Peanut Noodles with Rainbow Veggies
This Peanut Noodle recipe is light, flavorful, and packed with colorful veggies, giving your meal a boost in phytonutrients.
The peanut sauce for this recipe is a variation of one I made several years ago for my salad bowls. It’s a really tasty dressing to have on-hand for quick throw together meals, so feel free to make extra!
A few ideas for how to use the sauce beyond this recipe:
- Toss on salads
- Drizzle on roasted sweet potatoes
- Serve with cooked veggies, quinoa, and black beans
- Use as a dip for raw veggies
In the notes section, I provide another option for using raw peanuts instead of peanut butter. I find that the raw nut variation of this sauce is much more flavorful after it’s been heated up, as the cooking helps to reduce the distinct taste of the raw peanuts and allows the other flavors to shine. I do find that both sauces tend to taste best the second day, so you may consider prepping the sauce ahead of when you plan to eat this—just to get some added flavors.
- 1- 8 oz package of bean or whole wheat spaghetti noodles
- 1 large red onion, sliced thin
- 2 large bell peppers, sliced thin
- 3 cups shredded carrots
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- 4 cups minced kale
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (no added sugar and no added oil)*
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, minced OR ½-1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 2 dates, pits removed*
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1-2 serrano pepper(s), seeds removed and/or cayenne pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Prepare the spaghetti noodles according to the directions on the box, then set aside once finished.
- Wash all the produce. Slice the onions and peppers into thin slices. Set aside.
- Using a food processor, shred the carrots and the cabbage using the shredding disc. Set aside. Add the regular blade back to the food processor. Remove the kale leaves from the stem and add to the food processor. Chop the kale until it’s minced. If not using a food processor, julienne the carrots, cut the cabbage thin, and chop the kale with a knife.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of water to a large pan, then add the onions. Sauté the onions until they start to soften. Add small amounts of water, as needed, to keep the veggies from sticking. Add the peppers to the pan next, and cook until they are slightly tender.
- While the peppers and onions are cooking, prepare the sauce. Combine all the sauce ingredients into a blender (for a more mild sauce only use 1 serrano pepper, 1 teaspoon of ginger, and omit the cayenne pepper). Blend until smooth.
- If using the raw peanut version, heat the sauce in a small pan on low medium heat for several minutes before adding to the veggies. Stir often to keep from burning.
- Add the carrots, cabbage, and kale to the pan with the onions and peppers. Pour the sauce over and stir well. Cook the mixture on medium-high heat and stir often to avoid burning. Cook for several minutes to allow the flavors to all come together. Taste the dish and then add any additional spices, such as more cayenne, black pepper, or powdered ginger.
- Finally, stir in the spaghetti noodles (may need to transfer to large, heat safe bowl for this step). Sever the dish warm or chilled. Enjoy!
- This can also be prepared with raw peanuts too.
- Just swap 1 cup raw peanuts for the peanut butter and use 1 ¾ -2 cup of water. Then adjust the flavors to taste.
- *If your dates are smaller, feel free to add 3-4 dates.
- *Miso is optional, especially if using the peanut butter. However, if you are using raw peanuts you will want something salty- and I use miso as a healthier alternative to salt in my cooking.
Kristina DeMuth
Kristina DeMuth