Thai Vegan Peanut Noodles
These Thai vegan peanut noodles are the perfect easy and healthy 15 minute meal. Noodles and crunchy veg are slathered in slightly spicy peanut sauce, and topped with toasted peanuts. Served hot or cold, weeknight dinner doesn’t get better than this!
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Why I love vegan peanut noodles
Little bit about me- I love peanut butter. I have it most days on my porridge, in breakfast bars, bliss balls, and even sometimes add it to hummus!
I’m shocked with myself that I haven’t yet put my Thai peanut noodle recipe up on this blog, as it’s such a staple and totally comforting and delicious. They’re super healthy, with no added sugar and lots of veggies added in.
The peanut butter has plenty of healthy fats, and along with the edamame beans makes this a great high protein meal. Better than takeout if you ask me!
What makes this meal so quick and easy?
This meal comes together so fast. Thai peanut noodles are the best weeknight meal because they require barely any cooking. The noodles and edamame beans need to soak in boiling water for 5 minutes. Whilst this is happening the vegetables can be chopped and the sauce mixed together.
I’d love to give you all my tips on how to make the best vegan peanut noodles, but if you’d rather cut straight to the recipe, you can just scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
Ingredients in vegan peanut noodles
There are 4 main healthy and straight forward ingredients in these easy peanut noodles.
- Noodles- a really great filling base for this meal, with so many varieties to choose from!
- Peanut sauce- made from peanut butter and Asian-inspired ingredients.
- Raw crunchy veg- I chose to use thinly sliced red cabbage and carrot for this one.
- Edamame beans- perfect for added protein, super tasty, and also a great source of iron and calcium.
I’ve also topped my healthy peanut noodles with some extra roasted peanuts, green onions, and coriander.
What type of noodles are best?
Any kind of noodles work great in this dish. A lot of Asian noodles are vegan, including wheat noodles, udon noodles, soba noodles, rice vermicelli and flat rice noodles. However, there may be exceptions where these contain egg, depending on the manufacturer, so check for this ingredient before buying.
For gluten free noodles, rice and soba are the best options- but again, you should double check the packaging for gluten free certification.
If you want to go super healthy, you could try this dish with vegetable noodles made from zucchini, carrot, or your favourite veg. This is a fantastic article on veggie noodle suggestions!
My favourite option is flat brown rice noodles- they’re healthy and filling, take on loads of sauce, and my local store often has them on promotion!
For the 6 ingredient peanut sauce
The peanut sauce is what truly transforms these noodles into something totally delicious. To make the sauce, you’ll need peanut butter, soy sauce, water, minced garlic and ginger, rice vinegar, and gochujang or Sriracha. If you don’t have all of these ingredients, I’ve included a list of ingredient substitutions below!
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, and whisk or blend until smooth. I like to use a stick blender for this part, as it saves time and effort, but a whisk will do the job just as well.
How to make thai peanut noodles
- Cook the noodles according to pack instructions along with the edamame. Make sure not to overcook the noodles, as you don’t want them to go mushy.
- Thinly slice the carrots and cabbage using a sharp knife or a mandoline. Make sure these are nice and small so that they mix well with the noodles.
- Drain the noodles and edamame, rinse them with cold water, then toss with the peanut sauce and sliced veggies.
- Garnish with sliced green onion, toasted peanuts, and coriander.
Q&A
The peanut sauce can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in a jar or airtight container in the fridge. This way, you can prepare the sauce at the weekend, so you only need to cook the noodles and slice the vegetables on a weeknight. Give it a little stir before using, as it may have separated slightly.
The sauce is also great for so many other uses, such as a dip for summer rolls, a stir fry sauce, or a marinade for tofu or vegetables. It’s so versatile and delicious!
The finished noodle dish will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can eat it cold, or warm it up in a pan or the microwave until hot through. This also makes it great for meal prep, or lunch time leftovers.
Spicy peanut noodles don’t freeze well, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing the final dish. However, the sauce can be frozen for 3 months and defrosted in fridge overnight before use.
Hot or cold?
Vegan peanut noodles are a great dish for the whole year around, as they can be enjoyed hot or cold! If you would like to eat the noodles hot, warm the peanut sauce in a small pan whilst the noodles cook. As soon as the noodles have finished cooking, drain them and stir through the warm sauce and veg.
Ingredient substitutions and additions
I hope everybody is able to enjoy these easy peanut noodles, so I’ve included a list of ingredient substitutions and additions below:
- Nut butter- If you have peanut or nut allergies, you could substitute the peanut butter for your favourite nut or seed butter- try almond or sunflower seed.
- Soy sauce- If you need to reduce your sodium intake, swap this out for a low sodium soy sauce. If you’re gluten free, try tamari. If you can’t eat soy, you can use coconut aminos.
- Vinegar- If you can’t get hold of rice vinegar, use apple cider or even white wine vinegar.
- Spiciness! If you don’t like spicy food, leave the chilli sauce out. I like to use gochujang, as it’s spicy with added probiotics, but you can use Sriracha, chilli paste, or any other hot sauce you like.
- Veggies- If you can’t have soy, leave out the edamame or swap them for frozen peas. For raw veg, you can use courgette, pepper, sugarsnaps, or whatever else you have in your fridge!
- For extra protein, try adding some crispy tofu or tempeh to your noodles
Like Asian inspired dinners?
You might like these recipes:
- Easy vegan beetroot curry
- Vegan Mongolian ‘beef’
- Baked teriyaki tofu and cauliflower
- Creamy coconut mushroom curry
- Miso edamame and cauliflower salad
Pin it!
Thai Vegan Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 200 g noodles
- 150 g frozen edamame beans
- 1 medium carrot thinly sliced lengthways
- 100 g red cabbage shredded
- 90 g peanut butter smooth
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp gochujang or sriracha
- 2 sliced green onions optional
- 30 g toasted peanuts optional
- handful chopped coriander optional
Instructions
- Cook the noodles according to pack instructions, adding the edamame to the pan to defrost. Make sure not to overcook the noodles, as you don’t want them to go mushy.
- To make the sauce, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, minced garlic and ginger, rice vinegar, and gochujang or Sriracha in a bowl, and whisk or blend until smooth.
- Drain the noodles and edamame, rinse them with cold water, then toss with the peanut sauce and sliced veggies. Garnish with sliced green onion, toasted peanuts and coriander.
Notes
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