Glass Noodles Salad (Easy & Vegan)

A refreshingly light glass noodle salad that is packed with fresh vegetables, tossed through slippery potato starch noodles, soy sauce and sesame oil dressing.

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Jump to:

• 😋Why you’ll love this recipe
• ✔️What You’ll Need
• 🥘Ingredient Notes
• 🔪Step-By-Step Guide
• ✔️Variations
• 💭Pro Tips
• ❓FAQ
• 🥘Related recipes
• Cold Glass Noodles Salad (Easy & Vegan)

My love for Asian food runs deep. This is thanks to my brother, who got me onto it many many years ago and is currently living in Asia.

This glass noodle salad is inspired by Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, it’s perfect for lunch or dinner. 

I normally like to emulate a meal I have eaten out by making it my version and I've got to tell you, this is yum!

It’s the perfect combination of fresh and light flavouring, whilst still being filling - there’s just no 'heavy feeling' with this vegan salad.

😋Why you’ll love this recipe

• Light and refreshing, try it with a cold glass of lemonana!
• Has a combination of chewy/slippery noodles with crunchy fresh vegetables
• Ridiculously easy
• Can be paired with many other foods or enjoyed on it’s own
• Healthy and caters for vegans and gluten free diets.

✔️What You’ll Need

🥘Ingredient Notes

A few notes about some of the ingredients.

Potato starch noodles - sometimes referred to as glass noodles or cellophane noodles. These are easily found at your local Asian grocer or online*. 

These are among the best Asian noodles for salad, you have to try them, especially if you are gluten-free.

Carrots and cucumber - julienne these by using a mandolin or julienne slicer*.

Red cabbage - shred this or thinly slice. I love to use red cabbage as it gives extra crunch to this salad. My vegan brown rice and chickpea salad also uses red cabbage.

Peanuts - to save time I like to use roasted and salted peanuts from the store. However, if you have time, you could do this yourself. If using whole peanuts, crush these prior to adding them to the glass noodle salad. Not only do peanuts add some crunch but protein too.

Bean sprouts - ensure you purchase fresh bean sprouts, these should be crunchy and juicy and not slimy. Bean sprouts are nutritious and a good source of protein.

Lime - do not substitute fresh lime juice with store-bought.

Sesame oil* - is a key flavour, choose a good quality sesame oil. Do not skimp on this.

Soy sauce - ensure you select gluten-free if you need this. Please note not all soy sauces are made equally, some are saltier than others. Take this into consideration.

Coriander (cilantro) - use fresh and not dried. Chop up the stem parts into small pieces, coriander stems hold loads of flavour.

🔪Step-By-Step Guide

Here’s how to make cold glass noodle salad;

Step 1 - Prepare the glass noodles as per packet instructions.

Step 2 - In a mixing jug, whisk together salad dressing ingredients and set aside.

Step 3 - In a salad bowl add glass noodles and chop them up into manageable bite-sized pieces.

Step 4 - Add in all vegetables and herbs. Pour in salad dressing and toss salad until well combined.

Step 5 - Serve cold.

✔️Variations

Herbs - for extra flavouring, try adding in freshly chopped mint leaves.

Bean sprouts can be substituted for snow pea sprouts.

Peanuts - can be substituted with roasted and salted cashews.

Maple syrup - can be substituted with coconut sugar. Adjust quantity to suit. 

Tofu - feel free to add your preferred tofu to this salad.

Sesame seeds - sprinkle this on top, a great option for additional sesame flavour.

Fresh ginger & garlic - can be grated into the dressing.

Glass noodles - if you are having trouble finding these, you can use rice vermicelli noodles instead.

💭Pro Tips

Glass noodles - I like to always undercook by one minute of what the instructions advise.

Spring onions (scallions) - cut these at a 45-degree angle for aesthetics

❓FAQ

🥘Related recipes

Try this juicy and fresh spicy cucumber salad or this carrot cucumber salad.

If you're into tahini, try my versatile miso tahini dressing.

If you love this recipe, you'll also love my flavorsome Asian brussel sprouts.

Otherwise, check out this spicy vegan japchae recipe by The Seaside Calls, which also uses glass noodles.

Did you enjoy making this vegan glass noodle salad recipe? I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below and give me a rating. This will help me sustain Plant Based Folk. 

Or tell me which type of noodles you prefer to use for your noodles salad?

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Janelle x