Easy vegan rice noodle salad is a plant-based, oil-free recipe that's brimming with crunchy veggies, beans, rice noodles, and zesty lemongrass dressing. This hearty salad takes 30 minutes to make for a healthy dinner the whole family will love.
This boring salad buster is such a delight! It lands somewhere between Asian three-bean salad and wild rice lemongrass salad.
When I first made this recipe, it was all about noodles and veggies. Like so many recipes, just one tweak, in this case, adding adzuki beans, turned it into a satisfying meal.
Table of Contents
⭐ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Most rice noodles are gluten-free. If you use Tamari instead of soy sauce, this is an easy gluten-free salad meal.
- Fully customizable in terms of veggies - use what you have.
- Prep the veggies and dressing ahead for a quick weeknight dinner.
- Great for picnics and take-along lunches.
📋 Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
Rice noodles. Traditional rice noodles and brown rice noodles are made from rice flour, water, and tapioca starch, making them an excellent choice for gluten-free noodle lovers. Several different noodles work for this recipe, including vermicelli rice noodles (the white ones), Bahn Pho, thick Vietnamese noodles (banh canh), or pad Thai noodles.
Lemongrass. I fell in love with lemongrass after making lemongrass tofu. Balance this recipe's lime juice and zest with lemon zest if you don't have a lemongrass stalk.
Fresh herbs. One of the delights of this recipe is using fresh basil, mint, and cilantro. If you don’t like fresh cilantro, add a little parsley or leave it out. All good! If you have Thai basil, it's an excellent substitute for regular fresh basil.
Fresh chili. Use a thinly sliced or diced Thai red chili or jalapeno. Substitute with red chili flakes or add a pinch of cayenne. You can also use a teaspoon of chili paste like sriracha or Sambal Oelek.
Adzuki beans. Adzuki beans are firm black beans (another substitute) that are great in salads. Again, you aren’t limited, so use whatever type of beans you like, such as cannelloni beans or kidney beans. I've also used baked crispy tofu for this recipe, and it was delicious.
Peanuts. A few unsalted peanuts give the salad extra crunch, but they are entirely optional. Sesame seeds are a good nut-free option.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.
📖 Recipe Variations
There are numerous crunchy vegetable options: green or red cabbage, napa cabbage, julienned carrot, sugar snap peas, shredded carrots or purple cabbage, red bell pepper,
If your heart is set on peanut sauce, try the yummy peanut dressing with my Asian kale salad. Or stir a little peanut butter into the dressing.
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⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions. Add them with the veggies and beans in a large salad bowl when they are cool.
Step 2: Mix the noodles with the salad ingredients.
Step 3: In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients and add them to the salad.
Step 4: Add the chopped peanuts and mix the salad.
🔪 Pro Tips
Use a steamer basket to steam the green beans lightly. For best results, add the steam basket and boil the water. Then, add the green beans for 1-2 minutes.
Check the package instructions before cooking the noodles. Some types need to simmer, and some mix in a bowl with hot water. Be careful not to overcook the noodles.
Denise's Tip: Rinse cooked noodles in cool water to stop cooking and separate them.
🍴 Serving and Meal Prep
This is a great cold noodle salad to serve at room temperature if you want to meal prep. Prep and mix the salad ingredients, leaving the peanuts for right before serving.
Store the salad in an airtight container. Mix the dressing and store it in a separate airtight container in the fridge. When making the salad, cook the noodles and mix them with the dressing and peanuts.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover rice noodle salad in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Let it warm to room temperature and stir before serving. Spruce it up with a little lime juice and a few fresh peanuts.
There are 2 important things to consider. First, double-check that the rice noodles are gluten-free. They should be made with rice flour, tapioca starch (and water). Next, use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
Consult the package directions before cooking the noodles. Usually, it’s recommended that you soak them in boiling water or simmer them on the stove for 2-3 minutes. It helps to rinse noodles in cold water after draining them. This keeps them from sticking together.
There are several options for the noodles part when making a vegan noodle salad. Look for thin, flat noodles, including rice vermicelli noodles, ramen noodles, buckwheat soba noodles, or even thin spaghetti.
🥗 More Healthy Vegan Salads
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Easy Vegan Rice Noodle Salad (Oil-Free Recipe)
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Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles - see notes for options
- 1 ½ cups green beans - cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ cups Adzuki beans - 1 - 15 ounce/400 gram can
- 1 ½ cups mung bean sprouts
- 1 small cucumber - deseeded and sliced
- 6 medium green onions - scallions/ spring onions, chopped (white and green parts)
- ½ cup basil leaves - torn or chopped
- ¾ cup fresh mint - leaves torn or chopped
- ¾ cup cilantro - chopped
- ⅓ cup unsalted peanuts - chopped, optional
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 medium lime - zest and juice
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce - or Tamari or coconut amino acids
- 1 medium red chili pepper - diced
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1 stalk lemongrass - peeled and thinly sliced or minced
Instructions
- Use a steam basket to cook the green beans and let them cool to room temperature. Steam them for just a few minutes, so they stay crisp.
- Mix Adzuki beans, bean sprouts, cucumber, basil, mint, and cilantro in a large bowl.
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Rinse them and let them cool before adding them to the salad bowl. Toss the ingredients together.
- Whisk the dressing in a small bowl, then add it to the salad. Then add the chopped peanuts. Mix well.
Notes
- Black beans are a great substitute for Adzuki beans. You can also use a variety of white beans or chickpeas.
- Store rice noodle salad in an airtight container. Let it warm to room temperature and stir it before serving. Add a little lime juice to spruce it up if desired.
- Use 2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest as a substitute for lemongrass.
- You can use a variety of noodles for this recipe, including pho, vermicelli rice noodles, fThai pad noodles, or angel hair spaghetti.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
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