You can make this Peanut Pasta Recipe in 20 minutes! You'll love this creamy pasta dish made with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, soy sauce and vinegar. Accent it with peanuts and veggies for a delicious vegetarian meal!
I'm Italian, so I'm never going to call this "peanut noodles." But this Italian loves pasta with peanut butter. It's creamy without cream!
There are many peanut sauce recipes out there, but I've taken the liberty of adding roasted sunflower seeds to bring rich, toasty flavor.
Just throw everything in your food processor (or blender) and you'll have a creamy, nutty sauce with a nice vinegar kick. And don't miss this creamy walnut sauce for pasta!
Recipe ingredients
Pasta: Use long pasta such as spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine. Of course, you can use soba noodles or rice noodles for a more authentic Asian dish.
Peanut butter: Any creamy peanut butter will work, including natural. You could even use crunchy peanut butter, if that's what you have.
Sunflower seeds: I use salted, roasted sunflower seeds. You can substitute pine nuts if you wish. If you use unsalted seeds, you'll probably have to add a little salt to the peanut sauce.
Soy sauce: Use low-sodium soy sauce. If you only have regular soy sauce, you'll need to reduce the sodium elsewhere so you don't have a salty dish. Options include eliminating the salt in the pasta water, using unsalted butter for the pasta or using unsalted sunflower seeds.
Bell pepper: I recommend using red red, yellow or orange, since they're a little sweeter than green peppers. But you can use whichever you prefer.
Vinegar: Use rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar. I use the latter, because I always have it in stock.
Ginger: Just a little ground ginger goes a long way! It adds a slight, peppery flavor and brightens the peanut pasta sauce.
Butter: The sauce is dairy-free, but I do add a bit of butter to the cooked pasta for flavor and to prevent sticking. You could use vegan butter if needed.
How to make it
See the card at the end of this post for the full recipe, but here's an overview.
- Add peanut butter, sunflower seeds, soy sauce, vinegar, hot water and seasonings to a food processor or blender.
- Blend until the sauce is smooth or just has tiny flecks of seeds.
- Boil and drain the pasta, then stir in butter and starchy pasta water.
- Mix the vegetables and green onions into the pasta.
Recipe tips
- Keep the sauce separate from the pasta and stir some into each serving. If you mix all of the sauce and pasta at once, it will become dry.
- If the peanut butter sauce is too thick, you can blend in a little cooking water from the pasta to thin it.
- Adding reserved starchy water to the cooked pasta helps the sauce cling to the spaghetti.
What to serve with it
Enjoy this peanut butter spaghetti as a delicious vegetarian meal with an Italian side salad or steamed asparagus with tarragon. Or, add protein such as chicken or shrimp for a heartier meal.
Frequently asked questions
Store leftover peanut sauce and pasta separately in the refrigerator for up to four days. Keep them in sealed containers.
You can use the stove or microwave to reheat peanut pasta. For the stove method, add the pasta and some peanut butter sauce to a skillet with a splash of water or soy sauce. Stir over medium-low heat until warmed and combined.
For the microwave, add some peanut sauce to a portion of pasta in a microwave-safe bowl with a teaspoon of water or soy sauce. Cover lightly with wax paper and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each session.
Yes, peanut sauce freezes well. Freeze it in small portions in an ice cube tray, zip-top freezer bags or sealed containers. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator or heat it in the microwave and stir before using it.
More recipes to try
- Pesto Sauce with Pine Nuts
- Spinach Pesto with Walnuts
- Garlic and Oil Pasta
- Pumpkin Alfredo Pasta
- Alfredo Sauce with Romano Cheese
Enjoy!
If you try this Peanut Pasta Recipe, please leave a comment and a rating!
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Peanut Pasta
Ingredients
Veggies
- 1 large carrot
- 3 green onions
- 1 red bell pepper (can use yellow, orange or green)
Pasta
- 1 pound spaghetti (or linguine, fettuccine or soba noodles)
- ½ cup reserved cooking water (1 standard ladle)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
Peanut Sauce
- 4.5 ounces peanut butter (½ cup + 1 Tbs. See notes.)
- ¼ cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce (See notes.)
- 3 Tablespoons white vinegar (or rice vinegar)
- ¼ cup hot water
- â…› teaspoon garlic powder
- â…› teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 5 sprinkles ground ginger
Instructions
- Place a pasta pot filled â…” full with hot, salted water on the stove to boil, covered.
- Rinse and peel the carrot with a vegetable peeler. Shred the carrot in a food processor or using the holes of a grater.
- Rinse three green onions and trim off the root ends and any wilted green parts. Use scissors or a knife to cut the onions into small pieces.
- Rinse and dry the bell pepper. Cut out the stem. Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds and membranes. Dice the peppers.
- When the water is boiling, add the pasta to the pot and give it a stir. Prepare the sauce while you occasionally stir the pasta so it doesn't stick.
- In a food processor or blender, add all of the sauce ingredients. Process or blend until it's smooth or just has tiny flecks of sunflower seeds. If it seems too thick, you can add a little pasta cooking water to the sauce until it's the consistency you prefer.
- When the pasta is almost done, scoop out ½ cup of cooking water from the pasta pot and set it aside in a bowl. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, tasting it three minutes before the time listed on the package to see if it is done. When it is cooked, drain the pasta in a colander in the sink.
- Transfer the pasta back to the pot and stir in the butter and reserved pasta water. Stir in the vegetables, reserving some for garnishing each serving, if you wish. Keep the sauce separate. (See notes.)
- To serve, plate the pasta and stir some peanut sauce into each portion. Garnish with reserved veggies and onions, if you wish.
- Store leftover pasta and sauce separately, covered in the refrigerator for up to four days. (See notes.)
Notes
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Cooking with Mamma C. Originally published on January 16, 2015 and updated now with new photos, additional information and an improved recipe.)
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext says
This looks amazing! Love pasta in any kind of style- loving the peanut sunflower sauce. So good.
Mamma C says
Thanks, Jess! It's one of the quickest meals I make and is like a bowl of comfort.
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
That peanut sunflower sauce looks so delicious! I'd just eat it up with a spoon! 😉
Mamma C says
I find it addictive. I have some in the fridge and keep thinking of other foods I should add it to...I'm thinking broccoli! Thanks, Pamela!
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser says
Confucius say: No good without chopsticks!? What would he know anyway? Give me the fork and tablespoon and I too will swirl that Pasta baby! Sounds Yum! Cheryl
Mamma C says
Pasta twirling should be an Olympic sport. We could win the gold!
Savita @ ChefDeHome says
This sounds and looks great, Andrea! simply delicious! I too never add all sauce in pasta at once, or pasta just absorbs all of it, and yes then leftovers are so hard to eat!!
Mamma C says
Thanks, Savita! I'm glad I finally figured out that I should keep the sauce separate for this dish. Before, I would add water to the leftovers, which just wasn't working. 🙂
Annie @ ciaochowbambina says
This sounds so good! Ina Garten has a szechuan noodle (not Italian - I'm good here)...that my family just adores. Which means, they will love this! As will I! And as far as using chopsticks, for the life of me, I can't get the hang of them either. What is that??
Mamma C says
I don't know! My kids have been able to use chopsticks since they were little. They just laugh at me. It's embarrassing when I have to ask for silverware when we go out for sushi. Anyway, I love Ina's recipes and will have to check hers out. 🙂