Asian Pasta Salad – served warm or cold. Made with angel hair pasta, green onions, peanuts, edamame, bell pepper, and all the good Asian flavors. Make an infused hot pepper oil for extra spice. This is the one that everyone asks for!
The Dilemma
Have you ever been invited to a party or potluck and cringed- wondering what, as a plant-based eater, you are going to take and share?
What if people act all judgy about your vegan food? What if nobody else likes it? Well, worry no more! Just make this delicious flavorful Asian Pasta Salad, put it on the table, and wait for the compliments and recipe requests to roll in!
That’s right. This Asian Pasta Salad with Peanuts has everyone asking for more and it’s so easy to make! Infuse the oils with red pepper flakes, slice and chop the vegetables, make your sauce, and boil some noodles. That’s all there is to it! This is, along with my Coleslaw with Red Wine Vinegar Dressing and Easy Vegan Italian Pasta Salad are my go-to’s when invited to a pot-luck or barbeque and have become my most requested dishes.
Pro Tips and Suggestions:
Read on for some pro-tips and suggestions to make the Best Asian Pasta Salad that will have everyone asking for more:
First – a note about the angel-hair pasta:
- Angel-hair pasta cooks very quickly. If you do not want mushy overcooked pasta, follow the suggestions below.
- Make sure to read and carefully follow the instructions on the box.
- Watch your time carefully.
- Give the pasta a cold rinse after it is drained.
- And very importantly, wait until everything else is mixed and assembled before putting the angel-hair pasta into the boiling water.
- The first step is to infuse the oils by adding in the red pepper flakes and cooking on low for about five minutes. My family does not think the flavor is too hot using the ingredients as written in the recipe. If you are worried about the heat from the red pepper flakes, make the following adjustments:
- Try using fewer red pepper flakes.
- Strain out the red pepper flakes and just use the infused oil.
- Put the infused oil in the refrigerator after it is finished so that the temperature begins to cool down. If you have time, you can also infuse the oil the night before and refrigerate overnight.
- Mix together the soy and teriyaki sauces along with the agave and put in the refrigerator to begin the cooling process. If you have time the night before, you can mix these up and refrigerate.
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Serving Suggestions:
- While there is no need to highlight that is Asian Pasta Salad is vegan-friendly, do let people know that it contains peanuts.
- This pasta salad can be served warm or cold. If it sits on a buffet table, it will not need to be kept absolutely chilled and it will still taste good.
- If I’m taking my salads to a pot-luck or dinner party, I transport in a tightly closed container and then transfer to this serving dish. I like it because it’s plastic and cheap – so you can leave it and not worry – yet has an elegant look about it. Elegant just makes the food taste better – right? (Affiliate link)
- This pasta salad is also great for meal prep. Tightly cover each portion and refrigerate for up to five days. I like to take it to work with me on days I don’t have time to go into the staff room and use a microwave. I can just pull it out cold and eat it at my desk.
This Asian Pasta Salad works well for meal prep. You can serve it cold or warm it up.
Items I Found Helpful Making this Asian Pasta Salad (affiliate links):
If you liked this recipe, let me know in the comments below. And 5 stars is always appreciated!
Asian Pasta Salad with peanuts
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 cup sesame oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup agave liquid
- 1/3 cup soy sauce low sodium
- 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
- 16 ounces angel hair pasta
- 3/4 cup red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup shelled edamame if frozen, thaw
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup green onions chopped
- 1 cup cocktail peanuts dry roasted and salted
- toasted sesame seeds sprinkled on top
Instructions
- Combine oils and crushed red pepper flakes and heat over low heat for about 5 minutes. You can strain out the red pepper flakes if you are sensitive to a little extra heat. Leave them in for full flavor. Set aside in refrigerator while prepping other steps.
- Combine agave, soy sauce, and teriyaki sauce. Set aside in refrigerator while prepping other steps.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Do not overcook! Remove from heat, drain, and run under cold water. Set aside.
- While water is boiling you can get started on the vegetables. (Just watch your time if the pasta has started boiling. If only takes 3 minutes.) Dice red bell pepper. Chop green onions, and cilantro. Set aside.
- Add cooked cooled pasta, chopped peppers, edamame, cilantro, green onions, and peanuts to a large bowl.
- Pour cooled oil mixture and soy sauce/teriyaki mixture on top. Toss together.
Notes
Nutrition
Start with a few simple ingredients. I like to buy my lentils already steamed. They can often be found in the produce section of the grocery store. If you aren’t able to find pre-cooked lentils, they are actually pretty easy to make on the stove-top. Follow the package directions for a yield of 2 cups, cooked.
Add the dried minced onion and stir around for a minute so that the onion begins to rehydrate. Then add the vegetables on top and sauté for about 5 minutes in the vegetable broth so that the vegetables have mostly thawed. (You will want to watch your pan carefully and add more broth if the vegetables begin to stick.) Add in the cooked lentils and the cup of vegetable broth, arrowroot starch (can sub corn starch) thyme and salt. Stir until well mixed and bubbly. The “gravy” should begin to thicken as well.
Start with a small diced onion and sauté in enough vegetable broth to generously cover the bottom of the pan. It is not necessary to sauté the onions in oil, just watch your pan so that it doesn’t dry out and burn. Yes, I just may have done that a time or two…
The pumpkin breakfast sweet rolls pull together so quickly because you use canned pumpkin, apricot jam (I like the chunky kind), pumpkin pie spice, canned crescent rolls (I use Pillsbury), and Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting. (These are all vegan at the time of this writing but do check your labels and make sure that ingredients haven’t changed.)
I use ready to serve quinoa I buy at the store. You can make your own if you’d like. I find this just one more step I don’t have to think about.
I also use jarred artichokes. Make sure that you get the kind that are marinated in a little seasoning. If they aren’t seasoned, then you will need to sprinkle in some Italian seasonings. Just drain the artichokes and chop up. Toss with the precooked quinoa, add a little lemon and you are done! You have a quick and easy quinoa salad.
sweet soy sauce-like taste but is lower in sodium than soy sauce.
Roll up burrito style – folding in the sides, then turning and rolling, securing as you go. Cut on the diagonal and if you aren’t eating right away, then immediately wrap securely in plastic to prevent air from browning the banana.
And this disaster is what you will get if you fill it too full…
You can either buy pre-cooked lentils or cook while the potatoes are baking. Lentils are super easy to cook if you have the prep time. You pretty much just measure them out with water, bring to a boil then simmer till done. As long as you don’t let them run dry or overcook, you can’t ruin them. You will end up using 1 cup cooked lentils so if you are starting from dry, measure out 1/2 cup and follow package directions. Make sure that you use green or brown lentils for this recipe. Red lentils will get too mushy.
While the potatoes are steaming in the microwave, cut two zucchinis into bite-sized pieces and cook in a sauté pan lined with vegetable broth to keep the pan from sticking. There is no reason to use oil in this dish.
Just look at this beautiful avocado! Cutting open an avocado this perfect is usually cause for excitedly calling to all available family members to drop what they are doing and run in the kitchen to appreciate such a wonder.
