Better than Takeout Peanut Noodles with Shrimp and Veggies

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These peanut noodles with shrimp are saucy, glossy, nutty and downright slurpable. Spaghetti gets tossed in a creamy peanut sauce with coconut milk, lime, garlic, and ginger, then loaded up with quick-cooking shrimp and crisp veggies. It’s saucy, creamy, and ready in under 25 minutes, which makes it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Thai takeout.

But I also love making saucy peanut noodles in 20 minutes at home. This is one of those recipes where it’s actually quicker to cook than it would be to put in a to-go order and go pick it up.

The veggies are super low maintenance and shrimp is probably the quickest cooking protein… of all time, amirite? And it thaws quickly too, for those times when all your proteins are rock-solid in the freezer… been there. A few moments in warm water, and the shrimp are ready to go.

I was a little bit scared that my girls weren’t going to go for this one, but THEY LOVED IT. They even wanted leftovers for lunch the next day, what is happening. 🤯

A couple callouts to make sure you slay this recipe:

1. Do not forget to save starchy pasta water in the last minute of cook time. Save extra because it’s always better to have more than less. The sauce thickens as it cools, and an extra splash of pasta water can always loosen things up to it’s former saucy glory.
2. Let me implore you, get wild-caught Argentinian shrimp! It is so tender, more flavorful and just all around better than farmed shrimp. I get it from Costco or Trader Joe’s, but I’ve seen it at ‘regular’ grocery stores too.
3. Make sure to add the coconut milk before the peanut butter, when the peanut butter hits a hot pan, it’ll have the tendency to seize. Don’t freak out, it’s fine, but just continue whisking it into the coconut milk until well combined.
4. I love this recipe with spaghetti, but feel free to use rice noodles to make it gluten-free!
5. When developing this recipe, I tried seasoning it with fish sauce, soy sauce and a combo of fish sauce and soy sauce. Ultimately, my favorite was the fish sauce version, but they were all tasty, so if you don’t have fish sauce, you can use soy sauce or coconut aminos.

I’ve made this recipe five times over the past 6 weeks, and it is an awesome ‘meal prep’. I’m always stoked to eat it for lunch on a busy workday.

Get to it and do it, friends.

Thoughts on What You’ll Need to Make These Shrimp Peanut Noodles:

• Spaghetti grabs onto the sauce beautifully and holds up much better as leftovers. Rice noodles are a great gluten-free option or if you want more of that classic Thai-inspired vibe.
• Wild-caught Argentinian shrimp is absolutely worth grabbing if you can. The texture is ridiculously tender and buttery compared to a lot of other frozen shrimp options. Trader Joe’s, Costco, and most grocery stores carry it.
• Use canned coconut milk rather than the refrigerated carton version, which is much thinner and won’t give you the same texture. You’ll find it in the International/Asian aisle.
• Creamy peanut butter is the base of the sauce. You know my favorite is and always will be the Kirkland one.
• Fish sauce adds that salty, savory depth that takes these noodles to takeout-level. Soy sauce or coconut aminos work as substitutes if needed.
• Fresh lime juice is worth it here. It balances out the richness of the peanut butter and coconut milk much better than the bottled stuff.
• Fresh herbs duh – douse this dish Thai basil and green onions and you won’t regret it!

Finish the sauce with fish sauce, lime juice, and sriracha. Then toss the sautéed veggies, shrimp, and noodles with the sauce. Add extra splashes of pasta water as needed until glossy and silky.

Right before serving, fold in the crushed peanuts, green onions, and Thai basil so everything stays fresh and crunchy.

FAQs

This is the kind of meal where you go back for “just one more bite”… about 14 bajillion times.

If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!

Thai Peanut Noodles with Shrimp and Stir-Fry Veggies

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• Author: Erica Baty
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 7 minutes
• Total Time: 22 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Boiling, Frying
• Cuisine: Thai
• Diet: Pescatarian

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Description

Thai-inspired creamy peanut noodles with shrimp, snap peas, and peppers. A quick, takeout-style dinner that’s saucy, quick, and perfect for weeknights.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Stir-fry

• 8oz spaghetti or rice noodles *see note
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
• 1lb shrimp *see note
• salt and pepper
• 8oz snap peas
• 6–8 mini peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 shallot (or small sweet onion), thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced or garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter *see note
• 1–1 1/2 cups pasta water
• 1–2 teaspoons sriracha
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3/4 cup crushed peanuts
• 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Thai basil, chiffonade *see note

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark while cooking this recipe!

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Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti (or desired noodles) and cook per the package instructions. Be SURE to save about 1 ½ cups of starchy pasta water during the last minute of cook time. You likely won’t use it all, but best to save more than not enough. Drain the noodles and return them to the pot.
2. While the spaghetti is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil in a ceramic-coated nonstick pan over medium heat. Use paper towels to pat as much moisture from the shrimp as possible. Season all over with pinches of salt and pepper. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp and cook for 60-90 seconds per side, until slightly opaque, pink and curled into a ‘c’ shape. Remove the shrimp to a large bowl.
3. Add another ½ tablespoon of avocado oil to the pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the snap peas, mini peppers, and shallot for 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Remove it to the same bowl as the shrimp.
4. Add the remaining ½ tablespoon avocado oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and ginger, sautéing for 60 seconds until fragrant. Add 2 tablespoons brown sugar and ½ cup of coconut milk, whisking to combine. Add ½ cup peanut butter, whisking quickly, it’ll be thick and look kinda scary, just keep stirring to combine! Gradually whisk in ¾ cup starchy pasta water. If your sauce is still pretty thick, you can continue to add pasta water until your desired consistency is reached.
5. Season the sauce with 1-2 teaspoons sriracha, 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired.
6. Dump the shrimp, veggies and sauce into the pot with the noodles and toss well to combine, adding splashes of reserved water, as needed.
7. Finish by folding in ¾ cup crushed peanuts, ½ cup green onions and ½ cup Thai basil.
8. Serve immediately and twirl, swirl and SLURP.

So, so good.

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Notes

Noodles: I love this recipe with good ole spaghetti. Rice noodles work great too, but I’ve learned that they definitely break up into smaller pieces as leftovers.

Shrimp: If I haven’t already turned you onto wild-caught Argentinian shrimp, here’s another plug. It’s truly the best. It looks pink (even when raw) and is soooo tender and perfect every time. You can find it at Trader Joe’s, Costco or most major grocery stores.

Coconut milk: Canned coconut milk here, not the kind from the carton (which is mostly water). I use full-fat coconut milk for maximum creaminess but you could also use lite.

Peanut butter: I use the Kirkland natural, creamy peanut butter from Costco, which is just peanuts and salt. If you’re using sweetened peanut butter, you may want to reduce the brown sugar in the sauce slightly.

Chiffonade is a fancy French term for how to thinly slice basil. See my notes and photos on ‘how to chiffonade basil’ in this blog post!

Refer to the above blog post for step-by-step instructions, ingredient information and answers to frequently asked questions.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe, about 2 1/2 cups
• Calories: 720
• Sugar: 14.9 g
• Sodium: 868 mg
• Fat: 33.2 g
• Carbohydrates: 66.8 g
• Fiber: 7.1 g
• Protein: 44.6 g
• Cholesterol: 182.5 mg

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