Creamy Peanut Noodles (Easy Vegan)

Name: Creamy Peanut Noodles (Easy Vegan)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 120 g rice noodles; 150 g firm tofu; 2 garlic cloves diced; 1 baby bok choy bulb sliced thinly; 80 g green cabbage sliced thinly; 4 tbsp natural peanut butter; 2 tbsp soy sauce or tamari; 2 tbsp pure maple syrup; 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar; 2-4 tbsp water; 1 garlic clove; Fresh ginger to taste; 1 tsp sesame oil; Crushed peanuts, green onions, red pepper flakes or chilii sauce / oil

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This Peanut Noodles recipe comes together in 15 minutes. It makes for an easy dinner using noodles, tofu, veggies with a creamy peanut sauce.

Peanut noodles in a bowl with chop sticks

These creamy Peanut Noodles are one of my favourite easy weeknight dinners! It all comes together in 15 minutes and the best part is the homemade creamy Peanut Sauce 🙂

If you’re like me and LOVE peanut butter, this is the recipe for you hehe

This creamy Peanut Noodles recipe is also vegan and can easily be made gluten-free too!

Making your own sauce is much healthier than many store-bought sauces that can be full of preservatives.

I’ve shared the peanut sauce recipe before which is great as a dipping sauce for Summer Rolls and even Crispy Tofu…yum!

Table of Contents

Why you'll love this recipe
Ingredients to make Creamy Peanut Noodles
How to make Creamy Peanut Noodles
Tips for Peanut Noodles Recipe
FAQs
More Asian Recipes
More Easy Dinners
Recipe
Comments

Peanut noodles in a bowl topped with green onions and crushed peanuts

Why you'll love this recipe

Quick and Easy. This recipe is the perfect balance of taste and simplicity. In just 15 minutes, you can whip up a satisfying meal that will impress everytime
2. Versatile and Customizable. What's great about this recipe is you can make many variations with whatever ingredients you have on hand. Use any noodles, protein and vegetables you have in your kitchen. You then make the sauce, combine together and you're done!
Crowd-Pleaser. The combination of creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, and aromatic sesame oil, this recipe tastes like satay noodles or Thai peanut noodles which are a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients to make Creamy Peanut Noodles

Rice noodles are my preferred noodles to use in this dish which are also gluten-free. Feel free to use your favourite noodles such as udon noodles, soba noodles, ramen noodles or even spaghetti pasta
Firm tofu is crumbled or grated then sautéed for the protein. Seitan would also work great and if you're not vegan, you can also use chicken
I love making peanut noodles with vegetables - here I've added bok choy and also thinly sliced green cabbage. Green or red bell peppers / capsicum, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, snap peas or any other vegetables would also work great too. Just use what you have on hand!

Sauce Ingredients

Peanut butter of course is the star! Ensure to always use natural peanut butter which only has peanuts and possibly salt as an ingredient. I prefer to use smooth peanut butter for its creamy consistency, however, you can also use crunchy peanut butter
Soy sauce, I prefer using low sodium soy sauce however regular is also fine. For a gluten-free option, you can also use tamari
Maple syrup is used for its natural sweetness, you can also use honey or agave
Rice wine vinegar or rice vinegar is used for its acidity to balance out the sweet and salty flavors, you can also use apple cider vinegar
Ginger, I love the addition of ginger so I add quite a lot of it. However, I haven't noted an exact amount needed as it has a strong distinct taste that you either love or hate so feel free to add as much as you like
Garlic for all my garlic girls! I add garlic in both the sauce and also in the noodles
Sesame oil is added for its beautiful aroma and taste. You only need a quick dash as you don't want it to over power the dish

Garnish

Adding a little garnish always makes any dish look and taste better right!

Here are some of my favorites to add to these peanut sauce noodles:

Crushed peanuts
Chopped green onions
Red pepper flakes
Fresh lime juice
Toasted sesame seeds
Chili sauce or chili oil to make them spicy peanut noodles

Peanut noodles served with green onions and crushed peanuts

How to make Creamy Peanut Noodles

Say hello to the perfect weeknight dinner, made in the below simple steps. This is one dish that will never let you down!

Chop up green cabbage, green onions, garlic, and boy choy

Tofu, bok choy and cabbage frying off on a pan

Saute garlic in oil and once browning, crumble in the tofu (you can also grate it). Add the veggies and saute for a few minutes. At the same time, cook the noodles in boiling water

In a bowl, grate garlic and ginger and add all the remaining peanut sauce ingredients. Add 2 tablespoon of the noodle cooking water and whisk until smooth

Peanut sauce and cooked noodles in a pan

Remove pan from the heat, add the noodles and pour in the peanut sauce then stir gently (I like to use chop sticks)

Tips for Peanut Noodles Recipe

Slowly add water when making the peanut sauce, as the amount will depend on how thick or runny your peanut butter is. You can always add more, but you cant remove it
Don't overcook the noodles. Rice noodles especially are terrible when they are over cooked as they become mushy and will break
Remove the pan from the heat then add the noodles and sauce. You don't want to cook the sauce as it thickens up very quickly and it will become less creamy. You could also remove ingredients from the pan to a large bowl then mix in the sauce that way
Add a splash of the noodle water if the noodles are too dry. It will help the sauce thin out and become more creamy
Don't over stir the noodles at the end. Rice noodles are very delicate and you don't want them to break

FAQs

Are peanut noodles healthy?

Making your own sauce is much healthier than many store-bought sauces that can be full of preservatives. Here I've used natural peanut butter along with low-sodium soy sauce to keep it healthier

What goes with peanut noodles?

Proteins in either tofu, shrimp, seitan, or chicken and vegetables, such as bok choy, carrots, cabbage and mushrooms

More Asian Recipes

More Easy Dinners

I love seeing your creations and remakes, so be sure to rate the recipe, comment and share your Peanut Noodles photo on Instagram so I can share the love!