Crazy delicious cold Thai Pasta Salad with colorful veggies is the ultimate warm weather lunch or side! Packed with flavor and even better the next day.
Say hello to lunch for the next few days! A reeeeeal tasty one.
She's beyond stupendous right out of the the fridge. I took forkful upon forkful when I was snappin' pics. If you love my Tuna Pasta Salad, Healthy Broccoli Salad and Southwestern Pasta Salad, you'll be obsessed with this divine pasta salad too!
There's SO much color, flavor, crunch, and creaminess here. Satisfaction city. Everything you could want and more for a fun pasta salad, truly! This would be a potluck slam dunk. It's also perfect for dinner paired with whatever protein you fancy.
And you can make it your own! Use pre-shredded or chopped veggies for ease, add broccoli, play with the herbs. We got this!
How to make Thai pasta salad
- Boil your noodles until al dente.
- Make sauce by whisking ingredients together or whizzing them in a blender.
- Wash and chop your veggies.
- Combine pasta, veggies, and sauce in a big mixing bowl. You're done!
Key ingredients and tips
The ingredient list may look lengthy, but don't be intimidated! The dressing comes together super quickly. You can use prepped veggies like shredded carrot to make it even easier.
- Pasta: I like bow tie because it feels so right for pasta salad. I love the taste and texture of regular pasta here, but you can use any kind you like! Whole grain, gluten free or chickpea pasta are other good options.
- Corn: A nice pop of sweetness. You can omit this but I love the flavor and texture it adds, especially fire roasted. You can also do raw right off the cob!
- Peppers and carrots: For color and extra veggie goodness. If you're not into peppers, use your favorite veggies.
- Cabbage: To bulk up the salad and add great crunch. You can use purple or white, but I prefer purple for color.
- Tahini: Luscious creaminess for our dressing. You could also use almond or peanut butter.
- Lime: Gorgeous brightness!
- Soy sauce: For some umami and saltiness.
- Herbs: Cilantro and a basil add a beautiful pop of green and refreshing flavor.
- Ginger and garlic: A mega flavor boost for our dressing.
- Nuts: I love roasted salted cashews or peanuts for crunch. Sunflower seeds would be great for nut free.
Which pasta is best?
You can truly go wild here. Penne, rotini, cavatappi...whatever medium size pasta shape floats your boat. You can go whole grain or gluten free. Try chickpea pasta for an extra protein punch! (Although if I'm honest, I'm totally partial to regular pasta in pasta salad).
Add-in ideas
- Edamame: A great plant protein boost that's super easy,
- Baked tofu or chicken: Make it a filling meal by adding tofu or rotisserie chicken like my hubby did.
- Grilled shrimp or salmon: Serve this pasta salad with your favorite seafood for a complete meal!
How to store
Since there's water in the sauce, I found this salad lasts up to three days in the refrigerator.
More yummy pasta ideas
It's a pasta party, people! You're all invited.
Print
Thai Pasta Salad Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 29 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Meals
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Crazy delicious Thai Pasta Salad with colorful veggies is the ultimate warm weather lunch or side! Packed with flavor and even better the next day.
Ingredients
- 8oz bow tie pasta (farfelle)
- 3 cups shredded purple and green cabbage (coleslaw mix works great)
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 medium carrot, shredded or julienned (I used my peeler)
- ¾ cup corn (I used fire-roasted corn thawed from frozen)
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ⅓ cup packed fresh basil, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup roasted cashews or peanuts
For the tahini lime sauce:
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 1 ½ tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 ½ tsp soy sauce, to taste
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt, more to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a bowl. Add pasta (8oz is half of a standard package) and cook for 12-14 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Make sauce by whisking all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl or blending in a high-speed blender. (I used my Nutribullet.) It will taste strong but will dilute over the pasta!
- In a large mixing or serving bowl, add cooled pasta, cabbage, pepper, carrot, corn, herbs, and nuts. Add dressing and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
Keywords: thai pasta salad
Monica says
This was great! An easy and light lunch. This was more filling than I expected and happy it made enough to take for lunch the next day as well. Another great HummuSapien recipe (:
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Yayyy I'm so happy it was a hit, thanks Monica!
Candace says
I am always happy when you post a new entrée recipe because I know it will be something that we will make over and over again and this recipe was no exception. It was flavorful and relatively quick to make. We added some cubes of sesame ginger tofu and it was perfect. Thanks for another great recipe.
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Your comment really made my day, thank you so much Candace! Great idea to add ginger tofu--yum. So glad this was a favorite with your family!
Melyssa says
This salad is delicious! The perfect combo of ingredients to make a summer salad. It tastes so fresh and the dressing steals the show! I made a batch and ate it for lunch for several days.
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
I love that! And I agree, the dressing is everything 🙂 Thanks for the review, Melyssa!
Riley says
Just made this for lunch and WOW. I wasn't sure about the corn but I loved it!!
★★★★★
Alexis Joseph says
Fantastic, thanks so much for letting me know this was a winner, Riley!