This Easy Peanut Noodles with Veggies recipe is a healthy take on one of my take-out favourites. This healthy veggie stir fry is with broccoli, soba noodles and a simple, creamy (and delicious!) peanut sauce with a hint of spice that will not disappoint.
I am super excited to be sharing/re-sharing this pile of noodley goodness on my plate with you!
These noodles have a lot going on in the best possible way – a sweet and tangy and slightly spicy peanut sauce, tender crispy veggies with the colours of the rainbow, soft and chewy noodles upon noodles (that also just so happen to be whole grain and nutritious and delicious!) and all topped with tons of fresh herbs and crunchy peanuts.
Heart-eyes times a million, friends.
And definitely what is for dinner tonight… and for many other nights in the coming weeks because I think it’s just that good.
Easy Peanut Noodles with Veggies
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
Description
This Easy Peanut Noodles with Veggies recipe is a healthy take on one of my take-out favourites. This healthy veggie stir fry is with broccoli, soba noodles and a simple, creamy (and delicious!) peanut sauce with a hint of spice that will not disappoint.
Ingredients
For the Peanut Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon tamari (or other soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Juice of 1 lime (2–3 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon asian hot sauce, or to taste (try a garlic-chili sauce or sriracha-style sauce)
- 1 small-ish clove of garlic, minced or finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional but recommended)
For the Noodles and Veggies:
- 1 250 g package of soba noodles*
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 large crown of broccoli (4–5 cups), washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 –2 carrots (about 2 cups), peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 2–3 (packed) cups, roughly chopped leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin (about 1 cup)
Garnish:
- chopped nuts (like peanuts or cashews), chopped cilantro or parsley, sliced green onion, extra hot sauce, sesame seeds, lime wedges
Instructions
For the Sauce:
- Whisk together all peanut sauce ingredients until combined and smooth. Set aside.
For the Noodles:
- Cook noodles according to package directions. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking liquid.
For the veggies:
- While the water is boiling and noodles are cooking, heat olive oil in a heavy-bottom skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli and carrots to the hot pan with 3 tablespoons of water. Place the lid on the pan and let steam for 4-5 minutes or until broccoli turn very green and just tender. Add the greens and pepper to the pan, return the lid and let steam for 2 more minutes.
- Remove veggies from the pan and set aside.
- When the noodles are done, add the peanut sauce to the pan with 2-4 tablespoons of starchy cooking liquid (thin to desired consistency) and let the sauce heat for about 1 minute. Add the noodles and veggies back to the pan and toss to evenly coat with the peanut sauce.
- Garnish with chopped nuts, cilantro, green onion, etc and serve immediately.
Notes
*Any long rice-based noodle would work here as well.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
HOW TO MAKE THIS VEGETARIAN PEANUT NOODLES WITH BROCCOLI AND CARROTS RECIPE…
I love a good peanut sauce (…sauce is life in my books any day of the week). And I really love a good sauce that is made from real ingredients that are usually stocked in my fridge. The peanut sauce in this recipe is no exception natural smooth peanut butter, tamari (or soy sauce works!), hot sauce, garlic, maple syrup, lime juice and ginger. I could seriously eat it by the spoonful (not gonna lie) and pretty much put this stuff on just about anything.
Side Note: More often than not I have a ridiculous amount of homemade peanut butter in my fridge and usually use that but any natural peanut butter will work. Some peanut butters contain palm oil or hydrogenated oils, added sugars and other preservatives – when making this peanut sauce I try to avoid those ones and stick to a jar that is just roasted peanuts and maybe a pinch of salt.
I also love this recipe so much thanks to the soba noodle. Soba noodles are found in my health food and specialty stores (and I’m sure you can even pick them up at your grocer of choice as well). Sobas are traditionally buckwheat-based but these days you can find many different varieties that combine different grains and vegetables – like spelt, Kamut, sweet potato, sea vegetables and wheat. Point being here – they are super delicious. They have a unique, square-ish shape and are chewy yet tender and satisfy your deepest noodley cravings with ease.
Not a fan of funky noodles? Peanut sauce plus veggies plus any noodle of choice really would work here (straight-up rice quinoa would likely be delicious with a drizzle of this sauce as well).
As for those veggies – I will always go with some sort of broccoli-carrot-pepper-leafy green combo – I like it the best and always will! – but ANY combination of veg will work here (BONUS POINTS if you stay in season and EXTRA BONUS POINTS if you’re able to make this a clean out the fridge type of meal!!).
After a few minutes of everyone hanging out in the pan together, dinner is pretty much served. Dish it out and dig in exactly how it is or feel free to garnish your plate/bowl/straight of the pan with chopped peanuts, fresh cilantro, mint and/or basil, green onion, sesame seeds or extra hot sauce.
MORE ABOUT THIS EAT REAL FOOD RECIPE FOR SPICY PEANUT NOODLES WITH VEGGIES…
This Peanut Noodle recipe is super easy to make and a healthier alternative to take-out. And healthier alternatives to my favourite, not-so-healthy dishes are where it’s at in my opinion. Not that we never order take-out, because we definitely do, but eating those take-out foods almost always leave me feeling bloated, sleepy and not at my best. And knowing this about my body’s preferences I have come to love making these take-out/fake-out meals at home.
Because let me tell you, my love of noodles is real.
And I can hear the comments and questions now, can a big plate of noodles (aka all those carbs) actually be part of a healthy diet?
I know when it comes to Instagram, the clean eating realm of healthy on the internet these days, and even over on Pinterest, there is an overwhelming amount of info that points to all carbs being bad, meaning that noodles have to place in a ‘healthy’ diet.
Where do I stand?
When you’re choosing whole foods (aka real food more often) and cooking your own food at home and prioritizing quality ingredients (that are unprocessed and unrefined as possible), using fresh fruits, vegetables, proteins and feeling good about the food that you are eating I truly believe no dish or food group should be completely off limits.
I know, my foodie heart would be broken without some sort of noodley goodness every once in a while.
It’s all about variety and making the choice to choose real food and care about what goes into your body. Maybe you agree with me… and maybe you don’t and either way that is OK.
But in all dinnertime seriousness, I think a little bit of magic happens when that creamy/spicy/super savoury/peanutty sauce meets chewy noodles and tender-crisp and beautifully vibrant veggies.
Please go make this for dinner, mmmmk?
This recipe was adapted from this post here.
Rebecca Dwyre is the holistic nutritionist, recipe creator and photographer behind Always Nourished. Being diagnosed with PCOS in 2018 was unexpected and devastating for her. Since then she’s been on her own PCOS Freedom journey and has learned so much about managing Polycystic Ovary Syndrome with food and lifestyle that she’s made it her mission to share what she has learned so that other women with PCOS don’t have to struggle like she did. 
Thanks For Sharing this amazing recipe. My family loved it. I will be sharing this recipe with my friends. Hope the will like it.
★★★★★