If you think your only option for busy weekdays is ordering takeout, think again. Once you try these cold peanut noodles with grilled chicken, you'll want to put them on repeat in your regular recipe rotation. You can prep them ahead of time for an effortless weekday lunch or a quick weeknight meal!
The beauty of this recipe is that it's really a meal in itself. If you wanted to add more veggies, I'd pair it with a simple green salad or this chopped kale salad.
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I know what busy weekdays are like...running from one thing to the next, then realizing you've got little time to get lunch or dinner ready. Having some form of a plan and doing some prepping in advance is a great first step to solving this dilemma. This noodle bowl comes together pretty quickly, in right around 30 minutes, and you can prep all of the components ahead of time, making it a great choice to add to your meal prep routine.
Contents:
Ingredient Notes
The full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
- Udon Noodles: You can use either round or wide udon noodles for this recipe. They are available in most grocery stores. If you can't find them, something like this bucatini is a good substitute. Udon noodles often come in little bundles within the package so I use one bundle per serving.
- Natural creamy peanut butter: The oil from natural peanut butter helps the peanut sauce come together more easily but you can use any type of creamy peanut butter
- Coconut milk: You don't need much but I also don't recommend substituting anything else for this ingredient. The rest of the can will keep for 4-6 days in the refrigerator.
- Garlic olive oil: I like the extra punch from flavored olive oil in this recipe but you can substitute standard, extra-virgin olive oil.
- Sambal: You can substitute crushed red pepper or sriracha if you don't want to buy sambal.
How to make this recipe
The good news? All of the components of this recipe can be prepped in advance!
Assemble the dish. Once the chicken has cooled slightly, slice it and add it to the peanut noodles. Toss in the chopped veggies. Top as desired and serve.
Make Ahead Tip
If you want to meal prep this recipe, grill the chicken and make the peanut sauce ahead of time. They will both keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. You can also chop the veggies and cook the noodles in advance so all you have to do is combine everything when you are ready to eat.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
This dish is designed to be served cold dish so there is no need to heat it up unless you want to. If you prefer it warm, I recommend 45 seconds or so in the microwave just to warm the sauce up a bit.
The leftovers from this make a great lunch. I pack them in this cool Monbento box, which I love for lunch on the go!
More everyday recipes
If you are looking for more recipes that you can prep in advance, check out these reader favorites:
- Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl. If you love Mexican food this burrito bowl is a recipe you'll want to try. It provides an amazing combination of flavors and gets an extra kick from the cilantro lime sauce.
- Grilled Chicken and Elote Tacos. Tacos are an ideal solution for easy weekday meals since at least components can be made ahead of time. If you want to change up your next Taco Tuesday a bit check out these grilled chicken tacos with Elote-style corn.
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Cold Peanut Noodles with Grilled Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 8 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon garlic olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons tamari
- dash ground cloves
- dash ground cinnamon
For the peanut sauce:
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon tamari
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Sambal
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
For assembly:
- 5 ounces uncooked round udon noodles
- ¼ cup chopped red pepper
- ¼ cup chopped English, seedless cucumber
- ⅓ cup peanuts, chopped or crushed
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Mix the garlic olive oil though cinnamon in a small bowl. Place chicken in a plastic bag and add marinade. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Heat the grill. Preheat the grill to about 400°F.
- Make the peanut sauce. Whisk peanut butter, tamari, coconut milk and lime juice together in a small bowl. Add the ginger through sesame oil and mix well. Set aside.
- Grill the chicken. Remove chicken from marinade and place on the grill. Grill for 6 minutes per side, or until done. Remove from grill and let cool.
- Cook the noodles. While the chicken is on the grill, prepare the noodles according to the package directions. Drain noodles, and place in a large bowl.
- Toss the noodles. Add the peanut sauce to the noodles and mix well to coat all of the noodles.
- Assemble the dish. Slice or chop the chicken and add to the noodles. Add the red pepper, cucumber, peanuts and sesame oil. Toss so all ingredients are incorporated. Top with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve
This post was originally published in August 2018. It was updated in April 2025 with some new information. No changes were made to the original recipe.
J @ A Hot Southern Mess
Yum! This looks and sounds absolutely delicious! I would likely eat both servings at once by myself! It looks so good!
FoodieGirlChicago
Thanks J! I've definitely eaten both servings on my own on a few occasions! 🙂
jen
The dish looks fresh and fantastic. I love Thai food and using those flavors to make a cold salad would be really good.
Mark
Nice recipe. Great combination of flavors and perfect for lunch leftovers. It reminds me of some of the food we saw in South East Asia. I love food from that region and am about to feature a number of recipes from Vietnam.
Dini @ The Flavor Bender
This looks and sounds absolutely amazing! I do love dinner meals that come together quickly for those lazy nights! Have to save this recipe such a night!
Megan @ A Dash of Megnut
Yay! I love finding other bloggers in Chicago! This meal looks delicious and I totally love that you do recipes that serve 2!
FoodieGirlChicago
Hi Megan - Nice to meet you - I'm off to check out your blog!
Allyssa
Thanks a lot for this cold peanut noodles grilled chicken recipe! Will surely make this again, fam loves it! Highly recommended!
Liz
I have never made anything like this, but sounds delicious!