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Skip your local Thai restaurant when you’re craving Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken and make it at home instead! Thai peanut sauce and noodles couldn’t be simpler to make!
Easy Peanut Noodles with Thai Peanut Sauce
I’ve resisted posting too many Asian inspired recipes on here because of one little secret: I don’t do spicy. It seems like many favorite Asian recipes have a good kick of heat to them, and I’m not a huge fan of that. But these Thai peanut noodles with peanut sauce are perfect for those that like a good hit of Sriracha and those who don’t. Thai peanut noodles with chicken is my new favorite!
This Thai peanut sauce had me all over the place when I first started testing recipes. Some recipes call for coconut milk, fish sauce, and curry paste, while others stick with peanut butter and sriracha. So what’s the right way?
The more I researched, the more I found that there were a few ingredients in common and others that were basically at-home cooks trying to wing it. Coconut milk makes for a creamy sauce, but it also totally dulls the peanut butter, so that was an easy out.
Sriracha or chili flakes appeared often, but in the end sriracha won because we liked how it came incorporated into the sauce so evenly.
Fish sauce sounded like it must be a shoo-in as many Asian recipes use it, but again it seemed to overpower the other flavors so we got rid of it. Soy sauce or tamari, its gluten-free friend, were a better choice for that salty flavor without the fish flavor. Plus, we liked how it darkened the sauce and smoothed everything out.
Vinegar and sesame oil were back and forth in recipes, but we missed that subtle flavor when it was gone so we added it back in.
Here’s what we ended up with: ginger and garlic for sure, peanut butter and sriracha for the basic sauce flavors, and a punch of lime juice to brighten everything up. We stuck with warm water instead of coconut milk to thin things up a bit and you could certainly add more if you’d like.
Alright, but what about the Thai peanut noodles? Well, the noodles were a little tricky too. It’s much harder for us to find a good Pad Thai, Rice Noodle, or other Asian noodle so we had to look for one that would hold up to the savory sauce but not be so big and fat that the sauce ends up lost. We ended up using Angel hair pasta or spaghetti, and while I’m sure there are better options this was the most convenient and appetizing for weeknight Thai peanut noodles.
Ahhhh, the Thai peanut chicken needs a moment as well. You see, grilling or baking chicken and then dressing with a sauce fell pretty flat. The sauce didn’t stay on the chicken and the flavor was lacking. You could totally tell it was a plain piece of chicken with a little sauce. We decided to marinate the chicken in the homemade peanut sauce, and although it is absolutely freezing outside we had no choice but to turn to the grill.
Marinating penetrates the chicken all the way through so every bite has a wonderful blast of that irresistible peanut sauce.
The grill brings that extra smoky, enhanced flavor to the chicken and those little black grill marks not only make the meat more appetizing but it really does take the meat to a new level.
Thai Peanut Noodles & Peanut Sauce Ingredients
For the Thai peanut noodles and peanut chicken, you’ll need:
- Chicken breasts
- Bell peppers
- Sliced red cabbage
- Cucumber
- Sesame seeds
- Cilantro
- Roasted salted peanuts
- Green onions
- Pasta
And to make the easy peanut sauce, you’ll need:
- Creamy peanut butter
- Sriracha
- Lime juice
- Honey
- Toasted sesame oil
- Water
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
Can I Omit the Peanut Chicken?
If you don’t eat meat or are simply in a rush and don’t have time to marinate or cook the peanut chicken, you’re welcome to omit it. You’d be left with a delicious Thai noodle recipe regardless.
Just note that by omitting the chicken, you’d wind up with lots of leftover peanut butter sauce. So, you can either halve the sauce recipe or save the leftovers for later!
How to Make Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles with Chicken
The Thai peanut noodles with homemade peanut butter sauce takes little time to prep. Here’s how we make the homemade Thai peanut sauce and peanut noodles:
- Whisk together the easy peanut sauce.
- Marinate the chicken in half the peanut sauce for at least an hour.
- Grill the marinated chicken until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Drain the pasta and toss with the remaining Thai peanut sauce, grilled chicken, and veggies.
- Top your Thai peanut sauce noodles with peanuts, cilantro, sesame seeds, and green onion.
What Grill Pan Do You Recommend?
If you don’t want to venture outside, please promise me to use the best grill pan by Lodge. It’s a cast iron grill pan and its ridges are deep enough to actually leave marks, but not so high that the meat takes forever to cook. Plus, it’s only $12! That’s a major steal.
We just found this Lodge Cleaning Kit with a scrub brush, etc. to keep your pan looking and working great without all of the elbow grease. It’s like $20 but it really is worth it. You shouldn’t be caring for your cast iron like your other pans, so buying a couple of items meant for cast iron is a must.
How Long Does Peanut Sauce Last?
If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the Thai peanut sauce will last up to 2 weeks.
Tips for Making Thai Peanut Sauce & Peanut Noodles
A quick note: ginger is best if it’s fresh in this peanut sauce recipe, but figuring out how to peel ginger can really distract some people from wanting to use it. We recommend peeling ginger with a spoon, not a knife or potato peeler. Just scrape the spoon over the ginger and the peel will come right off and then use a fine holed cheese grater to grate it, or you can mince with a knife.
I should also note that we prefer marinating our chicken in the Thai peanut sauce overnight, although an hour will work if you’re in a rush.
I also like to prep all of the veggies once I’ve set the chicken aside to marinate. I pop the prepped veggies into a 3 compartment storage container. I’ve already prepped the meat, so I just figure I’d might as well take 5 more minutes to prep the veggies, and the storage container keeps everything fresh without blending flavors.
More EASY ASIAN RECIPES:
- Teriyaki Veggie Bowls
- 15-Minute Chicken Stir-Fry
- Teriyaki Chicken Casserole
- Classic Chinese Orange Chicken
- Quick Cashew Chicken
- Slow Cooker Asian Sticky Ribs
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Healthy Thai Peanut Steak Salad
- Slow Cooker Korean BBQ Beef
- All of Our Asian Recipes!
Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles and Chicken
Thai Peanut Noodles and Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in 1" Pieces
- 1/2 Package Pasta, * see note
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, sliced
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper, sliced
- 1/2 Cup Red Cabbage, sliced
- 1 Cucumber, peeled and sliced thin then cut in 1-2" pieces
- 1/2 Cup Dry Roasted, Salted Peanuts, roughly chopped
- 1/3 Cup Cilantro, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Green Onions, sliced
- Sesame Seeds
Thai Peanut Sauce
- 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 2-3 Tablespoons Sriracha
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Lime Juice
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1/2 Cup Warm Water
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Grated Ginger
- 6 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar
Instructions
- Whisk together the peanut sauce ingredients and pour half into an 8x8" baking pan. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to overnight.1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter, 2-3 Tablespoons Sriracha, 1/4 Cup Fresh Lime Juice, 1/4 Cup Honey, 2 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil, 1/2 Cup Warm Water, 3 Tablespoons Fresh Grated Ginger, 6 Cloves Garlic, 1/3 Cup Soy Sauce, 1 teaspoon Rice Vinegar, 3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Reserve the remaining peanut sauce for the noodles.
- Heat a grill to medium high heat. Place the chicken on skewers and grill for 8 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the heat and tent with foil.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package instructions.1/2 Package Pasta
- Drain the pasta and toss with the chicken, peppers, cucumbers, cabbage, and sauce.1 Red Bell Pepper, 1 Orange Bell Pepper, 1/2 Cup Red Cabbage, 1 Cucumber
- Top with peanuts, cilantro, green onions and sesame seeds. Serve with additional sriracha if desired. I never do, but Cade does. 😉1/3 Cup Cilantro, 1/2 Cup Dry Roasted, Salted Peanuts, 2 Tablespoons Green Onions, Sesame Seeds
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So delicious! Thank you for this recipe. I used Gardien meatless chick’n strips and they were such as easy sub. 5 star.
Thank you Rachael!! It could totally be made without chicken too and just add other veggies! Thanks for your feedback!
Do you toss the veggies in raw?
I mean, after noodles and chicken cook and then cook with veggies further, or more like for garnishing after plating noodles and chicken.
Toss the raw veggies with the cooked pasta and chicken, then garnish with the peanuts, green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
Yes
Made the Peanut sauce tonight,
VERY yummy.
I halved the recipe as I was only cooking for 2.
Had to substitute ground ginger, I used a generous 1/4 tsp. I was a little generous with the acids – lime juice and vinegar, garnished with sliced green onions and it came out great!!
Will definitely be adding to the rotation 🙂
Yes! We love to hear that! I do the happy dance when I find a new recipe to add to the rotation! Thanks for leaving feedback!
What is your pasta package size? 7oz? 14oz? 1lb? 2lb?
14 ounces 🙂
How long does the sauce keep in the refrigerator or does it freeze well? I made chicken and noodles for one but I went by the recipe for the sauce so I have a ton of left over. I did not use ginger or siracha as I did not have any. Would love to know how to store left over sauce so none of it’s wasted. Thanks!!
Hi Claire, it will kee for two weeks in the fridge if sealed.
This dish is highly suspect. The removal of everything that makes this dish what it is really sad. If you don’t wanna use the ingredients in Thai food then don’t attempt to cook Thai food.
I think all they are missing is Welch’s grape jelly in order to make the classic American-Italian Peanut Butter and Jelly noodle.
This recipe is actually pretty authentic. I would leave in the fish sauce and cut the massive amounts of honey. They pointed out a lot of the recipes with other ingredients are actually Americanized
Did you actually MAKE the recipe as promoted? She made it easier, and AUTHENTIC taste all in one. I must defend this recipe as it is right up there in texture and taste. To be “sad” over a very useful and easy Thai dish is a little “suspect” JMHO.
Thanks Molly!
Hi, I made your Thai peanut sauce and noodle salad today. It was fantastic. I followed your recipe exactly and it was outstanding. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much! Happy you enjoyed it!
Your recipe says: 1/2 package pasta *see note
– I can’t find a “*note” within the recipe…..
Hi LeAnn, at the bottom of the recipe it just says the kind we prefer, We prefer Angel Hair or Spaghetti
hey girl- this looks so yummy!
If that tastes as good as it looks I cannot wait to make it. I love the name of your web site and I love basil. Cant wait to make this.
Hope you love it! Thanks for the kind words!