I eat so much peanut butter on a daily basis that I often feel guilty about incorporating it into lunch or dinner.
It’s a rare morning when I’m not spooning PB out of a jar and onto a banana, or into a bowl of oatmeal, or across a piece of toast, or any other breakfast medium that will take it.
But sometimes there are good reasons to eat PB for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner, and one of those reasons is peanut sauce.
Stirred into noodles or rice, gingery-garlicky peanut sauce is one of my favorite savory forums for peanut butter. If you have a food processor, it’s also super easy to whip up.
I kept the other components of this recipe fairly simple, too, to make this a good weeknight dinner contender or quick Saturday afternoon lunch.
You could always further jazz this up though, tossing in a little steamed edamame or tofu sautéed in soy sauce.
But just fresh veggies alone is enough to make this an addicting meal, one where the stove is only required for the simple step of cooking the noodles.
Topping choices can also get creative here. Feel free to add scallions, chopped peanuts or cashews, extra cilantro, or a squeeze of lime. I love to do a squeeze of Sriracha on top, too.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1-inch ginger, chopped
- 1 1/2 lime, juiced (1/2 set aside and cut into 3 wedges for serving)
- 1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1-2 Tbsp. warm water
- 2 lg. carrots, shredded
- 1/4 head of red cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
- 12 oz. soba noodles
- 2 Tbsp. peanuts, chopped, optional
- Sriracha, optional
Instructions
- In a food processor, place garlic and ginger, and pulse until minced. Add lime juice, rice wine vinegar, honey, peanut butter, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Puree until smooth. Thin out with warm water, as needed.
- Toss shredded carrots and cabbage in a bowl. Add cilantro.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain, and then toss with veggies. Stir in peanut sauce. Serve with a wedge of lime and, if using, a sprinkle of chopped peanuts. Add Sriracha on the side, if desired.
