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Home Asian

Noodle Salad with Sesame Peanut Dressing (Work lunch idea!)

By:Nagi
Published:13 May '19Updated:5 Feb '23
92 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Asian Noodle Salad tossed with a wickedly delicious dressing that’s creamy, peanutty, with a hint of sesame, tang of lime and mild hit of chilli. I would die a happy girl if I drowned in this dressing (morbid but true). Great lunch idea for work because it’s super tasty served cold!

Noodle Salad (Lunch Idea for Work) in a glass container

Noodle Salad – Lunch Idea for Work!

This noodle salad is the sort of thing I used to take into work for lunch back in my corporate days. I was never a sandwich gal. I mean, let’s face it. Sitting in an air conditioned cubicle in front of a computer all day isn’t exactly stimulating. Most days, lunch was the most exciting part of my day.

Hence – skip the sambos.

Enter – Asian Noodle Salad with creamy peanut dressing! 😂

Close up of Noodle Salad (Lunch Idea for work)

Great COLD lunch – and lasts for days!

There’s not many dishes other than salads that are genuinely great cold – or intended to be eaten cold. There’s even less salady type things that last for days, given that the moment salads are dressed they start to wilt and lose freshness.

And therein lies the reason why this noodle salad was a regular in my work lunch rotation. Adaptable, no need to heat it up, and it’s truly just as good today as it is tomorrow and the next day – and the next!

What you need

In case I hadn’t already made it clear – this noodle salad really is all about the dressing.😂 I use commercial peanut butter spread here ie the type loaded with sugar and extra oil and salt because all these flavourings are part of what makes the dressing so tasty.

If you make this with natural peanut butter, refer to the recipe notes – we need to jack up the flavourings a bit. 😇

Creamy Asian Sesame Peanut Dressing

For the noodle salad itself, the idea here is to use vegetables that won’t wilt into a watery mess the minute it’s dressed. I’ve gone with: beans, capsicum (bell peppers), carrots and bean sprouts. Other ideas for vegetables include:

  • Cabbage (white, green, red)

  • Zucchini (yes, raw, it’s great!)

  • Snow peas

  • Thinly sliced raw broccoli

  • Red onion

  • Lightly blanched asparagus, snap peas, cauliflower

Avoid things like lettuce, spinach, cucumber and tomato unless you’re consuming it on the day.

Ingredients in Asian Noodle Salad

Best noodles?

I like to use any fresh thin egg noodles (ie pale yellow noodles sold in the fridge section) such as thin Hokkien noodles because I am partial to the slightly chewy, slippery texture in this noodle salad. But I’ve made this plenty of times with just about every other noodle I use – rice noodles, ramen noodles (toss the seasoning packs), dried egg noodles and yes, I’ve even used pasta!

How to make Asian Noodle Salad with Creamy Sesame Peanut Sauce

Tossing Noodle Salad (Lunch Idea for Work)

Also a great Asian side dish!

I know I’m talking this up as a lunch idea for work, but this Noodle Salad is also a terrific option as a side dish for an Asian meal (or Asiany, you know the sort I mean!). I see this alongside things like:

  • Asian Marinated Chicken or Chinese BBQ Chicken

  • Chinese Chicken Wings

  • Asian Glazed Salmon or Honey Garlic Salmon

  • Foolproof Poached Chicken Breast with Ginger Shallot Sauce

  • Asian Chilli Garlic Prawns (Shrimp) or even non Asian Garlic Prawns

  • Thai Marinated Chicken (Gai Yang) or Southern Thai Grilled Chicken

Also, it would be great to serve as a side to make a meal out of small-bite type Asian things such as:

  • Potstickers

  • Spring Rolls

  • Chinese Lettuce Wraps (San Choy Bow ) (also the Thai version would be great)

  • Thai Fish Cakes

All this tasty food talk is torture. I need to sign off and get into the kitchen to make dinner! ~ Nagi x

Noodle Salad with creamy Peanut Sesame Dressing in a bowl, ready to be eaten

Watch how to make it

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Noodle Salad with creamy Peanut Sesame Dressing in a bowl, ready to be eaten

Noodle Salad With Creamy Sesame Peanut Dressing

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Total: 15 minutes mins
Noodles, Salad
Asian, Thai
5 from 25 votes
Servings3
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 163
Recipe video above. A vegetable noodle salad with a dressing that's creamy, peanutty, with a hint of sesame, tang of lime and mild hit of chilli. GREAT work lunch idea - keeps for days, terrific served cold. Try adding shredded chicken! Also great side for Asian meals. Serves 3 as a meal, or 4 to 5 as a side.

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup peanut butter , preferably smooth (Note 1)
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil , toasted (Note 2)
  • 1 tbsp canola oil (or other neutral oil)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce (Note 3)
  • 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • 1 tbsp sriracha (adjust spiciness to taste)
  • 2 tbsp lime juice (sub rice or cider vinegar)
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 2 to 4 tbsp water , if needed

Salad

  • 350g / 12 oz fresh egg noodles (about 4 cups, packed)
  • 1.5 cups carrot , julienned (1 large or 2 small carrots)
  • 2 cups beansprouts
  • 1.5 cups green beans , halved
  • 1.5 cups red bell pepper/capsicum , finely sliced (1 large)
  • 3 green onion stems , finely sliced on the diagonal
  • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds (preferably toasted)

Instructions

  • Prepare noodles according to packet directions (most just require soaking in hot water). Drain, rinse and set aside to cool.
  • Dressing - Mix together Dressing ingredients, using water only if needed to loosen so it can be tossed through salad. If you reduce Sriracha, might need to add smidge more lime.
  • Beans - Steam or boil green greens until just cooked, tender but still crisp. Drain under running water to cool.
  • Toss - Place salad ingredients in a big bowl, toss with dressing. 
  • Garnish with sesame seeds then serve at room temp. Keeps 4 days in the fridge.

Recipe Notes:

1. Peanut Butter - commercial spread is what I use in this recipe ie sweetened. If you use natural peanut butter (ie pure peanuts, not added sugar etc), you'll need to add about 2 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt into the dressing.
2. Toasted Sesame Oil is dark brown and has a more intense sesame flavour, Untoasted is yellow (not common in Australia).
3. Soy Sauce - all purpose or light soy. Don't use dark soy or kecap manis, flavour is too intense.
4. Noodles - I use thin hokkien noodles because I like the slippery, slightly chewy texture in this noodle salad, the type that is sold in the fridge section that just requires soaking in hot water. But any noodles work fine here - rice, egg, fresh, dried, even ramen (use 3 cakes, toss seasoning). Just prepare per packet.
5. Other Vegetable options - anything that won't go watery limp once dressed:
  • Shredded Cabbage (white, green, red)
  • Zucchini batons (yes, raw, it's great!)
  • Snow peas, thinly sliced raw broccoli, red onion, corn
  • Lightly blanched asparagus, snap peas, cauliflower
Avoid: lettuce, spinach, cucumber, tomato
6. Adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe.
7. Serves 3 as a meal, or 4 to 5 as a side.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 292gCalories: 541cal (27%)Carbohydrates: 67g (22%)Protein: 17g (34%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Sodium: 1237mg (54%)Potassium: 725mg (21%)Fiber: 9g (38%)Sugar: 19g (21%)Vitamin A: 9960IU (199%)Vitamin C: 122.3mg (148%)Calcium: 96mg (10%)Iron: 5.3mg (29%)
Keywords: Asian noodle salad, Work lunch idea
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Originally published July 2014, updated May 2019 with new photos, rewritten post, addition of recipe video and most important, added Life of Dozer! No change to recipe – it’s just as tasty as its been for the last decade I’ve been making it!

Life of Dozer

Dozer spent most of yesterday afternoon in the car with me as we travelled all over the north side of Sydney doing flower and foodie drop offs for Mother’s Day, to the various special mothers in our lives. ❤️

Dozer Mother's Day deliveries

Previous Post
Mother’s Day Brunch!
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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92 Comments

  1. Christine Cobb says

    November 6, 2022 at 3:29 pm

    5 stars
    Nagi I think it’s even better on the 3rd day. Very yummy!

    Reply
  2. Miai says

    October 23, 2022 at 4:34 am

    5 stars
    Really gorgeous!
    I used spaghetti as I didn’t have noodles and almond butter as I didn’t have peanut butter.

    Reply
  3. Betty Palen says

    October 16, 2022 at 2:44 pm

    Soooooo good! I used ramen noodles and added some pesto. Cooked my noodles, put them in a bowl with water in the fridge. Made the dressing and put that in the fridge. Then threw it all together once chopped the veggies. Next time will add fruit! Great late night meal!

    Reply
  4. Monika Obermeier says

    August 8, 2022 at 4:05 am

    5 stars
    What an explosion on the tastebutts. I never would have combined the ingredients of the dressing, but the outcome is just amazing ! Thank you !

    Reply
  5. Marianne says

    August 3, 2022 at 9:36 am

    5 stars
    Did not disappoint! Another hit in my house much like all the other recipes from this website. Can’t wait for the cookbook! Hope we can get it in Canada!

    Reply
  6. Mary says

    July 30, 2022 at 8:53 am

    5 stars
    Loved it! I will be making this again.

    Reply
  7. Beihong says

    July 20, 2022 at 10:07 pm

    5 stars
    This dressing is incredibly tasty. I made 3 servings of this sauce together with noodles for me and my parents, it was too yummy for us not to want seconds. So I whipped up another 1.5 servings of the sauce in no more than 3 minutes (I am an extremely slow when it comes to anything related to cooking), all thanks to the quick nature At the end we ran out of noodles, but my dad, in order to keep eating this sauce, even dipped leftover baozi in it. Thank you very much Ms. Nagi!!!

    Reply
  8. Maria says

    June 27, 2022 at 1:05 pm

    Hi Nagi, I hope you and Dozer are well!
    Can I use tinned bean sprouts for this recipe?

    Reply
  9. jovankool@iinet.net.au says

    March 15, 2022 at 7:36 pm

    I made honey prawns
    Just so yummy!

    Reply
  10. Averil Blaikie says

    October 7, 2021 at 5:07 pm

    5 stars
    Yum yum yum! Made this for dinner tonight with some chicken, was absolutely delicious! Will definitely be appearing on the menu again. So easy too, the 8yo boy was in charge of making the dressing and declared it AMAZING.

    Reply
  11. Jude says

    September 20, 2021 at 3:28 pm

    Yum! This is delicious!! Will def make again! Very tasty, thank you ☺

    Reply
  12. Barbara schroeder says

    September 16, 2021 at 2:28 am

    Love your recipes! Sooo glad I found your site! Thank you for such great recipes!

    Reply
  13. Susan says

    September 1, 2021 at 4:54 pm

    This was lovely- had the noodle salad on my first day back at work would love more work lunch ideas

    Reply
  14. Carly says

    May 21, 2021 at 8:15 pm

    Hi Nagi,
    We have peanut allergies in our home, do you think this would work with another nut butter?
    Cashew nut butter or almond nut butter?? Or can we leave out the nut butter completely.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 22, 2021 at 10:11 am

      Hi Carly, you could use a different nut butter but it will have a different flavour – would love to know if you give it a try! N x

      Reply
  15. Jill says

    March 7, 2021 at 11:43 am

    I make this often for my work lunch. I am a celery fan, so put plenty of celery in it. Delicious. Everything else as per recipe.

    Reply
  16. Edwina says

    February 21, 2021 at 2:34 pm

    Any subs for sweet chilli sauce?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 22, 2021 at 10:47 am

      Hi Edwina, you can add 1 tbls of honey and just increase the sriracha to compensate 🙂 N x

      Reply
  17. Sally says

    November 17, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    Hi Nagi, Do you think this would work with tahini (plus sugar/salt) instead of peanut butter to make it safe for kids to bring to (nut-free) school?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 18, 2020 at 12:34 pm

      Hi Sally, yes that should work, slightly different flavour but it will still be delicious! N x

      Reply
  18. Jennie Robinson says

    September 23, 2020 at 10:50 pm

    5 stars
    I just made (and ate) this for lunch using courgette and green pepper. It was great! – though red pepper would have been better. But yummy easy and filling! thanks Nagi!

    Reply
  19. Reham says

    August 22, 2020 at 5:17 am

    I had mine with white cabbage, green beans ,red bell peppers and red onion, it is was tasty and refreshing, also so filling, thanks a lot Nagi 🥰

    Reply
  20. J-Mom says

    July 31, 2020 at 9:34 pm

    5 stars
    This was simple but tasty. For busy week night dinner, I did use a bag of coleslaw mix. And I looked up substitute for sweet chili sauce.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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