Did everyone have a good long weekend? What did you all do for Labor Day? We just got back from Pensacola Beach last night and the trip was a great way to end summer and get that last summer tan! It was relaxing and I sometimes wish I could spend an endless amount of time by the pool with a mojito in hand, but reality is nice too! Can’t get too cushy! :)
I’m sure a lot of you are sending your kids back to school today, if not already. Where I grew up, we always started school the day after Labor Day so to hear that other kids start weeks before, it blew my mind. I was so stuck on the fact that all schools went back after Labor Day. I guess it makes our school years longer, though. We always got out around mid-June and everyone else was already out of school.
When my brother and I were in grade school, I remember my mom always made us the coolest lunches. My coolest, I mean, it was always unique and diversified. We didn’t have peanut butter and jelly, my mom would go out of the way to make sure our lunches were interesting so we wouldn’t get tired of them. Some days, we’d get sushi for lunch or fried rice or even a fried egg sandwich. My mom was seriously multi-talented in the kitchen when it came to lunches. One of my favorite dishes my mom made for us were cold peanut noodles. There was something about the ice cold noodles and the creamy peanut butter mixture that made the noodles addicting. This recipe is a similar take to the classic peanut noodles that she’d make for us. This version is a lot spicier but it’s just as delicious. Jason and I would keep sneaking into the fridge to eat a few noodles. They didn’t last us long at all. It’s SO easy to make and it’s perfect for school lunches because you don’t have to worry about the refrigeration part of the lunch. It’s best to eat it cold/room temperature! :)
**If your child or children around them have peanut allergies, please be conscious of this as this is dish contains peanuts! Also, if you or your child don’t like spicy foods, you can tone down the spice level by reducing the chili garlic sauce, or simply omit it altogether. The sauce will still taste great!
These cold spicy peanut sesame noodles are so yummy for any day of the week!
- 3/4 cup to 1 pound dried spaghetti noodles, or Asian rice noodles
- 2/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup roasted peanut oil
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, plus more for topping
- 3 tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1: 1- inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 clove small of garlic
- Fresh scallions, chopped, for topping
- In a large stockpot, bring water to boil then add spaghetti noodles and cook according to box. Drain well when done.
- In a jar of a blender, combine water, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, peanut oil, sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic. Process until smooth.
- After pasta is done cooking and drained, add to a large glass bowl. Pour the peanut sesame sauce over the noodles and toss to coat. The mixture/sauce will be very runny and it will look like you made way too much. Trust me, once you pop it in the fridge, the sauce sets up and it's perfect :)
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour - the longer, the better. I had mine in there for at least three. I love when it's super cold and the sauce is nice and thick.
- Toss noodles again prior to serving. Top with fresh scallions and sesame seeds.
Source: Food Network
*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
This recipe is fantastic! I didn’t have peanut oil on hand, so I just added a tad more sesame oil (about 2tsp), and maybe 2 tbsp of canola oil. The sauce is so delicious I could have drank it. I added fresh julienned carrots and cucumbers to the noodles, and topped the noodles with spring onions, cilantro, chopped roasted peanuts, and served with lime wedges.
For rice noodles, I recommend increasing the sauce by 50% or even doubling it. I ended up making 1 lb rice noodles, and I decided to make another batch of the sauce after seeing how the noodles soaked it up and muted the sauce’s flavor.
Absolutely fantastic recipe! I’ll be making it again soon.
We had cool lunches growing up too!
This recipe is spectacular! I found your site while googling for cold noodle recipes for school lunches, I’ve made it four times, all my kids love it, I can sneak in veggies, it uses pantry staples, it’s easy AND delicious!
THANK YOU THANK YOU!
can’t find the recipe or what you have to say for the ads and your headline banner.. you spend too much space on advertising..won’t come back to this site…can’t even get rid of the adds at the bottom…
hi, recipe is always at the bottom of the page if you scroll down. you can get rid of the ad at the bottom with the big teal X in the upper right corner. i hope you know that content creators have ads to pay for their website costs, food costs, photography costs. we offer you 100% FREE recipes and resources. if you would prefer me to charge a monthly or yearly subscription for an ad-free experience, then i am happy to add your name to that list!
I just made this for dinner last night, and now that I am currently enjoying leftovers for lunch that taste just as good as they did yesterday, I knew I had to comment. These noodles are divine. The sauce is perfect. Finally a peanut sauce that doesn’t get clumpy or gluey. I used soba noodles and added julienne cucumber plus some shredded chicken for an extra oompf. I always love your recipes inspired from cooking with your Mom! Thanks, Juli!
Awesome, thanks for letting me know!!!
I wanted to try this to save money on lunches for an upcoming road trip and I just had to taste it first as a midnight snack once it was chilled. It’s SO delicious. I followed the recipe exactly, including the sesame seeds and scallions on top, and it was perfect! It would probably be delicious with some chicken and/or cucumber and carrots. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
So happy to hear this!
I just made this after having the ingredients on hand and recipe bookmarked for MONTHS. I’m so happy I finally made it. The sauce is so well balanced, you really nailed it. Can’t wait for it to set up in the fridge so I can devour it. Thanks!!
So glad you found this and trying it!