Creamy Thai Noodles with Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This recipe for Asian Noodles is an absolute fave in our house. It’s super easy to make and uber satisfying, plus I typically have everything I need to make it already stocked in the kitchen.

These noodles are my take on Thai peanut noodles. In fact, you can use peanut butter in this recipe if you prefer. I opted for sunflower seed butter to make this dish nut-free without sacrificing on flavor or creaminess. Fun fact – sunflower seed butter has a an identical texture and super similar taste to creamy peanut butter, making it the perfect substitute.

This dish also comes with nostalgia for me because it’s very similar to the entree my team made for our final project of culinary school. My all-star team of classmates totally rocked the dinner, and creamy Thai noodles similar to these were the star of the show. Because someone on our team had a relative with nut allergies coming to our “Friday Night Dinner” (aka, our final project), we opted for sunflower seed butter instead. It was a hit. Although I developed this recipe separately from the one we made, the credit belongs to everyone on my team for the inspiration. So big shoutout to Natural Gourmet Institute Class 267 Team B (Mary P, Carol, Yael, Diana & Kofi).

Finally, let’s talk a little bit about the accessories. I added simple cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes to this dish because I love the flavor, texture and color contrast they give to this dish. For freshness, I serve the whole thing on a bed of fresh greens dressed with a squeeze of citrus, which balances the richness of the noodles. A fresh cilantro garnish is the last piece of this puzzle, but it’s optional because sometimes getting garnish on a dish is just one step too many.

Creamy Asian Rice Noodles with Cinna-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Serves: 2-3 Start to Finish: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients

2 medium-large sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
sea salt, fine grain
1/4 cup smooth sunflower seed butter or peanut butter (natural, no-added-sugar variety)
1/4 cup tamari (low-sodium)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey, agave or other liquid sweetener (plus more to taste)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, optional but recommended
1 cloves garlic, peeled
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional, adds some spice
1 package rice noodles (I like the brown rice noodles if you can find them)
fresh greens & lime/lemon wedges for serving
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish, optional

To Make

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Peel sweet potatoes, if desired. Cut into french fry shaped sticks. Toss with 3 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon salt & 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Spread out onto a baking sheet. Bake for 30-45 minutes, gently tossing after the first 20-25 minutes. The baking time depends on the thickness of the fries.

Prepare boiled water according to rice noodle package instructions.

Meanwhile, make sauce. Blend sunflower seed or peanut butter with tamari, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, 2 tablespoons sweetener, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water. Add up to 2 more tablespoons sweetener, depending on how sweet you like your sauce. I like to use as little sugar as possible but I think the most crowd-pleasing level of sweetness would be 2 tablespoons plus 2-3 teaspoons sweetener, total.

When potatoes are about done baking, cook noodles according to package instructions. This takes about 5 minutes. Before draining, reserve about 1 cup starchy cooking water. Drain noodles.

Gently toss noodles with sauce. Stir in reserved starchy water until desired creaminess is reached. Serve with lime or lemon wedges on a bed of fresh greens. I like to squeeze the citrus juice onto the greens. Top the whole thing with cinnamon sweet potatoes and fresh cilantro garnish, if using.

Add small increments of water at any point if the sauce gets too dry.

Meal Prep Notes

Make Ahead: Make the sauce and sweet potatoes on meal prep day. When ready to eat, reheat sweet potatoes in the microwave (small intervals) or in the oven, 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Reheat the sauce gently in a small sauce pan over low heat or in microwave (again, small intervals, stirring frequently). Cook the noodles according to package, reserving 1 cup starchy water before draining. Toss together sauce & drained noodles. Serve according to recipe.