Sweet and Spicy Noodle Salad

What is your idea of a perfect meal? Something that can be eaten for lunch or dinner? Something that is just as good as leftovers the next day? Maybe it is refreshing and healthy? Easy to put together? This Sweet and Spicy Noodle Salad fits all of these requirements. It’s hearty enough for a winter meal yet refreshing enough for a summer lunch. I actually made it for dinner then had it for lunch the next two days. Have I convinced you yet that it is the perfect meal?

Making the dressing looked a little intense because it seemed like a lot of ingredients but I had all of them on hand. I admit, whisking peanut butter with chicken stock (you could certainly use vegetable stock if you want to go vegetarian) seems very strange, but I promise you when all of the ingredients are mixed together its a delightful dressing. Sweet and Spicy Noodle Salad is absolutely going to be a permanent fixture in my meal rotation.

Something else to note with this dressing is that it is incredibly forgiving! The first time I made it I accidentally measured the peanut butter and stock incorrectly so I added more stock until I got the consistency I wanted and it was still amazing.

Do yourself and those around your dinner table a favor and give this meal a try! It is definitely a hit in this house!

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Sweet and Spicy Noodle Salad

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Sweet and Spicy Noodle Salad is packed with veggies and is still hearty enough as a meal on its own. This dish also is delicious as leftovers.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Pasta, Salad

Cuisine: Lunch, One Pot Meal, Pasta, Ramen, Salad

Keyword: Cucumber, Pasta, Peanut, Peanut Butter, Ramen, Red Pepper

Ingredients

• 3 pkgs ramen noodles, cooked (do not use the seasoning packet that comes in the packaging)
• 1 c raw green beans, cut into one-inch pieces
• 1 red pepper, cut into strips that are cut in half
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
• 6 green onions, sliced thin with the white bottoms separated from the tops

Peanut Dressing

• 1/3 c smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 c chicken broth (vegetable broth if making this vegetarian)
• 1 T sesame oil
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T lemon juice
• 2 T honey
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes (or less, depending on how spicy you would like the dish)
• 1/4 t cumin
• 1/4 t tumeric
• 1/4 c peanuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Combine the noodles, green beans, red pepper, cucumber, cilantro and the white bottoms of the green onions in a large bowl. 

2. Whisk together the peanut butter and chicken broth until smooth. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, red pepper flakes, cumin and turmeric. This will seem like a lot of dressing.

3. Pour half of the dressing over noodles and veggies and toss well. Add the rest of the dressing as desired (you will likely have extra dressing). 

Recipe Notes

If you intend to save the salad as leftovers, I recommend dressing a portion of the salad and reserving the rest of the dressing. 

If you save the salad and it has been previously dressed, add a 1/2 t of soy sauce to freshen it up.