Thai Noodle Salad with Walnut Butter

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. It’s 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!