Spicy Instant Pot Peanut Noodles are an easy veggie-loaded recipe that is ready in under 30 minutes! Works great as a meal prep recipe.
After sharing these delicious Instant Pot fiesta rice bowls, I’m busting out the Instant Pot for another delicious recipe! These spicy Instant Pot peanut noodles have chicken, whole wheat pasta, spiralized zucchini and carrots all tossed in a spicy and creamy peanut sauce.
Not only is it delicious, but it comes together so quickly!
These spicy Instant Pot peanut noodles are perfect for a weeknight dinner, but also keep well for meal prep.
Let’s discuss!
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These spicy Instant Pot peanut noodles
- come together in under 30 minutes
- keep well for meal prep
- can be made in the 6 quart Instant Pot or the 8 quart Instant Pot
How to cook peanut noodles in the Instant Pot
This recipe is simple but there are a few tricks you’ll need for success.
To prevent clumpy noodles: you’ll need to break your noodles in half, scatter over the chicken/sauce, and do not stir. Pour the water over top last so the noodles are immersed in liquid.
Here’s how to cook peanut noodles in the Instant Pot:
- Stir together spicy peanut sauce ingredients: reduced sodium soy sauce, natural peanut butter, honey, sesame oil and chili garlic paste.
- Add chicken and toss in sauce.
- Add 4 oz whole wheat spaghetti (broken in half) on top, spreading them out across the IP.
- Pour water over noodles and make sure they are somewhat immersed in the liquid. Do not stir.
- Pressure cook for 4 minutes, then release the pressure immediately.
- Stir up noodles, then add spiralized zucchini and carrots. Put the lid back on and let the Instant Pot sit for 5 minutes.
- Stir everything up and enjoy!
Can I meal prep these spicy peanut noodles? Yes!
- Prepare ingredients ahead– stir the sauce & chicken together up to 24 hours before cooking. Any longer than that and you’ll want to freeze the chicken & sauce. You can also pre-spiralize your zucchini and carrots. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days before cooking.
- Cook them ahead and enjoy leftovers through the week- these noodle bowls hold up surprisingly well and can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Can I swap the peanut butter? Yes! Swap for natural almond butter. Make sure it’s very drippy!
Can I swap the pasta? I have only tested this with whole wheat spaghetti, however it is possible other shapes may work. A general rule is to use half the cook time that the box says. So if it says 12 minutes, cook for 6 minutes (thank you Meal Plan Addict for teaching me this!). If you try another pasta shape, please report back if it works for you!
Help, my Instant Pot did not come to pressure! I have tested this in both the 6 and 8 quart Instant Pots and never got a burn warning. If your pot for some reason does not come to pressure I would suspect your peanut butter. *make sure you use an extremely drippy, all natural peanut butter for this recipe. Skippy/Jif/Kraft may not work*
Tips & equipment for Instant Pot spicy peanut noodles
- This recipe was tested in both a 6 quart Instant Pot and an 8 quart Instant Pot
- I only tested with whole wheat spaghetti but it is possible other shapes may work
- Looking for more Instant Pot meal prep recipes? Check out this Instant Pot Cajun Rice with Sausage, this Instant Pot Quinoa Enchilada Casserole, and these Instant Pot Moroccan Lentils
Spicy Instant Pot Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (I recommend using reduced sodium)
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (MUST be a drippy natural nut butter)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic paste
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 4 oz whole wheat spaghetti
- 1 cup water
After cooking
- 1 zucchini spiralized
- 2 cups spiralized carrots
To serve
- cilantro
- peanuts
Instructions
- In the bottom of the Instant Pot, stir together the honey, soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil and chili garlic paste.
- Add the chicken and stir to coat.
- Break spaghetti noodles in half and arrange in a thin layer over the chicken. Pour water over top and make sure the noodles are immersed in the water (as show in the picture in the collage above). Do not stir the noodles as this will cause them to clump.
- Pressure cook on high pressure for 4 minutes. Immediately release the pressure when the time is up.
- Stir the noodles into the sauce and add in the zucchini and carrot noodles. Put the lid back on the Instant Pot and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Stir everything up and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nathan
Maybe I did something wrong but there’s no way 1 cup of water will get close to covering the pasta in a 8qt instant pot. Either way, tastes good!
Denise
Hi Nathan! The noodles weren’t 100% covered for me in the 8 quart but I just pushed them down the best I could 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
Zarina
This recipe is bomb! My kiddos loved it (left the spicy part out for them, and added it for myself at the end), great recipe, fast easy and delicious. Cannot wait to make again and again! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
Denise
Hi Zarina! I am so happy to hear you and your kiddos enjoyed. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come back and leave a review.
LP
Ground ginger is listed in the step-by-step instructions above but it is not mentioned in the ingredients list at the bottom.
Denise
Thanks for catching that, I’ve updated the post!
Heather Russell
USE THE DRIPPY peanut butter 😊 The recipe and instructions say DRIPPY nut butter ONE MILLION times, she means it.
My first go at this recipe I made a bunch of mistakes: I used a dry-ish almond butter, thinned with water thinking that would work but still got a burn warning on the InstaPot. I wasn’t adding pasta (was going to add zucchini / carrot noodles only) and the sauce was really wet.
I saved it by removing the chicken & sautéing, and separately reducing the sauce – it was delicious. (the issues were totally my fault!)
So, don’t do what I did! I’ve since found her Freezer Asian Peanut Chicken which is a similar sauce, no pasta and worked out much better for what I wanted.
Denise
Hi Heather! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a detailed review, this is so helpful!
Stephanie Marion Holloway
Do you think this could work with scallops instead of chicken?
Denise
Hi Stephanie! Great question! I’ve never cooked scallops in the Instant Pot before…I think the cook time would be too long for them? You might want to just add them in after cooking the scallops on the stove?
Stephanie
I want to make this but I don’t keep natural peanut butter in the house. I know it says that’s a requirement. Has anyone made it with regular peanut butter?
Denise
Hi Stephanie! Hopefully someone else can answer, I only tested with a drippy natural nut butter and worry that a non-natural one, which is much thicker, would not allow the pot to come to pressure. If you try, I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
Kristin
Hi, do you think gluten free spaghetti noodles would work with the same cook time?
Denise
Hi Kristin, unfortunately I have not tried and have zero experience with gluten-free pasta so I can’t even really guess.
Cathy Lessard
Would you still cook it the same without the chicken tighs? It sounds really good!!!!!
Denise
Hi Cathy, I think it would work just fine with chicken breasts. I did have one reader try it and they said it was enjoyable!
Karen
Easy to put together, clear instructions, tasty and good for you. I’ll definitely be making this again!
Denise
I’m so happy it was a hit! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, Karen!