These healthy 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.

Peanut Noodles with Cabbage and Basil in a serving bowl

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Why We Love This Peanut Noodles with Cabbage

If you love peanut noodles then this peanut noodles with cabbage recipe will wow you for sure! It’s made with a creamy gingery peanut sauce and is tossed with a combination of carrots, scallions and purple cabbage! 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 dinners with family. The peanut dressing is always a hit! Plus the addition of chopped cabbage makes it a healthier choice than traditional peanut noodles.

Recipe Highlights

  • The full recipe for these healthy peanut noodles comes together in only 25 minutes!
  • It’s a great make-ahead recipe since you can eat it cold or hot.
  • Each serving has 13 grams of protein and only 345 calories.
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Key Ingredients For This Recipe

Peanut Noodles with Cabbage and Basil in a bowl
  • Penne Pasta: We used penne pasta instead of linguini or long noodles but feel free to use your favorite!
  • Peanut Butter: We used smooth no-stir peanut butter but you can use whichever you want. Be mindful of the ingredients, though. You want to get peanut butter that only has peanuts and salt (if desired) listed as the ingredients.
  • 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 contains micronutrients and is a natural sweetener, whereas artificial maple syrup is basically just flavored corn syrup.
  • Pantry Staples: Tamari or soy sauce, white vinegar, hot sauce such as Sriracha
  • Salt
  • Ginger: 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.
  • Red Cabbage: Cabbage is an amazing vegetable to add to salads. It’s packed with nutrients and ads a great crunch to the salad!
  • Other Vegetables: Garlic, scallions and carrots
  • Basil
  • Unsalted Peanuts: You could also get salted peanuts if desired or use unsalted cashews instead!

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make These Healthy Peanut Noodles

Step 1: Cook pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. 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. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and run cold running water over it.

Step 2: Make peanut sauce

Whisk together the peanut butter and the hot pasta water in a large bowl. Add the maple syrup, tamari, vinegar, garlic, hot sauce, ginger and salt.

Step 3: Toss Peanut Noodles with Cabbage and Sauce

Add the pasta and toss to coat, then add cabbage, scallions, carrots, basil and peanuts and toss to coat again. Taste and adjust salt if desired just before serving. Serve immediately or chill.

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An overhead shot of Peanut Noodles in bowls on a table

FAQs and Expert Tips

Storing instructions:

Store these healthy peanut noodles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Make-ahead instructions:

Since peanut noodles taste GREAT cold, they’re an excellent make-ahead recipe. You could either assemble the whole recipe and store in the fridge until ready to eat, or you can make the peanut sauce up to a week ahead and store in the fridge until ready to assemble the remaining parts of the recipe.

What does pasta water add to the recipe?

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. 

Variations to try:

As mentioned above, you can swap out penne for your favorite type of pasta. You can also mix it up by adding sliced bell peppers, cashews, or even mixing in cubed leftover chicken for extra protein! I also love sprinkling sesame seeds on top as well.

Additional Easy Recipes to Try

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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Peanut Noodles with Cabbage and Basil | Healthy Seasonal Recipes | Vegetarian

Peanut Noodles with Cabbage Recipe

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4.8 from 6 reviews

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Description

Creamy peanut sauce, sweetened with a little maple syrup and flavored with ginger is tossed with cooked pasta, basil and a colorful combination of carrots, scallions and purple cabbage. It’s a crowd-pleasing vegetarian recipe for a potluck or family-friendly get together.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 16–ounce box penne pasta
  • 1/2 cup smooth no-stir peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, dark or amber
  • 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
  • 4 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce such as Sriracha, to taste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon finely grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 2 cups chopped red cabbage
  • 1 cup chopped scallions
  • 1 cup finely chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped basil
  • 1/2 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta and run cold running water over it.
  2. Whisk peanut butter and the hot pasta water in a large bowl. Add maple syrup, tamari, vinegar, garlic, hot sauce, ginger and salt. Add the pasta and toss to coat. Add cabbage, scallions, carrots, basil and peanuts and toss to coat. Taste and adjust salt if desired just before serving. Serve immediately or chill.

Notes

Cooking Tip: 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. 

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Thai

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1.5 cups
  • Calories: 345
  • Sugar: 9 g
  • Sodium: 400 mg
  • Fat: 11 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2 g
  • Carbohydrates: 50 g
  • Fiber: 5 g
  • Protein: 13 g

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