With warmer weather comes lighter cravings, and this incredibly fresh Pad Thai-inspired salad has been one of our go-to meals this summer.
Vegetables like carrots, cucumber, and cabbage are thinly sliced or “noodled” and tossed in a bright, citrusy peanut dressing with a kick thanks to red pepper flake. It’s like summer in a bowl. Let us show you how it’s done!
This 30-minute noodle salad begins with making the sauce, which is inspired by Thai flavors.
The creamy base is your choice of either peanut or cashew butter. Lime juice is added for tanginess, garlic for zing, and red pepper flake for heat. Coconut aminos add saltiness and depth of flavor, while maple syrup (or honey) rounds it out with a little sweetness.
The result: A sauce so good you might be tempted to eat it by the spoonful!
Next come the veggies!
For a rainbow of colors (and antioxidants), we chose red bell pepper, carrots, kale, cucumber, snap peas, and red cabbage. But these could be switched up depending on availability and personal preference!
And to complete the rainbow and add natural sweetness, we added fresh mango.
We used mostly raw veggies to keep the salad fresh and crisp. But to enhance the flavor of the snap peas, you can (optionally) choose to steam them. This, of course, means the salad is no longer raw.
For garnish, we add cilantro for freshness and sunflower and/or sesame seeds for crunch.
And for a more filling meal and extra protein, you could optionally choose to top with Peanut Marinated Tempeh or Almond Butter Tofu.
How to Make Veggie Noodles
To make veggie noodles, we like using a vegetable peeler, mandolin, and/or knife, depending on the veggie. Using a spiralizer is also an option for some veggies. These are our preferred methods:
- Bell pepper – knife or mandolin
- Carrot – vegetable peeler or spiralizer
- Cabbage – mandolin or knife
- Cucumber – vegetable peeler, mandolin, or spiralizer
- Kale – knife
We hope you LOVE this noodle salad! It’s:
Savory-sweet
Light
Vibrant
Versatile
Satisfying
& Fresh!
It’s the perfect plant-based side or meal for warmer weather! Serve on its own or with other Thai-inspired dishes such as our Green Pea Curry Hummus, Easy Tofu Pad Thai, or Pad Thai Spring Rolls.
More Noodle Salad Recipes
- Blissed-Out Thai Salad with Peanut Tempeh
- Thai Noodle Bowls with Almond Butter Tofu
- Vegan Macaroni Salad
- Roasted Broccoli Pasta Salad with Hemp Pesto
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
Raw Rainbow Veggie Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
SAUCE
- 3 Tbsp peanut butter or cashew butter (to keep this dish truly raw, use raw cashew butter)
- 3 Tbsp lime juice
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flake (adjust to preferred heat level)
- 5 Tbsp coconut aminos (or tamari, but start with lesser amount as its saltier)
- 2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup or raw honey, plus more to taste
SALAD
- 2 medium carrots, ribboned with a vegetable peeler
- 1 medium cucumber, very thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler or mandolin
- 1 cup (packed) red cabbage, very thinly sliced with a knife or mandolin
- 1 large red bell pepper, very thinly sliced with a knife or mandolin
- 2 cups chopped curly or lacinato kale
- 1 cup snap or snow peas
- 1 ripe mango, cubed
FOR SERVING
- Cilantro, chopped
- 2 Tbsp raw sunflower seeds or sesame seeds
- 1 batch Marinated Peanut Tempeh or Almond Butter Tofu (optional)
Instructions
- Begin by preparing sauce. Add nut butter of choice to a small blender along with lime juice, garlic, red pepper flake, coconut aminos (or tamari, reduced amount), sesame oil, and maple syrup. Blend until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more red pepper flake for heat, maple syrup for sweetness, lime juice for acidity, coconut aminos for saltiness / depth of flavor, garlic for zing, or nut butter for nuttiness / creamy texture. Set aside.
- Next, prepare veggies. We prefer a vegetable peeler to make “carrot noodles,” a mandolin with a very fine-tooth blade to make angel hair-width cucumber noodles, a mandolin for the cabbage and red bell pepper, and a knife to slice the kale. Also cube mango (see instructions here!). Add all veggie noodles and cubed mango to a large serving dish.
- Optional: Steam snap peas by adding to a steamer basket inserted into a saucepan with 1/2 inch of water. Bring to a low boil, cover, and steam for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to serving platter. Otherwise, serve raw.
- Add the dressing (reserving a little extra for serving) and toss to combine. Garnish with fresh cilantro and seeds of choice (we prefer sunflower or sesame seeds). Enjoy as is, or serve with our Marinated Peanut Tempeh or Almond Butter Tofu.
- Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days. Not freezer friendly.
Julie says
I’ve made this a couple times and it is delicious and beautiful. But my hubby doesn’t like cucumbers (weird huh), so I subbed Korean Sweet Potato Glass Noodles (Chung Jung One brand). It worked!
Yum, that swap sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing, Julie! xo
Denise says
This was so delicious! I have learned from previous MB recipes that My spice tolerance is lower than what is typically called for so I reduced red pepper flakes the red pepper flakes to a 1/4 tsp. I also cut the maple syrup to 1 1/2 tsp. We also added some cooked noodles. I looked at the bowl and thought it was going to be a chore to eat all that veg, all the chewing! Instead because everything was sliced so small using a mandolin it was so easy to eat. My husband and I really look forward to another bowl later this week! So good😋
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Denise!
Michaela says
I LOVE this recipe. It is easy to add things and change the veggies too, based on what I have or how I am feeling. Now this is a staple for dinner in our house. Sometimes I will add soba noodles. Delicious!
Yum! Thanks so much for the great review, Michaela!
Jess says
This looks great! How would you recommend meal prepping it? Adding the sauce to it to save or keeping it separate until eating? Thanks so much!
Hi Jess, we’d suggest keeping it separate so the veggies don’t get soggy.
Erin says
I just absolutely adore this recipe! I make it or a variation on it about every week. I especially love the shaved carrots! It’s a little work to prep everything but we’ll worth the effort. I also really like serving it with either peanut tofu or tempeh and I throw in a handful of fresh mint or cilantro. *Chef’s kiss*
We’re so glad you enjoy it! Love your modifications too, Erin. Thanks for sharing! xo
Cecile says
Delicious, pretty, healthy. This is a perfect “meal prep” salad that I look forward to taking to work in the Summer. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Cecile! Thanks so much for sharing!
Camile says
Okay I’m obsessed – might be a new addition to my regular meal rotation. I subbed spinach for kale (just based on what I had available), added bean sprouts and avocado, and omitted mango and snap peas. I topped with sesame seeds and chopped cashews! All together with the dressing it was delicious, like a deconstructed spring roll of my dreams. Endless ways to customize this salad. 10/10
So lovely! Thanks for sharing, Camille!
Sherri Neil says
Another to die for recipe. Thanks Dana.
Aw, yay! Thanks for the lovely review, Sherri! xo
Christie says
Omg, yum!!!! Everyone said “WOW!” when I made this for lunch today! What an explosion of beautiful, healthy flavors. I thought I would miss the having some fish or meat of some kind but I did not. That sauce is good enough to drink too. It’s absolutely perfect and this is something I will definitely make again and again. Thank you!
Yay! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing, Christie! xo
Laura says
I made this salade exactly as instructed. AMAZING! Even my picky eaters loved this. I devoured my bowl of salade and already plan on making it again tomorrow! Thank you for sharing!
Whoop! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Laura!
Sarah says
Made this last night after we had been in Italy for 1 month and exclusively ate pasta, we were so desperate for a veggie coma. This recipe delivered exactly what we both needed!! We ate the entire HUGE serving for 2, and added some brown rice vermicelli, some lightly steamed broccolini, with some vegan fish sauce and sriracha at the end!!! Absolutely delicious, and so much healthier than going to our fav Vietnamese (but the flavour was pretty spot on…) I am adding this to my healthy dinners rota.
Love your additions, Sarah! Sounds amazing! xo
Iralyn says
DELICIOUS and so simple! Very excited to have this in my meal prep repertoire! I am always afraid I’ll slice my fingers off with a mandolin, so I just thinly sliced everything or used a vegetable peeler. Otherwise, made exactly to recipe! Topped with a dash of sriracha. Yum! I also love using the peanut or lemongrass marinated tempeh with these salads when I have time to make it.
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Iralyn! Thanks so much for the lovely review! P.s. cut resistant, food grade kitchen gloves can help with the mandolin =)
R. Miller says
Delicious, healthy and beautiful!
Yay! Thanks for sharing! xo
Megan says
I could eat this salad everyday of my life. I didn’t have kale so I used spring mix but I’ll try kale next time. I could drink the dressing straight out of the jar! Can’t wait to make this again!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Megan! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Katelyn says
This was flavorful and delicious! I will be using this one regularly, as it is so easy to change up and try other ingredients with, keeping it fresh and exciting. Thank you!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Katelyn!
Patti says
This was simply delicious! And so beautiful. My husband loved it, and he isn’t big on salads. He enjoyed it as a side with a nice steak, and for me, it was the main dish. I didn’t have kale, so I omitted that. Otherwise, I made it as the recipe stated. Under the nutrition facts, I’m surprised the carbs are as high as they are. It’s higher than many dishes made with rise or potatoes.
So great! Thanks for sharing, Patti!
Kelly says
This was so good. I love discovering all of your uses for peanut butter.
Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
Sophie says
I made this for lunches this week, it’s so delicious and I love that it uses hardy vegetables that will last for a few days! I topped mine with the mango, cashews, and an egg. Thank you for another great recipe!
I love that idea! Thanks for sharing, Sophie!
Emily Larsen says
Made this last night and it we delicious!! Very fast, lots of flavor, and perfect for a hot summer day when you don’t want to cook with heat.
Yay! Thanks, Emily!!
Hope says
I’m eating this as I’m typing! It’s delicious!! I made my sauce extra spicy and put a little smidgeon of sriracha on top 🌶
Amazing! So happy you enjoyed, Hope! xo
Ady says
so refreshing and crunchy! was craving an Asian inspired dish during this heat wave and this dish delivered!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Ady!
Jasmine says
This looked so amazing I had to make it and wow, it was fantastic! Easy to make and super yummy! I added raw cashews instead of Tempe and it was a great addition. Thank you for all your great recipes!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Jasmine!
Cyndi says
This looks delicious and healthy … and so beautiful. I have a question: could the sauce be used on other things, like pasta or tofu … something warm? Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing!
Oh absolutely! It’s super versatile. Let us know what you try!
Marie says
This salad is amazing! I am a really good cook with what I consider traditional ingredients and recipes (whatever that means to everyone else, to me it means dairy, flour, corn, stuff in boxes or grandmas recipe) but my body has directed me to seek other options. I am so thankful for the Minimalist Baker website. I trust the recipes to be flavorful and easy with good instructions and guidance for substitutions if needed. This salad has the perfect amount of sweet, salt and heat, the crunchy vegetables are wonderful, especially when I get a bite of the mango! Who knew a rainbow salad for breakfast would be so satisfying. Thank you for this website, it is helping some of us heal our bodies by making good food choices.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Marie!! So kind.