Cool off on a hot summer day with this COLD peanut noodle salad! This Thai-inspired recipe consists of noodles, healthy vegetables, a tasty and spicy peanut dressing, and is topped with sesame seeds. This is an easy vegan and gluten-free dish that you can whip up for weeknight dinners during hot summer days.
Last week here in Boston was really hot, like high 80s and humid. On most weekdays I take hour-long walks outdoors, and lately I’ve been such a sweaty mess afterwards that I’ve been trying to take my walks earlier and earlier in the morning. And it’s getting harder to keep my place cool indoors so I’ve been loathe to use the oven. So I have been drinking cold drinks like horchata (my favorite cinnamon rice milk) all the time and cold dinners have been on my mind.
I’ve had various Asian cold peanut noodle salads at restaurants over the years, and my recipe represents all of my favorite things about these peanut noodle salads: fresh red bell pepper slices, shredded carrots, chopped scallions, noodles (any kind will work!), sesame seeds, and chopped peanuts. These are all easy and healthy ingredients to assemble. Very little cooking is involved (you only need to cook the noodles!) and this recipe is vegan + gluten-free as well. If you want some meat, that would be delicious too — I recommend adding some shredded chicken.
Let’s talk about this peanut dressing. To make this dressing, I got some inspiration from my other peanut dish (spicy and hot peanut noodles) and I tried to keep it simple: crunchy peanut butter (please get the REAL stuff and not Skippy or Jif), sriracha, vinegar, minced garlic, and hot water. It’s a really tasty and spicy dressing that makes this cold peanut noodle dish come alive.
So grab some noodles, slice up your favorite vegetables, and whip up some peanut dressing. Let’s make this nice cold peanut noodle salad for dinner and stay cool during summer!
Cold peanut noodle salad
This Thai-inspired recipe consists of noodles, healthy vegetables, a tasty and spicy peanut dressing, and is topped with sesame seeds. This is an easy vegan and gluten-free dish that you can whip up for weeknight dinners during hot summer days.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles can substitute with linguini or spaghetti pasta
- 1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1/3 cup peanuts chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
For the peanut dressing:
- 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons sriracha
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
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Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water in a colander until cool. Set aside.
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Combine all of the peanut dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix until smooth. Set aside.
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Combine the noodles with all other ingredients including the peanut dressing. Toss and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Can you use regular vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar?
Very good! I used habanero sauce instead of sriracha and omitted the raw garlic. Great alternative to the traditional pasta night. Thank you.
I loved it! I made it with PB2 and added cucumbers 😋
Yum! Glad you enjoyed this, Kayla.
Delicious! I used soba noodles because I didn’t have rice noodles and green peppers because I didn’t have red. I served it with tofu on the side. Yum.
This was delicious. I added baked tofu and a little agave nectar to the dressing. I will definitely make this again.
This looks sooo good. I am going to make it next week. Pinned the recipe!
This looks delicious! Does it keep well over night? I’m thinking of making it for a pot luck but don’t want the noodles to soak up all the dressing…
I usually don’t have leftovers for this — it’s just so good and I can’t resist 🙂 — so I’m not sure about overnight. I don’t think it will be a problem so I say go for it!
Yuuuuh-hummmm! I added cucumber and cilantro to the salad, and lime juice to the dressing. Didn’t use the sesame seeds but crushed peanuts instead. I also added some rotisserie chicken (cost and time effective!). My God it was delicious. I will definitely make this again.
So glad you liked it!! Your substitutions sound delicious — I’ll have to try adding rotisserie chicken next time I make this 🙂
I made this last night and it is AMAZING! While it’s freezing cold in Boston right now, I’ve been craving salads! I doubled this recipe, which worked out great because I just used a whole package of brown rice spaghetti – easy peasy! I doubled the dressing as well, except for the garlic – I used 3 cloves instead of 4 since it’s raw. That was a good choice – it’s garlicky but not overpowering! I doubled all the veggies and you could even add more after that if you’d like. This would also be great over a bed of… Read more »
Can I omit the sriracha sauce if I don’t like spicy food? Or substitute it with something else? Thank you!
Hi Mary! You can omit the sriracha altogether. After mixing up the sauce without sriracha, give it a taste and see if it needs a little more hot water to make it less thick. You can also add a few more minced garlic cloves to taste.
Would it be ok to use creamy peanut butter instead? Our household typically doesn’t buy crunchy peanut butter so I’d hate to buy a whole jar and not need it all. Thanks!
Yes, go ahead and use creamy peanut butter! It’s totally up to your preference and what you have available. 🙂 Both kinds of peanut butter work well for this recipe.