These Thai-inspired Vegetarian Peanut Noodles are creamy and savory with a spicy sweetness thanks to dark brown sugar and sriracha. Top them with fresh green onions and chopped peanuts to add an amazing crunch.

Bowl of vegetarian peanut noodles garnished with sliced green onions and chopped peanuts

These Thai-Inspired Vegetarian Peanut Noodles are super easy to make and pack in a ton of flavor. They also can be made with items you can always keep on hand, which means you can quickly whip these up whenever you need a delicious meal everyone will love.

Adding more vegetarian meals should be both easy and delicious. These creamy peanut noodles deliver on both of those needs!

Ingredients

Noodles – First, the noodles. You really can’t go wrong with any kind of noodle. They all taste great coated in the peanut sauce. In this recipe, I use fettuccine noodles which I know, are not traditionally Thai. They are however super easy to cook, I always have them in my pantry, and the wideness of the noodle nicely mimics rice noodles a much more traditional Thai option. Really, use whatever noodle your family enjoys!

Peanut Butter – I use all-natural peanut butter made with only peanuts and salt. It’s the only type of peanut butter I always keep on hand so it’s what I use.

Low-Sodium Soy Sauce – Soy sauce adds such an amazing depth of flavor and saltiness to dishes. But, the full sodium versions really do have a ton of salt in them. I highly recommend sticking to the low-sodium versions. I promise you won’t miss the extra salt.

Dark Brown Sugar – For this recipe, I went with the dark version of brown sugar. I wanted the sauce to have a lot of complex flavors and the dark brown sugar really stands up next to the peanut butter and soy sauce. If light brown sugar is all you have, feel free to use that. It will still taste amazing. However, using dark brown sugar does take the flavor over the top.

Sriracha – Sriracha adds a really great hit of heat without overpowering the whole dish. It’s the kind of heat that just gently sits there as you eat. Feel free to add as much, or as little, as you like.

Rice Vinegar – Rice vinegar is a really nice vinegar to keep on hand. It’s less pungent than white vinegar and imparts a less distinct flavor than apple cider vinegar.

Green Onions – Green onions, also known as scallions, add a nice bit of freshness to an otherwise rich and creamy dish. Be sure to save some to sprinkle on top just before serving.

Garlic & Ginger – These aromatics add a ton of flavor to the dish. I always recommend using fresh and mincing it yourself. I

Bowl of vegetarian peanut noodles garnished with green onions and chopped peanuts

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1:

Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package. Just before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. This may come in handy later if the peanut sauce becomes too thick.

Step 2:

While the pasta is boiling, make the peanut sauce in a medium-sized bowl by mixing together the peanut butter, soy sauce, dark brown sugar, sriracha, rice vinegar, and water. If you’re using natural peanut butter you may find that the mixture looks a bit separated and not totally smooth. That is completely fine. It will all come together when it cooks.

Step 3:

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté the green onions for about 3 minutes, just until they start to brown and soften. Then add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté another 30 seconds.

Step 4:

Pour the peanut sauce into the pan and allow it to gently simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. It doesn’t take long for this sauce to thicken so it’s easy to overdo it.

Step 5:

Stir the pasta into the sauce until it is well coated. If the sauce is thicker than you would like, simply pour in a little bit of the reserved pasta water and stir. Continue until it’s the consistency you want.

Serve with fresh sliced green onions and chopped peanuts to garnish with.