We may earn a commission when you click on the affiliate links in this post.
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
Read More: 35+ Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas
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.
Love this recipe?
We want to hear from you! Please leave a review.
I was just wondering what kind of peanut butter you used.
Was it Jiff/Skippy (traditional PB&J peanut butter) or a natural/unsweetened peanut butter?
I’ve been craving this like crazy since they took it off the menu and your recipe looks like the perfect thing to replace it!
We used a traditional peanut butter but you can use natural if you would like. I am so sad they took it off the menu! You will like this recipe, it tastes just like it– load on the Sriracha to make it just as spicy as theirs too 🙂
Noodles just dropped this dish from their menu 🙁
Glad you have this recipe posted … I’m going to have to give it a try
They did?! I wonder why?? That is my favorite dish there :'(
Looking forward to making this…without the animal products
amazing with crispy tofu!
This is beyond amazing! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
You’re welcome! We are so glad you like it!
This is SO GOOD. The Indonesian Peanut Sautee is one of my favorites and go-to orders for Noodles & Co, and this is easily just as good, if not better. Yum!
Thank you for the compliment. We love hearing that our readers have success with our recipes!
This looks so good! I am planning on making this dish, but just for 2 people. Would you recommend that I cut the recipe in half, or do the leftovers heat up well? Thanks!
I’ve never had anything from Peanut & Company (we don’t have any around here), and have never heard of this dish. It would be helpful if you’d give some general amounts for the vegetables, because when I do make this, I want it to taste as good as yours. (Sometimes adding too many veggies & not enough sauce to match it, or too much of one kind of veggie – it throws off the flavor of the original dish a lot.) If you could give me some idea, it would sure be appreciated. 🙂 (I just found your blog this morning, and am loving it. I also love the layout and colors.) You’re fun to read.
Thank you so much for your nice comment! Figure between 1/2 c. and 1 c. of veggies per serving. This usually serves about 6 so I do about 1 head of broccoli, a cup or two of sprouts, a about 1/2 to 1 c. carrot, and about 1/4 c. green onion. Usually about a handful of peanuts. Hope this helps! Sorry so vague– I just kind of eye-ball it. Sometimes I do more veggies, sometimes less. There is plenty of sauce so you can pile on the veggies if you want to! I am SO glad that you found us! I hope you keep coming back for more recipes! 😀
Best ever!!! Just like the real thing minus $6.
Just left the Noodle Co and I love their version but wanted to make my own! And look what I found. YUM can’t wait to try. Ever try it with rice noodles?
This was amazing! LOVE!
Wow! Wow! Wow! First of all, I have to admit that I am NOT a cook! I just do not like it at all! However, I have to cook otherwise I’d starve my family and myself! I have this love for Noodles & Company like no other! The good and bad thing about it is that I live about an hour away from the nearest one. See my point there?! My family is also a big fan of their pasta dishes so I got the hankering to do a search for a few of the Indonesian Peanut Sautes. This was the FIRST one to pop up! I looked at others but liked how you had it SO simplified….because that’s exactly what I need! Otherwise I will disregard it….that’s going back to my dislike of the kitchen. I went to the store with my handy-dandy list, nervously purchased the items needed and went to work in the kitchen. After the cooking part (which was easy-peasy) was all done, we sat down and all took a bite at the same time–yes, that was planned 😉 My family is brutally honest, so naturally I was nervous. The reaction? Let’s just say that this recipe is pretty much IDENTICAL, if not better, that Noodle’s. MMmmHmm! Not only was my family impressed with the taste of it (and that I didn’t burn or start a fire), there was a slight argument over who got the leftovers. THANK YOU so much for posting this recipe!!! You have put me back on the board as a cook and even gave me some confidence! Peace and Love!
Lindsey— WOW THANK YOU so much for your compliment!!!!! I am so glad that you (and your family) liked this recipe. It is a favorite of ours too. I hope you are the one who ended up with the leftovers 😉 It re-heats great! Thank you thank you again for taking the time to write this sweet note 🙂
Wow! Wow! Wow! First of all, I have to admit that I am NOT a cook! I just do not like it at all! However, I have to cook otherwise I’d starve my family and myself! I have this love for Noodles & Company like no other! The good and bad thing about it is that I live about an hour away from the nearest one. See my point there?! My family is also a big fan of their pasta dishes so I got the hankering to do a search for a few of the Indonesian Peanut Saute. This was the FIRST one to pop up! I look at others but liked how you had it SO simplified….because that’s exactly what I need! Otherwise I will disregard it….that’s going back to my dislike of the kitchen. I went to the store with my handy-dandy list, nervously purchased the items needed and went to work in the kitchen. After the cooking part (which was easy-peasy) was all done, we sat down and all took a bite at the same time–yes, that was planned 😉 My family is brutally honest, so naturally I was nervous. The reaction? Let’s just say that this recipe is pretty much IDENTICAL, if not better, that Noodle’s. MMmmHmm! Not only was my family impressed with the taste of it (and that I didn’t burn or start a fire), there was a slight argument over who got the leftovers. THANK YOU so much for posting this recipe!!! You have put me back on the board as a cook and even gave me some confidence! Peace and Love!
You are *hilarious*! It’s really sad that you don’t like to cook, because your blog would be so entertaining to read! Actually, you *should* start one about your cooking adventures – it would be a HOOT! 🙂
Making this tonight, how many servings does this recipe make?
around 4 to 6, depending on serving size
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
This was SO delicious! On my second helping now. Thank you for the recipe!
This was really good! I replaced about 1/3 of the noodles with thinly sliced cabbage that I sauteed with the veggies to reduce calories/carbs somewhat and it was still great. I also omitted almost all the hot sauce (small kids) and 50% of my kids loved it (that’s actually pretty good) and I found it was still tasty. My husband added a bit more hot sauce directly to his bowl.
Hi.
If I was to refrigerate the sauce for how long will it remain able for consumption?
Thanks!
I wouldn’t go more than 4-5 days…
Wonderful recipe. Thank you and have a great day.
I skipped the Siracha in the sauce (though used it to fry up my tofu, yum!) and used Peanut Butter and Company’s “The Heat is On” peanut butter with chili added. Though I only put one or two tablespoons of it, normal peanut butter for the rest, because WOW this stuff is hot! And I have a high spice tolerance.
Wow that must be some spicy Peanut Butter!!!
How many can I expect to serve with this recipe?
4 to 6
I am so excited to make this! Can you please tell me where I would buy Sriracha chili sauce? Is it available at Wal-mart? If so, what aisle? Thanks!
Yes you can find it at Walmart. It’s usually in the Asian section.