These Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles are super easy, versatile, and ready in less than 20 minutes. Serve them as a side dish, a starter, a snack, or add some protein and/or veggies to make it a meal!
Curly ramen noodles are tossed with a Thai-inspired sauce made with soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, honey, sriracha and peanut butter for a delicious dish that’s awesome served warm or cold!
Mmm…cold. That’s my favorite way to enjoy them!
They’re even better than the cold sesame noodles from my favorite Chinese restaurant…and I can make them in a lot less time than it would take to get in the car and pick up some takeout.
All you need is the time it takes to boil some water and cook the noodles!
Whisk together the sauce while you’re waiting. Then, when the noodles are done, toss them with the sauce. That’s it!
Top with sliced green onions for some fresh onion-y flavor, chopped peanuts for crunch, and sesame seeds for a little extra sesame flavor (but mostly just because they look so pretty…I love a mixture of black and white sesame seeds).
Now, if peanut butter in your noodles sounds weird (yep, it did to me too at first), I say you just have to try it! Sesame and peanuts go great together. Plus, the peanut butter gives you a little bit of creaminess that wouldn’t be there without it.
And besides the fact that they’re absolutely delicious, what I really love about these peanut sesame ramen noodles is their versatility.
They go great as a side or as a starter with any Asian-style meal, of course. But they’re equally as good served alongside chicken, pork chops, steak, or seafood.
Enjoy them for lunch or as a snack, maybe alongside a salad or some soup.
What I really love is that you can turn them into a full meal by adding your favorite cooked protein (meat or meatless) and/or some cooked veggies. They’re even fantastic with a few fried eggs on top or some scrambled eggs stirred in.
So many possibilities!
Ingredients you need:
Note: Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Ramen noodles
- Soy sauce
- Creamy peanut butter
- Toasted sesame oil
- Vegetable oil
- Rice vinegar
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Honey
- Sriracha
- Green onions
- Peanuts (salted or unsalted, up to you)
- Sesame seeds (I like to use a combination of regular and black, but just one or the other is fine)
Soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, sriracha, and sesame seeds can be found in the international aisle/Asian section of your grocery store.
Here’s a look at how to make Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles:
Note: This is just a quick overview of the steps. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe with detailed instructions.
Tips & Tidbits:
- I use ramen noodles for this dish because I love the way they look and they cook quickly (usually in about 3 minutes after added to the boiling water).
- You can also use other Asian noodles, such as udon, soba or rice noodles, or you can use spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine (you’ll need 8 ounces of dry noodles). They may take longer to cook.
- You don’t have to make these noodles spicy if that’s not your thing (or you can make them super spicy if it is!). Omit, increase or decrease the amount of sriracha to suit your own personal tastes.
- If you want some spice but don’t have sriracha, sambal oelek is another option. Or you could add some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
- Brown sugar or maple syrup could be used instead of honey.
- If you like things super saucy, you can double the sauce. You may also want to double the sauce if you’re going to add protein or vegetables…up to you!
- A squeeze of fresh lime juice over the finished noodles is also yummy.
- Gluten-free? Use a gluten-free soy sauce, such as tamari (which is almost always gluten-free…but check the label just to be sure), and gluten-free noodles.
- If you want to serve these cold, hold off on adding the toppings, put the sauced noodles in the refrigerator for an hour or two until they are chilled, and add the toppings when you serve them.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- The noodles will soak up a lot of the sauce as they sit. Reheat gently in a pan on the stove just until heated through. If they are a little too dry for your liking, try stirring in a little water or broth (not too much, though, as you don’t want to dilute the sauce).
Don’t skip those toppings, they really do take this dish over the top in terms of both flavor and texture and are an important part of what makes it totally addicting and crave-worthy!
I hope you try this Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
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Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
Noodles:
- 3 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles, discard the flavor packets or save them for another use
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons sriracha, optional (add more or less to taste depending on how spicy you like things)
- 1 small clove garlic, minced (about ½ teaspoon total)
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
Toppings:
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
- ¼ cup chopped peanuts, salted or unsalted, up to you
- 4 teaspoons sesame seeds, I like to use half regular and half black sesame seeds, but just one or the other is fine
Instructions
- Cook the noodles in boiling water for the time indicated on the package directions (usually this is 3 minutes); drain.
- While you are waiting for the noodle water to boil and for the noodles to cook, make the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, peanut butter, vegetable oil, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, sriracha, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl until smooth.
- Add the cooked and drained noodles to the bowl with the sauce; toss until well-combined and all of the noodles are coated with sauce.
- Top with the green onions, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold (if you want to serve them cold, hold off on the toppings, put them in the fridge for an hour or two until they are chilled, and add the toppings when you serve them).
Notes
- Other Asian noodles, such as udon, soba or rice noodles can be used, or you can use spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine (you’ll need 8 ounces of dry noodles). They may take a little longer to cook.
- The sriracha is what makes this dish spicy. If you don’t want any spice, leave it out. If you want some heat but don’t have any sriracha, sambal oelek is another option, or you could add some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper.
- Brown sugar or maple syrup could be used instead of honey.
- Serve as a side dish, a starter, a snack, or add some protein and/or veggies to make it a meal.
- Estimated calories shown are based on 4 servings. For 6 servings, estimated calories per serving would be 315.
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