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This Thai Noodle Salad recipe is a healthy vegetarian lunch recipe perfect to take to work! It can be eaten cold, is made with a creamy walnut butter sauce, and can be served with chicken or other protein for more staying power!
Noodles. Spicy Noodles. Spicy Walnut Butter Noodles. Now how does that sound for a packed work lunch every day?
This recipe for Thai noodle salad with walnut butter is going to change you, and change the way you ever pack your lunch again. We’re talking say goodbye to the boring sandwiches and green salads that you pack every day because your lunch is about to get upgraded with this Asian-inspired salad.
Did we mention that it also makes for an incredible dinner if you’re having guests over? People will think you slaved away in the kitchen for hours when really all you did was throw together some fresh produce and a quick sauce. Because for this salad, the longer it sits the better it gets. That’s what we call magic.
For more Thai inspired meals, check out my Thai Inspired Chicken Meatball Soup or Thai Red Vegetable Curry.
Why lunch is important
In an effort to rally America to recommit to lunch, California Walnuts has launched the Choose Lunch Campaign. A campaign focused on taking back that time spent elsewhere, when we often tell ourselves we are ‘too busy’ for a lunch break.
Skipping lunch can take a toll on our productivity and even our well being. Itโs time we press pause on our busy lives and recommit to this important midday meal.
I’m so excited to partner with California Walnuts to help spread the word about the importance of taking a lunch break, eating a nutritious meal, and in turn, feeling recharged and focused for the rest of the afternoon.
Starting with this Thai noodle salad with walnut butter, let’s make some delicious meals ahead of time this week so you can #ChooseLunch and give yourself the deserved lunch time!
To learn more about the #ChooseLunch campaign head to their website!
Why walnut butter?
Most Asian salads center around a delicious nut butter-based sauce, so for this recipe we got creative with one of our favorite nuts, the walnut.
All about walnuts
Walnuts are a versatile and optimal ingredient to incorporate into lunch meals. They are a good-fat food that supply a rich source of the plant-based omega-3 ALA (2.5 grams per 1 ounce serving). Walnuts are also naturally sodium and cholesterol free and are certified by the American Heart Association as a heart healthy food.
How to make Thai noodle salad
The best part about this salad is that once you have all of the ingredients prepared, it’s truly just an assembly process.
Cook your noodles like you would any other noodles. Then set them aside while you chop and prepare your veggies. You’re going to be using veggies like red pepper, carrots, and red cabbage, which not only taste great, but they make this salad look beautiful.
Throw everything into a bowl and let it sit while you start to make your walnut butter sauce. You can choose to make a homemade walnut butter, or a store bought. Both work great!
The sauce is made of a medley of flavors coming from lime juice, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, honey, and garlic. Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together in one bowl, then pour it onto your noodles and veggies. Mix it all together and serve with some sesame seeds!
This Thai noodle salad is best served cold and makes for the perfect meal prep, you can also throw on any protein that you may like! It goes perfectly with chicken and shrimp.
This blog post was sponsored by California Walnuts All opinions are my own. I am so thankful to work with wonderful partners who help to keep this blog afloat!
If you make this recipe, be sure to comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @erinliveswhole on Instagram and use the hashtag #erinliveswhole so I can see it and feature you!
Thai Noodle Salad with Walnut Butter
This Thai Noodle Salad recipe is a healthy vegetarian lunch recipe to take to work! It can be eaten cold, is made with a creamy walnut butter sauce, and can be served with chicken or other protein for more staying power!
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 6 oz dry noodles (soba, ramen, rice)
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 3 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
For sauce:
- 1/2 cup walnut butter (see notes for instruction)
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp sriracha
- 2 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package, rinse and set aside.
- Prepare sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Add noodles, sliced veggies, cilantro, and toasted walnuts to another large bowl.
- Pour sauce on top of noodle and veggie bowl and toss till fully coated.
- Add sesame seeds on top if desired!
- Serve cold.
Notes
For walnut butter: blend toasted walnuts in a food processor until creamy. This process can take upwards of 10 minutes to get very creamy walnut butter.
There may be affiliate links in this post!ย By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat ๐
Suzanne L says
Ineed to up the protein content. Besides chicken or shrimp could I do tuna or beans like cannelini or garbonzo?
Erin says
Hi Suzanne, yes! All would work! Let me know what you choose and how it comes out!
Nadia says
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe! I also love that it incorporates a whole bunch of vegetables so that way Iโm able to get more in.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Nadia, so glad you loved it! ๐
Beckie says
Really tasty salad. Tried to make the walnut butter but my old food processor just pushed it all to the edge. Peanut butter was a good substitute. All the crunchy veggies are so good! I also used bagged cole slaw instead of red cabbage and that seemed to work well too. And less chopping.
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Beckie, so glad you loved it and made it your own!!
Abby S. says
Very delicious. Used peanut butter instead of walnut butter and it tasted very good. I also added scallions on top. I think next time Iโll add some chicken in. Highly recommend!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Abby, so glad you liked it and made it your own with the sub and addition!
Abby S. says
Very delicious. Used peanut butter instead of walnut butter and it tasted very good. I think next time Iโll add some chicken in. Highly recommend!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Abby, so happy you loved it and made it your own!!
Lia says
Omg this was INCREDIBLE. I was expecting it to be good but I didn’t think it would be THIS AMAZING. I used tahini instead of walnut butter and peanuts instead of walnuts and lemme tell you it was very hard to stop myself from eating the entire thing. Very excited for leftovers tomorrow ๐
Erin says
Hi Lia! I am so thrilled you love it so much!! Thank you for your kind words! ๐
Amanda says
I really want to try this recipe! Could I use peanut butter instead of walnut butter or would that change the flavor too much?
Erin says
You totally can!! Will work the same!
Lori says
Looks awesome! Canโt wait to try it!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Lori, thanks and let me know how your salad comes out!
Tom says
This is awesome and so flavorful. I like it cold!
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi Tom, thank you! So glad you like it!