I’m sooooo ready for the lighter foods of spring and summer! This week I made a deliciously light and fresh noodle bowl with crispy tofu, fresh vegetables, and a simple peanut lime dressing. I’m just loving all the cold crunchy vegetables and the light and airy rice noodles in this bowl. As always, I’ve got some substitution options for these Peanut Tofu Noodle Bowls below, so make sure to keep reading!
What Kind of Noodles Can I Use?
I love rice noodles for this bowl because they’re super light and they taste great cold. I used a vermicelli style rice noodle because that was what was available at the store, but a slightly wider noodle would probably work best (wider noodles tangle less).
If you don’t have rice noodles available or want a less expensive option, these bowls are very similar to my Cold Peanut Noodle Salad, which uses whole what spaghetti, so I think that could also work here.
A third option is to serve these bowls over rice in stead of noodles. Jasmine rice would be my pick!
A fourth option is to serve this like a salad over shredded cabbage or lettuce.
Can I Substitute the Tofu?
Sure! I think both chicken and shrimp would also go great in this bowl. For chicken, just cube it up and sauté in oil until cooked through. You could even toss it in a little bit of the peanut dressing, making sure to save some for the rest of the bowls. For shrimp, just make sure they’re peeled and tails removed, then sauté in oil over medium until they’re opaque and pink (this only takes a few minutes).
Are Tofu Peanut Noodle Bowls Served Hot or Cold?
I eat this bowl cold. When you make them fresh the noodles may still be slightly warm or room temperature, but they’ll be cool enough to not heat the rest of the ingredients. The tofu also cools very rapidly.
How Are the Leftovers?
These bowls hold up pretty good in the fridge! The tofu doesn’t stay crispy, like any fried food, but it’s still tasty in the bowl. You can refrigerate these bowls, with the dressing kept separately, for about 4 days.
Peanut Tofu Noodle Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
Crispy Tofu
- 14 oz. extra firm tofu ($2.79)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.06)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
Peanut Lime Dressing
- 3 Tbsp natural-style peanut butter ($0.38)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.05)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice ($0.50)
- 2 tsp soy sauce ($0.04)
- 1/4 cup neutral oil* ($0.04)
Bowls
- 8 oz. rice noodles ($2.69)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.50)
- 1 cucumber ($1.49)
- 1 carrot ($0.08)
- 1/2 bunch cilantro ($0.40)
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts ($0.12)
Instructions
- Start by pressing the tofu. Remove the tofu from the package, then place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Place a cutting board, plate, or another flat object over top, then place something heavy on top of that, like a cast iron skillet or a pot of water. Let the tofu sit with the weight on top for about 30 minutes to press the excess moisture out of the tofu.
- While the tofu is pressing, prepare the peanut lime dressing. Combine the peanut butter, brown sugar, minced garlic, grated ginger, lime juice, soy sauce and oil in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Set the dressing aside.
- You can also prep the vegetables while the tofu is pressing. Slice the red bell pepper, slice the cucumber into thin sticks, shred the carrot using a cheese grater, and remove the cilantro leaves from the stems (or just roughly chop them).
- After the tofu has been pressing for about 30 minutes, pour off the excess water from the baking sheet. Transfer the pressed tofu to a cutting board, and cut the block into ½-inch cubes.
- Place the tofu cubes in a bowl or shallow dish and sprinkle with salt and cornstarch. Gently toss the tofu cubes until they are coated in cornstarch.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the tofu cubes and cook on each side until golden brown and crispy. Once crispy, remove them from the heat.
- Finally, cook the rice noodles. Bring a pot of water to a full boil, then add the noodles. Boil only for about three minutes, or the recommended time on the package. Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse briefly with cool water. Let the noodles drain well.
- To assemble the bowls, place ¼ of the noodles in the bottom of each bowl. Top with some bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, and crispy tofu. Sprinkle some chopped peanuts over top, then drizzle with the peanut lime dressing. Enjoy!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Peanut Tofu Noodle Bowls – Step by Step Photos
Start by pressing the tofu. This removes the excess moisture and takes about a half hour, so start with this first. Remove the tofu from its package and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Place something flat on top, like a cutting board or plate, then place something heavy on top of that. I use a cast iron skillet, but a pot of water also works. Let it press for about a half hour. You can see in the photo above all the water that came out.
While the tofu is pressing, make the peanut lime dressing. Add 3 Tbsp natural-style peanut butter, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 clove of garlic (minced), ½ tsp grated fresh ginger, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp soy sauce, and ¼ cup neutral oil (anything light flavored) in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
You should also have time to prep the vegetables while the tofu presses. Slice one red bell pepper, one cucumber (depending on the size you may only need half), grate one carrot using a cheese grater, and pull about ½ bunch cilantro leaves from the stems.
After the tofu has pressed, transfer it to a cutting board and cut it into ½-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a bowl or shallow dish, then sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt and 2 Tbsp cornstarch. Gently toss the tofu until it is coated in cornstarch.
Heat 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the tofu and cook until golden brown and crispy on all sides. Remove the tofu from the heat.
Lastly, cook the rice noodles. I used vermicelli, but if you can find a slightly wider rice noodle that may work better because they won’t tangle as much. I used one 8 oz. package of rice noodles.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the noodles and boil for about three minutes, or the recommended time on the package. Drain the rice noodles in a colander and rise briefly with cool water. Let them drain well.
Now it’s time to build the bowls! Place ¼ of the rice noodles in each bowl. Top with bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, and tofu.
Top the bowl with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro.
And finally, drizzle that delicious peanut lime dressing over top of the peanut tofu noodle bowls when you’re ready to eat!
LOVED the peanut lime sauce! I added about 1-2tsp of maple syrup and it was delish. I had some extra sauce and tofu after I used up all my rice noodles so I used noodles from a top ramen package in place and it was still delicious.
My one complaint is that, while the texture was great, the tofu itself was really bland. Tofu is made to absorb flavor so cooking it in only oil didn’t do much good. Next time I’d like to try doubling the sauce and simmering the tofu in some of the sauce after crisping it so it absorbs some of that flavor.
I just fed my mom tofu! I totally botched the tofu (not at all pretty) and it still tasted good and she said I should add it to a regular rotation! This from a woman who has nicer willingly ate tofu before! The other flavors pulled her in and kept her! Thanks!
I made this tonight for dinner. And put up the other 3 servings for lunch at work. I used chicken instead of Tofu, not a fan of tofu. Left out the peanuts, no reason.
Oh my gosh, this was so delicious….. yummm for sure, Will make it again . the flavors were all dancing around in my mouth. LOVED the Peanut butter sauce….
Thank you so much for healthy, inexpensive dishes.
Forgot to add, I used Coconut Aminos instead of Soy Sauce. Coconut Aminos has only 270 mg of sodium. That is 75% less than Soy Sauce..
Wow. So simple. So fresh. So delicious.
These are so good. Everyone in my family likes it and I like that I can prep the vegetables and tofu ahead of time and then the meal comes together quickly when i get home. We really like the sauce and I always double it.
This is a staple recipe in our house!
This recipe was awesome!! I didn’t have rice noodles so I substituted coconut rice (recipe from your site), and it was the perfect pair! I did my tofu in the air fryer and it cooked to perfection in just 10 minutes. I highly recommend this method. Thanks for another great recipe!
Forgot to rate 5 stars!
I’ve been wanting to make this for a while because it looks so fresh and yummy. Going vegetarian this month gave me the opportunity to try this, and it’s truly as delicious as it looks! I didn’t have rice noodles so I substituted rice and it worked out great. The peanut sauce is on point. I definitely recommend following the recipe and frying the tofu for that nice crunch. I ate this for lunch and dinner tonight. So yummy!
Can you please recommend the best neutral oil? I have no idea which one to use.
Any light, neutral-flavored oil will work, like canola, peanut, sesame (not toasted), avocado, grapeseed, etc.
This recipe was awesome and pretty easy! I don’t cook tofu very often because I don’t know a good way to do it. This worked pretty well in comparison to what I’ve tried before. I will definitely make this again. The peanut sauce is GREAT!
I seriously make this recipe once a week because it is SO tasty and filling! All of these flavors work so well together.I love spring rolls with peanut sauce and this gives the same feel but half the work. I do double the amount of sauce because the recipe doesn’t yield enough sauce for my liking. I fry the tofu in my air fryer and it comes out great! This recipe s perfect.
Really really tasty! Turned out I didn’t have a cucumber so I had to substitute the veg a bit, but in the interest of NOT being one of those people who rates a recipe based on a million changes (which, to be fair, I did make) this recipe is a great jumping off point. The sauce is 100% amazing. I found the rice vermicelli noodles got somewhat gummy, and next time I think I will use the wider rice noodles. I think they will stay separated better.
I thought the tofu would be boring and flavourless seeing as how its basically unseasoned, but it was SO crispy and the sauce so tasty it was actually really enjoyable. The bowl had a number of different textures and it was just so good. Definitely going into rotation at our house!
The sauce is yummy! Worked well with stir-fried veggies as well. I’ll be putting this into the regular rotation!
I made this recipe for my girlfriend as a lunch option. She lived in Vietnam for several years and really misses the food. This dish was excellent, filling and scratched an itch that she has had for Vietnamese food. I got a lot of compliments on it. the tofu turned out crispy and perfect.
This was really good! I baked the tofu instead of cooking in the pan because I like the texture better that way & it’s easier. I doubled the sauce but I honestly could have used 2.5-3x the sauce. The sauce got a little thick when coming out of the fridge so I should have added more water when prepping it. I just added a few drops of boiling water, stirred, and it thinned out to a drizzle. I also doubled the amount of peanuts on top since there’s a lot of soft ingredients.