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These cold spicy peanut sesame noodles were made for the warmer months. A creamy, spicy-sweet peanut sesame sauce gets blended, tossed with noodles, and left to chill and soak up flavor in the fridge. They taste even better the longer they sit, which is perfect for meal prep!
Inspired By My Mom’s Cold Peanut Noodles
When my brother and I were in grade school, my mom made us the coolest school lunches. And by “coolest,” I mean we never got the standard peanut butter and jelly. Some days it was sushi, some days fried rice, and some days a fried egg sandwich tucked into foil. My mom was endlessly resourceful in the kitchen, especially when it came to packing something we’d be excited to open at the lunch table.
One of my all-time favorites was her cold peanut noodles. Something about the ice-cold noodles coated in a creamy, savory peanut sauce made them completely addicting. This cold spicy peanut sesame noodle recipe is my own spin on that classic, with a little more heat and a lot more sesame flavor. It’s become one of my go-to noodle recipes for busy weeks (alongside my favorite cold sesame noodles). And because it tastes better cold or at room temperature, it’s an easy meal-prep lunch to eat all week long.
Best Peanut Butter for Sesame Peanut Noodles
I use regular, smooth peanut butter (like Jif). A natural peanut butter works, too, but the sauce may turn out a bit runnier since natural peanut butter tends to separate. Keep an eye on the saltiness of the peanut butter, and adjust the soy sauce down if needed to keep it from getting too salty.
Love peanutty flavors? Check out my soba noodle salad with creamy peanut dressing, too!
How to Make Cold Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles
Boil the noodles according to the package directions, then drain well. While the water comes to a boil, add the water, peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, peanut oil, sesame seeds, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. It should look pretty thin.
Pour the peanut sesame sauce over the warm, drained noodles and toss until coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour (though I recommend closer to three). Give everything a toss before serving topped with scallions and sesame seeds.
Swaps and Substitutions
If you’re missing any of the key ingredients, don’t panic! Use these swaps:
- Nut Butter: Smooth peanut butter is the classic choice here, but cashew butter or even tahini/sesame paste makes a great substitute.
- Noodles: I use dried spaghetti most often since it’s easy to find. But medium-width Asian ramen noodles or even soba work great for a more traditional take.
- Peanut Oil: If you don’t have roasted peanut oil, a natural oil like vegetable, canola, or avocado will work in a pinch.
- Chili Garlic Sauce: Cut back for a milder sauce, or add a bit more if you like your noodles extra spicy. If you love spice, check out my spicy chili garlic noodles, too.
Can I Eat these Noodles Warm?
You can, but these noodles were designed to be eaten cold or at room temperature. Chilling helps the peanut sesame sauce thicken and turn creamy. If you eat the noodles right away or warm them back up, the sauce will turn a bit runnier.
Serving Suggestions
These cold noodles with peanut sauce are hearty enough on their own, but they’re also a great base for building a bigger meal:
- Top with shredded rotisserie chicken or sesame garlic tofu to turn this into a full dinner.
- Add crunch with shredded carrots, sliced cucumber, or edamame.
- Serve it alongside air fryer honey sesame salmon or spicy peanut chicken for a heftier spread.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover cold sesame noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits, so if it looks a little too thick after a day or two, loosen it up with a splash of water before serving.
**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!
Cold Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ pound (340 g) dried spaghetti noodles, or Asian rice noodles
- ⅔ cup (158 ml) water
- ⅓ cup (86 g) smooth peanut butter
- ¼ cup (59 ml) low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup (59 ml) seasoned rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (59 ml) roasted peanut oil
- 2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for topping
- 3 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 1 clove small of garlic
- Fresh scallions, chopped, for topping
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, bring water to boil then add spaghetti noodles and cook according to box. Drain well when done.3/4 pound (340 g) dried spaghetti noodles
- 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.2/3 cup (158 ml) water, 1/3 cup (86 g) smooth peanut butter, 1/4 cup (59 ml) low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup (59 ml) seasoned rice vinegar, 3 tablespoon dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup (59 ml) roasted peanut oil, 2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, 3 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 clove small of garlic
- 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.Fresh scallions
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!
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 love how simple this can be prepared! It`s definitely on my to-make list now!
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 :)
Oh wow this looks incredible!! I can’t wait to whip this up :)
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.
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 :)
So peanutty and delicious! Love this!
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 :)
Totally my kinda dish!! Pinned..