Easy Vietnamese Inspired Peanut Sauce For Noodles

by Sarah Harper MS, RD, LDN | Aug 13, 2024 | Lunch & Dinner, Recipes, Sauces, Salad Dressings, & Vinaigrettes | 0 comments

Vietnamese Peanut Sauce Recipe For Noodles is a delicious staple sauce for easy weeknight meals. It's creamy, flavorful, and loaded with nutrition.
Hi, I'm Sarah Harper. I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who loves to cook, eat, and talk about food! Here at The Addy Bean, you'll discover an array of flexitarian recipes. My mission is to inspire and encourage others to eat and explore the world of plant-based foods!

Vietnamese Inspired Peanut Sauce Recipe For Noodles

One of my favorite takeout foods is Vietnamese food. I love Pho, Vemachelli noodles, summer rolls, and Luc Lac! One item I always order at a Vietnamese restaurant is summer rolls, also known as gỏi cuốn, fresh spring rolls, or salad rolls.

Most often I find peanut sauce served with my Vietnamese summer rolls and it is the perfect dipping sauce. I ensure each bite is saturated in the peanutty goodness of that sauce sweetened by hoisin sauce. I love that sauce so much, I make it and serve it over a deconstructed salad roll bowl, stir-fries, and rice. 

 

 

Peanut Sauce in a mason jar with peanuts in the background

 

Why You Will Love Making This Recipe

I’ve been making peanut sauce for years and it never gets old. I love this recipe for Vietnamese Peanut Sauce for Spring Rolls by Bryan Huy a Vietnamese American food blogger with an incredible collection of Vietnamese recipes.

My Easy Peanut Sauce doesn’t require any cooking ahead of time, making it perfect for a quick weeknight meal. It’s creamy, flavorful, and packed with nutrition thanks to the peanut butter.

You can easily boost the nutrition by adding whatever veggies you have on hand and some protein, like rotisserie chicken, baked tofu, or grilled shrimp. Toss in some rice noodles, and you’ve got a satisfying, feel-good meal.

Now, let’s dive into how to make this Vietnamese-inspired peanut sauce using simple ingredients that are readily available at your local grocery store.

Trader Joe's Thai Wheat Noodles in a bowl with black chopsticks resting on the side.

Ingredients

All you need to make this sauce is a handful of ingredients. Keep in mind, that you can mix and match ratios of ingredients and include additional ingredients depending on how you like your peanut sauce!

Peanut Butter: I use creamy peanut butter but if you have chunky peanut butter that works well too. 

Peanut butter is a great nut/seed butter for this recipe because it’s a spin on the classic Thai peanut sauce. Peanut butter is also inexpensive, healthy, and a superstar with the taste buds. When not using peanut butter, I use cashew and almond butter. Both are milder in flavor, allowing other flavors in the dish to shine.

Avocado oil: My go-to oil in this recipe. Avocado oil doesn’t add much flavor and adds healthy monounsaturated fats! I have also used sesame oil in some variations, especially when including tahini (sesame paste).

Hoisin Sauce: This is a must when making Vietnamese-inspired peanut sauce. Most grocery stores carry hoisin in the international section where you would find other items such as soy sauce, rice vinegar, and fish sauce. If you don’t have hoisin you could substitute brown sugar or maple syrup.

Water: I used water (or even a bit of coconut milk) to thin the peanut sauce to ensure all the veggies get coated. For a thicker sauce, omit the water. 

Spicy Peanut Sauce:For those who love a bit of heat, I recommend adding a tbsp of sriracha to this recipe. You can also experiment with other spicy condiments like red pepper flakes, chili crisp, or sambal oelek.

If you prefer a milder sauce, feel free to omit the heat altogether.

Optional ingredients – Soy sauce, lime juice fish sauce, or rice vinegar: Sometimes, I like to add a splash of soy sauce, rice vinegar, or fish sauce to my peanut sauce, depending on my mood.

Each option brings a unique twist to the flavor, so feel free to experiment!

When serving it over vermicelli noodles with plenty of stir-fried fresh vegetables, I might even add all four for a bold and flavorful dish!

 

Peanut Sauce in Food Processor

How To Make This Simple Peanut Sauce

  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, blender, mason jar, or bowl.
  2. Gradually add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
  3. Your sauce is now ready to drizzle over a big bowl of noodles or to serve as a delicious chicken wing sauce!

 

Vegetable packed Spring Rolls on a stoneware plate with a side of peanut sauce

How to Serve Peanut Sauce

Make a big batch of this sauce and freeze it! You can use leftover peanut sauce in a variety of ways. 

  • Dip or sauce for wings – I use this recipe as a dip for my Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings! Pair that with a side of roasted broccoli, and red cabbage and top it with a bit of green onions for color.
  • Warm Noodles & rice bowls – spooning this over spaghetti squash and rice noodles, is a great way to incorporate more veggies into my diet. Don’t have rice noodles? You can use spaghetti noodles!
  • Cold noodle salad – served with your favorite veggies such as red bell peppers, carrots, celery, and fresh herbs. You can even top it with chicken satay or baked tofu. Top it all off with chopped peanuts or sesame seeds for a little crunch. 
  • Stir-fry sauce – incorporate your favorite veggies. 
  • Marinade – For Chicken, tofu, or tempeh
  • Kick up basic instant ramen – Just add a little bit of the ramen seasoning packet to the ramen water, then add some peanut sauce, crack an egg in the hot broth and that’s what I call an easy ramen noodle soup. Bump it up even further with a bit of cooked pork belly!
  • Salad dressing – add a little minced garlic for a garlicky peanut salad dressing to toss with butter lettuce. 

 

 

Peanut Sauce in a mason jar with peanuts in the background

 

Try These Recipes!

Make These Peanut Noodles! –Trader Joe’s Thai Wheat Noodles Peanut Stir Fry Recipe

This Sauce is great on air fryer wings! – Honey Old Bay Chicken Wings Recipe In The Air Fryer

Another Excellent Marinade Recipe – The Best 7-Ingredient Southwest Marinade For Chicken

If You Love Peanut Butter, These Recipes Are For You!

Healthy Peanut Paradise Tropical Smoothie Café Copycat

Healthy Peanut Butter Cup Tropical Smoothie Cafe Copycat

The Best Homemade Vanilla Cinnamon Peanut Butter

Peanut Sauce in a mason jar with peanuts in the background

5 Ingredient Vietnamese Inspired Peanut Sauce

Sarah Harper MS, RD, LDN
This Vietnamese Inspired Peanut Sauce is easy, nutritious, and delicious! Enjoy it over top of some noodles, in a stirfry, or as a pizza sauce! I especially love this as a dipping sauce for air-fryer chicken wings.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course marinade, sauce
Cuisine American, Vietnamese
Servings 6 servings
Calories 174 kcal

Equipment

  • Food Processor
  • rubber spatula

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup creamy peanut butter
  • ¼ cup hoisin sauce more or less to taste
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 tbsp sriracha
  • water as needed

Optional

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, or rice vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in a food processor, blender, mason jar, or bowl.
  • Gradually add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Your sauce is now ready to drizzle over a big bowl of noodles or to serve as a delicious chicken wing sauce!

Nutrition

Calories: 174kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 5gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0.3mgSodium: 335mgPotassium: 138mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 0.5mg
Keyword 5-ingredient
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Sarah Harper in her kitchen with a cutting board, broccoli, carrots, and a fruit bowl.
Website | + posts

Hi, I'm Sarah Harper. I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who loves to cook, eat, and talk about food! Here at The Addy Bean, you'll discover an array of flexitarian recipes. My mission is to inspire and encourage others to eat and explore the world of plant-based foods!

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Sarah Eating for food on a stick

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