Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

This Cold Peanut Noodle Salad is the perfect make ahead dish for hot summer days. Bring this healthy vegan peanut noodle salad to a picnic, BBQ, potluck, or just make it for yourself for meal prep. Makes a great side dish or light lunch, add your choice of protein to make it a full meal.

When the weather gets hot I find myself craving cold food. That is why I absolutley love this Cold Peanut Noodle Salad. With a peanut sauce modified from my Best Thai Peanut Sauce, and a bunch of colorful veggies, plus some whole wheat noodles, this is a super healthy make ahead meal or side dish. It’s also perfect for a potluck or BBQ because it can be made ahead of time and served cold.

Ingredients for Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

A bunch of colorful, crunchy veggies, noodles and a lip smacking peanut sauce are what make up this noodle salad.

For Noodle Salad

• 12 oz whole wheat spaghetti or any other noodles of choice
• 2 tbsps toasted sesame oil
• ⅓ purple cabbage thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
• ½ large cucumber peeled and sliced into matchsticks
• 1 large carrot peeled and grated
• 3 green onions sliced

For peanut sauce

• 1/2 cup peanut butter natural, unsweetened
• 1 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce use tamari or coconut aminos for gluten free
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce more or less to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves pressed with garlic press or grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger root grated
• 2-4 tablespoons warm water

Optional Garnish

• Basil chopped
• Sesame Seeds
• peanuts roughly chopped

An almost no cook summer meal

Other than boiling water for the noodles, this Cold Peanut Noodle Salad is no cook – just chop up some veggies, whisk together the peanut sauce and toss it all together with the noodles. I used whole wheat spaghetti and I found that 12 ounces of pasta was just the right amount. You could also make this with rice noodles, soba noodles or any other type of pasta you prefer.

Substitutions

• Feel free to use whatever vegetables you want. Keep in mind that sturdier vegetables hold up better when sitting in the peanut sauce. Something like mixed greens will wilt quickly.
• I have not tried this peanut sauce with another nut butter, if you decide to try it please let us know how it turns out!
• These Cold Peanut Noodles are vegan.
• To make them gluten free, be sure to use a gluten free pasta, and sub tamari for soy sauce.

Make ahead tips for Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

If you want to make the cold peanut noodle salad ahead of time, I suggest storing the components of the salad separately and combining shortly before serving. After cooking and draining the pasta, be sure to toss with sesame oil so that the noodles don’t stick, You can toss the noodles with the vegetables and prepare the peanut sauce, but don’t add the peanut sauce to the noodles too far in advance. The noodles can absorb too much of the sauce, causing the dish to be dry.

How to Store Cold Peanut Noodles Salad

If you have leftovers, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.