Asian noodle salad - spaghetti or linguine pasta tossed with snap peas, sliced red bell peppers and smothered with peanut dressing made with sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, fresh ginger and toasted sesame seeds!
Light, refreshing, crunchy and easy-to-make salad (or dinner), anyone? When I first found this cold Asian noodle salad recipe (with homemade peanut sauce salad dressing, of all things!), it was love at first sight. After I've finally made it and have been eating it for 3 days in a row now, I am head over heels!
You'll go crazy over this peanut sauce salad dressing - it's what makes this Asian noodle salad so flavorful and delicious! I found that the proportions of the salad dressing ingredients are pretty accurate and hardly need any adjustment, but feel free to add just a touch more of peanut butter (if you like it more peanut buttery), more honey (if you want the dressing sweeter), or just a touch more soy sauce (to make it saltier). You can even use crunchy peanut butter if you want to add the tiny nuts to make the salad even crunchier!
This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan: crunchy veggies, soft noodles, very flavorful Asian-inspired dressing - so yummy, you wouldn't be able to stop eating it! This Asian noodle salad is perfect for lunch, dinner, or snack!
Asian Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Peanut Salad Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup dark sesame oil
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger , grated or ¼ teaspoon dried ginger
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds , toasted, divided
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter such as JiF
Asian Noodle Salad:
- 1 pound spaghetti or linguine
- 1 pound sugar snap peas
- 2 red bell peppers , cored and seeded, and thinly sliced
- 4 green onions , sliced
Instructions
How to make peanut salad dressing:
- In a medium bowl, combine and whisk together the vegetable oil, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds and peanut butter. Optional: if your sauce is to thick, add a little bit of water at a time to reach the desired consistency (maximum ¼ cup of water).
How to make Asian noodle salad:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti (or linguine) and cook according to package directions. Drain, rinse under very cold water (to stop cooking), drain again and set aside.
- Bring another pot of salted water to a boil, add the sugar snap peas, and cook for about 5 minutes, until peas are crisp tender. Drain, rinse under very cold water (to stop cooking), drain again and set aside.
- Combine the noodles, sugar snap peas, rec bell peppers and green onions (scallions) in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the noodle-veggie mixture. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds and toss together.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I love noodles and this kind of Asian dressing! And I adore the idea of some crunch with the snap peas and peppers. I will give that a try!
Julia this noodle salad looks delicious! I love the fact that it's a cold salad. This would be so perfect to take with me for lunch.
Love the peanut butter in the dressing! This looks amazing!
It's been years since I've eaten this sort of dish! I used to make something quite similar ages ago -- I need to dig out that recipe. Or just make yours! It looks terrific. Thanks.
I LOVE cold noodle salads! Especially ones made with peanut dressing! Can't wait to try this as an easy dinner idea this week!
Julia, this is such a beautiful and delicious pasta salad! Love the sugar snap peas and sesame seeds together.
Cheers,
J+C
Yum! Looks so appetizing! Love those sesame seeds!
Mmm I love peanut sauce!
Once again, Julia, this noodle salad is gorgeous! I think I could eat the peanut sauce salad dressing by the spoon. 😉 I love peanut butter and vinegar of all kinds as well as sugar snap peas and pasta. So easily made gluten free and I will probably use agave nectar in mine. Another recipe of yours I cannot wait to try! So happy you found this one. Thanks for sharing! Pinned!
I love having noodle salads like this for lunch--regular salads don't fill me up, so I totally need those noodles! 🙂
That dressing sounds amazing!
Love these type of noodle salads!
Julia, you are torturing me with this delicious pasta while I have been trying hard to cut down the carbs consumption. Gorgeous clicks!
Beautiful colors in your noodle dish! Men, I wished I could have it for lunch today...:) ela
Julia,
I am totally droolling looking at those noodles. It is always my favorite peanut noodles.