Hungry 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.
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 (not quite as spicy as my chili garlic noodles, but 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 ½ 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 ½ and add more depending on your preference.
Serving Suggestions
You can have this recipe so many different ways. 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.
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.
Flavor tips
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.
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.
Does it keep?
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
- 3 large cloves garlic or 4-5 small
- 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 1 tbsp oil
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter (low/no salt*)
- 4 tbsp low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- ⅓-1 cup hot water (hot water mixes with peanut butter more easily than cold)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 tbsp sriracha
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes (can omit for less spice)
- Optional: 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
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. Add in the grated ginger and saute for 1-2 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and add in all remaining sauce ingredients (start with ⅓ cup of water) and whisk together until smooth, adding more water as needed to reach your desired consistency. How much you need will depend on the brand of peanut butter you used as well as your personal preference.
- Taste and add more soy sauce, sriracha, or any other seasonings as desired. I usually add more soy sauce because I like it saltier.
- Add about ½ 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 ½ and add more depending on your needs. I usually end up adding all of it because I like it saucey, but up to you!
- Serve with crushed peanuts, scallions, red pepper flakes and enjoy! Delicious alongside veggies and protein of choice.
Keri Bevan
I’m looking forward to trying these. They look so creamy and delicious!
Alex
Made this last night as a last minute family dinner. We added some apple cider vinegar at the end, extra rice vinegar, and some extra tamari (gf soy sauce). We mixed in broccoli and chicken and dear god this was amazing. Highly recommend!!
Claire Cary
Yum! Love this with chicken and broccoli too. So happy you all enjoyed!
Chelsey
This recipe taste great. I served it with broccoli. The scallions and chopped peanuts were wonderful.
It took me longer than 15 minutes with the ingredients. Maybe I’m just a slow cook. Getting ginger and garlic extended my time in the kitchen. .
Claire Cary
15 minutes might have been a bit of an ambitious estimate, I doubt you’re a slow cook 🙂 but so happy you enjoyed it nonetheless!
Tiffany
The best ever
Jennifer
5+ stars. This recipe was a hit with my husband and kids, and easy to mix up with different proteins and vegetables!! Will definitely make again.
Claire Cary
Thanks Jennifer! So happy you all enjoyed it!
Cassi
My new go-to. So much flavor and so easy. I was going to make spaghetti quick but decided this would be just as easy, fast, and way way better. This is my third time making this recipe since going vegetarian. If you have the ingredients it is soooo easy to make. The only thing I had to make sure I had for the third time was the rice noodles, all the other ingredients were left over from the first time I made it. I also add chick peas to mine for some extra nutrients, will probably add chai seeds next time. Thanks for sharing the recipe, love it!
Shannon
Oh my goodness this was DELICIOUS! I didn’t have any rice noodles so I subbed linguine, and I didn’t have the rice vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar, and then tossed in some ground pork, onions, and peppers, garnished with some chopped peanuts, and a new favourite meal was born at our house.
This really hit the spot and has become a quick, easy dinner for us. I bought the ingredients I was missing to make this as is next time though, cannot wait!
Claire Cary
yay, love to hear that!! Sounds so good with all of those additions, I’ll have to try that! So happy you enjoyed it, thanks for the feedback!
Balliboo
Easy to make and tastes great!
Kelly B.
Thank you SO much for this recipe! This was outstanding. I’ve tried other recipes for spicy peanut noodles the last few years in an attempt to find just the right one and none of them have been good…like at all. I almost gave up. Then I made these tonight, and I am HOOKED! I added the juice of one lime to the sauce. Now my boyfriend won’t hear me complain about my quest to find awesome spicy peanut noodles anymore. Have to find something else to complain about. You are my hero, thank you for making my life so happy.
Claire Cary
ohmygosh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear! I’ve tried SO many peanut noodle recipes and I’ve never found any of them to be nearly flavorful or saucy enough, so I made sure to go big on flavor for this recipe. So glad you liked it, hope you try some other recipes!
Crystal
This has become my new favorite recipe!!! I’ve made it time and time again and love having it with tofu! Wouldn’t change a thing!
Claire Cary
Thanks Crystal! Agreed, it’s so good with tofu. So glad you enjoy!
Delanie
It tasted delicious but the texture was gummy. What did I do wrong?
Claire Cary
The only explanation for that would be the noodles, they were probably overcooked!
Chloe
Sauce is DELICIOUS!! I used regular rice noodles instead of brown rice noodles & that was definitely a mistake 🙃.
Claire Cary
Oh no! I’m surprised about that, what happened? Glad the sauce was good though 🙂
Kim
I would love to try this since it sounds so yummy, however we have rice noodles and they’re very unusual looking, very thin, not like yours at all. We also have chow mein stir-fry noodles and thin spaghetti, do you have any idea what might work best?
Claire Cary
I would go for the chow mein noodles or the spaghetti! Either should work just fine.
Mark
Very good, would like to try to add water chestnuts.
Lindsay
Think you can sub coconut aminos for the soy? This looks amazing, can’t wait to try it!
Claire Cary
I recommend soy sauce for the best flavor, but if you prefer using coconut aminos, that will work!