Rainbow Noodle Salad (Meal Prep)

This rainbow noodle salad is tossed in a creamy almond butter dressing and makes the perfect easy lunch or dinner. It contains a rainbow of veggies and a delicious almond dressing, making it high in plant protein and healthy fats. It can be prepared ahead of time and stored in jars or containers to be enjoyed throughout the week, or simply eaten right away. The creamy dressing can easily be made both oil-free and nut-free if needed!

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Servings: 4*

Ingredients

• 200g rice noodles
• 1 1/2 cups edamame beans, thawed
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 2 medium carrots
• 1/4 red cabbage
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 2 green onions

Almond Butter Dressing

• 1/3 cup almond butter (see notes for nut-free)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil (see notes for oil-free)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Equipment

• Small pot
• Containers or jars (if meal prepping)

Instructions

1. Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil to cook the rice noodles.
2. In a small jar, mix together the dressing ingredients. Close the jar then shake until well combined.
3. Prepare all of the vegetables by thinly slicing peppers, cutting carrots lengthwise into small sticks (or shredding), thinly slicing red cabbage and chopping green onions. Thaw the edamame beans in the microwave according to package directions.
4. Once the water has come to a boil, cook the rice noodles for 2-3 minutes (or according to package directions), then rinse with cold water and toss in a bit of neutral oil or sesame oil (skip this for oil-free).
5. If preparing meal prep containers/jars, start by adding dressing to the bottom of each jar, then rice noodles, edamame beans, red pepper, yellow pepper, carrots and red cabbage. Top with green onions and sesame seeds and store in the fridge to enjoy during the week!
6. If eating right away, add noodles and veggies to a large bowl then toss in the dressing. Top with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy right away!

Notes

*This recipe makes about 3-4 servings. If meal prepping in jars, I use 3 x 32-oz jars.

*You can use any nut butter in the dressing, such as peanut butter or other! For a nut-free version, replace the almond butter with a seed butter such as sunflower seed butter or soy butter.

*For an oil-free version, simply omit sesame oil from the dressing.