Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
July 2, 2025
If you only eat one salad this summer, make it this one. This peanut noodle salad is made with lots of fresh veggies, pad thai noodles, and a peanut sauce that's so good, you'll want to lick it off the spoon. And it's served cold, so you can take it anywhere, whether you're going to work, a cookout, or a picnic.
Since the weather turned hot (about mid-April in my part of the world), I've been enjoying this salad on a weekly basis. It has all the elements that I need to keep making it on repeat: it's easy to put together, it's incredibly delicious, and it's packed with ingredients that I feel good about eating.
This noodle salad is great for meal prepping, and it doesn't need to be reheated, so you can take it with you to work even if all you have there is a fridge. It's also perfect for serving a crowd, because it's vegan and gluten-free. Take it to a picnic in the park, or watch it disappear at a summer cookout.
I love making this healthier recipe as an alternative to a classic mayo-drenched pasta salad that's packed with oil. You can also make it yours by choosing the veggies you like or adding a protein, like air fryer tofu or tempeh.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Do you have a question about an ingredient or how to substitute it? Check this section first for the answer. If you can't find it, leave me a comment, and I'll respond as soon as I can!
noodles: I used pad thai (rice) noodles in this recipe, and I like them because they're the perfect texture and thickness to stand up to the crunchy veggies. You could also use brown rice noodles, thinner white rice noodles, or really any noodle you prefer. If you're keeping it gluten-free, stick with rice noodles.
red cabbage: This adds some crunch and a pop of color to the salad. Green cabbage would work here, too, if you can't get red cabbage.
carrots: Another crunchy and colorful veggie. To substitute, parsnips or daikon radishes would make good choices.
red bell pepper: Any color bell pepper works.
edamame: Basically immature soybeans, edamame adds a softer texture to the salad and some extra protein. You could also use cooked baby butter beans (lima beans) or chickpeas.
green onion: This garnish adds a bit of color and flavor to the salad. You could also use cilantro (coriander) instead.
peanuts: Finish your salad with roasted peanuts for a nutty crunch and extra peanut taste!
For the Sauce:
peanut butter: I recommend using creamy peanut butter, and I prefer natural peanut butter whenever possible.
low-sodium soy sauce: This adds some salty, umami flavor to the sauce. For gluten-free, use coconut aminos or tamari instead.
lime juice: I always use fresh-squeezed juice for the best flavor, but bottled works if you can't get fresh limes.
maple syrup: The sweetness of the maple syrup balances the salty, sour, and spicy flavors in the sauce. Agave would work also.
rice vinegar: This adds more acidity to the sauce; you could also use apple cider vinegar or additional lime juice.
sriracha: Sriracha makes your sauce a little spicy. The spice level of the recipe as written is somewhere around mild to medium. For less spice, use 1 tablespoon of sriracha or skip it entirely. You can also add more if you want more heat.
ginger and garlic: Fresh ginger and garlic are best for this sauce, but in a pinch you could swap in 1 teaspoon each of ginger powder and garlic powder.
Make It Your Own
One of the great things about this recipe is how easy it is to customize. You can easily chop extra veggies to change the ratio of noodles to veggies, or add a protein to make it even more satisfying. Here are my suggestions:
gluten-free: If you're avoiding gluten, make sure your noodles are gluten-free rice noodles. You'll also want to use coconut aminos or tamari in the sauce instead of soy sauce.
protein: This recipe lends itself to add-ins, like baked or air fryer tofu, seitan, or tempeh. If you have leftovers, you'll want to store these add-ins separately to keep them from getting soggy.
swap the veggies: Choose the veggies you like best in this recipe! Just make sure you choose veggies that will stay crisp after chopping or shredding. Some good options include:
daikon radishes
parsnips
broccoli
cauliflower
beets
Storage
When you're storing this salad, I recommend keeping the noodles and veggies in a single container and keeping the sauce in a separate container in the refrigerator. For the green onion, I prefer to chop it as I use it because it tends to wilt more quickly after chopping, but if you do chop it up in advance, store that in its own small container in the refrigerator. The peanuts can be kept at room temperature. The salad will last about 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.
If you're meal prepping, you can portion out the noodles and veggies into individual servings in separate jars. If you need to store the sauce in the same jar, add it to the bottom of the jar, then add veggies on top, and finally the noodles.
More Easy Vegan Meal Ideas
Life is busy, but eating well doesn't have to get in the way! If you liked this recipe, you might want to check out some of my other easy vegan recipes, too.
Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
Yield6 servings as a meal or 12 servings as a side (about 9 1/2 cups or 2.2 liters)
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pad thai noodles (or other noodles of choice)*
- 2 cups red cabbage, sliced and roughly chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper, finely diced (about 1 pepper)
- 1 cup carrots, julienned
- 1 cup edamame, without shells (fresh or defrosted from frozen)*
Peanut Sauce
- 1/2 cup creamy salted peanut butter
- 6 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos*
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp. sriracha*
- 2 tbsp. fresh ginger root, grated
- 2 tbsp. garlic, minced
Garnish
- 1 to 2 green onions (scallions), chopped (or 1/4 cup chopped cilantro)
- 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped or crushed
Instructions
Cook or soak your noodles according to package instructions, then drain and rinse under cold water to stop them from cooking more. Set aside.
If your edamame is fresh (uncooked), add it to a small saucepan of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, then drain, run under cool water, and set aside.
To prepare your peanut sauce, start by adding all the ingredients for the sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, maple syrup, lime juice, rice vinegar, sriracha, ginger, and garlic) in either a medium jar with a lid or a tall wide-mouth jar for an immersion blender. You can either seal the jar and shake to combine or use an immersion blender with the whisk attachment to mix everything until it’s well-combined.
![Peanut sauce in a jar, before (left) and after (right) whisking.]()
Transfer your sauce to an airtight container and separately store your noodles and veggies (red cabbage, red peppers, carrots, and edamame) in one or more airtight containers. You can toss the noodles and veggies together now or keep them separated if you prefer. Alternately, you can portion out the noodles and veggies into individual servings in separate jars. Then, refrigerate everything for 2 to 4 hours, until chilled.
When you’re ready to serve the salad, toss the noodles, veggies, and peanut sauce together. (You might not need to use all of the sauce.)
![Thai noodle salad in a bowl being tossed with salad servers.]()
Top the salad with chopped green onions (or cilantro) and chopped peanuts, then enjoy!
Notes & Hints
To keep this recipe gluten-free, use rice noodles and coconut aminos.
If your frozen edamame has been blanched, you can just defrost it; otherwise cook it as directed in the recipe.
Use less sriracha for a less spicy sauce and more sriracha for extra heat.
If you have unroasted peanuts, you can roast them in a single layer on a baking tray in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden.
The sauce and noodles keep better when stored separately, so only combine the amount of sauce and noodles you want to eat right away.
Nutrition Data
Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe; Calories: 446; Fat: 18 g.; Saturated Fat: 3 g.; Cholesterol: 0 mg.; Sodium: 850 mg.; Carbohydrates: 59 g.; Fiber: 6 g.; Sugar: 14 g.; Protein: 15 g.; Vitamin A: 23 mcg. RAE; Vitamin B12: 0 mcg.; Vitamin C: 63 mg.; Vitamin D: 0 mcg.; Calcium: 72 mg.; Iron: 2 mg.; Potassium: 654 mg.; Zinc: 0 mg.Note: This data should be used only as an estimate. Please see the nutrition section of my terms and conditions for more information on how this data is calculated.
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