This Cold Peanut Noodle Salad is loaded with slurpy noodles, crisp veggies, and a creamy peanut-lime dressing. This vegan salad is nutritious, delicious, and meal-prep friendly.
Why you’ll love this
- Nutritious and Delicious. This salad is absolutely packed with protein, fiber, and flavor thanks to edamame, fresh vegetables, and the creamiest-dreamiest peanut sauce.
- Fresh. A citrus packed peanut sauce, chilled rice noodles (or pasta of choice), and crunchy veggies keep this salad light, crisp, and refreshing.
- Meal Prep Friendly. Prepare the noodles, salad, and sauce, then store each separately in the fridge for easy lunches all week long!
Ingredient notes
Peanut Dressing
- Peanut Butter – I like using an all-natural just nuts/salt variety, but processed peanut butter such as Jiff works as well. Almond butter or sunflower seed butter may also be used, just keep in mind, the flavor will be different.
- Orange Juice – use fresh or bottled. I use bottled, because what’s what I have on hand, and again, cuts down on prep time.
- Lime Juice – again, use fresh or bottled. Whatever you have on hand will be great.
- Soy Sauce – use a gluten-free variety such as coconut aminos or tamari if you need this dish to be gluten-free. Use a low sodium soy sauce, if necessary.
- Honey – brown sugar, granulated sugar, maple syrup, or agave may be substituted, if desired. Some vegans don’t eat honey, so keep that in mind if you’re wanting this to be entirely plant-based.
- Sesame Seed Oil – be sure to use toasted, not un-toasted for the best sesame seed flavor.
- Garlic – fresh or jarred garlic are both fine since we’re blending it into a sauce.
- Chili Garlic Sauce – reduce in half or omit if you’re not a fan of spice. You could also replace with sriracha. Red pepper flakes and fresh jalapeños would also be good if you love spice!
- Ground Ginger – replace with 1/2 – 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or ginger paste.
Salad
- Noodles – I used 1/2 box of brown rice noodles, but any noodle will work: spaghetti, regular rice noodles, soba noodles, etc. I think a long, skinny shape like the noodles I have listed are great for a salad like this, but something like bow-tie should also be just fine! If you like more noodles than salad, use the whole 14 oz box of noodles.
- Edamame – look for frozen, shelled edamame to keep this salad quick and easy! Steam in the microwave according to bag directions, then toss with a bit of salt!
- Cabbage – you’ll need 1 (14 oz) bag tri-colored coleslaw which contains shredded cabbage, shredded purple cabbage, and shredded carrots. Feel free to shred your own, but I love using a bag of pre-shredded salad to keep prep quicker and easier.
- Bell Pepper – use red bell pepper for the sweetest flavor, but yellow, orange, and green will work as well.
- Green Onions – I don’t recommend replacing the green onions with another onion, because the flavor will be too strong.
- Cilantro – replace with Thai basil or parsley if you’re someone who thinks cilantro tastes like soap.
- Peanuts – use roasted, salted peanuts for the best flavor. If there’s a nut allergy, either omit, use another nut such as roasted, salted almonds or cashews, or use a seed like roasted, salted sunflower seeds.
Pro tip
Cucumbers would make a great, fresh crunch and flavor to this salad as well!
How to make
Dressing
- Place peanut butter, orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, oil, garlic, chili garlic sauce, ginger, and salt into a food processor or high powered blender until smooth.
Salad
- Place cooked noodles, cooked edamame, coleslaw, pepper, onions, and cilantro into a large bowl.
- Toss with the dressing, then right before serving, stir in the salted peanuts.
Pro tip
If you don’t have a food processor or blender, feel free to whisk the dressing ingredients together instead.
What to serve with cold peanut noodle salad
This salad can be served as a vegan main dish or as a side next to your favorite protein!
How to store
Leftovers will last in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If fully assembled, this salad is best served immediately. If you’d like leftovers or are meal prepping this for easy weekday lunches, store all the components separately. Place cooked noodles in one container, the sauce in another, and the salad in a third. Top with the peanuts right before serving to keep them crunchy.
– Jennifer
Cold Peanut Noodle Salad
This Cold Peanut Noodle Salad is loaded with slurpy noodles, crisp veggies, and a creamy peanut-lime dressing. This vegan salad is nutritious, delicious, and meal-prep friendly.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 6 people
Equipment for this recipe
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Ingredients
Peanut Dressing
- ½ cup all-natural peanut butter
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
Salad
- 7 oz brown rice noodles prepared according to box directions (1/2 of a 1 (14 oz) box)*
- 1 (8 oz) bag frozen shelled edamame cooked according to package directions, then sprinkled with a bit of salt
- 1 (14 oz) bag tri-colored coleslaw (shredded cabbage mix)
- 3 green onions sliced (just the white and light green part)
- 1 red bell pepper finely sliced
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ cup roasted, salted peanuts
Instructions
Dressing
- Place peanut butter, orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, oil, garlic, chili garlic sauce, ginger, and salt into a food processor or high powered blender until smooth.
- Taste and re-season, if necessary, then set aside.
Salad
- Place cooked noodles, cooked edamame, coleslaw, green onions, red pepper, cilantro, and peanuts into a large bowl.
- Toss with the dressing, taste and re-season, if necessary, then enjoy immediately!
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STORING
Room Temp:N/A
Refrigerator:5 Days
Freezer:N/A
Reheat:N/A
*Storage times may vary based on temperature and conditions
Notes
*Or noodles of choice. If using something like spaghetti, cook until al denté, then rinse with cold water to cool them down. See Ingredient Notes for other ideas. Feel free to use the whole box of noodles if you like a more noodle-y salad (that's what's pictured, because that's what Trevor prefers, but I like less noodles). **See How to Store for notes on meal-prepping. Nutritional information uses 7 oz brown rice noodles.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Cold Peanut Noodle Salad
Amount Per Serving (1 large scoop)
Calories 495 Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Fat 24g37%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 7g
Monounsaturated Fat 10g
Sodium 1233mg54%
Potassium 655mg19%
Carbohydrates 60g20%
Fiber 9g38%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 17g34%
Vitamin A 882IU18%
Vitamin C 65mg79%
Calcium 96mg10%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
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