This udon salad with peanut sauce has crunchy and hydrating veggies, tofu and sweet mango tossed with a tangy, sweet and slightly spicy peanut sauce. Udon noodles are the best vehicle for this delicious peanut sauce. This summer salad has so much texture and variety with crunchy celery, bell peppers, and carrots. There is also tender raw tofu, ripe mango and cucumbers which gives more textural variation and visual interest. This hearty vegan salad is everything you want in a chilled noodle salad.
What are Udon Noodles?
Udon noodles are a thick, chewy type of noodles made from wheat. They originated in Japan and are very popular in America also with the health food set. One thing that is awesome about udon noodles is that they are vegan, unlike most ramen noodles. They are great in salads because they are a bit thicker and have a very neutral flavor which goes well with most flavorful dressings. These noodles are perfect for this udon salad with peanut sauce. This peanut sauce is quite heavy and could easily overpower a weaker noodle. But the udon noodles stand up and hold their integrity even tosses in this thick peanut sauce.
What is peanut sauce?
Peanut sauce is a delicious sauce that originates in Indonesian cooking. Some also call peanut sauce, satay sauce. It is great for dipping spring rolls and grilled tofu or meats. You can also use peanut sauce as a flavorful marinade for grilling or even as a dressing. In most peanut sauces, peanut butter is combined with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sweetener and vinegar. For this Udon salad with peanut sauce, we combine peanut butter with lime juice, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and rice vinegar. This sauce is addictive. Sweet, spicy, tangy and peanut buttery, you will want to try this sauce on everything!
Ingredients for Udon Salad with Peanut Sauce
The ingredients for this summery noodle salad are pretty basic and easy to find. If dried udon noodles are unavailable, you can sub linguine but be sure to cook it al dente. If tofu is not your thing, or you are weirded out by it being "raw" feel free to cook the tofu in an air fryer or oven or even buy one of the precooked and cubed tofus they have at the market. I love the mango in this recipe, it adds another layer of flavor but feel free to leave it out.
- udon noodles
- Persian cucumbers
- bell pepper
- celery
- red cabbage
- carrot
- mango
- extra firm tofu
- cilantro
- peanut butter
- water
- limes
- Sriracha
- sweet chili sauce
- rice vinegar
- tamari soy sauce
How to make Udon Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce
This is a really easy recipe to make. Plus it is ready quickly making it an awesome recipe for a weeknight dinner on the deck or as a meal prep for your workweek.
- Cook udon noodles according to package, rinse with cool water, drain and reserve.
- To a large bowl add noodles, cabbage, cucumbers, celery, mango, tofu and cilantro
- Make dressing in a small bowl by combining peanut butter, water, lime, sriracha, sweet chili, tamari and rice vinegar. Whisk until smooth.
- Add dressing to salad bowl and mix until well combined
- Enjoy within 3-4 days for best quality
Tips for making the best noodle salad
Here are my top tips and tools for making a perfect chilled noodle salad.
- Always choose the freshest produce for salads and save the wilted ones for soup.
- When cooking noodles for a salad, do not overcook. Overcooked noodles will break into small pieces when mixed with a heavy dressing like this one.
- Be sure to rinse the noodles with cool water and drain really well. Water is the enemy of a flavorful dressing like this peanut sauce.
- Use a sharp knife for chopping the veggies. Cooking is safer, more efficient and more fun when you have quality tools.
Other delicious vegan salads
Udon Salad with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz udon noodles cooked and cooked
- 2 Persian cucumbers in matchsticks
- ½ bell pepper in matchsticks
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 cups red cabbage chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 1 mango peeled and diced
- 16 oz block extra firm tofu drained and cubed
- ½ bunch cilantro chopped
- For Dressing
- ¾ cup peanut butter
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ limes juiced
- 1 tsp Sriracha
- 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
Instructions
- Cook udon noodles according to package, rinse with cool water, drain and reserve.
- To a large bowl add noodles, cabbage, cucumbers, celery, mango, tofu and cilantro
- Make dressing in a small bowl by combining peanut butter, water, lime, sriracha, sweet chili, tamari and rice vinegar. Whisk until smooth.
- Add dressing to salad bowl and mix until well combined
- Enjoy within 3-4 days for best quality
Maggie
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! I was nervous of trying tofu (I tried it years ago and haven't wanted to try it again) but I went ahead and followed the recipe with the extra firm raw tofu and I was pleasantly surprised! My sauce was a lot thicker than the one you made on your Instagram video. The peanut butter I had was really thick so I had to use a blender to mix the sauce together. Next time I'll look for a thinner peanut butter or add more water. Definitely will be making this again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Sara Tercero
Hi Maggie! Peanut butters definitely vary. Using a blender was a good idea as well as adding some extra water. Glad you pushed yourself out of your food comfort zone! That is always an exciting thing. If you liked the tofu this way, that is huge. Now it's time to venture into a cooked one. Thanks for the feedback.
wendy
Hi Sara,
Peanut allergy in my house. What do you think about almond butter or tahini?
Sara Tercero
Hi Wendy, I think almond butter would do well here. Tahini would be good but you would really have to rework the sauce and add things a little at a time and taste a lot. If you are comfortable doing that I say go for It! However I think that almond butter would be a real easy swap!
Valerie Wolfe
We’ve made this twice and it’s absolutely delightful! I added a chopped green onion the second time around. So delicious!!!
Sara Tercero
Hi Valerie! Thats awesome! I would def add an onion as well. If you have time could you update this with a star rating?
Sarah
We had this for lunch today. Really simple and easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. The only problem is that I could have eaten 2 servings!
Sara Tercero
Hi Sarah thanks for the feedback. I definitely eat more than one serving which is why I am not skinny lol. Making the serving sizes is so difficult. Many people like to eat big servings! But to keep the calorie count reasonable some dishes like this one, serving size matters! That is why I always bulk them up with so many veggies. So happy you enjoyed it!
Rose
Just finished eating a bowl after making it for the first time, I'm in love! Very refreshing and super tasty! I left out the cilantro as I'm not a fan of the flavour but the salad was so delicious. I did add a bit more sriracha as I like a little extra spice. The hardest part of the recipe is finding a bowl large enough to put it all in, as it makes a decent size, which is perfect for meal prep! Will be making it often.
Sara Tercero
Hi Rose! So delighted that you enjoyed this recipe. I love this one too. And it is perfect for meal prep. Thanks again for the feedback and for the 5 star review!
Christy
Made this for dinner tonight and the whole family loved it! Perfect meal for our hot weather right now.
Sara Tercero
That's awesome! SO happy you liked it! Stay cool. Thanks so much for the feedback.
Nan
One of my favorite salads - we can have this for dinner every week. I use soy-free tofu and PB2 to keep it lowfat.
Sara Tercero
Great ideas! I love this one too thanks for the feedback!
Anne
Delicious, love the mango in it! I quick fried the tofu but otherwise I made it as you outlined. Thanks!
Sara Tercero
So happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the rating!