Warm weather loves a cold peanut noodle salad, especially this one with a spicy peanut sauce that’s packed with fresh, crunchy, vegetables. Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce is super flexible and the best part is it comes together quickly too!
Looking for more delicious pasta recipes? Try this Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage
Jump to:
Why Make this Recipe?
The thing that’s great about Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce is the ingredients are super flexible, and the peanut lime dressing tastes good on almost anything. Seriously!
- Sometimes called a Thai Noodle Salad or Asian Noodle Salad, one of the best things about this recipe is you can flex the kinds of noodles and vegetables based on what you like.
- Basically a pasta salad, cold peanut noodles are a great side dish or meal prep and is delicious warm or cold.
- If you’re planning a buffet sometime soon, why not pair these cold noodles with more vegetable salads like Celery Salad with Hazelnuts or this Blackberry Goat Cheese Salad, maybe my Best Rotisserie Chicken Salad, and a delightful Summer Fruit Crisp to round it all out?
- If you’re a veggie lover, you should also try these Roasted Vegetables with Vinaigrette...amazing!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the full recipe and list of ingredients, please scroll to the recipe card below.
- For the Peanut Sauce: Creamy, smooth peanut butter makes the best, most delicious dressing! Use a whisk and combine with honey, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce or sesame oil, garlic and fresh lime. This stuff is GOLD.
- Noodles: Spaghetti is my favorite pasta for this recipe, follow the package instructions for al dente.
- Fresh Vegetables: Sugar snap peas, broccoli, zucchini, carrot, bok choy and red bell pepper is a winning combination here.
- Garnish: Sliced green onions, salted, chopped peanuts and chopped parsley round things out and make the plate look pretty.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the full list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll to the recipe card below.
- Boil the Pasta: Start with cold water, cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package directions.
- Make the peanut sauce: Combine the broth, peanut butter, garlic or sesame sauce, honey and lime juice to a food processor or by using a hand-held whisk until combined and smooth.
- Prep the Vegetables: We’ll do a little quick cooking method here so the vegetables don’t taste raw, and bonus that they’ll have a nice, bright color too. In a large skillet with a tablespoon or so of water, cook each vegetable separately for a few minutes and set aside. If you don’t have time or don’t want to cook the veg separately, see my tips below.
- To Serve: Spoon a little of the peanut sauce over the spaghetti, add the green onion and toss. Divide onto four plates or transfer to a large serving bowl, then arrange the vegetables on top, drizzle on more salad dressing, and garnish with salted peanuts and chopped parsley. Delicious!
Expert Tips and Possible Variations
- A tip for a nice presentation is to quick cook the vegetable types separately (all the broccoli at once, then the bell peppers, etc). If you don’t have time for this step, you can cook the veg all together in a non-stick skillet with 1/4-1/3 cup of water and a little (1/2 teaspoon) of salt. Stir occasionally until the water has evaporated. We don’t want mushy or army green veg!
- Try using Thai noodles instead of spaghetti! Rice or Soba noodles would be great to try too, especially if you’re interested in gluten free.
- This recipe isn’t Pad Thai style (stir fried with a sauce) but it’s absolutely delicious at either room temperature or chilled.
- Other vegetables that would taste great in this recipe are red cabbage (sliced very thin and tossed with the other vegetables raw right before serving) as well as green beans (french cut would be nice) and orange or yellow bell peppers instead of red.
Serving Ideas
- This colorful salad looks especially great served on a white platter, but you can serve it in a large bowl or four individual bowls too.
- Make this salad part of your weekly meal prep! Divide the ingredients into four portable containers with a lid, and keep refrigerated until ready to eat!
- This is one of the best things to take on a picnic too, just use paper take-out containers for each individual serving so everyone has their own!
- Have a salad party! Make several delicious types of salads so people can choose. Try the Strawberry Asparagus Salad for a menu like this.
- Add sesame seeds if you’d like! It’ll give this salad a little extra flavor and crunch.
- You can also add purple cabbage sliced thin to add some extra crunch.
- How about baking some frozen spring rolls to serve alongside too?
FAQ’s About This Recipe
This creamy, delicious peanut dressing is so good on shredded iceberg lettuce with maybe some cold chicken or pork, used as a dipping sauce for raw vegetables or frozen egg rolls, or drizzled over fish, grilled steak or chicken for a delicious lunch or dinner. Make it spicier by adding red pepper flake! Start with a 1/4 teaspoon.
This peanut sauce should be kept in the fridge, tightly covered (I use a Ball canning jar). It will keep well for a week.
Maple syrup works fine, so does brown sugar. Dissolve with the other wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
More Recipes to Try:
Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies: An incredibly delicious peanut butter cookie with jam takes it over the top!
Ice Cream Cake with Peanut Butter Ganache: Impressive in both presentation and taste, with store-bought shortcuts
White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups: These taste just as good as they look!
Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes: These pancakes are a huge favorite, light and fluffy with peanut butter flavor!
If you’ve tried Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce, or any other recipe on Studio Delicious, please rate the recipe and & I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Looking for more tips and fresh, homemade recipes? Join my email list, tag and follow me on Instagram using #studiodeliciouseats, follow my boards on Pinterest, and see what I’m up to on Facebook and Twitter!
Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- MAKE THE PEANUT SAUCE
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Broth
- 1/4 cup Peanut Butter, creamy
- 1 teaspoon Chili Garlic Sauce OR sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 1 Garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 Lime juice, freshly squeezed
- MAKE THE SALAD
- 1/4 pound Spaghetti, cooked and cooled Cooked according to package directions
- 2-4 tablespoons Vegetable oil
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Sugar Snap Peas, ends trimmed
- 1 Zucchini, spiralized or thinly sliced
- 2 cups Broccoli, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
- 1 Carrot, spiralized or thinly sliced
- 2 Bok Choy, ends trimmed, quartered
- 1/3 Red Pepper, thinly sliced
- FOR GARNISH
- 2 Green Onions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons Peanuts, salted
- 2 tablespoons Italian (flat leaf) Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- MAKE THE PEANUT SAUCE Combine broth, peanut butter, garlic sauce (or sesame oil) honey, soy sauce, garlic and lime juice in a blender, food processor and pulse until smooth. Alternatively, use hand-held whisk to combine the ingredients in a medium sized bowl until they are smooth. Taste, adding more salt or lime juice for balance as needed.
- FOR THE VEGETABLESIn a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the vegetable oil and a tablespoon or two of water, cooking each type of vegetable separately until the liquid evaporates and cooked through but not soft, about 4-6 minutes for each vegetable type. Set aside until ready to serve while you cook each vegetable type. (all the bell peppers at once, then the broccoli, etc.) You can also cook all the vegetables together in one pan instead, using 1/4-1/3 cup water, and stirring occassionally on medium-high heat until lightly cooked (but still al dente or slightly crisp).
- TO SERVE Using the bowl you've got the cooked and cooled spaghetti in, spoon in 3 tablespoons of the peanut sauce over it and add the sliced green onions, toss to combine. Using four plates, divide the pasta into 4 servings. Arrange the cooked vegetables on top. Add the garnish of salted peanuts and Italian Parsley. Drizzle a tablespoon of the peanut dressing over the top and serve with remaining dressing on the side.
Notes
- One of the tips to a beautiful presentation is to quick cook the vegetable types separately, so all the broccoli at once, then the bell peppers, etc. If you don’t have time for this step, you can cook the veg all together in a non-stick skillet with 1/4-1/3 cup of water and a little (1/2 teaspoon) of salt. Stir occasionally until the water has evaporated. We don’t want mushy or army green veg!
- Try using Thai noodles instead of spaghetti! Rice or Soba noodles would be great to try too, especially if you are eating gluten free.
- This recipe isn’t Pad Thai (stir fried with a sauce) but rather a cold, peanut noodle salad recipe that’s absolutely delicious at either room temperature or cold.
- Other vegetables that would taste great are red cabbage (sliced very thin and tossed with the other vegetables raw right before serving) as well as green beans (french cut would be nice) and orange or yellow bell peppers instead of red.
Nutrition
- Super important to read the whole recipe before you begin
- Pay attention to the ingredient list and photos for the recipe
- If possible, prep your ingredients a little before you start
- Always use a sharp knife for safety
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe
- For savory recipes, taste and season as you go
- Buy fresh, organic ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible
This post was originally published in March 2019, and was updated with updated tips, instructions and photos May 2021.
Ooh, I love peanut sauce on noodles! This looks like a plate my fork and I would dive into. A great way to use up veggies in the fridge, too.
🙂
This looks so fresh and delicious! I bet it’s even better than what you can order in a restaurant!
Well that’s a nice thing to say! Thank you!
At least little breakdowns, momentary lapses, help us to know when the good times are really good. Nice recipe, I think this would bring comfort to anyone having a rough day – so nutritious, and with peanut butter for the win. Nice recipe!
Thank you!
Hope you get some relief from the stress and meltdowns soon! This salad is such a gorgeously vibrant way to try to pick yourself up – I can see why you made it! 🙂
:))
It sounds like it was a terrible week, but at least you had tasty noodles!
Awww, wasn’t all that bad 🙂 Thank you!
Such a pretty salad and so fresh! Will definitely be trying this one out, love the peanut sauce!
Thanks so much!
Ahhh…I could use a plate of these noodles right now! That peanut sauce looks divine!
Thank you!
Noodles with peanut sauce is always so good! And I like the spiralized zucchini mixed in – great texture combination.
Thank you!
This is such a beautiful, vibrant dish and you really captured its true essence.
Thank you so much 🙂
Ah man, that sounds like a tough week, and on your birthday no less! Sorry to hear you had a rough couple of days, but I’m glad to hear you had some major comfort food! This veggie noodle salad looks like the perfect cheer-me-up sort of dish.
Things are better now ! :))
Love the pictures and the step by step instructions. I love to take traditional recipes and veganize them, if not done so already. Will be pinning this one for later, for sure.
Great, thank you SO much!
You have the BEST salad recipes!! This one is next on the list – love the tasty asian flavors. I know this salad will be delicious!
Well thanks! We love salad, don’t we?