Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

$5.30 recipe / $1.33 serving
by Beth Moncel
4.83 from 110 votes
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This Cold Peanut Noodle Salad is the perfect meal prep for summer! No need to reheat, it’s light but filling, and the flavors are oh so fresh. It’s topped off with a homemade tangy, sweet, and creamy Peanut Lime Dressing to make everything finger-licking good. So have a salad for lunch this week, and enjoy it.

Three glass meal prep containers full of cold peanut noodle salad, dressing containers on the side.

This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

The meal prep containers and dressing containers shown above can be found in my Amazon Shop.

Where’s the Protein?

I didn’t include a “dedicated protein” ingredient in this salad, but that doesn’t mean the meal is void of protein. The vegetables, nuts, and pasta all contain protein, even if in smaller amounts (see 5 Easy Sources of Plant Based Protein). The whole wheat spaghetti alone provides 7 grams of protein per serving. But, if you want to go heavier on the protein you can add something like shelled edamame, Honey Sriracha Tofu, or rotisserie or grilled chicken.

How to Store Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

I suggest keeping the dressing separate from the salad and adding it just before serving, not because the vegetables will get soft, but because the pasta will likely absorb the dressing and it might get dry. I always suggest keeping your meal preps no longer than 4-5 days because textures and flavors tend to go down hill quickly after that. The ingredients in this recipe are all very sturdy and refrigerate extremely well. If anything, you might have a little color bleed from the purple cabbage onto the pasta, but that will not affect the flavor.

How to Use Leftover Cabbage

Cabbage is tricky. No matter how small of a head you get, you always have some left over. So, if you don’t want your leftover red cabbage to go to waste, I suggest trying these recipes: Vinaigrette Slaw with Feta, Sweet Crunch Winter Salad (this will also use your leftover carrots and green onion), or Braised Red Cabbage.

Peanut Lime Dressing being poured onto a bowl of Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

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Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

4.83 from 110 votes
This Cold Peanut Noodle Salad with homemade peanut lime dressing is the perfect meal prep for summer! No reheating necessary.
Author: Beth Moncel
Peanut Lime Dressing being poured onto a bowl of Cold Peanut Noodle Salad
Servings 4 about 2 cups salad each
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 10 minutes
Total 30 minutes

Ingredients

Peanut Lime Dressing

  • 3 Tbsp natural-style peanut butter ($0.21)
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
  • 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.05)
  • 1 medium lime, juiced (2 Tbsp juice) ($0.69)
  • 2 tsp soy sauce ($0.08)
  • 1/4 cup neutral oil* ($0.82)

Salad

  • 8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti ($0.55)
  • 4 cups finely shredded red cabbage ($1.12)
  • 2 carrots ($0.22)
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro (about 1/2 cup chopped) ($0.75)
  • 4 green onions (about 1/2 cup sliced) ($0.45)
  • 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped ($0.24)
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Instructions 

  • To make the peanut lime dressing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl or blender. Whisk or blend until smooth. Set the dressing aside.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil for the whole wheat spaghetti. Break the spaghetti in half to make it easier to stir into the salad ingredients later. Once the water is boiling, add the spaghetti, and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain in a colander and rinse it briefly with cold water to cool it off. Let the pasta drain well.
  • Meanwhile, shred the cabbage as finely as possible using either a knife or the shredding attachment of a food processor. Shred the carrots using a large-holed cheese grater. Roughly chop the cilantro and peanuts. Slice the green onion.
  • Combine the cooled and well drained pasta in a large bowl with the cabbage, carrots, cilantro, green onion, and peanuts. Toss the salad until the ingredients are evenly combined.
  • Serve the salad and peanut lime dressing immediately, or divide the undressed salad between four containers (about 2 cups each) and divide the dressing between four smaller containers (about 2 Tbsp or slightly more each). Refrigerate up to 4-5 days.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.


Equipment

  • Chef’s Knife
  • White Cutting Boards
  • Glass Meal Prep Containers
  • Dipping Cups

Notes

*Any light flavored oil. I used avocado, which drove the price up a good bit. Less expensive options include: canola, vegetable, safflower, or grape seed oil.

Nutrition

Serving: 2CupsCalories: 637.13kcalCarbohydrates: 65.73gProtein: 19.65gFat: 34.55gSodium: 405.95mgFiber: 14g
Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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Video

Scroll down for the step by step photos!

A meal prep container of Cold Peanut Noodle Salad being eaten with a fork, the empty dressing container on the side.

How to Make Cold Peanut Noodle Salad – Step by Step Photos

Soy sauce, lime juice, and oil added to the bowl.

To make the peanut lime dressing, combine 3 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, one minced clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 1/4 cup neutral oil (any mild-flavored oil) in a bowl or blender.

Peanut lime dressing being whisked in the bowl.

Whisk or blend the ingredients until smooth. Set the dressing aside.

An open box of whole wheat spaghetti with the noodles coming out of the end.

Next, bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles. You’ll need 8 oz. of whole wheat spaghetti for this recipe. I always break my spaghetti in half when I know it’s going to be stirred into other solid ingredients. It helps them combine more evenly instead of creating one big clump of pasta in the middle. Boil the pasta until tender, then drain in a colander, and give it a brief rinse with cold water to cool it off. Let the spaghetti drain well.

Shredded red cabbage on a cutting board

Finely shred about 4 cups of red cabbage. Making sure the cabbage is shredded VERY finely is key here. Thick pieces of cabbage are not good in this recipe. 4 cups is roughly equivalent to 3/4 to 1 pound of cabbage whole. So if you have a 2 lb. cabbage, use about half of it.

shredded carrot

Shred two carrots using a large-holed cheese grater. Or, if you used the shredder attachment on a food processor to shred the cabbage, you can switch to the grating attachment to do the carrots.

Chopped cilantro and sliced green onion

Roughly chop about 1/2 bunch cilantro and slice about 4 green onions. You’ll want about 1/2 cup of each, but it’s extremely flexible. Also roughly chop 1/2 cup peanuts.

Ingredients for the cold peanut noodle salad in a bowl.

Combine the cooled spaghetti, cabbage, carrot, cilantro, green onion, and peanuts in a large bowl.

Salad ingredients tossed together in the bowl.

Toss the salad ingredients together until evenly combined.

Cold Peanut Noodle Salad divided between meal prep containers, dressing being poured.

Either serve the cold peanut noodle salad with the peanut lime dressing immediately, or divide it between four containers. I suggest leaving the dressing separate and adding it just before serving. These meal prep and dressing containers can be found in my Amazon store.

front view of a bowl with cold peanut noodle salad being eaten with a black fork.

That dressing, crunchy cabbage, and cold noodles is just magic together! SO FRESH.

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Comments

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  1. Oh my, this looks wonderful! I stumbled upon this and realized it will be perfect to use up some left over bagged coleslaw. I believe I have the other ingredients or can sub for them easily. Thank you!

  2. This was a hit, even with the “I hate red cabbage” kid. :) Some of the guys added a little sriracha. I had some spiralized carrots to use up, they were perfect for this. Thanks for another easy, tasty meal!

  3. I followed the recipe exactly and it was very delicious. I will make this again. The dressing is perfect.

  4. Delicious. I made it with pre-shredded, bagged cabbage (aka coleslaw!) and only half the oil recommended. My kids, age 8 and 11, devoured it and went back for seconds. So did I!

  5. Great recipe base. I added a few drops of sesame oil and some water to the dressing to thin it out, but overall nice to begin with. I used edamame spaghetti as a way to get my protein (24g per 2 oz servings), and I love lime, so I added a wedge to each container. ย It was an overall enjoyable lunch meal prep.ย 

  6. This is one of the easiest lunches that Iโ€™ve prepped in a while – cut a corner by just using a bag of cole slaw mix. Looking forward to lunches this week!ย 

  7. A tip that might be useful to people making it. Ask your produce department if they can cut a cabbage in half and just sell you that. I bought a half of cabbage today from my local Safeway and so only have a little extra.

  8. The first bite of this made me drop my fork because it was so good. 10/10 will probably make again next week once I finish this batch. It’s amazing. I’ve loved all the recipes I’ve made from this site but this one is on another level, especially for one that I thought would just be “pretty good.” Peanuts are hit or miss for me but this is a huge hit!

  9. I have made this noodle salad three times for lunch preps. It is very good! and you don’t have to wait in line at the lunch room to heat it up. The first time we accidentally bought radicchio instead of purple cabbage and it was intense but still good. I am a huge fan of peanut dressings and I love noodles, so this was great. I feel like just mixing it all up is the best. I am pretty sure I made more sauce than it says and I added more soy sauce and you have to mix it a lot to get it creamy. HIghly recomend. It is super easy to make.

  10. The dressing is perfection! I didnโ€™t have natural peanut butter so I used regular creamy and added a little water to thin it out and blended it in the Magic Bullet for the ideal consistency.ย  The base of whole wheat pasta and cabbage makes it so versatile to add other things you have on hand each time you make it. This round instead of carrots I added broccoli slaw mix (containing carrots) as well as edamame. Such an ideal recipe to prep on Sunday to have a no-effort meal plan already done for the work week.ย 

      1. Do you think I can replace the oil with some canned coconut milk?

      2. The oil is really the base for the dressing. I wouldn’t recommend swapping with coconut milk.

  11. This is a crowd pleaser. I bring it to dinner parties and people love it. I do double the amount of sauce, though.

    1. Quick tip: Use premade rainbow slaw and frozen miniced ginger and garlic. I put this together in 10 minutes. It’s definitely a keeper!

    2. Same! I also use coleslaw mix to cut down on prep time and sometimes add baked tofu as a protein. The sauce is also great with tofu, even without the salad! (My husband sometimes eats leftover sauce plain — it’s that good.)

  12. This recipe is fantastic! It was so easy to make and everything was able to be done while the pasta cooked. This is going in my regular lunch rotation for sure. I don’t think it needs a separate dedicated protein, but it would probably be good with a little grilled chicken.

  13. This is delicious! I try to limit added oils in my diet, so I just use water in place of the oil in the sauce. It needs a vigorous stir, but comes together fine and still tastes good.
    I’ve made this several times, and always double the recipe so it lasts my husband and I all week.

  14. I made peanutty noodles a few times when I first started cooking and didn’t like any of the recipes, but I finally decided to give yours a try to use up some red cabbage. Of COURSE yours is the first and only one I’ve liked! Really good and crispy and that sauce is mmmmm so well balanced with the other flavors. YUM.

  15. For me, this salad was only okay. I made a batch and had trouble finishing it. I had trouble getting the peanut butter to dissolve and ended up with a clumpy dressing. Biting into big chunks of peanut butter mixed with some shredded cabbage was a little bit gross. Honestly, this could have been my fault because I used regular peanut butter (and cut out the sugar in the recipe) since I didn’t have natural. It helped a little bit to warm the dressing, but I just didn’t enjoy it much. Overall, I also wasn’t a huge fan of the flavors and textures in the salad. I like cabbage salads in general, but somehow I felt this was missing something, and the flavors didn’t taste good enough (to me) so it came across as very “raw.” I also found it a bit tough to eat with the long spaghetti noodles and the tiny cabbage shreds – and the spaghetti turned purplish after some time in the fridge.