren
This was so yummy! It was a perfect meal for a hot summer evening.
Vegan Richa Support
Fantastic
Di
This is perfect blend
Vegan Richa Support
Hooray
Tamar
I have just made it & having it for lunch. Awesome! I love the way your recipes are so accurate and delicious!
Vegan Richa Support
thank you so much Tamar!
Cynthia
Another winner from Richa! Delicious — everyone loved it. Thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
Hooray!
Jackie
Yummy. Cooked shelled edamame with my buckwheat/rice soba noodles and followed the recipe otherwise; it was delicious and perfect for a hot day! I’ll make this again for sure! Thank you for another great recipe!
Vegan Richa Support
Hooray!
Elizabeth Belden Handler
Hi,
I just made a quadruple recipe of this with a few changes. I used purple cabbage and Brussel sprouts and orange and purple carrots. I sliced the sprouts in my food processor and added them to the pasta for the last two minutes it was cooking, removing the pasta when it was barely Al dente. I saved the pasta water and poured it back into my pot, then added the cabbage and carrots and just let them cook in the hot water while I dealt with the pasta and sprouts. I tossed them with my sauce while they were hot so they could finish cooking while absorbing the sauce flavors. I then drained the cabbage and carrots and added them to the pasta, threw in the julienned pepper, stirred everything well and put it in the fridge. I’ll be serving it at room temperature tomorrow for a large potluck lunch. It’s going to be delicious!
Richa
Great!
Maneesha
So delicious and healthy! Dinner was ready in 15 mins! Thank you, Richa! I love the Asian recipes – please do keep them coming!
Vegan Richa Support
will do =)
Michele
Quick, easy and so delicious! I added a squeeze of lime just before serving.
Vegan Richa Support
Delicious 😋
Lisa
How about leaving out the sesame oil? Just adding water instead. What could I add for the flavor profile? I love your recipes. I made you Butter tofu paneer with masala last night! It’s my all time favorite dish. Thanks!
Vegan Richa Support
sure – Perilla oil has a rich, nutty flavor makes it a fantastic substitute for toasted sesame oil.
Karen
I don’t use oil at all in my cooking. Is there a way of substituting for the highly flavoured sesame oil, without using a different oil? I REALLY want to make this salad – it looks delicious!
Vegan Richa Support
You can substitute it with 1 tbsp tahini.