Look up “restraint” in the dictionary and you’ll likely find a picture of me photographing a steamy bowl of creamy Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles without somehow diving face first into it. I cannot tell you how fragrant and fabulous these chewy noodles with peanut sauce are. This is the ultimate quick and satisfying meal that you will crave until you try!
Saucy Peanut Noodles = DROOL
Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles are slurpy, saucy, and perfect for any occasion. Plus they’re ready in under 20 minutes including prep time. Cook the noodles, make the luscious peanut sauce while the noodles are cooking, then stir them together. That’s it!
I like to make these sesame spiked peanut sauce noodles if I’m on my own for dinner (if the kids and Ben are getting something gluten-y, for example) although they love these noodles too. I can also totally see myself making a giant vat of peanut butter noodles with my college roomies back in the day after coming home from a night out. What can I say – they really hit the spot.
Each bite hits the five main elements of Thai cooking – sour, salty, sweet, creamy, and spicy – in such a craveable way.
Homemade Peanut Sauce Ingredients
- Peanut butter: I use Jif Naturals which, despite the name, does not have the drippy consistency of typical “natural style” peanut butter. If you’re using true natural style peanut butter where the only ingredient is “peanuts”, you might need to up the sweetener in this recipe just a touch.
- Gluten free tamari: Gluten free Tamari is soy sauce brewed without wheat and it adds saltiness and depth of flavor to these noodles. If you don’t need to eat gluten free, you can use traditional soy sauce.
- Coconut sugar: Coconut sugar balances out the saltiness from the Tamari. If you don’t have coconut sugar on hand you could sub in brown or white sugar.
- Sesame oil: Sesame oil and peanut butter are like peanut butter and jelly. That is to say, their flavors pair perfectly together, especially when they’re wrapped around warm, chewy noodles. The combination is very Thai peanut sauce-esque.
- Siracha chili sauce: Chili sauce brings a touch of heat to these peanut sauce noodles. For a mild dish, stick with 1/2 teaspoon, though feel free to add as much as you like.
- Aromatics: Ground ginger and fresh garlic add a ton of flavor to this quick cooking dish.
- Lime juice: Fresh lime juice cuts through the big flavors in the peanut sauce, and freshens everything up. I also like to squeeze fresh lime juice over my noodles before digging in.
Noodle Options
I’ve made Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles with gluten free spaghetti, gluten free angel hair pasta, and gluten free ramen noodles. I like Tinkyada brown rice pasta, or Barilla GF corn/rice blend pastas.
Switch it Up
As written, this noodle recipe is not only gluten free, but vegan too! That said, it’s a great base recipe to add protein or fresh vegetables to. Here are some ideas:
- Put an egg on it. The thought of putting a drippy fried egg on top of a hot bowl of these noodles nearly sends me into a tizzy. YUM!!!
- Add grilled sliced chicken, sauteed shrimp, or roasted tofu for a protein bump.
- Add any and all vegetables! Steamed edamame, broccoli florets, shredded carrots, thinly sliced red bell pepper and/or snap peas would be divine.
Ok enough chatting – raid the pantry then dive into this bowl of deliciousness!
Step 1: Cook the Pasta
Start by cooking the pasta in a large pot of boiling water. These photos show gluten free spaghetti, but angel hair and ramen noodles both work great.
BEFORE DRAINING scoop out 1 cup pasta cooking water which we’ll add to the dish at the end to make it deliciously saucy.
Step 2: Make the Homemade Peanut Sauce
While the pasta is cooking, stir together the sesame peanut sauce ingredients. To a mixing bowl, add: peanut butter, gluten free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using traditional soy sauce), coconut sugar, sesame oil, Siracha chili sauce, ground ginger, fresh garlic, and fresh lime juice. Use a spatula to mix and mash everything together. It’s ok if the sauce is not completely smooth as the hot noodles and pasta cooking water will meld everything together.
Step 3: Stir Together
Last step is to add the sauce mixture to the hot noodles along with minced peanuts and chopped green onions. Drizzle in the hot pasta cooking water to create a light sauce – start with a few Tablespoons then add more until the sauce reaches your desired texture.
That’s all she wrote!! Scoop the Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles into bowls then top with extra green onions and minced peanuts, plus fresh lime wedges and a few leaves of cilantro, if you’ve got ’em. SO GOOD. I hope you love this simple and delicious dish – enjoy!
More Tasty Noodle Recipes
- Chicken Pad Thai (No Tamarind)
- Potsticker Noodle Bowls
- Sausage Brussels Sprouts Parmesan Pasta
- Creamy Mushroom Parmesan Pasta
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- Pasta Fresca
- Chicken Caesar Salad Pasta
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Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles
Description
Sesame Peanut Sauce Noodles are saucy, slurpy, and crave-worthy! This gluten free pasta recipe is ready in minutes.
Ingredients
- 8oz gluten free spaghetti or ramen noodles
- 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 Tablespoons gluten free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using traditional soy sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Siracha chili sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 lime, sliced in half, one half sliced into wedges
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons roasted peanuts, minced
- Toppings: chopped cilantro, minced peanuts, chopped green onions, toasted sesame seeds
Directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add gluten free spaghetti or ramen noodles and cook until al dente. BEFORE DRAINING, carefully scoop out 1 cup pasta cooking water then set aside. Drain pasta then return to pot.
- Meanwhile, combine peanut butter, gluten free Tamari, coconut sugar, sesame oil, Siracha chili sauce, ground ginger, garlic, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice in a small bowl then stir to combine - it's ok if the sauce isn't completely smooth.
- Add sauce, green onions, and minced peanuts to the hot pasta, plus a few Tablespoons pasta cooking water, then stir until noodles are coated and the sauce is completely smooth. Add more pasta cooking water as needed to reach a smooth consistency.
- Scoop into bowls then serve with lime wedges and toppings.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
The measurements on this recipe are completely off. I am not sure if the author intended the recipe to have a 1:1 ratio of peanut butter to soy sauce/tamari but it is an obscene amount of soy sauce flavor. Even if you triple the amount of PB you are still left with a sauce that tastes like a salt lick.
Is it possible you mismeasured your ingredients, Seth, or didn’t add the pasta cooking water to thin out/dilute the sauce as instructed? I have never received feedback that this dish is too salty as written.
made for a friend whom always declined anything w/ peanut butter as ingredient, so had as a side dish in buffet. He practically ate the entire bowl single handed, n requested it many times thereafter
For me, I followed this method with exception of adding some very cold slivers of English Cukes, & adding some cucumber clear pressed juice in bottom of serving bowl
Had a version similarly once & it jumped in my mouth 😳
I love noodles! Gonna try the Sesame noodle recipe soon. Thank you, Kristin
I hope you love it, Mary!
Great, easy recipe. With no particular reason to be limited to GF choices, I used some thin, whole wheat spaghetti I had on hand, and the result was delicious. The beautiful, appetizing photos, as well as the many appealing recipes on this site have made it my new favorite go-to source for new meal ideas.
You are too kind, P. A.! Thank you so much for your feedback – I’m thrilled you loved the recipe!!
Made this to take to a gathering of friends. It was super easy to make—prepped everything while the water was boiling and quickly threw it all together when the noodles (used GF spaghetti) were ready. Added a heaping cup of shredded carrots and some fried tofu with the cilantro and green onions. The sauce tasted just a smidge too salty for my liking until I added the carrots. Everyone loved the dish and couldn’t believe it was GF! I’ll definitely make this again!
I’m SO glad the dish was a hit, Melissa! Love the idea of adding carrots!
I so badly wanted this to good since it was my first time attempting to make peanut sauce. It was entirely too salty. There was very little I could do to salvage it sort of adding a considerable amount of sugar.
I’m so sorry to hear this, Lorena! Is it possible the Tamari was mis-measured? Did you add the pasta cooking water to the sauce to thin it out? There really shouldn’t be a reason that this dish would be too salty as written (aside from a sensitive palate to salt, of course, which I understand1)
This recipe has it all. It’s so easy to make and tastes delicious. Every one loves it. Sometimes I add meat and vegetables, but on it’s own its very filling and satisfying. I always increase the recipe – IMO as written it only makes 2 large servings.
I’m so glad you love this recipe, Sky!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Can you please make a 1 page recipe print out. The current button produces 23 pages.
Recipe looks good though.
Hi Amy! Are you by chance using your browser’s print function? When I click “print recipe” at the top of the post, or the “print” button within the recipe card, it prints normally on one page.
These noodles are so good! I was a bit hesitant at first because I don’t love a strong sesame flavor, but they are so well balanced. The whole family enjoyed, including my 2 year old, so I will happily make this super easy and quick dish again and again!
Love to hear it, Katie! My kids love these noodles too. :)
I’m always looking for easy, quick, delicious recipes to make on a weeknight and this was perfect! I wanted to add some veggies so I added shredded carrots and snap peas in mine.
Love that!! Glad you were able to customize the recipe to work for you, Erika!
Made tonight with GF ramen and shrimp. So [email protected] Not a drop left everyone in the family loved it. Thanks!!
YUM – so glad it was a hit, Chrissy! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Looks delicious. I was wondering what you thought about almond butter? I can’t have peanuts but this looks so yummy I want to try it.
That should work, Joi! It’ll have a different flavor profile, but should be tasty!
I would love to try to make some of your recipes but you don’t post nutrition facts. Please start doing this so I can try some of these.
Thank you!
You can enter the recipe in a nutrition calculator based on the product your purchase for the recipes.
This was delicious and so easy to put together. We paired it with tuna croquettes. Very tasty!! Thank you for another winner!