Subscribe to receive new blog posts + free bullet journal!

Cotter Crunch

Healthy Gluten Free Recipes One Bite at a Time!

Spicy Thai Rice Noodle Salad {Vegan Option}

94 Comments

Vegan Icon VeganDairy Free Icon Dairy FreeGluten Free Icon Gluten FreeQuick Meals Icon Quick Meals
Jump to RecipePrint RecipeRate Recipe
 Thai Noodle Salad is a healthy rice noodle salad recipe that can be made two ways – with added protein, or as a meatless meal! A gluten free Thai noodle salad is perfect for meal prep. All you need is chopped cabbage, cilantro, peppers, rice noodles, lime, and an Thai style chili sauce to marinate them in! Bonus –> cold rice and rice noodles are great for your health; read more below!

rice salad

2 things that are underappreciated. First, the EASE of this MEAL PREP recipe; seriously can’t go wrong with a crunchy spicy (yet cold) Rice Noodle Salad.  It’s been 3 years since I have shared this thai salad recipe. That long, really? Gah, this is a fav SO we updated the photos and recipe for ya!

Secondly, leftovers. Yes the deliciousness of these leftovers for weekday lunch plans makes me happy. There’s something about cold noodles that just makes me happy. Maybe it’s because I used to eat them before 6am volleyball practice during my high school years. Shh… don’t tell my mom, but that was me who always snagged the last bit of leftovers before the rest of my family did. Hey, can you blame me? I grew up with three older brothers, if you didn’t grab food when you could, you wouldn’t get any, especially NOODLES!

But I digress…

You see, nowadays, things have changed. 10 years of eating gluten free! That means rice noodles, veggie noodles, and chickpea pasta are usually our go to for pasta dishes. Be that it is also end of summer, a cold rice noodle chopped salad with extra thai flavors and spices has become a staple!

spices and peper

Yes, this salad is a must for those hot days! Especially when you’re training, extra active, or just always on the go! You (we) need those good nutrients and carbohydrates to refuel!

But let me explain something else here. Another reason why we love COLD rice noodle salad:

Can you guess it? Yep  –> it’s a resistant starch.

Wait, hold up. I think I should probably go over this RS (resistant starch) thing again. What is it, why do we like eating it?

LET THE NERDY NUTRITION TALK BEGIN!

To sum it up:

Resistant starch is “the sum of starch and products of starch degradation not absorbed in the small intestine of healthy individuals.” Instead of being cleaved in twain by our enzymes and absorbed as glucose, resistant starch (RS) travels untouched through the small intestine into the colon, where colonic gut flora metabolize it into short chain fatty acids. Thus, it’s resistant to digestion by the host. Definition Source via Mark’s Daily Apple

Sounds like a bad thing, right? Actually it’s not. It’s  VERY GOOD thing!

Resistant starch can actually HELP improve digestion! How? This type of starch provides more bacteria in the gut because it is resistant to breaking down into sugar/glucose. And new research has discovered that if you cook your rice or rice pasta in 1 tsp of coconut oil first, it actually increases the RS (resistant starch).  So we did just that, a little experimenting with the cooling times too. 

thai rice noodle salad

We let the pasta sit overnight, which really helped with the soaking up the spices and flavor. Plus cooling it for 12 hours is the so called “peak time” for resistant starch.

“ Cooling for 12 hours will lead to formation of hydrogen bonds between the amylose molecules outside the rice grains which also turns it into a resistant starch.“

Once the rice noodle salad was cooled, we mixed it up two ways. One with crunchy chopped salad and cabbage, sliced  thai peppers, thai chili sauce, and crushed nuts to keep it meatless and vegan.

ingredients for rice noodle salad

The other way I made this salad was by slightly sauteeing the chopped cabbage with sesame oil and a little bit of sweet asian chili sauce. Then I topped each noodle bowl with beef (for that extra protein and iron). It was a little less crunchy but also a little more fragrant!

Both nutritious and delicious! The vegetarian option is perfect for that pre workout fuel! Haha carb load.  Or wait till after your workout and eat the BEEFY salad for a healthy recovery meal!

See, solving all your “what to eat when” problems here.

Print
thai rice noodle salad

Spicy Thai Rice Noodle Salad – Gluten Free

★★★★

3.8 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Lindsay Cotter
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: salad
  • Method: stove
  • Cuisine: asian
Print Recipe

Description

Spicy Thai Rice Noodle Salad – 2 Ways! This gluten free rice noodle salad is a healthy addition to any meal or you can make it a main meal by adding protein. Vegan option!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chopped cabbage or asian salad mix (salad only, no crisps)
  • 8 oz rice noodles
  • 3- 4 tbsp tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onion or chives
  • 3 tbsp chopped roasted nuts
  • 2 tbsp sweet chili pepper sauce (Ex: Thai Kitchen brand)
  • 3 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/2 c Cilantro to garnish
  • Splash of lime juice and sliced lime to garnish
  • Optional topping – sliced grilled cooked protein of choice (see notes)

Instructions

  1. First cook your rice noodles according to instructions. Usually takes around 8 minutes or less. Rinse in cold water.
  2. After the rice noodles are cooked, place them in a large bowl and add in 2 to 3 tsp sesame oil, pepper, salt, and asian chili sauce. Mix and place in fridge to cool. For best flavor and resistant starch, let it sit for at least an hour.
  3. After it’s cooled, toss your noodles with the rest of your ingredients. You can lightly saute or steam your cabbage salad first or leave it raw. Mix with you nuts, tamari sauce, onion, vinegar, and garlic. Add more pepper and sesame seed and/sesame oil if desired.
  4. Toss in bowl and squeeze fresh lime juice on top. Add red pepper flakes for extra spice! Chopped Cilantro to garnish.
  5. Serve or keep in fridge for when ready.
  6. If you want to make this dish a main meal, add 8 ounces of a cooked protein. Example; steak strips, chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc.

Notes

Nutrition below is for the Thai Rice Noodle Salad one, no meat added.

Protein options – cooked chicken, shrimp, beef, or even tempeh or tofu!

Keywords: salad, rice noodles, asian, thai, healthy, vegetarian

Let’s recap, eat cold noodles all the livelong day and your gut will be happy! Just kidding. But now you know the GUT HEALTH reasons on why you should keep a big batch of cold rice noodles (or any other resistant starch recipe) in your fridge this summer. Oh and why cold leftovers are a blessing. Just sayin..

rice noodle salad

Dear rice noodle salad, you just so darn tasty.

Who’s ready to start slurping?

What’s your favorite cold pasta salad dish or noodle salad recipe?

signature1

 

 

Pin
Tweet
Share
Email
2K Shares

If you liked this post, you might like...

Homemade Cajun Breakfast Sausage (Paleo Air Fryer ...
No Bake Chocolate Covered Cookie Truffles (Vegan O...
Vegan Christmas Cookies for a Cookie Exchange
Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Peppermint

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Rate & Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. I was going to invite myself over so you can make this for me but I’ve been saying that a lot. So, I’m simply going to tell you how delicious the recipe looks and I’m pinning for menu planning 🙂

    Reply

  3. Cold noodle salads are some of our favorite dinners on summer evenings. They’re healthy, filling, and full of flavor without weighing us down! I love that I can make them ahead, too. This version looks great! Yummed. 🙂

    Reply

  4. I don’t like pasta salad, so what we are going to do is call this leftovers or just cold noodles and go from there, k? Rice noodles are my noodles of choice, and you know I love anything Asian and spicy. I must make this!

    Reply

  9. Maybe that would explain why I love cold leftovers — I’m addicted to resistant starches 😉 In all seriousness, though, I prefer my rice, pasta, and potatoes to be cold, and I usually like them better the next day after they’ve had a chance to sit in the fridge for a while. I’m not sure that would explain my cold leftover pizza for breakfast habit, though…

    Reply

  11. My favorite cold pasta dish is my mom’s penne with vodka cream sauce. It’s not meant to be eaten cold, but it gets better the longer it sits and it’s perfect eaten with my fingers out of the leftover container 😉

    Reply

  12. Dang lady – I never fail to learn something new when I come visit (your blog)! I don’t like most pasta, but, I do like rice “ramen” noodles – I had no clue eating them cold and throwing in some coconut oil, could be so good for me! I really need to try doing this, soon!

    Reply

  22. Usually I prefer warm noodles/etc (probably because I’m constantly cold) but this recipe makes me want to give cold noodles a try! Especially because it has cabbage and grilled beef, which are two foods I’m really loving lately.

    Reply

  24. I am all over this! I love cold pad Thai salads in the summer and it has been on my list to make for a couple weeks now. I usually make a big batch to enjoy over a couple days and just haven’t found the time. Seriously why are there so many good eats and so little time?! Not to mention my long list of ideas to make for blog eats…. I was hoping to tackle it this year. Haha!

    Reply

  33. What a great dish for a delight summer dinner! We don’t add too much carbs to our dinner, and always prefer some protein and veggies. This is a perfect combination of everything we love! Not so heavy, just the right amount of everything we love, healthy and super delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • we dont’ either, but we do use more carbs for after a long run/ride or workout. So these are awesome for lunch or post workout meal. Ya know? Love the cold noodles. haha. we’re weird.

      Reply

  34. I also have great memories of noodles, memories of which I am sure you would not be proud of..Instant noodles! When I was a student I think, at some point, I spent days, just having those. These days, when I wake up I look at myself in the mirror and I thank whoever is up there because I am still alive 🙂

    Reply

  38. This looks SO GOOD!!! I love a good ole fashioned tuna macaroni salad – haven’t made it in years, but there is something so good about cold pasta salads. this looks phenomenal!

    Reply

  39. BRING IT ON! This is sensational Lindsay! Check out those noodles – love the spice, love the colour, love the photos, love everything about this and sharing, especially to the gluten free community!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  41. Gluten-free or not, I’m loving the noodles! I love that it’s spicy! 🙂 The color is very inviting! It looks really delicious! Appetizing! 🙂

    Reply

  42. OooOooOoo I just sent a few samples of some rice noodles! I think I am going to try this with them!! You made it look delicious!…plus I had no idea that having them cold actually makes it a resistant starch…another reason to love rice noodles (as if I need one!)

    Reply

  43. Hi, Lindsey. I just discovered your website through Maggie at the Omnivore’s Cookbook. I’ve been browsing and will make this recipe first. I never thought of cold rice noodles before. My question is regarding resistant starch with which I am not very familiar. You mentioned that if you cook your rice or rice pasta in 1 tsp of coconut oil first the RS will increase. What exactly do you mean by cooking and for how long? Can I use any other oil such as olive? One more general question: I believe that I ate gluten contaminated food last night and am incredibly sick today. Do you have a tip for what to do when this happens? Is there anything I can ingest to help my gut get over this? Thanks for the great site!

    Reply

    • Hi david! sorry about the gluten. I would try to eat lots of probiotic rich foods and limit grains for a few days. Load up on Vitamin C foods too. But keep things simple. Soups might be best.

      As for the resistant starch, coconut oil is best due to it’s omega fatty acid chain. Just add in when you are cooking the rice. Or after once it’s cooked. either should work! Hope that helps.

      Reply

  48. I love Thai flavors and this is such a great salad to get them in! And in such a light and fresh way!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
2K Shares
Pin
Tweet
Share
Email