Asian Noodle Salad tossed with a wickedly delicious dressing that’s creamy, peanutty, with a hint of sesame, tang of lime and mild hit of chilli. I would die a happy girl if I drowned in this dressing (morbid but true). Great lunch idea for work because it’s super tasty served cold!
Noodle Salad – Lunch Idea for Work!
This noodle salad is the sort of thing I used to take into work for lunch back in my corporate days. I was never a sandwich gal. I mean, let’s face it. Sitting in an air conditioned cubicle in front of a computer all day isn’t exactly stimulating. Most days, lunch was the most exciting part of my day.
Hence – skip the sambos.
Enter – Asian Noodle Salad with creamy peanut dressing! 😂
Great COLD lunch – and lasts for days!
There’s not many dishes other than salads that are genuinely great cold – or intended to be eaten cold. There’s even less salady type things that last for days, given that the moment salads are dressed they start to wilt and lose freshness.
And therein lies the reason why this noodle salad was a regular in my work lunch rotation. Adaptable, no need to heat it up, and it’s truly just as good today as it is tomorrow and the next day – and the next!
What you need
In case I hadn’t already made it clear – this noodle salad really is all about the dressing.😂 I use commercial peanut butter spread here ie the type loaded with sugar and extra oil and salt because all these flavourings are part of what makes the dressing so tasty.
If you make this with natural peanut butter, refer to the recipe notes – we need to jack up the flavourings a bit. 😇
For the noodle salad itself, the idea here is to use vegetables that won’t wilt into a watery mess the minute it’s dressed. I’ve gone with: beans, capsicum (bell peppers), carrots and bean sprouts. Other ideas for vegetables include:
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Cabbage (white, green, red)
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Zucchini (yes, raw, it’s great!)
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Snow peas
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Thinly sliced raw broccoli
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Red onion
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Lightly blanched asparagus, snap peas, cauliflower
Avoid things like lettuce, spinach, cucumber and tomato unless you’re consuming it on the day.
Best noodles?
I like to use any fresh thin egg noodles (ie pale yellow noodles sold in the fridge section) such as thin Hokkien noodles because I am partial to the slightly chewy, slippery texture in this noodle salad. But I’ve made this plenty of times with just about every other noodle I use – rice noodles, ramen noodles (toss the seasoning packs), dried egg noodles and yes, I’ve even used pasta!
Also a great Asian side dish!
I know I’m talking this up as a lunch idea for work, but this Noodle Salad is also a terrific option as a side dish for an Asian meal (or Asiany, you know the sort I mean!). I see this alongside things like:
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Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns (Shrimp) or even non Asian Garlic Prawns
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Thai Marinated Chicken (Gai Yang) or Southern Thai Grilled Chicken
Also, it would be great to serve as a side to make a meal out of small-bite type Asian things such as:
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Chinese Lettuce Wraps (San Choy Bow ) (also the Thai version would be great)
All this tasty food talk is torture. I need to sign off and get into the kitchen to make dinner! ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Noodle Salad With Creamy Sesame Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/4 cup peanut butter , preferably smooth (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp canola oil (or other neutral oil)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha (adjust spiciness to taste)
- 2 tbsp lime juice (sub rice or cider vinegar)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 2 to 4 tbsp water , if needed
Salad
- 350g / 12 oz fresh egg noodles (about 4 cups, packed)
- 1.5 cups carrot , julienned (1 large or 2 small carrots)
- 2 cups beansprouts
- 1.5 cups green beans , halved
- 1.5 cups red bell pepper/capsicum , finely sliced (1 large)
- 3 green onion stems , finely sliced on the diagonal
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds (preferably toasted)
Instructions
- Prepare noodles according to packet directions (most just require soaking in hot water). Drain, rinse and set aside to cool.
- Dressing - Mix together Dressing ingredients, using water only if needed to loosen so it can be tossed through salad. If you reduce Sriracha, might need to add smidge more lime.
- Beans - Steam or boil green greens until just cooked, tender but still crisp. Drain under running water to cool.
- Toss - Place salad ingredients in a big bowl, toss with dressing.
- Garnish with sesame seeds then serve at room temp. Keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Recipe Notes:
- Shredded Cabbage (white, green, red)
- Zucchini batons (yes, raw, it's great!)
- Snow peas, thinly sliced raw broccoli, red onion, corn
- Lightly blanched asparagus, snap peas, cauliflower
Nutrition Information:
Originally published July 2014, updated May 2019 with new photos, rewritten post, addition of recipe video and most important, added Life of Dozer! No change to recipe – it’s just as tasty as its been for the last decade I’ve been making it!
Life of Dozer
Dozer spent most of yesterday afternoon in the car with me as we travelled all over the north side of Sydney doing flower and foodie drop offs for Mother’s Day, to the various special mothers in our lives. ❤️
E J Wood says
Can I freeze this?
Delicious by the way!
Nagi says
Hi! I wouldn’t think the veggies would thaw nicely with this one unfortunately – N x
Lourdes says
Nagi, it’s a good thing there was a sub for the lime juice becaise I got home with the groceries and forgot the limes! Fortunately, I had rice vinegar. My only problem with prepping this was making sure I didn’t consume all the dressing before mixing with the salad I ingredients. 😉
Nagi says
I feel your pain Lourdes, I love this dressing so much!!
Jane says
Do you think a package of cole slaw mix (red and green cabbage and carrots) would work in this??
Nagi says
Yes totally Jane!
Jane says
make it yesterday with the cole slaw, asparagus and red pepper….YUM!!
Emma Stone says
Whenever i see your recipe my tongue craves for more. Thanks a lot for amazing recipes!
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Emma!
Cat Parkinson says
Sensational!!! I made this alongside the Asian salmon you’d suggested and my whole family were gushy with the oohs and the ahhhh!! So so good!!! Perfect in fact!!! Thank you (again!!!!!).
Eha says
Love the salad and also mostly reach for hokkien noodles. Your dressing somewhat different from my usual lunchtime treat so shall copy soonest. Always add red onion and hope that there are snow peas and zucchini in the fridge, A yearlong treat . . . and hope Dozer got one at each place he graciously visited on Sunday !
J says
Awww! That was sweet N, you must of made alot of mother’s happy yesterday! ❤
I can’t wait to make this dressing and I love that you have so many suggestions to make it your own for everyone!
Dozer must of thought it was raining meatballs, when he hit the table! 😂
Donna says
My husband insists he doesn’t like cold pasta but I am going to make it anyway because I love cold sesame noodles! And maybe he will even try it! 😉
Wynn says
Oh yum!!! All things noodley and peanutty count me in! A little salty, a little sweet, a little spicy, with some veg and sesame? Oh yeah, that stuff speaks to me loudly, and will be luring me to the fridge again and again once it’s prepared!
Wynn says
Ooooo! What a great bring-along dish for a party or barbecue, or to include for a party buffet! (We are now heading toward summer here, but just had some snow flurries. Those noodles will be a more frequent feature as soon as it warms a bit more, too.)
Becky says
Hi Nagi, this sounds wonderful and I will be making it today. I would love it if you shared more of your work lunch ideas. What to take is always in question for me. Thanks so much.
Casey says
Oh Nagi – you are killing me! I am at work, and your blog post arrived in my email at 8:00 a.m. I am drooling for this, and unfortunately I can’t make it till I get home. Looks delicious and can’t wait to try it! I will add cucumber right before I eat it – easy enough to have it cut up on the side. Excellent vegetable suggestions, BTW.
sheenam | thetwincookingproject says
So good!!!! Love our peanut butter sauce recipe. YUM.
Amy says
husband allergic to peanuts would almond butter work?
Wynn says
A combination of cashew butter and tahini, maybe? If he’s not allergic to tree nuts.
Wendy says
Oh Wow! This salad tastes sensational. I usually have these ingredients in my fridge and pantry, so it was so easy to make at last minute. I didn’t use bean sprouts or beans . But I added a green capsicum and some shredded red cabbage instead. The sauce is amazing. This is so quick to make, my husband absolutley loved it. It will be my go to recipe for family gatherings. Yummmmmm!!!!! Keep the recipes coming Nagi, my family just love them (not that I wasn’t a good cook before LOL, it’s nice to have new recipes) I do like to change recipes sometimes to suit my palate. But not very often I change yours they are full of flavour which is what I look for.
Nagi says
I WILL NEVER STOP!!!😂
Shubh says
Would we be able to achieve the same taste using rice noodles instead?
Nagi says
Similar! It will still be super tasty 🙂
Shauna Wagner says
Hi, I have never made anything with these noodles before – your recipe does not mention cooking them so are they good to use as I get them at the store?
Rene says
Yum! I spiralized zucchini and carrots (carrots slightly cooked, then cooled) as noodle replacement since we’d OD’d on pasta these past few days and needed less simple carbs! Lol! I also topped it with cilantro because I had it, love it, and after all, this recipe does have Vietnamese in its name! 😉
Nagi says
Hi Shauna, thanks for picking that up! The noodles just need to be prepared according to the packet directions, I’ve added it to the instructions. 🙂
Grace says
Hi! Thank you for this recipe. I have been searching for a peanut dressing to accompany shredded white chicken meat. An appetizer we had at a restaurant many years back. This looks like it would be a great match.
Nagi says
I hope you try it Grace, I am totally in love with it!
Rebecca says
Hi please tell me what sriracha is ?
Bye the way log your site I use your recipes al, the time thank you !
Nagi says
Thanks Rebecca! Sriracha comes in a bottle and it’s a spicy vinegary Asian sauce. Nowadays it is very common everywhere in western countries, in fact, it became quite a “thing”! But you can sub with any hot sauce 🙂
Chelsey says
Delicious! Thanks Nagi 🙂
Nagi says
Thanks Chelsey! N x
Kelly says
This was delicious! I made a batch then put it in 4 pint sized mason jars for my work lunches. I looked forward to lunch every day. Thanks!
Nagi says
Oooh! That’s such a great idea Kelly, this is perfect for Mason Jar lunches, doesn’t go soggy!!!