I’m re-introducing one of my all-time favorite recipes today! It’s a colorful slaw with tender soba noodles, tossed in sesame-ginger peanut sauce. Need I say more?
Ok, I’ll tell you more about it. It’s packed with nutritious vegetables, including carrots, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. This slaw is crunchy and satisfying, filling and full of flavor.
This recipe can satisfy your main-meal cravings (it packs great for lunch), or it can make a statement side dish. It’s easily made vegan and/or gluten free, making it an all-star potluck option.
This slaw is made with more vegetables than noodles, so it’s nice and light. I tend to get snacky when I’m feeling anxious or unsettled, so I’ve been taking a fork to this slaw in those moments. Chomp chomp chomp!
How to Make Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
Some tips before you get started:
This slaw is quite simple to make if you have the right tools. You can easily shred the vegetables in a food processor with the shredding and grating attachments. (Here’s my food processor/that’s an affiliate link.)
To make this slaw extra pretty for its photo shoot, I used my julienne peeler to shred the carrots into ribbons. Another option? I bet you could also use your spiralizer on the carrots and cabbage.
Shortcut option: This recipe is really easy to make if you want to buy pre-shredded vegetables and mix them in with the soba noodles. You’ll need about eight cups.
More Recipes to Enjoy
Craving more savory, peanutty recipes? Check out these recipes:
- Colorful Veggie Sesame Noodles
- Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
- Mango “Burrito” Bowls with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce
- Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Peanut Soba Noodle Bowl
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I always love reading your feedback.
Peanut-Sesame Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 8 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop and by hand
- Cuisine: Asian
Healthy Asian slaw made with cabbage, carrots and soba noodles, tossed in a bold peanut-sesame sauce. This slaw recipe is very flexible—feel free to omit the noodles and/or brussels sprouts and buy pre-shredded slaw mix for easier preparation (you’ll need about 8 cups slaw mix). Recipe yields 4 generous servings or 8 side servings.
Ingredients
Slaw
- 4 ounces soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
- 1 very small purple or green cabbage, sliced into quarters and core removed (about 16 ounces/6 cups shredded)
- ½ pound (about 12) Brussels sprouts, nubby ends removed, or additional cabbage (about 2 cups shredded)
- 4 carrots, peeled
- 1 bunch of green onions, trimmed and sliced into thin rounds
Peanut-sesame dressing
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar or rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or other soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
Garnish
- Sprinkle of coarsely chopped peanuts
- Handful of cilantro, coarsely torn
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
- Optional, for spice lovers: sriracha or chili-garlic sauce
Instructions
- Cook the soba noodles: Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water before returning to pot.
- Prepare the vegetables: This is easier in a food processor than by hand. If using a food processor, shred the cabbage and sprouts with the slicing disk, then grate the carrots using the grating disk. Or use a chef’s knife to chop the cabbage and sprouts into thin strips, then coarsely grate the carrots.
- Prepare the dressing: In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until smooth. If the mixture should be thick but drizzly; if it’s too thick, whisk in water in 1 tablespoon increments until it is (at which point you might need to add a little salt, to taste, since the flavors have been diluted.)
- In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked soba noodles, shredded cabbage and sprouts, grated carrots, and chopped green onions. Pour dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat (you may or may not need all of the dressing). For best flavor, let the slaw marinate for 20 minutes before serving.
- Serve slaw with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, torn cilantro and a lime wedge. Serve with sriracha on the side, if you’d like a spicy kick. This slaw keeps very well for a few days (covered and refrigerated). Before serving, wake up the flavors with a dash of lime juice or vinegar and more fresh cilantro.
Notes
Recipe adapted from River Cottage Veg.
Make it gluten free: Either omit the noodles or buy certified gluten-free soba noodles. You might also have good results with a firm gluten-free spaghetti, like a corn and quinoa variety. Be sure to use tamari (check the label to make sure it’s gluten free) instead of regular soy sauce, which is not gluten free.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup instead of honey.
Halve it: This makes a whole lot of slaw! Feel free to halve the recipe by buying about 4 cups prepared slaw mix and roughly halving the dressing ingredients.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Lily B
I was looking for easy, vegetarian recipes, for lazy people who would love to eat larger quantities of vegetables, and I just knew that I will find something perfect on your blog. All it requires is chopping, putting pot of water on the stove, and mixing the sauce. Crunchy veg is crucial, and I love that it’s cabbage and carrots, the simplest ingredients to find in the shops. I love extra popping action, so I sprinkle it with loads of sesame seeds. Thank you for this beautiful salad recipe.
★★★★★
Valerie
Absolutely delicious, thank you!
★★★★★
Tracy
Holy smokes!!! That is delicious . Just made it and I’m going to grill a piece of salmon to go with it. Yum!
★★★★★
Nicole
This was amazing! I tweaked the ratio a bit for more noodles and less (but still lots of) veggies because I’m a carb fiend, and added some pan fried tofu for protein. The sauce is so yummy.
★★★★★
Debbie
I made this Soba Peanut Slaw recipe for the first time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that we all enjoyed the meal! The kids (9 & 12) are beginning to be fussier about everything but not last night. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
★★★★★
Rex
Delicious!! Bought a bag of kale salad from Costco, added the shredded carrots and used all the dressing. It’s such a refreshing change for spring! Shook some red pepper flakes on it with a shot of tiger sauce. SOME LIKE IT HOT! Very good
★★★★★
RoseAnne
This was so delicious!! I will definitely make this again. We loved it.
The only variations to the recipe I made were to add 1 teaspoon of garlic chili paste and a bit of lime juice directly to the dressing before mixing everything. I sautéed tofu and added it on top to increase protein and make it a full meal. The sauce is amazing and definitely could be used as a dipping sauce for other recipes. I loved that it had lots of fiber from the veggies (I also added some shredded kale I had leftover) and TONS of flavor!
Thank you for this great recipe!!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you for sharing your variation, Rose!
Farah Izbeki
Hi Kate – we buy the nut butter from Costco. Do you think the recipe would be equally tasty if I subbed the nut butter for peanut butter? Or should stick with peanut butter on this one? Thanks!
Kate
Hi! If you can do peanut butter, I highly recommend it.