Healthy Asian Noodle Salad
This Asian noodle salad is fresh, fast, and full of flavor. It's chewy noodles, colorful vegetables, and crunchy peanuts, all tossed in a tasty Asian-inspired dressing. It's perfect for making ahead and feeding a crowd, and it's ready in just 30 minutes!
For more delicious noodle salad recipes, try our ramen noodle salad and mango Thai noodle salad with sesame ginger dressing.
Table of contents
This Asian noodle salad is our go-to for healthy make-ahead lunches, picnics, and potlucks. It's delicious, satisfying, and comes together quickly. It's also a crowd favorite!
It's packed with fresh veggies, chewy noodles, and crunchy peanuts. We don't add protein in the recipe, but you certainly can add edamame, cubed tofu, shrimp, or chicken. The tangy-sweet Asian-inspired dressing is delicious and brings it all together.
There's almost zero cooking involved, apart from boiling the noodles. Just chop the veggies and mix together the sauce ingredients while the noodles cook, then toss it all together. We like to let it sit for a few minutes so the sauce can soak in.
It's also completely vegetarian, and easy to make gluten-free or vegan. You can make it nut-free by omitting the peanuts. Enjoy this vibrant cold noodle salad for lunch, as a light dinner, or alongside Asian-inspired mains for a more substantial meal.
Asian noodle salad ingredients
You only need noodles, fresh vegetables, and a few pantry ingredients to make this tasty noodle salad. Here's everything you need:
- Linguine – the shape and texture of linguine works well for this salad, but you can also use spaghetti noodles. For gluten-free, use rice noodles or soba noodles (just make sure they're 100% buckwheat noodles).
- Vegetables – we use a colorful mix of carrots, celery, cucumber, and red bell pepper. Feel free to use your favorite veggies or what you have on hand like sliced cabbage, snow peas, and bean sprouts.
- Peanuts – roasted unsalted peanuts are ideal for this dish.
- Sesame seeds – roasted, raw, or black sesame seeds for garnish.
Ingredients for the dressing
Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients. You're likely to have most of them in your pantry. Here's what you need for the dressing:
- Olive oil – another neutral oil like avocado oil works great as the base for this dressing.
- Soy sauce – soy sauce is a key ingredient that gives the dressing its salty taste. You can also use tamari, or gluten-free soy sauce if needed.
- Honey – honey adds sweetness. You can also use agave syrup or maple syrup for a vegan version.
- Lime juice – lime juice offers brightness and a pop of citrus flavor.
- Rice vinegar – the slightly sweet taste of rice vinegar balances out the other flavors.
- Toasted sesame oil – you don't need a lot of toasted sesame oil to impart a wonderful nutty, rich Asian flavor.
- Sriracha – sriracha adds a spicy kick so add at your discretion!
- Garlic and onion granules – garlic and onion granules add flavor.
How to make Asian noodle salad
This Asian noodle salad recipe is quick, easy, and ideal for making ahead of time. Be sure to add it to your meal prep menu for the week. Here's how to make it in a couple of easy steps:
- Start by cooking the linguine in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.
- Mix together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl or in a jar.
- Strain the pasta then add it back to the pot along with the noodles, raw vegetables, and peanuts.
- Toss everything with the dressing, and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve! We like to add a few sliced green onions and minced cilantro when we have them on hand.
Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.
Recipe FAQs
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
You can serve it right away, or put it in the fridge for later. It tastes delicious cold or at room temperature so it's a great dish to make for outdoor events, or if it will be sitting out for a stretch.
With no dairy or meat, this salad can safely sit out at room temperature for up to 3 hours.
Sure! We also enjoy this salad with our homemade peanut dressing with fresh ginger.
What to eat with Asian noodle salad
Enjoy this cold Asian noodle salad for a workday lunch, or as a light dinner. It's versatile so you can toss in some tofu cubes, cooked edamame, shredded chicken, or any other protein you love.
We love bringing this pasta salad to share at picnics, potlucks, and parties. Be ready to share the recipe, because everyone always raves about it!
It works well as a side dish, too. Pair it with our slow baked Asian salmon or honey garlic chicken for a more substantial Asian-inspired meal.
Tasty pasta recipes
Healthy Asian Noodle Salad
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces linguini
- 3 medium carrot, julienned
- 2 stalks celery, cut diagonally
- 2 mini cucumbers, sliced
- 1 medium red pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 handful cilantro, coarsely chopped
- Ā½ cup chopped peanuts, roasted
- Sesame seeds, to serve
The dressing
- Ā¼ cup EACH: olive oil, soy sauce, and honey
- 2 tablespoons EACH: lime juice and rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon EACH: toasted sesame oil and sriracha, or spiciness taste
- Ā½ teaspoon EACH: garlic granules and onion granules
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and cool down under cold running water. Put the pasta back into the pot.8 ounces linguini
- While the water heats, mix together all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.Ā¼ cup EACH: olive oil, soy sauce, and honey, 2 tablespoons EACH: lime juice and rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon EACH: toasted sesame oil and sriracha, Ā½ teaspoon EACH: garlic granules and onion granules
- Once the cooked pasta is back in the pot, add all the raw vegetables and peanuts to the pot.3 medium carrot, 2 stalks celery, 1 medium red pepper, 1 handful cilantro, Ā½ cup chopped peanuts, 2 mini cucumbers
- Pour the dressing over the top and toss to coat. Set aside for 5 minutes so the pasta can absorb a little of the sauce, mixing it a few times. Serve with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Looking for more? Try one of our other delicious pasta salad recipes!
Looks yummy
I think thereās a typo in the ingredientsĀ
I was wondering what show mein noodles were and saw in the instructions chow mein – I know what they are ā¤ļø
Thank you so much for letting us know! Yes, it was supposed to read chow mein. š
Just made this! So tasty and so easy I loved it!
This sounds so tasty! Love the bright colors too š