Rice Noodle with Peanut Sauce (EASY!) - Joyous Apron (2024)

Introducing our yummy rice noodle recipe with the best homemade peanut sauce! This fresh and flavorful 20-minute Asian inspired recipe is one of my favorite dishes to make when I want a quick meal that is truly delicious and straight-forward.

I just love those chewy rice noodles tossed in a thick and creamy peanut sauce that is savory, sweet and tangy, combined with shredded carrots, chopped green onions, crushed peanuts, and cilantro.

A Rice Noodle Recipe

I’ve shared many rice noodles recipes over the years such as Vietnamese Noodle Bowl with Grilled Pork, Pad See Ew, Simple Thai Noodle Bowl, and Pad Thai Noodles. They are all so good, and today I want to share this delicious and simple rice noodle recipe with peanut sauce that has become one of our go-to noodle dishes for the warmer spring and summer months.

For this dish, rice noodle is tossed in a thick savory, sweet and tangy peanut sauce, and combined with crunchy veggies and peanuts. The result is a noodle dish with big flavor, amazing textures, and loaded with fresh and bright ingredients.

It’s kinda like a cross between noodle and noodle salad, and can be enjoyed warm, in room temperature, or even cold.

If you are looking for a quick and simple rice noodle recipe that happens to be so very yummy because you have a bunch of rice noodle lying around, or because you love rice noodles as much as I do, well you are in luck… give this rice noodles with peanut sauce a try! I think you’ll be pleased. 🙂

What are Rice Noodles

Rice noodles are also referred to as rice sticks, vermicelli, or even pad Thai noodles.

They are made with rice flour and water as the main ingredients. Sometimes other ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added to improve the transparency or increase the chewy texture of the noodles.

Rice noodles come in various different thickness – some are flat and thick, and some are thinner. And they are so versatile and can be found in many Asian dishes, whether in soup form, or stir fry, or salads.

Today, you can buy them in most mainstream grocery stores in the Asian aisle. They are typically dried and in stick form, and will need to be boiled or soak in water to soften. In more traditional Asian stores, you can find them fresh and soft, but this is less common.

Ingredients

Making rice noodles with peanut sauce involves basic ingredients that can be found in most main stream grocery stores (check the Asian aisle!). Here’s what you need:

• Rice noodles – they are sometimes called vermicelli noodles or rice stick. In most grocery stores, they are dried and do not need to be refrigerated, and will need to be soaked and boiled to soften. Rice noodles come in different sizes and I typically use thin/medium rice noodles (see affiliated link) for this rice noodle peanut sauce recipe, about the same size as the rice noodles used for pad Thai. I like this size because the sauce to noodle ratio in each bite is just right!
• Peanuts – crush them into little pieces or simply buy crushed peanuts.
• Vegetables – I’m using carrots and green onions, shred/chop them up and toss them into the dish! You can also use other veggies if you prefer.
• Cilantro – brings bright and fresh flavors to the peanut sauce and rice noodles.

And here are the ingredients for the peanut sauce:

• Peanut butter – the base of the peanut sauce (well duh). Either creamy or crunchy peanut butter works – use whatever you have at hand.
• Hoisin sauce – a popular sauce used in a lot of Asian dishes that is savory, sweet and tangy.
• Garlic – for best flavor, use fresh garlic cloves, not garlic powder! Minced them up so it dissolves into the peanut sauce easily.
• Red pepper flakes – don’t skip this if you like a little kick to your rice noodles with peanut sauce! If you don’t like spicy, you can omit this.
• Brown sugar – this bring sweetness to the sauce to round out the flavors
• Lime – brightens up the peanut sauce and brings some citrus and tangy flavors to it

How to make it

Let’s make these rich noodles in peanut sauce! It should take less than 20 minutes from start to finish!

Prepare Rice Noodles

Rice noodles are typically sold dried, and we will want to soften and warm the noodles.

Follow the package instructions to soften the noodles. Most will call for boiling noodles in boiling water, and some may call for soaking noodles in hot water.

Noodles need to be soft and chewy at the end of this process.

Prepare Peanut Sauce

In a saucepan, combine all the peanut sauce ingredients – peanut butter, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, garlic, water, red pepper flakes, and lime juice.

Bring saucepan to a boil, and stir to combine sauce. Once it archives a boil. Remove from heat.

Toss Noodles

Bring cooked rice noodles to a large mixing bowl, then add shredded carrots, chopped green onions, chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Pour peanut sauce all over the rice noodles and vegetables.

Use a pair of tongs to toss noodles and the other ingredients in peanut sauce.

Transfer to a serving bowl, or individual bowls, and garnish with more crushed peanuts, cilantro, and lime juice.

This rice noodle dish can be served warm, in room temperature or even cold. I’ve eaten leftovers straight out of the refrigerator and it’s kinda like a noodle salad! And it’s so good!

To bulk it up to make it more filling, feel free to add shredded cooked chicken, shrimp or tofu to your rice noodles in peanut sauce. It’s a great way to use up leftover protein as well!

Prepare to be blown away with big flavors and lovely textures in every bite.

It’s truly the perfect summer time dinner! We sure make it all the time!

Tips and Tricks

• Do not overcook or oversoak rice noodles – Rice noodles will be mushy if overboiled. Once they are cooked, rinse them in cold water if they are not tossed immediately in peanut sauce.
• Adjust spice levels – Red pepper flakes gives the sauce some spice, but you can adjust this (or even omit it) baked on your preferences.
• Make it healthier – Feel free to add more veggies of your choice to make the dish more colorful and nutritious. Use whole wheat noodles for a lower carb meal.
• Adjust to taste – Always taste and adjust peanut sauce before mixing with the noodles. Depending on the brand of peanut butter, hoisin sauce, etc., you may need to tweak it a bit to get the flavor you want.
• Garnish garnish garnish – Don’t skip the garnish! Cilantro, chopped peanuts, or green onions all add an extra element of flavor.

Variations and Modifications

Rice noodles in peanut sauce can easily be customized to add whatever veggies and protein you have at hand.

To make the process simple, I typically like to stick with ready-cooked protein such as rotisserie chicken, and veggies that wouldn’t require cooking separately. You can cook the protein and veggies separately before tossing in sauce, it’s just a bit more work and takes more time.

Here are some delicious raw veggies options that pairs well with this dish: bell peppers, cucumbers, purple cabbage, red onions, and mint.

Most importantly, experiment and have fun! Play around with it and make this recipe noodle recipe your very own!

Frequently Asked Questions

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