Asian Noodle Salad
This Asian Noodle Salad stays fresh and flavorful for days thanks to a simple dressing trick and properly cooked soba noodles. Learn how to keep the vegetables crisp, the noodles chewy, and the peanut dressing perfectly seasoned every time.
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“My boyfriend absolutely loves this recipe! The spicy peanut dressing is delicious and works perfectly with the soba noodles. Thanks for the amazing recipe!”
—Lexi
“This is one of my favorite recipes to prep for the work week. I love how everything stays fresh and crisp!”
—April
Crunchy Asian Noodle Salad With Peanut Dressing
Cold Asian noodle salad is one of those recipes that sounds delicious and practical until you take one bite of a bland, gummy bowl of noodles that somehow turned dry and soggy at the same time.
Not this one.
This Asian noodle salad recipe is packed with chewy soba noodles, crisp vegetables, roasted peanuts and a creamy peanut dressing with the perfect amount of lime, ginger and sriracha. It tastes fresh, bright and satisfying instead of heavy.
The real secret here is HOW it’s assembled. Instead of tossing everything together at once and hoping for the best, part of the dressing gets reserved and the vegetables are added just before serving. That keeps the noodles flavorful while the vegetables stay crisp and crunchy, even if you meal prep this chilled Asian noodle salad for several days.
Why You’ll Love This Cold Asian Noodle Salad
- It’s a refreshing salad making it a perfect choice for a hot day or whenever you need a satisfying but light meal.
- Ideal for meal prep since it stays fresh for up to 4 days. You can even build it in jars for easy transport to a picnic or potluck.
- Nutrient-rich, since it is packed with nutritious ingredients like edamame, bell pepper and carrots.
Asian Noodle Salad Recipe Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- soba noodles – we tested this Asian noodle pasta salad with dried soba noodles because they stay pleasantly chewy even after refrigeration. They’re sturdier than rice noodles and less heavy than traditional pasta, making them ideal for a chilled noodle salad.
- peanut butter – creamy peanut butter creates an emulsified dressing that clings to the noodles. It also gives the dressing body without needing mayonnaise.
- garlic, fresh ginger and sriracha – these build layers of flavor so the dressing tastes fresh and balanced instead of flat or overly sweet. Fresh ginger especially helps brighten the richness of the peanut butter.
- soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and lime juice – this combination creates the sweet, salty, tangy balance that makes a good Asian pasta salad recipe truly craveable.
- canola oil and toasted sesame oil – the neutral oil keeps the dressing smooth while the sesame oil adds that signature nutty flavor. A little sesame oil goes a long way here.
- green onions, bell pepper, carrots and cucumber – these vegetables were chosen specifically for texture. They stay crisp in the refrigerator and don’t release too much water into the salad.
- roasted peanuts – these add crunch and reinforce the peanut flavor in the dressing. We prefer roasted salted peanuts here for maximum flavor.
- cilantro – adds freshness and keeps the finished salad tasting bright.
How To Make Asian Noodle Pasta Salad
- WHISK. In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha, honey, lime juice and ginger until smooth. While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the canola oil and sesame oil until the dressing is emulsified. Transfer half of the dressing to a separate bowl and refrigerate.
- COOK. Cook the soba noodles according to package directions for al dente. Drain and rinse thoroughly under cold water until completely cool, then drain very well. Excess water is the enemy of a good chilled Asian noodle salad!
- CHILL. Add the noodles to the dressing remaining in the large bowl and toss well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days so the noodles can absorb flavor.
- TOSS. Just before serving, add the green onions, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber and reserved dressing. Toss until evenly coated.
- SERVE. Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro and serve immediately.
Asian Pasta Salad Recipe Home Chef Tips
- Rinse the noodles thoroughly after cooking. For hot pasta dishes you usually want starch left on the noodles, but for cold noodle salads rinsing prevents gumminess.
- Drain the noodles REALLY well before dressing them. Even a small amount of excess water can dilute the peanut dressing.
- Reserving half the dressing might seem fussy, but it keeps the salad saucy and flavorful after refrigeration instead of dry and clumpy.
- Slice the vegetables thinly so they blend into the noodles easily.
Chilled Asian Noodle Salad Variations
- ADD CHICKEN – Top with grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken to turn this chilled Asian noodle salad into a complete dinner.
- MAKE IT VEGAN – Swap the honey for agave or maple syrup.
- TURN UP THE HEAT – Add extra sriracha or a spoonful of chili crisp for a spicier noodle salad.
- USE DIFFERENT NOODLES – Whole wheat spaghetti works really well if you can’t find soba noodles.
Make Ahead And Storage
- Make Ahead: Toss the noodles with half of the dressing and refrigerate up to 3 days before serving. Store the vegetables and reserved dressing separately, then combine everything just before serving for the best texture.
- Refrigerate: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate uncovered until fully chilled, then cover and refrigerate up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Freezing is not recommended. The vegetables lose their crunch and the peanut dressing can separate after thawing.
Asian Noodle Salad FAQs
Soba noodles are our favorite because they stay pleasantly chewy after chilling and don’t become overly soft in the refrigerator. Whole wheat spaghetti is also a great backup option.
Rinsing removes excess surface starch so the noodles stay springy and separate instead of sticky and gummy once chilled.
As written, it’s only mildly spicy. You can easily adjust the heat level by adding more or less sriracha.
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Asian Noodle Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 large garlic clove grated
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons sriracha (or more to taste)
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 8 ounces dried soba noodles
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ¾ cup shredded carrots (about 2 small carrots)
- ¾ cup thinly sliced cucumber (about 1/3 of an English cucumber)
- ½ cup chopped roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk garlic, peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, sriracha, honey, lime juice and ginger until smooth. While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in canola oil and sesame oil until dressing is emulsified. Place half of dressing in small covered bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve salad.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions for al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water until completely cool. Drain very well.
- Add drained noodles to remaining dressing in large bowl and toss until well combined. For best flavor, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 3 days before serving.
- Just before serving, add onions, bell pepper, carrots, cucumber and reserved dressing to noodles and toss until well combined.
- Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro and serve immediately.
It’s delicious! I’m curious on the portions/suggested nutrition facts as I meal prepped this salad in jars for 4 servings and had to use quart jars to fit all of the noodles (entire box, divided by 4) and vegetables. It doesn’t seem accurate – I calculated 589 Calories.
Hi Marla – I don’t have a ton of control over the nutrition calculations. I put the ingredients into a software system and it does the calculations. I suggest using whatever nutritional software you trust the most!
I love this type of salad, but since I need to eat low carb it won’t be happening for me. By the way, sambal oelek is from the island of Java in Indonesia.
Hello Lori!
Wow these tasty and yummy jars are looking very delicious, I hope all the readers will love this interesting and amazing article. Thanks for sharing this article with all of us
My boyfriend absolutely loves this recipe! The spicy peanut dressing is delicious and works perfectly with the soba noodles. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Thank you so much, Lexi! The dressing is my favorite part 🙂
Just wondering how good you are in those recipes. I layered some shredded chicken between the noodles and veggies for extra protein, and stored the crispy chow mien noodles in a separate container so they didn’t get soggy. Well, Thanks for sharing!
I prepped this recipe for the week and oh my goodness I am obsessed. I subbed crushed peanuts in lieu of crunchy rice noodles (couldn’t find them at the grocery store), and ate it within 5 minutes! I loved how veggie-heavy it was without using greens as a base, the soba noodles helped to keep it a little more interesting than a standard salad
I am so glad to hear that, Jess! Now you’re making me want to make this for lunches next week 🙂
This is one of my favorite recipes to prep for the work week. I love how everything stays fresh and crisp! I usually add a bit of fresh garlic to the dressing along with some sesame oil. Thanks for posting!
Yum! Sometimes I add sesame oil, too 🙂 So glad these jars help you get through the work week, April!
Hi. For the dressing I always use tahini (sesame paste) as emulsifier – which is on texture the same as peanut butter and make dressing nice thick. You can also buy sweetened Tahini with honey as well.
Love the tahini idea, Anumati!
What is sambal oelek? I am seeing it when I google as a hot sauce … would siracha work in its place?
Sambal oelek is made by the same brand that makes the most famous sriracha. But yes, sriracha will work in place of sambal in this recipe!
Do you think powdered peanut butter would work?
Hi Jen – I’ve never tried it with powdered peanut butter, so I’m not sure. I know that in the original recipe, the peanut butter acts as an emulsifier in the dressing between the oil and the vinegar. I’m not sure if powder would function the same way.
These were fantastic! Will definitely make them again. I double the recipe and made them in quart size mason jars (instead of pint size) and added mixed greens on the top to buff it up a little. Thanks for posting!
Hi Madeline – So glad these were a hit for you. Thanks for stopping by!
What can I sub for the Soba noodles? Not a big fan of noodles. I like the dry noodles though.
Hi David – this recipe was really created with noodles in mind. How about zucchini noodles?