Delicious, filling spicy peanut noodles that are quick enough to whip up on a weeknight! The peanut sauce is rich and savory, and you can control the spice level by adding as little or as much sriracha as you'd like! The fried shallots are an awesome addition to this dish, but they aren't necessary. If desired, you can skip the shallots all together and the dish comes together in about 15 minutes!
This recipe happens to be vegan, but is something even non-vegans (like myself) are sure to enjoy. The homemade peanut sauce makes this dish filling enough that you won't be missing meat in the meal! This is a great option to work into your rotation if you're looking to reduce your meat consumption.
How spicy are these Spicy Peanut Noodles?
This recipe is what I would consider to be mild, and most people who cannot tolerate spicy food should be able to comfortably enjoy this dish. If you'd like to avoid the spice, consider halving the quantity of sriracha or omitting it all together. If you want to make this dish truly spicy, wait until the peanut sauce has come to the right texture, then add sriracha to taste. If you're serving this dish to people with varying spice tolerance, crushed red pepper flakes are a great option for everyone to dial in the spice to their preference.
How to Make Spicy Peanut Noodles
- Make the fried shallots (optional): Thinly slice the shallots then fry them in hot oil until crispy.
- Cook the noodles: Begin boiling a large pot of water for the noodles. Prepare the noodles per package instructions for al dente while preparing the sauce. Drain and cover to keep warm until needed.
- Prepare the spicy peanut sauce: Mix the cornstarch with ½ cup hot water until fully dissolved. In a small pot, combine the cornstarch slurry and the rest of the sauce ingredients (creamy peanut butter, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, brown sugar, sriracha, lime juice, fresh garlic, and fresh ginger). Warm over medium-low heat and mix well. Allow the sauce to cook down until it thickens, about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low until ready to use. If needed, add a splash of water to the sauce and mix well if it thickens up too much while waiting.
- Finish the dish: Pour the prepared peanut sauce over the cooked noodles and mix until fully coated. Plate the noodles into the serving dishes and top with the crushed peanuts, fried shallots, green onion, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Additional topping ideas:
My favorite toppings are fried shallots (recipe included), green onions, crushed peanuts, crushed red pepper flakes, and black sesame seeds. Some other toppings to consider are chili oil / chili garlic sauce, grilled chicken breast, tofu, sautéd bell peppers, julienned carrot, fresh cilantro, broccoli florets, snap peas, snow peas, or really any crunchy veggie!
Substitutions
- Peanut Butter: I make this creamy peanut sauce using creamy peanut butter, and my go-to is JIF brand. You can substitute natural peanut butter, chunky peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, Chinese sesame paste, sunflower seed butter, or really any nut butter you prefer. This will alter the taste a bit, but should still make for great spicy noodles!
- Lime Juice: For the acid in the sauce I like to use fresh lime juice, but you can substitute rice vinegar or Chinese black vinegar if you prefer. You can also serve the noodles with lime wedges for squeezing for more tang!
- Soy Sauce: The soy sauce in this recipe can be substituted for tamari, low sodium soy sauce, or coconut aminos as needed!
- Brown Sugar: The brown sugar can be swapped for white sugar, maple syrup, or honey.
- Water: Rather than using water in the sauce, give it a little more flavor by subbing chicken broth.
- Noodles: The most commonly used noodles for this dish are rice noodles (like in pad thai) but my favorite noodles to use are long pasta like spaghetti noodles or long fusilli (as pictured).
Key Tips - Spicy Peanut Noodles
Use long, thick noodles.
- Long, thick noodles are the best option for the peanut sauce. My favorite for this is long fusilli (as pictured). Long fusilli is hard to find, I usually buy mine online.
- Other long thick noodles such as spaghetti, bucatini, fettuccine, or fresh ramen noodles are all great options!
Sauce and fried shallots can be made ahead of time.
- If desired, the fried shallots can be made ahead of time. Just store them in an airtight container at room temp (after cooling), they should keep well for at least a month.
- The peanut sauce can also be made ahead and warmed up when ready to use. Prepare the sauce as described, then transfer to and airtight container and store in the fridge until ready to use. When preparing the meal, warm the sauce up over low heat before tossing with the noodles. You may need to mix in a few tablespoon of water when reheating to keep the proper consistency.
Control the spice level by adding more or less sriracha.
- Adjust the sriracha quantity to fit your desired spice level. I use around 1 tablespoon of sriracha for a mild heat. ½ tablespoon will add a bit of flavor to the dish, without making it spicy, and should be suitable for people who don't tolerate spicy foods. If you're a spice lover, consider using 2 or more tablespoon of sriracha, taste the sauce and add more until it's perfect.
- Optionally, serve with crushed red pepper flakes as a topping, so everyone can dial in their own spice preference!
Dietary Restrictions - Spicy Peanut Noodles
This dish is naturally Vegan & Vegetarian.
This dish is naturally Dairy-Free.
Make it Gluten-Free:
- Use gluten-free pasta. Chickpea pasta is my favorite GF variety! Rice noodles are also a very popular choice for peanut noodles.
- Make sure you're using gluten-free soy sauce, such as tamari.
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, some people may prefer to have more than one serving. I typically serve this dish as 2 large dinner portions. Plated in the pictures is two servings per bowl.
Spicy Peanut Noodles with Fried Shallots
Ingredients
- 8 oz. dried noodles or pasta long fusilli, spaghetti, or similar
- 2 green onions greens sliced thin
- ¼ cup crushed peanuts
- crushed red pepper flakes optional
For Spicy Peanut Sauce:
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce (for mild) add more to taste if desired
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ½ tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger or sub ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ cup warm water
For Fried Shallots (Optional):
- 2 large shallots ~¼ lb
- ½ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
Preparation - Fried Shallots (Optional)
- Peel the shallots and slice them into thin slices, creating small rings. Separate the rings with your hands after slicing.
- Warm the veggie oil over medium heat in a small pot. Meanwhile, place a mesh strainer over a heatproof bowl, and line a plate with paper towels.
- Once the oil is hot, add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until they turn golden and crispy, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- When the shallots are ready, pour the mixture through the strainer. After straining, transfer the shallots to a paper towel lined plate and blot off any excess oil.
Preparation - Peanut Noodles
- Begin boiling a large pot of salted water for the noodles. Prepare the noodles per package instructions for al dente while preparing the sauce. Drain and cover to keep warm until needed.
- Mix the cornstarch with the warm water until fully dissolved. In a small pot, combine the cornstarch slurry and the rest of the sauce ingredients. Warm over medium-low heat and mix well. Allow the sauce to cook down until it thickens, about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low until ready to use. If needed, add a splash of water to the sauce and mix well if it thickens up too much while waiting.
- Pour the prepared peanut sauce over the noodles and mix until fully coated. Plate the noodles into the serving dishes and top with the crushed peanuts, fried shallots, green onion, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Send me pictures of your creations -- it'll make my day! Message @CraftyCookbook on Instagram, email me ([email protected]), or tag me in a post! Please note, tagged posts are only visible to me if your account is public. Did you make any interesting changes or substitutions for this recipe? Tell me about them in the comment section below!
Ali Y says
Made this recipe the other day with my friends and DAMN!!! The noodles are perfect with the sauce. Great for a group dinner or date night.
Delaney Burke says
I made it tonight and it was delicious. I added some thinly sliced red onion and cilantro on top. If you go w rice noodle I recommend blending everything together in bowl. Otherwise the noodle over cook just a bit. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Jacqueline Schell says
Those additions sound delicious, thanks so much for commenting!
Danielle says
I love how easy this came together with items I already had in my pantry. I almost cooked up some chicken thighs to go along, but was too lazy. I’m glad I didn’t, I really didn’t miss the meat and found it super filling as is. Will be throwing this into my weekly rotation
Jacqueline Schell says
Glad to hear you liked it, thanks so much for commenting!
Chris says
Okay, I just finished this with my family. I made a double batch with cavatapi noodles (because I wanted leftovers). My 6 year old LOVED it. My takeaways:
1. Shallots are a WONDERFUL choice for this, but I over fried mine. 🤕. I forgot that they keep cooking a bit after removing from oil. I took em out when caramel brown, but they ended up more of a bronze.
2. My sauce ended up too thick. I had to add about 1/4 cup of water. Thankfully, I remembered to save my pasta water when draining, so that I could use that to thin it back out.
3. The lime juice is a very surprising addition to the sauce, but worked SO well.
4. I think the next time I make this (and there WILL be a next time), I will do a veggie topping bar to go on top. Green onions, sauteed mushrooms, the fried shallots, extra peanuts, maybe even some seaweed crisps. Everyone assembles their own bowl.
Jacqueline Schell says
Thanks so much for the detailed feedback! Glad to hear it's kid-approved!
Gal Jerman says
Top ,.. top top ... post! Keep the good work on !