Starving but don’t have time to cook?! This spicy peanut butter noodle recipe is just for you. It’s vegan, gluten free, easy to whip up, and packed with delicious peanut flavor.
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I didn’t think I could love a noodle recipe more than I love my sesame noodles, yet here I am, loving these spicy peanut butter noodles more than ever. When a recipe involves both noodles AND peanut butter (I see you Pad Thai), I feel like it just has to be good. And this one is good. Like really good.
It starts with perfectly cooked rice noodles (like my creamy curry noodles) that are chewy yet still have a sliiiiight crunch that’s just barely detectable, but still there so you know you’re eating noodles and not a pile of mush. Then, they’re smothered in THE MOST luscious peanut sauce I have ever made.
It’s spicy, it’s savory, it has a mild hint of sweet, and the rice noodles soak it all up so perfectly you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.
Did I mention it all comes together in only 15 minutes? Sounds too good to be true, but it’s not.
How to make this recipe
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions. You can use any type and shape for these peanut butter noodles, I used brown rice fettuccine to give it a Pad Thai feel. Anything goes!
To start making the sauce, you’ll want to finely mince the garlic and add to a saute pan with 1 tbsp of oil. Any oil will work here, I used olive. Coconut, avocado, etc. all work well too.
Saute the garlic over low heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and very fragrant.
Add in all remaining sauce ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
Add about 1/2 of the sauce to cooked pasta and mix together. I intentionally made extra sauce in case you want to add some chicken, tofu, veggies etc. I don’t recommend adding all of the sauce at once because it may be too much, so start with 1/2 and add more depending on your preference.
Serving Suggestions
You can have this recipe so many different ways. Hot cold, with veggies, with chicken, tofu, no veggies, in a salad and more.
One of my favorite ways to have it is warm with a side of steamed broccoli and either salmon or grilled chicken.
You can turn it into a stir fry by adding some tofu and sauteed veggies like cabbage, carrots and bell peppers. OR, just eat the damn noodles as is for a lazy (but deliciously satisfying) meal. I fully support you.
Tips and Tricks
- The peanut sauce can get too salty very easily if you’re not careful! I recommend using unsalted peanut butter and low sodium soy sauce so the salt isn’t overpowering. Even low sodium soy sauces carries plenty of salt, so don’t worry about the flavor if that’s what you use.
- Peanut noodles can be eaten hot or cold. Add in some freshly chopped veggies for a cold noodle salad, or serve alongside some steamed broccoli and grilled chicken for an easy weeknight meal.
- Rice noodles are egg free so this recipe is safe for vegans or anyone with an egg allergy. However, you don’t have to use rice noodles, virtually any noodle or pasta works well.
- Once prepared, this recipe will store in the fridge for 5 days. The sauce tends to dry up as it sits, so if you want to get it saucey again, add the noodles to a pan with a splash of water, broth, or soy sauce and heat until warm.
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15 Minute Spicy Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 16 ounces brown rice noodles
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (ideally low/no salt*)
- 3-4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari*
- 1/4 cup water or chicken/veggie broth for more flavor
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Optional: 2 tsp chili garlic sauce and or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions.
- Finely mince the garlic and add to a saute pan with 1 tbsp of oil. Any oil will work here, I used olive.
- Saute over low heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from heat and add in all remaining sauce ingredients and whisk together until smooth, adding more water as needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Add about 1/2 of the sauce to cooked pasta and mix together. I intentionally made extra sauce in case you want to add some chicken, tofu, veggies etc. I don't recommend adding all of the sauce at once because it may be too much depending on your preference, so start with 1/2 and add more depending on your needs. I usually end up adding all of it because I like it saucey, but up to you!
- Taste and add more soy sauce, sriracha, or any other seasonings as desired.
- Serve with crushed peanuts, scallions, red pepper flakes and enjoy!
Franci
Sooooo delicious!!!!!
Karla
I was starving and remembered pinning this recipe. I subbed sweet potato glass noodles and used tahini instead of peanut butter and it was delicious! Hit the spot. Thank you. Repeat for sure. Just a splash of Dry Sherry In the sauce was really good also.
Claire Cary
Oh yum! Love those substitutions!
Erryn
This was SO good!!! Totally satisfied my craving for Thai takeaway. Would be great as a side or with veggies and chicken to round it out. Thank you for the recipe!!
Claire Cary
Thank you Erryn! It’s so good with chicken and broccoli🙌🏻
Danielle
Is there any substitute for rice vinegar? Could you omit it or use a different type of vinegar? Love how simple this is!
Claire Cary
I’d just do without! You can add some lime juice if you like, but it should be just fine without it 🙂
Danielle
Hi Claire!
I ended up getting rice vinegar and trying this recipe but for some reason it wasn’t turning out right, we ended up with a lumpy and oily sauce, almost as if the oil was separating from the mixture, We tried it twice and couldn’t get it to work, we used skippy peanut butter and we did use chicken broth. Any ideas on where we went wrong?
Claire Cary
Hi! So sorry it didn’t work out! My guess would be the peanut butter. Skippy has all sorts of additives and certain oils that keep the peanut butter from separating, but then when you mix it with other ingredients, it can create a weird consistency. I always recommend a low salt natural peanut butter that’s made from just peanuts! Let me know if you give it another try, I can’t think of another reason why this would happen.
Taylor
I had the same thing happen initially. Once I removed it from the burner and it cooled, I restirred and it was totally fine! So I think before you add the rest of the ingredients, remove from heat and see if that helps!
Hallie
Do you happen to have an idea of how well the recipe would turn out if I substituted the noodles? I was thinking about making this but only have spaghetti in the pantry 🙂 (Also, a suggestion: I could see this being an *awesome* Instapot recipe! It’d be so convenient!)
Claire Cary
Spaghetti will work just as well! And good idea, I will keep that in mind 🙂
Maria
just found my new favorite! was so good i couldn’t stop eating haha!! Thank you for the recipe!
Claire Cary
Haha I know how you feel! So happy you like it 🙂
Ashe
Ohh my gosh this was so good!
I’m very weak to spice, so I only put half the sriracha… but it was a bit too spicy for me still.
Totally not the fault of the recipe though, and I managed to still enjoy it (with a glass of cold milk!)
I also opted to add in some blanched broccoli and it really brightened it up.
I’m 100% making this again!!
Claire Cary
So glad you still enjoyed it! I’m sensitive to spice too so I get it! Cholula is a much more mild hot sauce compared to sriracha if you want to try that next time!
Ashley
Do you by chance just know the nutrition information on just the sauce?
Claire Cary
I don’t know the specifics but the calories for the noodles in a serving would probably be around 300 or so, and most of the carbs would also be coming from the noodles. The protein and fat content would stay about the same. Hope that helps!
nicolthepickle
This was good. It was just the thing. I din’t have garlic so I sauteed onions in a little garlic oil. Still awesome.
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Bethann
Very tasty sauce! It was very thick, so I ended up adding over 1/2 cup of the pasta water to thin it, which worked well. I added 1 cup of peas when I tossed the sauce and pasta. Served with grilled chicken and homemade spicy Asian plum sauce. Yum! The peanut sauce would be delicious with tofu, so I’ll try that next time. Thank you for sharing the recipe !
Claire Cary
Thanks Bethann! That sounds delicious with the peas and chicken, so happy you enjoyed it and thanks for your feedback!
Lindsey H.
Loved this recipe! Would definitely make this again. Great flavor!
Claire Cary
Thanks Lindsey! So happy you enjoyed 🙂
Jess
Hi there,
You should probably take the gluten free tag off just to be safe since soy sauce has gluten. It was yummy otherwise
Claire Cary
The recipe says soy sauce or tamari which is gluten free 🙂 Most people who are gluten free will know to use tamari in place of soy sauce if a recipe calls for that, so it’s not always necessary to state that in the recipe card.
Chelsea
The family loved this recipe!
Claire Cary
Thanks Chelsea! So happy to hear that 🙂
Madison
Love this dish. So easy to make and delicious!
Claire Cary
Thanks Madison! So glad you enjoyed it.
Shirli
This is delicious but very salty, definitely use salt free peanuts and low sodium soy sauce.
Claire Cary
Hi Shirli, I clearly indicated to use low sodium soy sauce and low salt peanut butter in the recipe card. Sorry it didn’t work out for you!