peanut noodles with cabbage and basil

These peanut noodles with crunchy purple cabbage and fresh basil are so delicious, you may bust into song when you see them! They are loaded with fresh veggies and have a dreamy lightly sweet and savory ginger peanut sauce that makes them irresistible.

Why We Love This Peanut Noodles Recipes

If you love peanut noodles then this recipe with creamy peanut sauce flavored with ginger and tossed with cooked pasta, basil and a colorful combination of carrots, scallions and purple cabbage will wow you for sure! It’s a crowd-pleasing vegetarian recipe for a potluck or family-friendly get together.

It can also be made ahead and served chilled for summer dinners with family. The lightly sweet peanut sauce is a hit for the whole family! Plus the addition of extra veggies makes it a healthier choice than traditional peanut noodles.

We used penne pasta instead of linguini or long noodles but feel free to use your favorite!

Tips on Making These Healthy Peanut Noodles

Making homemade peanut noodles is incredibly easy, but there are a few things to remember when making this vegetarian dinner recipe:

1. Cook the pasta until al dente:

You don’t want to overcook the pasta, as it’ll soak up the peanut sauce once you mix everything together.

If you cook the pasta too much, it’ll only get mushier after you add in the sauce. You want slightly firm peanut noodles that can hold their own against all those veggies.

2. Use pure maple syrup:

When buying the ingredients for these peanut noodles, make sure to grab pure maple syrup and not the artificially flavored stuff.

Real maple syrup is contains micronutrients and is a natural sweetener, whereas artificial maple syrup is basically just flavored corn syrup.

3. Use fresh ginger, if possible:

I know not everyone keeps fresh ginger in their house, but it’s definitely worth using in this easy recipe. The fresh ginger adds the perfect punch of flavor in this recipe without overshadowing the peanut sauce.

Just make sure to finely mince the ginger, otherwise you’ll bite down on a big chunk of the stuff.

4. Utilize the pasta water

Pasta water is an often overlooked ingredient, but it’s really useful in this peanut noodles recipe. We’ve used the hot pasta water to thin out the peanut butter and make the peanut sauce.

The starchy pasta water helps the peanut sauce thicken up nicely and prevents you from wasting anything in this recipe. 

More Easy Recipes To Try:

• Pasta with Corn and Smoked Mozzarella: While corn is in season, try this recipe made with fresh mozzarella. It is cheesy and garlicky and so delish!
• Healthy Greek Yogurt Pasta Salad with Ham and Peas is a good one for summer pot lucks and barbecues. Or my Garden Macaroni Salad with Cheese is another creamy Greek Yogurt recipe.
• Minestrone Soup has macaroni in it and I have a tip to prevent it from getting mushy in the soup!
• 20-Minute Cheese Tortellini and Veggies: This is a super easy summer meal!
• Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese: A fall comfort food dinner or to add to Thanksgiving.
• Make sure to try these Sesame Noodles too! They are another easy family friendly recipe.
• This Peanut Dressing is a good one if you love this recipe. Also make sure to check out my Chicken and Quinoa Bowls with peanut sauce.

Don’t miss this Ultimate Guide to Cabbage! 

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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