There’s just something about that combination of the creamy texture, the savory flavor, and the spicy aftertaste that makes it one of THE most popular noodle recipes out there.
And if you’re not sold on the idea of peanut butter noodles yet, perhaps this little recipe guide will change your mind!
Not only do we show you one of the best peanut butter noodle recipes out there that will make a fan out of you in just one bite, but we also have plenty of great reasons why they are such a great dish to have in your repertoire, as well as some great tips and advice for how you can serve this dish.
Why Peanut Butter Noodles Are So Good
So, before we get into the recipe properly, you might be interested to hear why exactly peanut butter noodles don’t just taste great but are genuinely one of the most popular sauces to serve noodle dishes with around the world.
Well, as we said, peanut butter sauce on noodles is a great way to add texture and flavor to your noodle dish of choice, there are plenty of other, less subjective, reasons that you need to give these types of noodles at least a try for yourself.
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly
Let’s get this point out of the way: It can be very hard to find good noodle recipes that cater to a vegetarian diet, especially if it is your first time going from all the meats and fish that you could want to none.
And while there are plenty of great vegetarian noodle varieties out there, many of them require quite a lot of planning and ingredient hunting beforehand.
And if you don’t live near an Asian food store or supermarket, that ingredient hunt can become an even bigger hurdle to climb over.
With a peanut butter noodle dish, however, not only will you always have a meat-free dish handy that is easy to make, but you’ll also get a great savory hit like you would with almost any meaty recipe.
Plus, if you have the right noodle variety, you can even make this dish vegan-friendly, so you won’t need any animal products to make this a dish in your arsenal!
Great With Or Without Meat
With all that being said about how peanut butter noodles are great for vegetarian or vegan diets, don’t let that put you off by adding some of your favorite meaty ingredients to a noodle dish like this, either.
Whether you’re looking to add some lean chicken meat, some juicy succulent beef steak, or even fresh shrimp, (see also: 10 Superb Keto Shrimp Recipes Everyone Will Love!)you’ll find that all of these taste just as great, if not better, with a little peanut butter sauce, coating them!
It’s this versatility with almost any set of ingredients that has helped peanut butter noodles become a staple of pretty much any household, so don’t worry about thinking you’re limiting yourself with this dish.
Rich In Nutrients
We all want to eat healthier. Or at least, we all want to incorporate healthier food into a diet that we can still enjoy. So having food that is rich in vital nutrients is vital.
Fortunately, this is something that many peanut butter noodle dishes come with.
Being made from rich coconut milk, this dish is high in protein, making it a perfect supplement for those who need this recipe without turning to meats (see also “Vegan Rice Pudding Made With Coconut Milk“).
Add to that the fact that many peanut butter sauce dishes are also high in vitamins, on account of them being used in many vegetable-rich dishes, and you have a healthy combination of greens and protein that is both essential to healthy living, and still tastes incredible!
A Word Of Advice
As a side note, it is worth mentioning that although peanut butter sauce is packed with plenty of good nutrients, it is also pretty high in carbs, sugars, and fat.
This is due to the energy-rich ingredients used in making it, from the full-fat coconut milk to the extra sugar added for flavor.
While adding these types of recipes to your cooking toolbox can be great, make sure that you don’t overuse peanut butter sauces in your weekly recipe schedules, or find ways to cut down on these less healthy ingredients!
Great Dish For Kids & Grown Ups
Let’s be honest: Kids can be picky eaters at times!
That’s not a universal experience, of course, and is a little unfair. Children and infants tend to have a much more sensitive palette than their older counterparts and adults.
It’s why they often turn their noses up at even slightly bitter foods, such as vegetables and strong-tasting fruits.
Add to that a tendency to avoid new foods that could very well be a survival adaptation from our evolutionary history, and it’s not hard to see why kids can be resistant to trying new foods that don’t smell or taste great to them at first.
Still, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t frustrating when your children won’t eat new foods that you put in front of them.
Especially when it is key to make sure that they have a balanced diet from early in their childhood.
So, what is a parent to do, aside from forcing their kids and young infants to eat these dishes?
Well, one of the best solutions is to incorporate foods that they already like into new dishes. And this is where some good peanut butter sauce and noodles come into the picture!
If your kid already loves peanut butter in their sandwiches and other foods, including this ingredient in their next meal will be just what they need to try that new dish that might soon become their favorite.
Plus, of course, it tastes great for grownups too!
Quick To Make
All of the previous points that we have discussed sound great on paper, but most of them go out of the window if you can’t make that recipe quickly and easily.
Well, this recipe, and, many other peanut butter noodle dish recipes that you’ll find out there, are generally some of the quickest dishes to whip up.
When 30 minutes is considered a long time to make and prepare this type of dish, you know that you have something snappy on your hands when it comes to cooking!
Ingredients For Peanut Butter Noodles
So, by now, we should have sold you the idea of peanut butter noodles.
Now comes the part that every chef will need to know: What ingredients do they need to make this dish?
You’ll need the following for making our version of peanut butter noodles:
Noodles Of Some Kind. This is where you’ll find a lot of customization options open to you. While you can use egg-based ramen or spaghetti noodles for this recipe, rice noodles are also a viable option, as well as a great vegan-friendly alternative.
Garlic & Onions. These ingredients are vital to adding a little extra heat and flavor to your noodle recipe, as well as contrasting the texture of your noodles. While you can use garlic or onion powder as a substitute for these ingredients in a pinch, we would recommend sticking with fresher vegetables in this instance.
Soy Sauce. This will add that saltier flavor to your recipe, allowing the savory flavor to punch through the other sweeter ingredients.
Peanut Butter. This is a no-brainer ingredient that you should have handy. You can either choose to make your recipe with either the classic smooth peanut butter or more natural peanut butter.
Maple Syrup.Outside adding a little extra sweet flavor, this will also help smooth out the consistency of your peanut butter sauce into something that is a little runnier.
Sesame Oil. A staple of many Asian and East Asian dishes, sesame oil will help bring out the nutty and savory flavor of your dish.
Sriracha. The perfect ingredient to add to a noodle dish for that extra spicy flavor you may be going for.
How To Make The Best Peanut Butter Noodles
Okay, with all of that setup out of the way, you can now actually start to cook up these incredible peanut butter noodles for yourself!
Prepare Your Noodles
This is a simple step, as it simply requires you to follow the instructions for your noodles as provided by their packaging.
Ensure you do not overcook them, otherwise, they will struggle to absorb much of the peanut butter sauce.
(You may also want to save some of the water that the noodles are boiled in for your sauce later.)
Sauté Your Vegetables
While your noodles are boiling, you can start to prepare your pan and vegetables for cooking.
On medium-high heat, add a little oil to your pan, and add your chopped/diced onions and garlic to it once the oil is hot enough, and cook them until they start to soften up slightly
Try not to burn your garlic or onions, as this could end up ruining the overall flavor of the sauce.
No one wants a burned taste in their mouth, after all!
Once the noodles have been cooked, they can also be added to the pan and the sautéing ingredients.
Prepare The Sauce
With the noodles boiling, and the vegetables sautéing, you can get the sauce mixing!
Add 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 2 teaspoons of sriracha, and 2 tablespoons of water.
Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl until you get a smooth consistency for your sauce, which spreads and pours well.
Adding Your Sauce To Your Noodles
With the sauce now mixed, you can finally add it to your noodles and vegetables that you have handy.
Either dollop or pour the sauce into your pan, and make sure that everything is evenly coated in the sauce.
If you find that the sauce is losing some of that smoothness and is becoming sticky, now is the time you would add some extra water to smooth it out, such as the water that the noodles were boiled in.
Serving
Once your sauce is evenly spread across the food and is piping hot, you can now add it to a bowl and serve it immediately.
You can also top the noodles with whatever extras you like at this point, although we would recommend sesame seeds or freshly chopped bean sprouts for extra texture and flavor.
And that’s it! This recipe should take no more than 30 minutes to make, and will be one of the best peanut butter noodles dishes that you’ve ever tasted!
Tips & Advice For Peanut Butter Noodles
If you would like some extra advice on how to prepare this amazing dish, these are some of the recommendations that we have.
Types Of Rice Used
Make sure that you carefully consider what kind of noodles you use in this dish, as this can affect a massive number of factors, from overall cooking time, to even texture and flavor.
Egg noodles that are used in many standard recipes will work perfectly fine with this dish, as well as adding a little of their egg-like flavor to the recipe.
Rice noodles meanwhile will often absorb flavors they are cooked with a little better, as well as cook slightly quicker.
Generally speaking, you should stick with either rice sticks or flat rice noodles for this recipe, and avoid the ultra-thin vermicelli rice noodles.
These delicate spaghetti noodles will often cook in a pan too quickly, and won’t be able to retain much flavor from the sauce.
Obviously, if dietary restrictions are involved, you may find yourself pigeonholed into one type of noodle over others.
Alternative Ingredients
We’ve mentioned before that many recipes that use peanut butter often are high in carbs, high sugars, and other unwanted nutrients, so replacing some of the ingredients can go some way towards dissolving that issue. For example:
Using a light, gluten-free, or low-sodium soy sauce instead of the regular food item.
Using agave or other light syrup substitutes instead of full maple syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Reheat Peanut Butter Noodles?
Yes, but you must reheat them properly. Place the correctly stored noodles in a pan, and softly reheat until they are piping hot.
Avoid microwaving them, as this can cause the sauce to stick and clump up, ruining the texture and flavor.
And make sure that you’re noodles don’t smell expired before reheating them, of course!
Final Thoughts
So, with a recipe as good as this at your fingertips, all you have to do now is make it for yourself!
Hi, my name is Justin Roberts and I like to live by one major rule in life – health is wealth. And where does all health stem from? The food choices we make.
I grew up in a not-so-wealthy household that often struggled to get food on the table.
The food we did eat was cheap, holding no nutritional value at all. I’m talking frozen foods, carbs, fats, and very little fresh produce.
I am fortunate enough to have made a life for myself where the money for food is no longer an issue, and I have spent the majority of it looking into healthy foods and different diets to try.
The most notable is keto and paleo. I am also interested in only using whole foods wherever possible – call it trauma!
As a professional chef, I now create recipes surrounding these diets every day. My family are my tasters, and I strive to make my recipes as budget-friendly as possible.
I hope that you’ll find some inspiration for healthier meals from my website. I want to create a catalog of recipes that you can come back to time and time again. Enjoy!
