Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
A healthy Asian slaw made with cabbage, carrots and soba noodles (optional), tossed in a bold peanut-sesame sauce.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
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.
Watch How to Make Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
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
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.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Tried this recipe last night and it was AMAZING! My hubby and I couldn’t get enough. We will be making it again soon. Thank you for sharing! :)
Awesome, so glad you both enjoyed the slaw! Thanks, Jennifer.
Made this to take to the office for lunch today and wow – new favorite right here! It also works if you prep the night before.
Hooray! So glad you love the slaw, Dini. Thank you for commenting.
This one is truly delicious!! And sooo quick :D
Oh my goodness, I made this slaw for dinner tonight and it was AMAZING. No exaggeration – it was so, so good! (The manfriend enjoyed it as well!) I only used half a cabbage and there are so many leftovers – looking forward to taking them to the office for lunch tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe – this one is definitely a keeper!
Maresa, thank you! So glad you enjoyed the slaw so much!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely flavourful with a nice amount of crunch. I love your site and can’t wait to try the other recipes. Hooray for fresh foods!
Fantastic! Thank you, Sara! :)
Hello Kate! My name is Stina and I come from Sweden. I have made this slaw several times and it is my absolute favourite. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Hi Stina! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the slaw, thank you for letting me know!
I just discovered your blog a few days ago and made this recipe tonight. OMG! It was all I could do to keep myself from going back for 3rds. I cut the peanut butter to 1/3rd cup to reduce calories and I don’t think the recipe suffered. Thanks. I’m a fan!
Hi Patricia! Welcome to my blog, I’m glad you found it. Delighted to hear that you fell for this slaw! I could probably live off of it.
I made this slaw (with radishes instead of brussel sprouts) to go with a roasted five-spice pork belly – ohemgeezus this was good!!! I added twice the amount of sesame oil and soy sauce, it tasted so divine. Many leftovers. So happy.
Awesome! Bet it’s great with radishes.
I’ve eaten this ALL WEEK!! I love it! I didn’t change a thing!
Awesome! Thanks, Amanda!
Hi Kate! I made this recipe last night and it was a HUGE hit! Even my roommate who isn’t crazy about peanut sauces said it was amazing. Thanks for a great recipe! I’m enjoying the leftovers for lunch right now :)
Awesome!!! So glad you both enjoyed it!
Kate,
This is a great recipe! I have made a few peanut sauces with soba noodles, and this is my favorite. I didn’t have sesame oil, so I used a harissa oil instead- added some great heat. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thanks, Chelsea! I’m so glad you enjoyed the slaw. I’ve never heard of harissa oil, but I love spicy stuff, so I’ll have to track some down!
Kate, this recipe was a huge success in my house tonight! I love that it made so much because now I get to look forward to leftovers tomorrow night. It was also great because my boyfiriend who is usually not a fan of meatless meals absolutely loved it. I thinned out the dressing a bit with some water in the food processor becuase it was a tad thick, could have been the peanut butter I used because it was homemade. Everything about it was perfect. I usually avoid cooking with peanut butter sauces but this mas made me want to experiment more with it. :-)
Thank you, Caroline! I’m so glad you both loved the slaw. It’s one of my favorites. I’m obsessed with peanut sauce!!!
Just made this and am serving it for dinner except I can’t stop sneaking bites from the serving bowl. My sauce was also too thick (I used natural peanut butter) and I added an extra tablespoon each of soy sauce and rice vinegar to thin it. Also I put the hot pasta (I don’t like soba so just used whole wheat linguine) in w the vegetables to soften the cabbage a little. Such a good meal.
Thanks, Erika! Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight and it was great! So far, this if the fourth dish I’ve made from you and I have yet to be disappointed! I find myself scrolling through your recipes throughout the day, trying to select which one is next. I love cooking but recently went through a cooking slump. Part of it was a new job, but mostly I wasn’t satisfied with the recipes I was finding. I finally realized it was because the recipes were often trying to replace or recreate meat, and that is not what (good) vegetarian food is about! It is so wonderful to eat food actually created by a fellow veggie. Mmmm… keep them rolling! My boyfriend is pretty pleased too :) Thank you!
Dani, thank you so much! I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes. :) I don’t like meat substitutes, either, so you’re definitely in the right place!
So much to love about this recipe. It not only tastes great but looks beautiful in a serving bowl. Thanks for sharing your recipes! I just found your blog from Pinterest and am excited to try more of your recipes.
Hi Greti! I’m so glad you found my blog. Thank you for saying hello!
It is incredibly embarrassing to admit how much of this I ate…before I served it!!!
At first I thought the dressing was a bit strong on the sesame, but after mixing it with the salad ingredients it was really perfect. I didn’t have sprouts so left those out, but I love them so next time I will buy them for this. Also I just sliced up a sweet onion instead of the scallions, since that’s what I have and I love lots of onions.
HUGE winner. Going to my parents for a 4th of July cookout and even though it’s only a few days away, I will prb make this again that soon because it’s THAT good.
Thanks again for your hard work and amazing recipes!
Haha, well I don’t blame you for eating lots of this slaw! I can’t control myself around it. So glad you’re enjoying it!
Another winner of a salad dish! I’ve tried many versions of Asian slaws, but yours was the best I’ve made yet. Seriously good stuff, must have eaten 5 cups of this stuff for dinner :)
Hip hip! Thanks, Ashwin!
This slaw is amazing! I am new to your blog, but your healthy lunch compilation is a huge inspiration as I go back to work tomorrow after 5 years of being a stay-at-home mom. While I am not a vegetarian, this salad is probably one of the best arguments I’ve ever heard for being one. I will probably make a batch of this every week. SO good. Thank you!
Thank you very much! Best of luck in your transition. Glad you’re enjoying my slaw!
One of my new favorites!
Yay, thanks Kelsey!
Dear Kate,
What a humongous delicious salad this Peanut Sesame Slaw is! We (my husband, my two daughters en myself) all love it!!! I’ve made it 3 times now and every time we finished it completely.Thank you for this great recipe!!
Love from The Netherlands, Lisette van Oosterhout
Thank you, Lisette! Glad you’re all enjoying this one!
The sauce is great, really satisfying peanut sauce. Love the use of raw brussels sprouts. HOWEVER I had a serious problem with your ratios. One small cabbage? I got the smallest cabbage I could find and there was no WAY the ratio of cabbage (plus carrot, plus sprouts) would have been equal to the measly 4 oz of soba. Who makes 4 oz of soba and has any left over? I needed to double the sauce and soba amount to equal a partial amount of the shredded cabbage. I see the note about halving the amount of cabbage, but in no way shape or form would I recommend halving the dressing amounts.
Hi Charlie, I’m sorry you had trouble with my recipe. I can see that it would be helpful to add a weight and/or cups of shredded cabbage to the recipe to match the way I made it. I’ll try to remake it soon. The noodles are an accent, though. I didn’t mean that you should have equal parts vegetables and noodles, but if that’s your preference, please adjust as necessary!
This recipe was absolutely delicious!!!! The second time I made it I added a bunch of veggies- bean sprouts, bell peppers and other crunchy things, but it was good both ways!! Honestly I just finished some and I wish I had more.
Thank you, Cate! Your second version sounds great!
I made this last night. It tasted better today after sitting in the fridge for awhile. My husband and I really liked it. It really needs all the suggested garnishes. It is much better with them.
Hi Erica, I’m so glad you both enjoyed this one. Thank you for commenting!
Kate – cleaned out my kitchen cabinets today and found my soba noodles :) Destiny! Your move sounds exciting. We relocated last May back to the Kansas City area and I can identify with both the enthusiasm and the ‘unsettled’ moments. You’ll be fine! Thanks for the recipe – it’s on this week’s menu list.
Jackie
Thank you, Jackie! I’m all settled into my “new” place now, and I’m so glad I upgraded! Glad to hear you’re nearby!
The soba salad has been moved to the ‘repeat soon’ category. I halved the recipe and it was the perfect size for the two of us. I didn’t have brussel sprouts to use but it was delicious without them. Enjoy your ‘new’ place!
This is so delicious! This dressing recipe could be used for many things. Every single recipe of yours I’ve tried I have loved. Great work!!
That’s so great to hear! Thank you, Kathryn.
I was wondering how many this would feed as a main??
Looks so good I am very keen to make it :)
Hi Kate! I think it yields about 4 main dish-sized servings.
This Looks wonderful! Can’t wait to try! Counting calories these days and I’d love to know (roughly) calories per serving on this. Based on the 4 servings the recipe yields. Any clue?
Hey Ashley! I’m sorry, I don’t offer nutrition values since they vary so much with home cooking. Feel free to run this one through a recipe calculator like myfitnesspal.com.
I made this last night with broken linguine, almond butter, and grated daikon in place of the brussel sprouts (I’m all about trying to work with what you’ve got in a pinch). Fantastic recipe! Yes, the dressing was thick, but the salad ingredients are sturdy enough to handle it. I’m hoping to use the leftover dressing for Thai salad rolls this weekend. I’m loving your recipes!
Thank you, Shawn! Your version sounds awesome to me!
What kind of peanut butter do you use? The regular kind or natural?
I used natural. I can’t remember which brand. They all vary, but I think you’ll have great results with any peanut butter in this recipe.
What do you think of substituting maple syrup for the honey? Thanks!
This was such a delicious way to eat winter vegetables! So easy to put together too. I am a recent convert to your site, love all the recipes I have tried so far
Love, Sophie (from Paris)
HUGE fan of these recipes. I’ve done the Peanut/Sesame Slaw, Lentil Soup and am taking my last bite of the Summer Pesto Pasta Salad at this very moment. I wanted to convert my lunches to ALL vegetable to better my health. Having meat one meal a day is very easy for me and I don’t even have a huge portion when I do. I made a change to the Slaw recipe by replacing the crushed peanuts with cashews and topped it off with Wasabi Peas (the dry type that come in a bag in the snack aisle) they made a huge differance. I make enough to last the entire week which means I bring the entire batch on Monday to work and finish it on Friday. No paper bags, no forgetting my lunch one day to the next, and people have taken notice and asked me for your website. Thanks for your time and efforts, it is appreciated greatly.
This recipe was delicious! Made it tonight, and both me and my husband loved it! He added siracha to spice his up a bit, but I thought it was perfect as is. Will definitely add this to our rotation!
Made this gluten free for 19 family members and they all loved it and asked for the recipe. I’ll try more of your recipes.
Thanks for another keeper recipe! Our entire family loved it! We added some chopped sugar snap peas and extra crushed peanuts and cilantro. Yum!
Hi Kate, and Cookie,
I made this and you are correct–a lot of slaw. Can you help me with the dressing? I followed the recipe and it came out as thick as peanut butter. How did you make yours smooth enough to drizzle?
Thanks!
Carrie
Carrie, I’m sorry you had that issue! Some peanut butters are thicker than others. I’m adjusting the recipe for any others who have trouble, but I would whisk in a tablespoon or two of water, and then maybe add some salt to enhance the flavors.
Omg I just did this recipe and its sooo good! I split the recipe in half and I still have a lot of salad! The dressing is amazing as well! Its gonna make wonderful lunch to bring with me at the uni. Sorry for my english, i’m french canadian. Big fan of your blog!
This recipe is heaven! I never thought I would want to eat a whole cabbage in one day, but with this recipe it is a definite possibility lol. I will be making this again soon =)
Just made this recipe, and I love it! So delicious. Will definitely be following your blog from now on. :)
Kate what kind of food processor do you have?
Just made this – excellent, loved it. Great recipe, thank you!
Thank you, Leslie!
This has been my go to potluck dish. Everyone loves it. Some of my friends are vegan so i like to make something everyone could eat. It takes minimum effort and it taste great. Thanks for the recipe.
I have made this several times with great results. Toasted sesame oil is not my favorite, so I use coconut oil instead!!! That is the only change I made. Another homerun hit. Thank you Kate!!!
I am making this recipe right now and am wondering if the 12 cups of pre-made slaw mix is supposed to read 12 ounces? 12 cups seems like way too much for the amount of dressing. I’ve been loving all of your recipes I’ve tried lately!! Thanks!
Hi Joanna, I hope your slaw turned out well! I think I used 12 cups of shredded veggies, but that does seem like a lot now that I think about it. I will have to retry this one to offer better measurements!
Absolutely delicious! The dressing would make for an excellent dip for spring rolls, also.
I used broccoli slaw instead of the cabbage & brussels, and added avocado & sriracha.
Yes, the sauce is super versatile! Your variation sounds really good.
Delicious and (if you use pre-chopped slaw mix) fairly quick to put together.
Great time-saving tip, Susan. Thanks!
Simply delicious! I made this recipe last night for dinner and it was so yummy that I ate the leftovers for breakfast this morning. Best decision, felt great all day long!
Greetings from Sweden, where veggies are expensive this time of the year but carrots and cabbage are affordable.
Oh wow this is good! My hubby and I could devour a huge pile of this salad. I used sweet-potato soba noodles, and I can also see the veggies are versatile. I added some strips of sweet red pepper, and when the sugar snap peas are ripe in my garden, they’d be delicious in this! I’m thinking this salad will become a summer-time staple in our house.
Yum! That sounds delicious, Alice. I’m jealous of your freshly-grown sugar snap peas!
Tried this last week and fell in love!
This recipe is so easy and SO tastey!
Husband loved it as well, it’s on repeat this week for our vegetarian lunch days :)
Thanks for the recipe!
I love hearing that, Eva, thanks!