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These Thai Peanut Noodles are far and away better than any other recipe I have tried. The secret is in how the chicken is prepared, plus the sauce is to die for. It’s better than even most restaurants I have tried!
Why These Noodles are the Best
What makes this Thai Peanut Noodle dish better than any other peanut noodles that I have had is how the chicken is prepared. It’s a couple tiny extra steps but it makes a big difference in the texture of the chicken and how it holds onto the sauce. The trick is “velveting” the chicken. What is velveting exactly? Well I love this method so much that I actually wrote a whole post about how to velvet chicken. In short, velveting chicken means coating the chicken in a light marinade and briefly cooking it before it ever hits the stir fry. This locks in moisture and gives it that soft, silky texture you usually only get from takeout, and it helps the sauce cling to every piece instead of sliding right off. Combine that with tender noodles, fresh veggies, and an incredible peanut sauce and you’ve got yourself the best peanut noodles ever!
🩷Erica
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken – I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced really thin. I usually pop the chicken in the freezer for a bit first so it firms up, it makes it so much easier to get the slices extra thin.
- Velveting marinade – This is what makes the chicken so tender. It’s a simple mixture of chicken broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil that lightly coats the chicken and keeps it juicy while it cooks. It also helps the sauce cling better later on.
- Noodles – If you want to keep things more authentic, you can use Thai rice noodles. I usually just go with regular linguine because it’s easy to work with and I almost always have it on hand. I did recently find a Thai-style linguine noodle though, and I’ll definitely be using that next time I make this.
- Veggies – I keep it simple with carrots, green onions, and bean sprouts for a little crunch and freshness. You can easily add things like bell peppers, broccoli, or snap peas if you want to bulk it up.
- Peanut sauce – I stinkin’ love this sauce and I use it often as a dipping sauce. It’s made with peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and ginger. If you want to make it into a smooth dipping sauce, warm it on low heat in a saucepan and whisk until smooth.
- Sriracha – you can add this to the peanut sauce for spice or over the top as a garnish. Lately I have been adding chili crisp and honesty I might like it better! Try them both and you decide which you like best.
- Garnishes – I always garnish these noodles with fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges. The lime brightens everything up and the peanuts add a little extra crunch.
How to Make Thai Peanut Noodles
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil until smooth. Add the sliced chicken and toss until evenly coated. Let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- While the chicken marinates, whisk together all of the peanut sauce ingredients until smooth and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente. Using tongs or a pasta spoon, transfer the noodles to a bowl. Do not discard the water since you will use it to cook the chicken. Scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Keep the pot at a boil.
- Once the chicken is done marinating, drain off the excess marinade. Carefully add the chicken to the same pot of boiling water and cook just until it turns white, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove with a slotted spoon or drain in a colander and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and green onions and sauté until just tender. Add the chicken and bean sprouts and cook for about 1 minute more.
- Pour in the peanut sauce and stir until everything is well coated and heated through. Add the noodles and toss to combine. If needed, add a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce.
- Remove from heat and stir in half of the cilantro. Top with the remaining cilantro, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges. Serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Reserve more pasta water than you think you need: Peanut sauce thickens quickly. A splash of that starchy water at the end helps loosen everything up and makes the sauce silky.
- Salt your pasta water: This should be a given, but don’t forget to salt the pasta water. It will give some flavor to the noodles before adding it to the rest of the dish.
- Don’t overcook the chicken during velveting: As soon as it turns white, it’s done. It will finish cooking with everything else in the stir fry.
- If your sauce feels too thick, use the reserved pasta water: It keeps the sauce smooth and helps it cling instead of thinning it out too much with regular water.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but they’re definitely best fresh. The noodles tend to soak up the sauce as they sit, so if you’re making them ahead, I’d keep a little extra sauce or broth on hand to loosen everything back up when reheating.
onestly, both. They’re great warm right off the stove, but they also work as a cold noodle salad. Just know the sauce thickens when it chills, so you may want to add a splash of water or broth before serving.
Absolutely! Just swap the soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos (or just GF soy sauce) and use gluten-free noodles like rice noodles
More Easy Noodle Dinners
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Have you tried these Thai Peanut Noodles? I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and let me know how you liked it and what stir ins you added! And don’t forget to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸🍜
Thai Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 12 ounces noodles, (linguine, rice noodles, Thai noodles, see notes above)
- 1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 5 green onions, chopped
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped, divided
- chopped peanuts, for garnish
- lime wedges, for garnish
Peanut Sauce:
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 2-3 teaspoons sriracha sauce, or to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together chicken broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon oil. Add sliced chicken and toss to coat. Marinate for 15-20 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, whisk together peanut sauce ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until al dente. Using tongs or a pasta spoon, transfer the noodles to a separate bowl (don't pour out the boiling water from the pot, you need this pot of water to velvet the chicken). Scoop out about 1 cup of the pasta water, and set aside. Keep the pot of water boiling.
- When chicken is done marinating, drain off excess marinade then carefully add the chicken to the same pot of boiling water. Cook just until the chicken turns white, about 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or drain in a colander.
- Cook just until the chicken turns white, about 1-2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or drain in a colander. Set chicken aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots and green onions and sauté until just tender. Add chicken and bean sprouts and sauté for about 1 minute more.
- Pour in the peanut sauce. Stir until everything is well coated and completely heated through.
- Add the noodles and toss until evenly coated. If needed, add a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in half the cilantro.
- Top with remaining cilantro, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Slightly frozen chicken is easier to slice and gives you that tender, restaurant-style texture.
- If you prep the veggies and sauce while the chicken marinates, this will all come together super fast at the end.
- Using the same pot of water for both the noodles and the chicken keeps things simple and the starchy pasta water actually helps the sauce cling even better to the noodles, so be extra careful to not drain it off with the noodles!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Thanks so much for providing this recipe! We tried it out on our own with some slight modifications, and were literally AMAZED at how delicious it was. We just had our 3rd batch of leftovers last night, and we both agreed that this has just cracked the top 10 of our favorite dinners. Even better than my favorite similar version from The Cheesecake Factory.
This was insanely good!
Thanks for this great recipe! 🙂 I love your blog! I made this the other night for a friend of mine who is from Indonesia (this dish actually originates from Indonesia, it’s not a ‘Thai noodle dish’ though it does get mixed up with pad thai very often–the two food cultures are actually very different) and he loved it! Of course, he said it is different than the one back home (and he thought it wasn’t spicy enough–can you imagine?!)but nevertheless his bowl was empty and he said he really liked it!! Everyone else loved it too!! Thank you!!
I think you are right! At noodles and co. I think they actually call it Indonesian Sauté. Thanks for catching that, I’m glad your friend liked it!
Actually going to make the peanut sauce, and use it over sauteed veg as well as a dipping sauce for my cream cheese and scallion wonton appetizers! excellent dipping auce…thanks for sharing!
I made this tonight and it was yummy but my sauce was SUPER runny.. 🙁 Very sad.. IDK what I did wrong..
Stephanie– to be honest, I don’t know either! It usually turns out perfectly! I would say maybe cut down on some of the liquids next time to get it to the consistency you like. Also, make sure your noodles are well drained. Other than that I don’t know what to suggest!
I am making this hopefully tomorrow! Love this dish and can't wait to try making it at home. Thai food is oh so yum 🙂
This is so delicious! I've never had Noodles & Co.'s version but now I'm not sure I need to. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes, I love your blog!
I made this recipe last night and it was AMAZING! I doubled the peanut sauce recipe because we like a lot of sauce and leftovers! (I also used a lot of veggies) As I was cooking the peanut sauce I tasted it several times and decided to add 2 more tbsp sriracha and 2 tbsps honey. To get the consistency I wanted I added more peanut butter. I also used chunky and it worked out very well! Next time I may try this dish over rice as well! We will be adding this dish to our favs! Thank you so much!
@ Steffani– You are a woman after my own heart… I ALWAYS add more sriracha because I like it pretty hot! I am always worried to put on the recipe how much Sriracha I REALLY use because I know most people don't like it as hot as I do. I am so glad that you liked it, it is definitely a "rotation" recipe at our house too!
Thanks of all of your nice comments!
Erica
Looks just amazing, and I gorgeous photo. I just "pinned" it 🙂
Thai Peanut dishes are my fav!! Can't wait to try this! Thanks! :0)
Very good! I had shrimp instead of chicken and I threw in some waterchestnuts and bamboo shoots because they were in the pantry. I also cut back on the hot sauce a bit after reading the other comments. It was just the right combination of spicy and sweet!
thanks for a great recipe! Made tonight and loved it. Had to cut back a bit on the Sriracha sauce because we can't handle things too hot, but other than that stuck to the recipe. Thanks for a great recipe website!!
I tried this a few days ago and it was much too hot (and I like hot). I would use the minimum Sriracha chili sauce next time. The flavor was good though.
Yum yum!! Very good, and really is very close to Noodles & Co, the only thing I'll do different next time is add more honey, I think the only thing that kept it from tasting exactly like Noodles & Co was it wasn't quite as sweet. Thanks for the great recipe!
Great recipe! I used only red peppers and broccoli for veggies and it turned out great. One warning – I used some where between the 3 tsp. and 4 Tbs. listed for chili sauce in the peanut sauce and it turned out just the way I like it – very hot. My two year old held a different opinion, however.
I used rice noodles. It turned out very good. As good as or better than Noodles and Co!!
I love the Indonesian peanut saute at noodles and this recipe was even better!!! I used rice noodles instead of linguine and tofu instead of chicken (vegetarian), but other than that I followed the recipe almost exactly. Thanks for posting!
This was REALLY good! My gluten-free hubby loved it and my kids ages 3, 5, and 7 also ate it. They kept saying, “My lips are burning/My chin is burning.” I substituted rice noodles for the linguine, but other than that we followed the recipe precisely.
This looks really good. I need to try this.