These slurpy peanut and cucumber noodles are one of my favourite quick meals to make! All you need is a handful of ingredients and 10 minutes to make this gloriously creamy, salty and slightly spicy noodle dish.

A close up photo of Taiwanese-style knife cut noodles, served in a creamy peanut sauce, with cucumbers, spring onions, coriander and chilli crisp oil.

I first published this recipe on Instagram while I was heavily pregnant with my daughter, it was one of my few pregnancy cravings and it’s still something I make to this day, especially when I’m time poor and need to make lunch in a hurry. Inspired by Chinese peanut noodles and smashed cucumber salad, I think the contrast of creamy peanut butter, salty soy sauce, and crunchy cucumber is just fabulous.

This is what I’d call a pantry-style noodle dish as it’s made with ingredients I often have on hand: peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil and a few produce items like cucumber, garlic and ginger. All you need is 10 minutes – while the noodles are cooking you simply blend together the sauce ingredients and voilà – you have yourself a meal.

Why I think you’ll love these noodles

Quick and easy – 10 minutes is all you need, with minimal prep and chopping.
Utilises many pantry items that you’re likely to already have – like peanut butter, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Easy to prep ahead – the sauce can be made ahead and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Serve it your way – you can switch up the garnishes and serve this to suit you! I love adding spring onions and coriander, but this also works wonderfully with added protein, like grilled chicken or salmon.

Ingredients you’ll need to make these peanut and cucumber noodles

Cucumber – I like using the smaller, Lebanese variety of cucumber (that’s what we call it here in Australia).
Peanut butter – smooth peanut butter, and the good stuff (i.e. made from peanuts without any hidden extras).
Dark soy sauce – lends a deeply savoury and salty kick to this sauce, and darkens the colour nicely.
Sriracha – adds a lovely hum of heat.
Sesame oil – brings in even more of a nutty flavour.
Lime juice – is added for acidity and to help loosen the consistency of the sauce.
Ginger and garlic – our working aromatics for this dish. Finely chopped or minced before getting blended up with everything else.
Noodles – I really like to using Taiwanese-style knife cut noodles for this dish. They’re a flat wheat-flour based noodle with frilly edges. They have a fantastic mouthfeel and are perfect for a slurpy sauce like this!

Easy substitutions

Nut butter

If you can’t eat peanuts or don’t have any on hand, you can easily swap it out for tahini paste, almond butter or cashew butter. While different nut and seed butters will of course have different flavour profiles, each would work wonderfully in the context of this sauce.

Cucumber

I like to use the Lebanese variety of cucumber here, as they’re a little sweeter and juicier than other varieties. However don’t let this put you off if you can’t get ahold of these, you can substitute Lebanese cucumbers for other varieties, like Continental without any issues.

Soy sauce

If you can’t find dark soy sauce, substitute it for regular soy sauce or even Tamari.

Sriracha

I love this chilli paste, however I know it’s not always available! The closest substitute would be a Sambal Oelek or even just half of a fresh red chilli, a teaspoon of chilli crisp or alternatively you can leave this out altogether if you’re not a fan of any spice.

Sesame oil

You can substitute this for any other neutral oil, a light olive oil, or alternatively an unrefined or toasted peanut oil.

Noodles

While I like using Taiwanese-style knife cut noodles, you can really use any noodles you like here. I think soba or udon noodles would work particularly well with this sauce.

How to store leftovers

This sauce can easily be prepared ahead of time, and fantastic for batching! If you make extra or want to store this sauce for later, simply place the sauce into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

It’s worth noting that this sauce does thicken in the fridge, so remember to save a little bit of the cooking water from your noodles to help loosen it until it’s the right consistency.

So there you have it, my easy 10-minute peanut and cucumber noodles! These have rescued me on many a hungry afternoon, and I hope you love them as much as I do. If you try them, tag me on Instagram or comment and rate the recipe below 🙂

Ingredients

200 g noodles of your choice I like using Taiwanese-style knife cut noodles
1 Lebanese cucumber or half a Continental cucumber
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp sesame oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 cm piece of ginger minced
1 garlic clove minced
Optional garnish: spring onion, coriander, chilli crisp

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook your noodles.
Meanwhile, make the sauce – start by slicing the cucumber in half and use a spoon to scrape out the flesh, directly into a blender.
Slice the remaining cucumber into crescent moons and divide equally between two serving bowls.
To the cucumber flesh, add the peanut butter, dark soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, lime juice and grated ginger and garlic.
Blend until you have a completely smooth sauce.
Pour the sauce into your serving bowls, then add the cooked noodles to each and toss to coat evenly.
Serve with your choice of garnish – I like to add chopped coriander, spring onions and a spoonful of chilli crisp for a bit of extra heat.

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Peanut and cucumber noodles

Why I think you’ll love these noodles

Ingredients you’ll need to make these peanut and cucumber noodles