Thai Inspired Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe

Thai peanut noodle salad recipe featured image

Thai Inspired Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe

This sweet and savory peanutty noodle salad features a variety of colorful vegetables, fresh herbs, and rice noodles with a garlicky ginger lime peanut sauce.

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Thai

Keyword Cold Peanut Noodles, Peanut Noodle Salad, Peanut Noodle Salad Recipe, Peanut Noodles

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Chill Time: 15

Servings servings

Calories 340kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Equipment

8 Quart-sized glass jars (if you're making this for meal prep)

Ingredients

Peanut Dressing:

3 tablespoons avocado oil (or light olive oil or vegetable oil)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup coconut sugar lightly packed (or light brown sugar)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (see Notes)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons tamari sauce (or soy sauce or coconut aminos)
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (more if you want it spicy)
2 teaspoons freshly-grated ginger
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 teaspoon fish sauce
3/4 teaspoon fresh lime zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

Noodle Salad:

8 ounces dried flat rice noodles also called "rice stick" (see Notes)
2 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
1 cup julienned carrot peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 cup thinly sliced bell pepper any color you have
1 Thai red chili thinly sliced (optional; it’s spicy!)
3 scallions thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Garnishes:

1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts coarsely chopped
1 scallion thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 lime cut into wedges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Peanut Dressing:

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Cover and chill until using.

For the Noodle Salad:

Rehydrate the rice noodles. Follow the package directions to rehydrate the noodles (see Notes), then drain and rinse under cold running water.
Toss the salad. While the noodles are rehydrating, chop all the veggies. Add the rice noodles and chopped vegetables to a large bowl, add the dressing, and gently toss to combine. (TIP: If the noodles stick together, run them under cool running water and gently separate with your fingers before adding them to the salad.) Chill the salad for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serve. Serve the salad with the garnishes on top.

Notes

Creamy Peanut Butter: You can use sweetened creamy peanut butter (like Skippy) or unsweetened natural creamy peanut butter (such as Teddie). If you use sweetened peanut butter, don’t pack the coconut sugar or brown sugar when you measure it. If you use unsweetened natural peanut butter, I recommended using a blender to mix the dressing instead of a whisk (because natural peanut butters tend to be a bit more gritty).
Dried Flat Rice Noodles: My noodles are about 1/8-inch (approximately 3mm) wide. You can soak the noodles to rehydrate them, but it can take a while (it can take about 1 hour or longer in warm water to soften noodles this size). To save time, I usually boil these until tender. The brand I used needed to boil for 5 to 5 1/2 minutes, but that can vary. Stay with it because they can go from tender to mushy fast. Then once they're tender, immediately drain them and rinse under cold water. (TIP: Depending on a few factors (such as what brand of rice noodles you use, how big your noodles are, how old they are, etc.), they could take more or less time to rehydrate than what’s stated on the package, so be sure to check them periodically whether you’re soaking them or boiling them to avoid mushy noodles.)
Peanut Dressing Yield: This makes about 1 1/4 cups of dressing. We use it all for this noodle salad.
Peanut Dressing Nutrition Information: For nutritional information for the dressing only, please see the peanut dressing recipe.
Vegan Version: Omit the fish sauce and use more tamari sauce instead.
Storage:
- Dressing: Store in a covered glass jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Salad: Once the salad is tossed, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Meal Prep: To store this for meal prep, you'll need eight quart-sized glass jars (or eight 3 to 4-cup-capacity glass containers). Layer 1/8 of the ingredients to each container in this order without stirring: peanut dressing, rice noodles, vegetables, and herbs. Store the chopped peanuts and sesame seeds together in a small bag or condiment container on the side, and store the herbs and fresh lime in a different small bag on the side. To serve, shake up the salad, add your garnishes, and enjoy! (TIP: To add protein, such as cooked chicken, steak, or tofu, chop it into bite-sized pieces and add it on top of the vegetables, then add the herbs on top.) Stored this way, these salads will last up to 5 days in the fridge (4 days if you added protein).

Nutrition