This recipe is such a huge hit with so many delicious flavors. We always have to double or triple batch this every time we make it. Forget tiny, small portions, you are going to want a heaping helping of Spicy Thai Pasta Salad, whether for a large gathering or dinner at home. If you want to make this into a more hearty main dish, you can even add cooked cubed chicken, or shredded rotisserie chicken.
If you love tasty salads, try our amazing Cilantro-Lime Orzo Pasta Salad.
Why Our Recipe
- Not your typical pasta salad with a combination of flavors that bursts in your mouth!
- The perfect make-ahead side dish for potlucks and backyard barbecues and it’s always an absolute hit.
- Easy to scale up to larger portions for big gatherings.
I first tasted this recipe when a coworker brought it to a work party over twenty years ago. It has been a favorite of mine ever since and has been a crowd favorite wherever I take it. I love that it is different from all of the typical pasta salads that you see. This tasty combination of unique flavors is perfect for picnics, potlucks, and parties.
Ingredient Notes
- Bowtie Pasta: Don’t love bowtie pasta? You can use almost any small, shaped pasta instead: penne, rotini, etc.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: This tastes best with a good kick to it, but if you prefer a mild spice, use only 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Vegetable Oil: Can substitute with corn oil or olive oil.
- Sesame Oil: This is a must! It is where you get a lot of your flavor.
- Honey: Brings part of the essential main flavors.
- Soy Sauce: You can use low-sodium soy sauce if you are looking to lower the salt content.
- Salt: Up to you if you choose to add the additional salt.
- Chopped Cilantro: This is a staple flavor, but if you don’t love the flavor of cilantro then parsley is the go-to substitute.
- Honey Roasted Peanuts: We love the crunch of the peanuts, but if you don’t share that love, or have allergies, you can always omit the peanuts. You could regular peanuts, but honey roasted just brings extra flavor.
- Sliced Green Onions: This is not just to make the salad pretty. They also add flavor.
Allergy Warning
Make sure that if you do take this spicy salad to a potluck it is clearly marked as containing peanuts. I have never had any problems because the whole peanuts are so visible
Make Ahead
This dish is ideally made the day before serving. The secret to this delicious spicy Thai pasta salad is the infused oil and red pepper mixture. It sounds fancy, but infusing oils is actually really easy. The flavors continue to develop over time. So while the recipe says to make it at least 4 hours before, it is ideal to have overnight for the developments of these yummy flavors. Just add the cilantro, peanuts, and green onions right before serving. We know it’s difficult, but trust us, it will be worth the wait!
Storage Instructions
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Give it a stir before serving.
I made this to bring to a picnic and everyone loved it! I only used 1 tsp of the Crushed Red Pepper, and thought it had a good bite, so happy I didn’t use 2 tsp. I will make this again.
I absolutely love, love, love this salad as well as everybody that I’ve ever made it for. I make it often. Deeeeelish!!
Delicious! I had no Peanuts, so I added peanut butter!
Excellent! I crushed the peanuts. You could probably add some peanut butter into the heated sauce for some more flavor.
I will definitely make this again!
It’s 2 am and here I am making this delicious salad AGAIN❣️❣️❣️
It’s one of those salads you get out-of-bed and make it because it will make your day delicious.
Give it a try—you will not be disappointed
A real winner!
Warning—This Salad is ADDICTIVE
We love this Thai salad! I followed the recipe with everything in it, only thing by accident that I changed was the red pepper. I can’t eat real spicy foods. I wanting to put just one teaspoon of red pepper in, I put in 1 Tablespoon. But it turned out great and we added the next day grilled chicken. Easy recipe and great summer salad.
Thanks for a different twist on pasta salad. After reading reviews I added some freshly cut matchstick carrots (dropped them in the oil to soften with the aromatics) which I think were a great addition. Next time I think I’ll stir in a couple of spoonful of peanut butter-it plays well with the soy/sesame flavor profile and will give a bit of ‘oomph’ to the sauce, hopefully helping it to stick to the pasta a bit better.