Thai Noodle Salad with Faux "Peanut" Sauce
Loaded with vegetables and tossed in a creamy and tangy sunflower seed dressing, these vegan Thai noodles are a perfect cold salad for a warm day. Gluten free, peanut, soy, and nut free.
Prep Time25 minutes mins
Chill Time30 minutes mins
Total Time55 minutes mins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Thai
Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Low Salt, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 412kcal
For the salad
- 8 oz pad thai rice noodles
- 1 ½ cups cabbage slaw mix
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 2 green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup basil, chopped
- ½ watermelon radish, or 2-3 small red radish, cut into strips
For the sunflower seed dressing
- ¼ cup sunflower seed butter
- ¼ cup unsweetened pomegranate or tart cherry juice
- 2-3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 minced garlic clove
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- sriracha or sweet chili sauce to taste (optional)
Cook the rice noodles according to package directions, drain, and run under cool water to cool down. If the noodles are sticking together, add a tiny bit of sesame oil and toss them in it.
While you're waiting for the noodles to cook, add the sunflower seed butter, juice, vinegar, coconut aminos, sesame oil, honey, ginger, and garlic to a food processor. Blend until totally smooth and creamy. Taste and add kosher salt and pepper, as needed. (This will vary as some sunflower seed butters are more salty or sweet than others). Set aside to let the flavors meld together, about 30 minutes.
Place the cooled noodles in a large bowl with slaw, chopped bell pepper, cilantro, basil, and radish. Chill everything for 30 minutes while you wait for the dressing to develop some flavor. Then add the dressing a little bit at a time, tossing everything together until it's dressed to your liking (you may have some leftover). Serve cold with sriracha and/or sweet chili sauce on the side.
This salad will keep in the fridge for 2 days.
Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 161IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg