Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles
Hungry but don’t have time to cook?! These spicy peanut butter noodles are just for you. They’re vegan, gluten free, easy to whip up, ready in just about 20 minutes 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. Plus, 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!
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. Try my chicken crunch salad, miso noodles or a recipe from my roundup of the best asian noodle recipes next!
How to make peanut noodles
Cook noodles. 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!
Saute garlic. 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 all sauce ingredients. Add in all remaining sauce ingredients and whisk together until smooth.
Combine with noodles. 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.
Serve. Serve exactly as is or top it off with chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes, scallions or crushed peanuts for some crunch.
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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 noodles as is for a lazy (but deliciously satisfying) meal. I fully support you. Plus, there’s plenty of protein in the sauce thanks to the peanut butter, so it’s still totally filling just as is.
Serve hot or cold!
Peanut noodles can be eaten hot or cold! This makes it the perfect meal prep recipe since you can keep it in a container and just grab and go for lunch!
Add in some freshly chopped veggies for a cold noodle salad (or just try my Thai noodle salad), or serve alongside some steamed broccoli and grilled chicken (or the chicken from my kung pao chicken noodles) 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.
How to store
Once prepared, this recipe will store in the fridge for 5 days stored in an air tight container.
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.
Rice noodles tend to stick together a lot when they sit, so this may happen, but the flavor will still be delicious.
They usually fall apart a bit when they cook as well, so just keep this in mind! Rinsing right after cooking can help prevent some of this.
You may also like..
- Teriyaki Tofu
- Sesame Chickpeas
- Spicy Ramen Noodles
- Sesame Cauliflower
- Vegetable Lo Mein
- Korean Gochujang Noodles
- General Tso’s Chickpeas
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Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 16 ounces brown rice noodles
- 3 large cloves garlic or 4-5 small
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter low/no salt*
- 4 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1/3-1 cup hot water hot water mixes with peanut butter more easily than cold
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon 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 about 2 minutes or until golden brown. Add in the grated ginger and saute for 1 more minute.
- Remove from heat and add in all remaining sauce ingredients (start with 1/3 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 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!
- Serve with crushed peanuts, scallions, red pepper flakes and enjoy! Delicious alongside veggies and protein of choice.
Notes
Comments
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Super easy to make with stuff that I already had at home. I liked how you could easily customize it to make it more or less spicy, salty, etc. to your preference. Enough for 2 servings for me. Will definitely make this again.
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Perfect, thank you Kax!
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i used crunchy peanut butter and it’s so good! i also like to you the ramen from the package (obv without the flavor packet) and it’s so easy love love love this
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We absolutely loved this recipe. Will def be making it again. Super quick and easy 🙂 thank you <3
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Yummy yummy yummy! This is a favorite of ours 🙂
We leave out the oil, add grated carrots, and substitute Peanut Butter Powder with a handful of chopped peanuts for the Creamy Peanut Butter. Lip smacking good. We also have had this with added chopped broccoli.-
Love the idea of using the pb powder will try next time!
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Can’t wait to try this, love peanut noodles! I noticed I ran out of soy sauce, would it change the taste if I were to omit it all together? Thanks!
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it would still be good, not quite as flavorful, but I’d add some salt!
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Came out amazing without the soy sauce, added a bit of salt. My favorite peanut butter sauce I’ve tried! Thank you!
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Perfect, thanks Ashley!
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One of my favourite dishes to make! The proportions are great. The only change I make is that I use Wow butter instead of peanut butter to make it allergy friendly for my partner. It tastes like all my favourite spicy peanut sauces I miss eating. Great recipe!
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I rarely leave reviews on recipes, especially because I rarely follow them exactly but this one is an exception!
This is the first peanut sauce that I’ve found that actually tastes how I want it to. It’s perfect.
I only had seasoned rice vinegar, so I omitted the honey/maple syrup, and skipped the chilli flakes in favor of a big dollop of Lao Gan Ma chilli crisp to serve. I used spaghetti (no other noodles oops!), and quickly stir fried some bok choi and a bit of shredded up rotisserie chicken and put that through the noodles. A perfect dinner!
This is staying in the rotation and is getting a coveted spot in the handwritten recipe card box!
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Amazing, thank you Alexandra! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Yummmmm!!!! Yum! Yum!! Perfect ratio of sauce to noodle. Perfect flavor. We added sautéed shrimp and steamed bok choy and mannnn this is yummy! Thanks!!
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Sounds perfect, thank you!
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Made this without added sweetener, but did use seasoned rice vinegar and coco aminos, which have some sweetness to them.
I LOVED it! And it was easy ❤
So thank you. I love the comments on this recipe, and I laughed when I read “will last 5 days in the refrigerator” because who’s going to show 5 days of restraint?! 😄 M -
Would crunchy peanut butter be ok? That’s the only kind around the house.
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That’ll be fine, but will of course change the texture!
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Great recipe. So quick and easy to make are used 1/3 cup of peanut butter and 1/3 cup of tahini and it was perfect.
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Such a great idea! Thanks, Richie.
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Made this last night, and it was delicious! Perfect pairing to any protein and veg. Would make again.
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Amazing recipe – I usually add shrimp or chicken thighs and it’s delish. Also subbed half of the peanut butter for tahini and still worked great!!
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Very yummy! Not super spicy, just kinda has a warmth to it.
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I’ve been eating this almost every day for the last 2 weeks since I discovered the recipe. Delicious and easy!
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So glad you found a keeper! Thanks, Amber!
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Omg!!!! They are so amazing!!! Definitely will make again, thank you so much for sharing!!!
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Thank you, Merri!
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