These super quick and easy vegan peanut noodles are one of our favorite midweek meal! It comes together under 20 minutes, you can use your favorite veggies and the peanut butter sauce is so amazingly tasty and creamy. 100% dairy-free and plant-based.
These vegan peanut noodles are so amazing! Very simple, huge in flavor, made with lots of pantry ingredients, loaded with fresh veggies and done within 20 minutes. Totally my kind of meal!
I make it for both lunch and dinner and have switched up the filling ingredients many times with what I can find in the fridge. So convenient. We must have had this Thai peanut noodle meal more then a dozen times already, it is so fresh and delicious!
All you need to make is the Thai peanut butter sauce, which is definitely a key part of this recipe. It combines a good punch of garlic and ginger flavor, plus some rice vinegar and soy sauce for such a perfect Asian flavor. We use this sauce all the time for dipping in spring rolls, spreading in tofu tortilla rolls, drizzle over sweet potato sushi, dollop over buddha bowls, etc.
It makes for such a great weeknight dinner recipe. The 5-minute peanut sauce will be done by the time the noodles are cooked! I love using Asian-style noodles, but feel-free to go for regular spaghetti instead. Then, chop a few veggies, such as carrots, pepper and cucumber, or whatever you feel like. The peanut sauce is naturally high in healthy fats and plant-based protein, which helps make this speedy recipe super filling.
Then simply gather the ingredients in a bowl and serve right away. Super fast and delish ✌️.
The combo of chewy noodles with silky creamy savory sauce and crunchy rainbow veggies will definitely hit the spot. I find this recipe so satisfying that it feels like eating take-out, but without all the added fats, salt and who knows what else. Plus, so much cheaper!
I recommend you to make more so you have some amazing leftovers, such a plus if you usually have to pack a lunch for work the next day. These peanut noodles are great eaten cold: perfect meal on-the-go or to grab a few bites straight from the fridge!
I hope you enjoy! 🧡
Ingredients you'll need
- Noodles: I love using the soba noodles from the brand Lotus Noodles for this recipe. I get them online, they are healthy and delicious. More details below on other noodles you can use.
- Peanut butter sauce: done within minutes and so tasty. You will need unsweetened natural peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sweetener, garlic and ginger to make it.
- Edamame: it adds tons of healthy plant-based protein without any prep, you can simply get them shelled and frozen in any grocery store. They thaw within 5 minutes in a bowl of hot water, super easy.
- Raw veggies: I used a combination of carrots, red pepper, cucumber and green onions. I love the color combo and the crunchiness from these veggies.
- Peanuts: works great in this peanut sauce recipe and adds a nice crunchy texture to your noodle bowl.
- Cilantro: adds a nice freshness, but feel-free to omit or swap for fresh mint or Thai basil if you don't like cilantro.
Best noodles for this recipe
You can really use any kind of noodles you like best for this recipe, although I would definitely use long noodles. I used these soba noodles this time and it was amazing!
We love all the noodles from the brand Lotus, which is always the ones that I use. They are made using whole grains only, plus their texture is so great. But, regular spaghetti or linguini would be great here too!
Other ideas include udon, soba, ramen (check for egg-free ramen), rice vermicelli and Pad Thai noodles.
How to make vegan peanut noodles
Make the peanut butter sauce
You can whisk the sauce ingredients in a bowl or use a blender. I like to use a blender to make it as it pretty much whips the sauce, which gives it a nice light and pale look. Plus, I like that I don't have to finely chop the garlic and ginger, I just throw larger chunks in the blender and the machine does the rest for me.
You can also crush the garlic and ginger by hand and then stir the ingredients in a bowl if you prefer.
You can find the peanut butter sauce recipe on my website.
Cook the noodles + prep the veggies
Boil the noodles until al dente while you make the sauce. Drain them well and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.
Also, prep the veggies to your liking. I like to slice in fine sticks so it is easier to grab them with the noodles. You can also shred the carrots if you prefer.
At this point, you can also soak the frozen edamame in hot water and drain when ready to use. They usually thaw within 5-10 minutes.
Assemble and serve
In a large bowl, combine the noodles, peanut sauce, edamame, veggies, cilantro and the peanuts. Then, pour some of the peanut butter sauce over and toss well while being gentle with the noodles. You may need to add a little splash of water if needed to loosen up the sauce.
You will likely have more sauce than you need. Use for another recipe or drizzle over your leftovers if the noodles dried out a bit.
Divide in 2-3 bowls and top with more peanuts and cilantro. Feel free to drizzle some sriracha sauce over for a spicy peanut noodle meal.
Watch how to make it
Tips
- Keep the noodles al dente! If they are over cooked, they tend to get mushy in the sauce and they will break easily when stirring them.
- To prevent the noodles from becoming too soft, don't forget to run them under cold water. They will get sticky if they stay in the colander for too long, so I usually just run them under cold water once more just before tossing with the sauce.
- Use pre-chopped veggies to speed up this recipe. I love these bagged sticks of carrots, I used them all the time and they would work well with this meal. I would avoid using frozen+thaw veggies as they would become too soft for this kind of meal.
- You may want to adjust the consistency of the sauce only once you combined the ingredients since the veggies and rinsed noodles will bring extra moisture. If the sauce seems too thick or the noodles tend to clump together after combining everything, then add a splash or two of water until desired texture.
Variations to the recipe
The combination of carrots + red pepper + cucumber works so well for Thai-inspired recipes, but you can really use your preferred veggies or whatever you have in your fridge.
But, I recommend to include veggies you can eat raw. It will save you a step of cooking them, add more crunchiness and just work better for this kind of noodle dish.
Consider including zucchini noodles (zoodles), purple cabbage, spinach, crunchy lettuce such as romaine, snap peas, etc. Mushrooms and broccoli would also be great, although you might need to steam or roast them first.
You can easily make a spicy peanut noodle meal simply by adding some red pepper flakes or sriracha to your peanut sauce. We usually simply add a drizzle of sriracha over our bowls so our kids can eat it too.
As a side note, I LOVE edamame for this recipe. I'm actually starting to include these tasty soy beans more and more in my meals: they taste so great and I love their soft yet crunchy texture.
But, what's also so great about edamame is that they are shockingly high in healthy plant-based protein. You will find them in the freezer section in the grocery store and they thaw quickly in warm water while you prep the rest of your ingredients. They are an easy way to boost your vegan meals with more protein without requiring any prep.
If you don't have edamame, then you can add some roasted tofu or tempeh as well, although they will add more prep steps to your recipe. It would pair well with this simple pan-roasted tempeh!
Storage and meal-prep tips
These vegan peanut noodles make for great leftovers! Keep them in an air-tight container for 3-4 days. The peanut butter tends to harden while cooling down, so you may need to add a little water and stir well before enjoying so it becomes creamy again. You can eat your leftovers cold or warm them up for a few seconds in the microwave.
You can also meal-prep this recipe ahead of time. The peanut sauce can be made days ahead, such as during the weekend when you have more time, and you can also prep and chop the veggies beforehand.
You can make a few containers of veggie peanut noodles ahead as well, so you have some ready to-go lunches on a busy week.
FAQ's
Yes! You will need to use gluten-free noodles, such as these buckwheat soba noodles from the brand Eden. Also make sure to use gluten-free tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce when making the peanut sauce.
I don't recommend it. Freezing the noodles will likely make them mushier and the veggies will lose their crunchiness.
I often make a similar recipe using tahini instead for my kid's lunch boxes and it works well! You may need less water for the sauce since tahini is usually thinner than peanut butter.
More Asian noodle recipes you might like
- Vegan chow mein
- One-pot curry ramen noodles
- Spicy garlic ramen
- Vegan kimchi ramen noodle soup
- Gochujang creamy pasta
- Quick kale sesame noodles
- Ramen miso bowl
- Cabbage miso noodle soup
I hope you like these vegan peanut noodles as much as we do! If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!
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Vegan Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 8 oz Asian noodles or regular spaghetti - I used brown rice soba noodles
- 1 batch Thai peanut butter sauce - see notes for recipe
- 1 cup carrots (about 2 carrots) - julienned or shredded
- 1 cup cucumber (about half of a English cucumber) - julienned
- 1 red pepper - finely sliced
- 2-3 green onions - sliced
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame - thawed
- ½ cup cilantro - chopped, plus more for topping
- ¼ cup peanuts - plus more for topping
Instructions
- Cook the noodles accordingly to packaging.
- While the noodles are cooking, make the peanut butter sauce and chop the veggies. Also thaw the edamame in hot water for about 5 minutes, then drain.
- In a large bowl, add the noodles, carrots, cucumber, red pepper, green onion, edamame, peanuts and cilantro. Pour some of the sauce and stir to combine. Add more of the sauce as needed, you may be left with some extra sauce to use for another recipe.
- Divide in serving bowls and top with more cilantro and peanuts. Add sriracha for a spicy noodle bowl. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can find my peanut butter sauce by clicking on the link.
- I used the soba noodles from the brand Lotus. Use any kind of noodles you like, especially Asian style noodles if you have them, but regular spaghetti or linguini work too.
- You might need to add an extra splash of water to the noodles to help mix everything together.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container for 3-4 days. The noodles are great eaten at room temperature or cold, but you can warm them up for a few seconds using a microwave if you want. I like to add some of the extra peanut sauce over leftovers if the noodles dried out a bit.
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We made this recipe today for lunch since I had everything already to make the peanut sauce. I didn't have peppers so I added purple cabbage instead. It was so good! My husband loved it too, he made his noodles spicy with chili oil. Will do this again!
Oh that's great! I'm glad it worked out! Thanks for sharing 🙂