Spicy Thai Pasta Salad is hot, tangy, and inspired by the flavors of Thai cuisine. You’re going to love this dish!
This recipe is such a huge hit. 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. If you want to make this a more hearty main dish, you can even add shredded rotisserie chicken.
The secret to 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 you really want to let this sit for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. We know it’s difficult, but trust us, it will be worth the wait!
Pasta Options:
Don’t love bowtie pasta? You can use almost any small, shaped pasta instead: penne, rotini, etc.
Peanuts: Optional
We love the crunch of the peanuts, but if you don’t share that love, or have allergies, you can always omit the peanuts.
Spice Adjustments:
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.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other pot luck recipe favorites:
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Cilantro Lime Orzo Pasta Salad
- Best Macaroni Salad
- Mom’s Creamy Potato Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
Watch the video below where we will walk you through every step of the recipe with a video demonstration.
Delicious! Added grilled chicken and used Thai basil. It was definitely spicy, I used 1tsp pepper flakes and due to kids palate I’ll likely use a bit less next time. There will be a next time.
First time making this and it was great with our BBQ chicken. Highly recommend to use actual Thai basil leaves to replace the cilantro – we harvested our homegrown Thai basil from the garden, and it was much more fragrant and delicious. Also added a handful of shredded cabbage for crunch. Enjoy!
My family loved it. Added sesame seeds and matchstick carrots to it. It was even better 2 days later!
Once again, Rachel made me look like a great cook! Your recipes NEVER fail. Next time, I will add some grilled chicken and maybe julienned carrots to make it a meal. 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This pasta salad is SO good. Spicy and full of flavor. Will be making this again and again!
I love this Asian pasta salad! I reduce the oil a bit and add a splash of fish sauce and rice vinegar. I also add julienned carrots to the last couple minutes of the pasta boil. I love cilantro, but had basil in my herb garden so used that instead. It was delicious!
I substituted parsley for cilantro. I used only one teaspoon of pepper flakes and that was plenty spicy for us. Really liked the spice. I will make again.
This is a fantastic base for a different tasting pasta salad! I agree with the comment that it needs some vegetables though. I added matchstick carrots and frozen peas
thank you and again thank you ! you are truly the best
OMG! I made this Salad today today and it is my new all time favorite salad!! Thank you for the recipe!
Lori