Peanut Noodle Salad with Veggies and Tofu
Cucumbers are in season
And this is just the noodle salad for them. This is so tasty, unique in flavor and meal preps easy for many meals in a row. In total it yields 4 servings. You can either prep it all at once or prep one serving of noodles/tofu each morning as you’d like since the sauce lasts a while. I loved using this single serving Halo Rice Noodles as it made it easy to portion it out. This is gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free yet full of fun and interesting flavors!
Ingredients for the salad:
2 cucumbers sliced thin with a mandolin
12 sweet mini bell peppers sliced with a mandolin
4 green onions thinly sliced
large handfuls of mint, basil, and cilantro roughly chopped
large handful of crushed peanuts
8oz gluten free rice noodles - I portioned this out and made it fresh each day that I had it. I loved using Ocean’s Halo Rice Noodles as they came in individual packs which made it easy. You can definitely make one big batch though!
2 bricks extra firm tofu sliced into 1/2 inch cubes
Ingredients for the peanut sauce:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup gluten free tamari
2 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup water plus more as needed
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
2 teaspoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger
2 to 3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, such as Sambal Oelek, optional
Method:
Prep all of the raw salad ingredients. Since I made this one serving at a time, I would prep 1/4 of the veggies the night before and store in a container so they were ready the next morning to put with the noodles and tofu.
If you’re batching this out for the week, prep all of the veggies and store in a container and serve out the morning of. Same goes for the green onions/herbs - chop it all up and place in a container and top off your dish the morning of. This will keep everything fresh and crisp!
Place all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and mix on high until completely smooth. Add extra lime, salt, water to make it to your desired taste/consistency.
Cook your noodles according to their package. About half way through their cooking time add in the tofu and finish cooking. Drain the water and let them “dry” for a moment.
Place the noodles back in the pot, if making a whole batch pour in 1 cup of sauce and mix up. If making 1 serving, pour in 1/4 cup sauce and mix.
Store the noodles as you like - either in one big container or in 4 individuals for the week.
If eating right away, mix in the veggies with the noodles and garnish with peanuts, herbs, a little flakey sea salt and an extra squeeze of lime.
If you’re planning to bring this to lunch at the beach or work, I would prep the noodles/tofu each morning, mix in the sauce, add in my veggies, and then top with garnishes. Let it cool a bit then add the lid, pack a fork, and you’re good to go for lunch!
I love these medium size glass containers for this kind of meal. They’re safer because they’re glass and hold the perfect amount of food for lunch.
I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I have! It’s the perfect combo to keep you full and not to mention satiated with it’s big flavor. If you do make this, be sure to tag me on Instagram @AshleyPattenPilates and/or comment below!
xx, Ashley