This Asian Pasta Salad Recipe is loaded with a homemade dressing: sesame oil, vinegar, lime juice, honey, soy sauce, spices, etc. – fresh crunchy veggies: carrots, bell pepper, cucumbers – and other great mix-ins: noodles, peanuts, and cilantro! Light, fresh, quick and easy!
I have two main food obsessions right now:
- Pasta salad. Summer = all.the.pasta.salad.
- Asian flavors. I mean. It’s just the best right?!
So, today, I have for you the combination of my two loves:
Asian Pasta Salad.
It’s light, it’s cold, it’s satisfying, it’s PACKED with flavor and textures, and BONUS: it’s so quick and easy to make.
Make this for a light lunch or bring it to your next grill out. Either way, you’re gonna love it. 🙂
There are three parts to this Asian pasta salad recipe:
Part One: the noodles
Part Two: the dressing
Part Three: the mix ins
What are the best noodles for pasta salad?
For today’s Asian pasta salad recipe, I absolutely LOVE using spaghetti – you could use white or whole wheat. This recipe is obviously not traditional (ha!), but that being said, spaghetti noodles are reminiscent of lo mein noodles! I also love how the sauce perfectly coats each noodle!
What are the homemade dressing ingredients?
The homemade dressing is definitely the star of asian pasta salad and it’s loaded with:
- Sesame oil
- Seasoned rice vinegar
- Lime juice
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Garlic powder
- Ground ginger
- Red pepper flakes
The recipe makes a lot of dressing, so you *may* have some leftover, but I mean, it’s so good, I promise you’ll find another way to use it. 😉
What are the best mix ins for pasta salad?
I really wanted to keep this Asian pasta salad super light – as you can probably tell from the dressing ingredient list above – so you won’t be surprised that today’s pasta salad is full of:
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded cabbage
- Red bell pepper
- Cucumber
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Peanuts
- Spaghetti – you only use 1/2 pound, so this is really a very light pasta salad
How do you make asian pasta salad?
Step One: Boil noodles. Set aside.
Step Two: Whisk together dressing.
Step Three: Dump noodles and mix in’s into a large bowl.
Step Four: Toss with desired amount of dressing.
Step Five: STUFF YOUR FACE. Or place in the fridge to chill until ready to serve.
Easy, right? And trust me, so delicious. I absolutely love the bright and slightly nutty/sweet dressing mixed with the perfectly al dente noodles and fresh, crunchy vegetables.
It’s just too good, you guys.
Summer time asian pasta salad LOVE. <3
– Jennifer
Asian Pasta Salad
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
Asian Dressing
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey use agave, if vegan
- ¼ cup soy sauce use tamari, if gluten free
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
Asian Pasta Salad
- ½ pound spaghetti cooked according to package directions, use gluten free variety, if necessary
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 whole red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1/2-1 whole cucumber thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped salted peanuts
- 2 green onions sliced (just the white and line green part)
Recipe Video
Instructions
Asian Dressing
- Whisk together ingredients. Set aside.
Asian Pasta Salad
- Toss spaghetti and remaining ingredients: carrots, cabbage, red bell pepper, cucumber, cilantro, peanuts, and green onions together in a large bowl.
- Pour in desired amount of dressing (you probably won’t use all of it).
- Taste and re-season, if necessary.
- Serve immediately or store in fridge until ready to serve.
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Notes
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Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
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