Noodle Salad with Peanut Sesame Dressing

This healthy egg noodle salad is great served cold for a quick vegetarian dinner or summer side dish with a peanut sesame dressing. Add chicken or tofu for an even heartier dinner!

Welcome to summer with this noodle salad ☀️

Jump to:

• Why we love this noodle salad:
• Ingredients
• How to make it
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Storage
• Expert tips for making this recipe
• FAQs
• Recipe

Even though the summer is nowhere to be seen I'm pretending like it's here with these sunny vegetarian noodles with crunchy broccoli, carrots and red peppers.

It's fresh and full of flavour thanks to the creamy and delicious sesame peanut dressing and a spritz of lime juice. I like to drizzle the whole thing with a little extra tahini just before serving for that extra nutty hit and O.M.G it's so good.

I meal prepped these on a Saturday night (yes, my life is that exciting) and served them up for weekday lunches which made my workdays much more enjoyable and I highly recommend you do the same!

This is exactly the kind of meal I like to eat during the summer. Pasta salads (like this balsamic pasta salad) and noodles salads have just the right amount of comfort food ingredients while still being light and fresh. 

Why we love this noodle salad:

• It's vegetarian which is full of healthy vegetables although you could definitely add some chicken if you like
• This salad is perfect for a summer dinner thanks to the cold and fresh noodles, crunchy veggies and nutty dressing
• The dressing is super creamy and tastes amazing tossed with the rest of the salad ingredients
• If you want to make this recipe vegan then make sure you switch the egg noodles for a different type

Ingredients

This section is here to provide further tips and ideas for alternative ingredients. The full recipe and instructions are included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!

• Peanut Sesame Dressing: A delicious mixture of tahini, peanut butter (I use crunchy), soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and garlic whisked together until smooth
• Noodles: I like medium egg noodles but you could switch them out for whatever your favourite type is
• Veggies: Carrots, peppers and broccoli go into this version of noodle salad 
• Coriander: Or cilantro. Finely chopped and sprinkled over before serving
• Lime Wedges: For squeezing over before serving

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make it

1. Cook the noodles: According to packet instructions then refresh under cold water
2. Make the sauce: Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until smooth
3. Stir fry the vegetables: Heat a drizzle of over a high heat and add the vegetables, stir fry for 3 minutes. Tip out into a large bowl, add the noodles and pour over the sauce. Toss together and serve topped with coriander and lime wedges

Hint: I like to keep the veggies in this salad nice and crunchy, if you like them a bit softer then stir fry for a little longer than instructed in the recipe.

Substitutions

• Vegan: I normally use egg noodles to make this salad but make sure to use a vegan noodle instead to make the whole recipe plant based
• Gluten free: Make sure you use gluten free noodles and switch the soy sauce for tamari to make this recipe gluten free
• Vegetables: I love carrots, broccoli and peppers in this salad but pretty much anything would work so use it as an opportunity to clean out your fridge!

Variations

• Spicy: I don't put any chilli in this recipe as written but it would obviously work perfectly. Try adding a pinch of chilli flakes or a squeeze of sriracha to the dressing or finish the whole thing off with a drizzle of chilli crisp
• Protein: If you want to bulk out this salad a little you could definitely throw in a protein of your choice! Try crispy fried tofu, shredded chicken or seared steak!

Storage

Once prepped this salad lasts for up to 4 days in a sealed container in the fridge.

Expert tips for making this recipe

• I like to served this salad with an extra drizzle of tahini before serving for an extra nutty flavour
• If the dressing is too thick you can thin it with a little water until you reach the desired consistency
• You can add any extra vegetables you like to this salad including spinach, kale or red onion or sprinkle chopped spring onions on top before serving

FAQs

Want more? Try these other noodle recipes!

• Kimchi Udon
• Spicy Noodles with Crispy Tofu
• Instant Pot Vietnamese Beef Pho
• Quick and Easy Thai Chicken Noodles
• Teriyaki Salmon with Udon Noodles
• Cold Peanut Noodles with Cucumber
• Egg Fried Noodles

Recipe

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