A summer day for us means tubing in the refreshing New River, hiking to take in the mountain views on the Blue Ridge Parkway or swimming in in the pool with a backdrop of the picturesque mountains.
But after a day full of summer fun, do you always feel like the warm sun put a snuggly blanket on you, and all you want to do is curl up somewhere cool and fall asleep? The last thing you want to do is go behind the stove and cook something that takes any effort or is hot.
Ugh!
That’s why Thai Peanut Sauce Noodle Salad is the perfect meal for any summer night. It can be served cold or hot, and can be made with whatever is hanging out in your fridge that needs to be used up, aka hardly any effort on your part.
The key to Thai Peanut Noodle Salad is the Legit Thai Peanut Sauce, that is typically eaten with Thai Pork Satay, which I’ve had followers say they would eat on anything and everything.
So as long as you have THE sauce, everything else in the recipe is up to whatever you have on hand.
Use any noodle that is in your pantry, or if you want some inspiration, we’ve gobbled up our Thai Peanut Noodle Salad with ramen noodles, egg noodles, soba noodles or rice noodles.
Clean out your veggie drawer and throw in whatever you need to use up. Our favorite veggies are mini red, yellow and orange peppers, purple cabbage, fresh cilantro, and green onions (because it’s like a rainbow when you put all those colors together, and we love pretty!)
The protein is up to you too. Fried tofu! Rotisserie chicken! Ground beef! Pulled pork! Use what you got!
The sweet, savory, spicy irresistible flavor of the sauce, the fresh crisp veggies, the filling protein, and the slippery noodles make it one of those dishes that devouring it after a day in the sun, makes you feel so refreshed you wonder if you just finished a massage at the spa.
It hits the spot warm, cold, lunch or dinner, and even my toddlers like it, when I don’t make it too spicy 😉
If you make it, I’d love to see it! Share it with me on Instagram @thaifoodie!
Thai Peanut Sauce Noodle Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Want to make the most summer by not cooking, but still eat delicious, refreshing food? Legit Thai Peanut Sauce Noodle Salad is here to save your summer nights!
Ingredients
- 4 servings soba noodles (or noodles of choice like rice noodles, spaghetti, or ramen)
- 1.5–2 cups Legit Thai Peanut Sauce
- 2–3 cups protein of choice (we’ve tried shredded chicken, ground turkey, lentils, etc.)
- 2–3 cups veggies of choice (we like shredded purple cabbage, carrots, sugar snap peas, red, orange and yellow peppers)
- 1 cup green onion, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package directions.
- Make Legit Thai Peanut Sauce.
- If your protein isn’t cooked, stir-fry the protein until cooked through. I like to add some of the Thai peanut sauce to it while stir-frying to give it a little of the peanut sauce flavor.
- If you’d like your veggies cooked, stir-fry them when your protein is almost cooked through until the veggies are crispy tender. Or if you’d like your veggies raw and super crispy, just leave them as is. Totally your call!
- Mix noodles with protein and veggies.
- Add sauce to taste, we like it saucey, and add almost 2 cups. I recommend starting with 1.5 cups and seeing if you want more.
- Sprinkle green onions and cilantro on each serving.
- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Noodles
- Method: Stir-fry
- Cuisine: Thai
