These peanut noodles are super easy to make and takes only 5 minutes! The noodles are perfectly al-dente with a beautiful bounce and the sauce is super creamy, flavorful, and has just the right amount of heat, with the help of our easy 5 minute chili oil.
Kyong and I are suckers for noodles dishes, and it's even harder to say no to easy and quick noodles dishes, like our 10 minute sesame noodles.
Today, we are introducing another quick and easy noodle dish, that may just top the chart on our easy weekday recipes: 5 minute peanut noodles! Seriously, these noodles are addictive and way too easy to make. Psssst...also try it with a fried egg. SO GOOD!
If you love quick noodle and pasta recipes like us, also check out our gochujang pasta, shrimp yaki udon, and kimchi chili oil ramen.
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Ingredients and substitutions
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Chinese knife cut (sliced) noodles - We highly recommend these noodles because they're wide, which will make sure the sauce gets generously coated, and they have great texture. They are offered both fresh or dry in most Asian markets. But do feel free to use noodles or pastas of your choice. If you're feeling adventurous, you could even make homemade hand-pull noodles from our Biang Biang noodle recipe for your peanut noodles.
- Peanut butter - Classic creamy peanut butter makes the best peanut sauce. It'll make the sauce super creamy and tasty. Crunchy peanut butter is great if you want extra texture, but you'd want to use a little more.
- Soy sauce - Make sure to use regular soy sauce, NOT low sodium soy sauce. Low sodium will under season the sauce and won't taste as good.
- Chili oil - You can make our 5-minute easy chili oil or use your favorite store-bought chili oil.
- Vinegar - Both Chinese black vinegar and regular rice vinegar are great choices. The vinegar helps to balance the creaminess and adds flavor.
- Sugar - Just a little to slightly sweeten the sauce. Although you could use honey as the alternative sweetener, it will change the taste slightly.
- Cilantro or green onions (optional) - For some color and some refreshing crunch a flavor.
How to make these easy peanut noodles
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the knife cut noodles for about 5 minutes or according to the package instructions.
2. While the noodles are cooking, make the peanut sauce. Mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, chili oil, vinegar, and sugar until well combined.
🌟 Pro tip: The sauce is just thin enough to coat the noodles, but if you prefer your sauce on the looser side, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cooking water from the noodles to thin the sauce. You can add 1 to 2 teaspoon of dark soy sauce to make up for the lighter color due to the looser sauce.
3. When the noodles are done cooking, drain and add them to the prepared sauce and mix well.
4. Top with more chili oil and some chopped cilantro or thinly sliced green onions, or both. Enjoy!
Recipe tips
- Enjoy the peanut noodles as soon as possible, while they're warm. The longer noodles sit, the more texture they lose. Also, as the peanut sauce cool down, it tends to thicken.
- Don't rinse the noodles before adding to the peanut sauce! The natural starch on the noodles will help the sauce stick on. Also, these noodles are best hot and right out of the water.
FAQ
Feel free to use any noodles of your choice, but noodles that can get generously coated in sauce and have good texture are best. We highly recommend Chinese knife cut (sliced) noodles.
Amongst the different vinegars we tested, the peanut sauce tasted the best with some Chinese black. However, regular rice vinegar was also a great choice.
If you prefer the peanut sauce thinner, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the hot cooking water from the noodles and adjust to your prefer preference.
If you’ve made this recipe or any recipes from our blog, please tag us on Instagram using #twoplaidaprons! You can also tag us in your Instagram stories using @two_plaid_aprons. We would love to see your creations! It absolutely makes our day! 🥰
📖 Recipe
5-Minute Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 3.5 ounces knife cut noodles or noodles or pasta of your choice
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili oil more or less to your preference
- ½ tablespoon Chinese black vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Cilantro or green onions roughly chopped or thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the knife cut noodles for about 5 minutes or according to the package instructions.
- While the noodles are cooking, make the peanut sauce. Mix together the peanut butter, soy sauce, chili oil, vinegar, and sugar until well combined. *The sauce is just thin enough to coat the noodles, but if you prefer your sauce on the looser side, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cooking water from the noodles to thin the sauce.*
- When the noodles are done cooking, add it to the prepared sauce and mix well.
- Top with more chili oil and some chopped cilantro or thinly sliced green onions, or both. Enjoy!
Notes
- Soy sauce - It is important that regular soy sauce is used for the peanut sauce because low sodium soy sauce will be too light in flavor. If you only have low sodium soy sauce, we recommend adding about ⅛ teaspoon salt to the sauce.
- Dark soy sauce - If you are thinning the sauce with water, you can also add 1 to 2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce to give the peanut sauce more color.
Megan says
Amazingly tasty and fast to make. I didn't have chili oil or the ingredients to make my own so I used sriracha and it turned out great! Made the perfect 11 pm snack LOL. Thanks for sharing this!
Mei says
Hi Megan!
So glad to hear that you enjoyed the peanut noodles! Haha, Sriracha is great on anything!
Mei ❤️