Cold Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles
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
Posted on September 03, 2013
This looks fabulous! I’m all about anything with peanut butter, so cold noodles are perfect. This is a must try recipe! :D
Ohhh yum!! Craving some of these right now and it’s only 6am….
I’m so stealing this idea as one of my take-to-work lunches!
Wow, your mom really did rock the school lunches! These noodles look and sound amazing, I’m adding them to my lunch rotation very soon!
I would have loved these in my lunch box! It was always turkey and cheese, PB & J or maybe a cream cheese bagel. Nothing to awesome or even as healthy as this!! I love peanut to much and these photos are killing me. It looks so perfect!
Oh my goodness – I need these noodles in my life! I have been looking for a good sesame/peanut noodle recipe to make at home. Can you find chili garlic sauce in your regular grocery store?
You should be able to find it in the Asian aisle of your regular grocery store. This is what it looks like if you need a visual to seek it out! http://www.huyfong.com/no_frames/garlic.htm
I have been craving a peanut noodle dish!!! I’m sure I’ll mess it up and add too many veggies because really all I want is the noodles these days!!! This looks so good!
Love me a good peanut noodle dish! This would be perfect as a quick lunch dish for me and my husband during our busy days!
Oh this looks so good! There was a place I used to get cold noodle salad at when I lived in Birmingham and it was fantastic. This sounds a lot like it. Can’t wait to make it!
These look delicious! I’m always looking for lunch ideas, however these days most schools have gone ‘peanut free’ due to allergies. It really limits lunches we can send.
I think they would be a welcome post school snack though, perfect for before football practice!
My daughter-in-law is using Cashew Butter in school lunches.
Great alternative!!
This would definitely be a great snack before football practice! It’ll give them energy! :)
I’m not one that cares too much for peanut butter so I subbed Almond butter and it turned out amazing!
theses are amazing. I think I would keep the whole batch home with me while my kids go to school!!
No allergies in this house! This looks like lunch. =)
This peanut butter dish is making me drool for breakfast. Great job Julie!
I’m in for anything and everything spicy peanut!
Oh I could go for some of this right now!
Peanut Sesame Noodles have been on my list sometime to make, especially as I got some spicy peanut butter I’ve been dying to try with it.. can’t wait!
I made something really similar last week, and OMG. So good! I bet your take on these tasty noodles is amazing, Julie! They sure look it! Great job :)
WOW! I’ll take 5 bowls of these beautiful noodles!
Julie, these noodles totally need to take over my life! They look incredible!!!
these are my absolute favorite and I make them alot with soba noodles :)
I want a giant bowl of noodles right now! But I guess virtually will have to do with this one! Looks faaaabulous :)
This is definitely the dish for me! I’m mad about noodles and these look delicious :)
Seriously want a bowl of this!!! YUM!
I love cold noodles! My husband hates pasta salads and I have been making him cold noodles without mayonnaise. Thanks for the recipe!
Yes please, I’d love a big bowl – the spicy peanut sauce is calling my name!
One of my favorite meals!
dinner tonight?! I think so!
I love peanut noodles. These look so perfectly creamy!
This looks SO good. Perfect for the way too crazy hot days here in LA!
This is definitely a must try. It would make a great school lunch idea.
Totally my kinda dish!! Pinned..
Have you tried it heated? I think warm sounds amazing. Any thoughts?
Hi Lori, yes, you can have it heated, however, I would let the sauce set up in the fridge for about an hour before heating it up to eat because otherwise, it’s an extremely liquidy sauce when you make it and pour it on hot noodles. You’d basically be having peanut noodle soup :)
So peanutty and delicious! Love this!
Thanks for a great dinner idea for a 100 degree day in St. Louis where I refuse to turn my oven on!
Glad I could be of inspiration to you! Hope you give this a try :)
Hi- I made these today for dinner this evening and I actually didn’t have enough sauce, which surprised me since you mentioned that it would look like soup. I have re-read the recipe and I followed it exactly. I used 1 lb. of uncooked spaghetti noodles, which was a whole box…the only thing I did different was use the thin spaghetti as opposed to regular, which I wouldn’t think would make a difference. I made a second batch of sauce and it took all of that to coat the noodles (but still didn’t look like soup). It’s in the refrigerator now and I’m hoping it turns out! I’m wondering if there is a typo in the recipe…maybe in the amount of pasta to use or one of the liquid ingredients? I love the flavor of the sauce, so I want to be able to make it again, but I’m thinking I would use no more than half of the amount of pasta listed. Thanks!
Hi Lauryn! I’m so glad you made this! I’m sorry it didn’t work out though. Honestly, my sauce was really loose and the consistency of soup and then when I put it in the fridge, it thickened up and coated the noodles perfectly. I used 1 pound of spaghetti too. What you see in the pictures above was only half of what I made! That’s so interesting yours didn’t get as liquidy as mine. I hope it turns out for you. Maybe next time add a bit of water to the sauce (like 1/2 cup?) and then also maybe reduce it down to 3/4 pound? I’m going to adjust the recipe due to your feedback and give a range and also add some water to the measurements. I’m just stumped as to why it didn’t work out. I’m really sorry :(
Angel hair (thin spaghetti) has a lot more exposed area to cover , which means it will take up more sauce (almost twice as much as a wider noodle like fettuccini). But angel hair also likes thinner sauces that it can move freely in. Fettuccini and linguini are friends with thicker sauces like this one.
Oh wow this looks incredible!! I can’t wait to whip this up :)
This was amazing! I made a few substitutions since I forgot rice noodles and peanut oil.
I used:
– Soba noodles, the wheaty flavor/texture was great!
– Seseame oil instead of peanut oil. I put in a small additional spoonful of PB so the peanut flavor would come through – it was so good!
I love your creative spoonful of PB idea! That’s a great alternative if you don’t have peanut oil on hand. Thanks for sharing the feedback, Nicole! I’m so glad you enjoyed this :)
I love how simple this can be prepared! It`s definitely on my to-make list now!
Made this last night- delicious!!! I added another big scoop of PB, some extra peanut oil and extra garlic. And I used a jar of puréed ginger, about 2 teaspoons. So good. I made it with regular spaghetti for my daughter and husband, and since I am doing a low carb way of life, I saved about a half cup of the sauce and poured it over a sautéed chicken breast that was served over spinach and a handful of sliced grape tomatoes. DELISH!!! I am going to make more sauce and just have it on hand as a yummy dip/pour over for anything!!! I think I’m going to add a bit more of the chili garlic this time…. Xoxo
Glad you liked this, Britt! It’s a favorite of mine :)
I served this last night at a chicken BBQ with old friends. The hostess made an Asian salad with mandarin oranges and a sprinkling of crunchy noodles on top. The scant leftovers went into the kids’ lunch boxes today. Thoroughly delicious.
So happy to hear this, Joe! This is one of my absolute summer favorites!
I made this tonight super yummy and easy. I just added some chopped carrot, celery, rotisserie chicken and some cilantro.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Kerry!
When I eat Chinese takeout, I inevitably comment to my husband “I prefer MY peanut noodles…”. Of course, MY peanut noodles are yours :)
Haha, too funny, Cari!! :)
Thank you for posting this recipe! I made this last night, and the results, were restaurant quality!!!
No more expensive Chinese orders for me in NYC, when I can make my cold noodles myself!!
Forever, greatful!! :)
Awesome! Glad you made it and thought so highly of it!
Oh happiness! I’m going to try this one this weekend. Thank you!
Do you have a nutritional value for this? Just wondering about the amounts of cholesterol and sodium? Thanks so much!
Oh my gosh I made this recipe this weekend and it was FANTASTIC! 8 people oohed and awed over it! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful!!! This was delish! I left out the sesame seeds because I’m not a big fan of their crunch and added in a little extra sesame oil. It was so good, I took like five bites before putting it in the fridge!
I’ll be pinning this and making again!
So happy to hear this! Thank you for sharing!
I made this today and it turned out great! Thank you for the recipe!!
This is one of my fave takeout dishes! But this homemade version is superior to any takeout I’ve tasted. Very easy to whip up and super delicious. Thanks for sharing it!
Any substitute for roasted peanut oil?
You could use vegetable oil