Soba noodles get tossed with homemade spicy peanut sauce and lots of fresh, crunchy veggies like purple cabbage, cucumbers, and bell peppers for a quick, easy, cold summer salad perfect for picnics, backyard barbecues, or packing lunches for work or school!
When I’m not using my favorite homemade Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce to dunk endless pieces of crunchy romaine and those cute mini cucumbers into, I love drizzling it over soba noodles for a quick + easy lunch.
So, today we’re doing just that.
Soba noodles get cooked and quickly chilled with cold tap water; purple cabbage, cucumbers, yellow bell pepper, basil, and scallions all get thinly sliced; peanut sauce gets mixed right into the bottom of the bowl you want to serve the salad in, then everybody joins the bowl and gets tossed together.
If you haven’t had them before, soba noodles are a Japanese pasta made from buckwheat flour that have a fun, slightly nutty taste. We usually have a few boxes of them in the house because Kevin loves using them instead of traditional spaghetti noodles, but if you don’t have them laying around or can’t find them at your grocery store, any noodles you love will work here instead! We’ve been enjoying the lentil + brown rice and quinoa + brown rice pastas from Trader Joe’s lately, too, which also happen to be gluten-free, if that’s something you’re into.
The best part about this recipe? It takes 20 minutes to make, from the time you turn on the water to boil to the moment you’re eating. The veggies and peanut sauce get prepped while the pasta cooks, and even if you’re slow in the kitchen, this meal comes together in no time.
If you’re a fan of my Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce (or any of its iterations, with almond butter, tahini, etc), you are going to LOVE this cold soba noodle salad. It’s creamy, a little spicy (and can totally be adjusted to suit your tastebuds, spice-wise), super crunchy from the raw veg, and so satisfying on a hot day. I especially love making batch and packing it into 4 glass storage containers (<–affiliate link) so lunch is ready and waiting for me to grab throughout the week.
If you make this recipe, let me know how it turns out! Leave a comment below, or take a picture and share it with me on Instagram! I love seeing my recipes in your kitchen.
- 8oz soba noodles (or other favorite spaghetti noodle)
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 4 mini Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 8-10 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced basil
- 1 batch of Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce (recipe linked in blog post)
- 1. Fill a large pot about halfway with water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add soba noodles and cook according to package directions, until al dente (about 7-10 minutes, depending)
- 2. While water boils/pasta cooks, thinly slice all the vegetables and herbs. Then, stir together the peanut sauce in a large mixing bowl. If sauce is very thick, add 1-2 Tablespoons extra water, to thin it out. Ideally, you want it the consistency of a thick, creamy salad dressing.
- 3. One pasta is cooked, drain and rinse under cold water until completely cool. Add noodles to the bowl with the peanut sauce, top with all the sliced veggies and herbs, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately or store in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days.