Cold Vegan Peanut Noodle Salad
This vegan Peanut Noodle Salad is loaded with fresh crisp veggies, perfectly al dente noodles, and a hearty drizzle of creamy, tangy peanut dressing. Garnish with chopped peanuts and sesame seeds for some added crunch! The best part is it takes less than 30 minutes to throw together!
You Will Love This
- It’s perfect for meal prep. This peanut noodle salad is a tasty make-ahead recipe for a quick and easy lunch throughout the week. Make a big batch on Sunday afternoon and then portion it out into individual lunches for the week. I’d recommend waiting to add the dressing until just before serving if you’ll be enjoying it at a later date. If you need some other delicious pasta salad recipes, be sure to check out my Creamy Vegan Cucumber Pasta Salad, Avocado Cilantro Southwest Pasta Salad, or my Street Corn Pasta Salad.
- It’s a hearty meatless Monday dinner. If you’re looking for more meat-free meals, this is a MUST TRY. It has the familiarity of noodles which will make it more palatable for the picky eaters in your family. And you can customize the veggies to fit your family’s taste. You could even do a “build your own bowl” style meal. Allow your family to start with the noodle base and then pick out their veggies and drizzle it with peanut sauce themselves. Getting them involved in the process of making dinner sometimes makes them more inclined to eat it.
- It’s something different to bring to a backyard barbecue. Everyone’s had the classic Italian rotini salad smothered in oily dressing or the mayo-laden macaroni salad. Switch it up with these peanut sauce noodles! It’s also totally vegan so your veggie head friends are going to thank you for thinking of them!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Noodles – You can use your favorite noodle for this salad. I prefer to use spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine noodles.
- Red Pepper – You could also use green, yellow, or orange bell pepper in place of the red pepper in this salad
- Edamame – I love the flavor that edamame brings to this dish. When I don’t have it on hand I will use chickpeas in its place.
- Matchstick Carrots – I love the ease of buying already sliced carrots. Feel free to shred your own in your prefer.
- Purple Cabbage – Heads of cabbage are super inexpensive at the grocery store, so I usually chop my own cabbage, but a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw would work as well!
- Chopped Peanuts – If you can find roasted peanuts or flavored peanuts, I highly recommend trying those for a little added punch.
- Fresh Cilantro – Cilantro adds a delicious freshness to this salad that balances out the rich, creamy dressing. Don’t omit it!
- Easy Peanut Dressing – My creamy peanut dressing is what MAKES this noodle salad better than the rest! It’s quick, easy, and loaded with flavor!
Instructions
Combine ingredients for the creamy peanut sauce. It’s SUPER simple and will take just a couple minutes.
Add cooked pasta, red pepper, edamame, carrots, cabbage, peanuts, and cilantro to a large bowl. Pour half the peanut dressing over it and toss to combine.
Drizzle with more peanut sauce. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
Tips
- Your pasta water should be as salty as the ocean. Yes, really. I’d recommend at least 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt and honestly I probably add closer to a 1/4 cup. Add it to the water after it comes to a boil, and just before adding the pasta. If all you have is regular table salt, try 1-3 tablespoons instead. Salting your pasta water is your first chance to season the pasta itself. And you will be surprised at what a difference it makes in the overall flavor of the pasta.
- Cook the pasta just until al dente. Set your timer for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time. So if your pasta should boil for 9-11 minutes, set your timer for 8 minutes and start testing the pasta then. Once it’s just al dente – tender but still has a bit of a toothsome bite – take it off the heat and strain it.
- Toss the cooked pasta immediately in olive oil and add a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Then allow it to cool to room temp before assembling the salad. If you’re in a hurry, stick the pasta in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down more quickly.
- The dressing will thicken as it sits on the peanut pasta salad, so I recommend waiting to add the dressing until you’re ready to eat. If you end up with leftovers that are already dressed, you can add a splash of lime juice or soy sauce to loosen up the sauce and make it smooth and creamy again.
FAQ
This tasty peanut sauce is made with soy sauce, peanut butter, lime juice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Just mix it all together for a delicious, creamy, tangy peanut sauce!
My peanut sauce recipe is already quite thick on its own, so there is no need to thicken it! When you combine the peanut butter and other ingredients with the soy sauce, lime juice, and rice vinegar, it will loosen up a bit but still retain a very creamy texture!
Try these easy pasta salads next!
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Peanut Noodle Salad
This vegan Peanut Noodle Salad is loaded with fresh crisp veggies, perfectly al dente noodles, and a hearty drizzle of creamy, tangy peanut dressing. Garnish with chopped peanuts and sesame seeds for some added crunch! The best part is it takes less than 30 minutes to throw together!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 8 oz. fettuccine noodles
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup edamame, cooked and cooled
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced purple cabbage
- 1 cup chopped peanuts
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Easy Peanut Dressing
Garnish:
- sesame seeds
- fresh chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Cook pasta until al dente. Toss in olive oil and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
- Combine ingredients for the creamy peanut sauce. It’s SUPER simple and will take just a couple minutes.
- Add cooked pasta, red pepper, edamame, carrots, cabbage, peanuts, and cilantro to a large bowl. Pour half the peanut dressing over it and toss to combine.
- Drizzle with more peanut sauce. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Your pasta water should be as salty as the ocean. Yes, really. I’d recommend at least 2 tablespoons of Kosher salt and honestly I probably add closer to a 1/4 cup. Add it to the water after it comes to a boil, and just before adding the pasta. If all you have is regular table salt, try 1-3 tablespoons instead. Salting your pasta water is your first chance to season the pasta itself. And you will be surprised at what a difference it makes in the overall flavor of the pasta.
Cook the pasta just until al dente. Set your timer for 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time. So if your pasta should boil for 9-11 minutes, set your timer for 8 minutes and start testing the pasta then. Once it’s just al dente – tender but still has a bit of a toothsome bite – take it off the heat and strain it.
Toss the cooked pasta immediately in olive oil and add a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Then allow it to cool to room temp before assembling the salad. If you’re in a hurry, stick the pasta in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down more quickly.
The dressing will thicken as it sits on the peanut pasta salad, so I recommend waiting to add the dressing until you’re ready to eat. If you end up with leftovers that are already dressed, you can add a splash of lime juice or soy sauce to loosen up the sauce and make it smooth and creamy again.
Delightful on a hot summer day! Our AC went out and we were looking for refreshing recipes. We used rice vermicelli and topped with a little chili crisp. We loved it and the leftovers were amazing for lunch the next day.
MMMM chili crisp would be DELICIOUS on this pasta salad. Great idea, Angie! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
By far one of my fave lunch recipes. Make it on Sunday and it’s easy to eat throughout the week! It’s simply delicious and versatile to add/remove various ingredients. Love love love.
I am so glad you enjoyed this cold noodle salad recipe, Jamie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
Question! If you use Chickpeas do you just drain them and use them in place of the edemame or would you season/roast them first?
I usually just drain them and throw them right in but I think seasoning them and/or roasting them would be delicious! In this recipe I could imagine seasoning them with sesame oil and your favorite spice – like garlic, cumin, curry, or something flavorful – and then roasting them and adding them to the salad. That would be a delicious addition! Great question, Jeni!
I love this recipe!
As far as the nutrition facts, what is a serving? Given that you listed the calories and protein, etc., I’m curious how much a serving is. A cup? Cup and a half?
Thanks so much!
I’d guesstimate about a cup and a half. Hope that helps!
Hi! I made this for my sons 1st birthday party and it received RAVE reviews! I am not a good cook by any means and this was so easy to make / follow directions. I’ve had people reach out and ask me for the recipe. This will be a staple at all of our parties go forward so wanted to say thanks!!!
I am so glad that you and your party guests enjoyed this pasta salad recipe, Michelle! Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
We are doing a vegetarian month to kick off the new year and are trying not to up our dairy intake to compensate. Enter this thai peanut pasta salad recipe! It was delicious and all the veggies were beautiful. We made a half batch of the peanut sauce and it was the perfect amount. We plan to make it at least one more time this January.
As a fellow Wisconsinite (hi from Madison) I was happy to find this blog! Totchos are up next; breaking our dairy rule already!
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Sarah!! Love hearing from another Wisconsinsinite 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
Easy to make. Good tasting. I feel it’s healthier because it’s got Thai in the title.
I think there’s definitely some elements to Thai cooking – like the fact that it’s made with real foods – that can make it healthy. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, Elizabeth. Thanks for leaving a review!
Pretty simple. It has pasta so it’s great! Peanut sauce goes with it. It’s slightly different from our usual.