Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Meal Prep Jars with Crispy Tofu and Cabbage

Four make-ahead jars of cold rice noodles, crunchy cabbage and oven-crisped tofu, with a lime-peanut dressing that stays pourable straight from the fridge.

VeganHigh ProteinHigh FiberIron-RichCalcium-RichContains PeanutsMeal Prep
Prep
25 min
Cook
30 min
Serves
4
Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Meal Prep Jars with Crispy Tofu and Cabbage — Four make-ahead jars of cold rice noodles, crunchy cabbage and oven-crisped tofu, with a lime-peanut dressing
Illustration generated by AI · SDXL

Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Meal Prep Jars with Crispy Tofu and Cabbage is a vegan lunch recipe made with extra-firm tofu, tamari, neutral oil. It takes 55 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 690 calories, 32 g of protein and 8 g of fiber.

This is the cold, pack-and-go version of our hot peanut noodle skillet, built so it still tastes good on day three. Two things make that work: the rice noodles get rinsed cold and slicked with sesame oil so they never fuse into a block, and the dressing is deliberately loose with extra water and lime, because peanut butter stiffens up in the fridge. The tofu is baked with a cornstarch coat until the edges go golden and chewy, and it rides on top of the jar rather than sitting in the sauce, so it keeps its bite.

A cooking method + protein boost (served cold as make-ahead meal-prep jars with crispy baked tofu instead of a hot 15-minute skillet) take on our 15-Minute Lime Peanut Soba with Broccoli & Edamame.

Ingredients

4 servings

Crispy tofu

Lime peanut dressing

Jars

To finish

Kit: rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, 4 wide-mouth quart jars or lidded containers, colander, box grater or julienne peeler

Cook mode · Cold Peanut Noodle Salad Meal Prep Jars with Crispy Tofu and Cabbage

Tips

  • Cold peanut butter seizes, so always start the dressing with warm water — adding it to cold liquid first gives you a grainy, split sauce.
  • Rice noodles keep softening in their own steam. Rinsing until they're genuinely cold, not just cool, is what stops them from going gummy by day two.
  • If your noodles still clump in the jar, run them under cold tap water for a few seconds before dressing and they'll loosen straight away.
  • Salting and draining the cabbage and cucumber keeps the jars from filling with watery liquid that thins the dressing.

Swap ideas

Use soba or whole-wheat spaghetti instead of rice noodles
Nuttier and chewier, and they hold up a little better to a long soak in the dressing.
Swap the tofu for baked tempeh cubes, cooked through in the same way
Firmer, earthier bite; tempeh browns faster, so start checking at 18 minutes.
Use red cabbage in place of half the green
More color and a slightly peppery crunch, though it will tint the noodles pink once dressed.
Replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter and the peanuts with pumpkin seeds
Peanut-free; the dressing tastes a touch more savory, so add an extra teaspoon of maple syrup.

The numbers

690kcal per serving

Protein31.6 g
63% DV
Fiber8.3 g
30% DV
Carbs75.3 g
27% DV
Fat32.6 g
42% DV
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
Saturated fat
5.5 g 28%
Sugars
13.6 g
Sodium
1458 mg 63%
Potassium
869 mg 18%
Calcium
779 mg 60%
Iron
4.9 mg 27%
Vitamin C
34 mg 38%
Vitamin B12
0 µg 0%

% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.

Sources: Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate, Soy sauce made from soy (tamari), Oil, canola, Cornstarch, Peanut butter, smooth style, without salt, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Lime juice, raw, RICE VINEGAR (Branded, Mizkan America, Inc.) - unseasoned; 0 kcal, 0 g protein, carbs, sugar, fat and 0 mg sodium per 15 ml serving, Syrups, maple, Oil, sesame, salad or cooking, Ginger root, raw, Garlic, raw, Rice noodles, dry, Cabbage, raw, Carrots, raw, Cucumber, with peel, raw, Onions, spring or scallions (includes tops and bulb), raw, Salt, table

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Press the tofu between clean towels under something heavy for 10 minutes, then cut it into 3/4-inch cubes.

  2. Toss the tofu cubes with 1 tbsp tamari, then the oil, then sprinkle over the cornstarch and turn gently until every cube is dusty and no dry patches remain. Spread on the sheet with space between the cubes.

  3. Bake 20 minutes, flip the cubes with a spatula, and bake another 8–12 minutes, until deep golden and firm with crisp edges. Leave on the pan to cool completely — they crisp further as they cool.

  4. While the tofu bakes, whisk the peanut butter with the warm water until it loosens and turns glossy, then whisk in the 3 tbsp tamari, lime juice, rice vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and sriracha. It should pour off the whisk in a thin ribbon; add water 1 tbsp at a time if it drags.

  5. Cook the rice noodles in boiling water per the package, usually 4–6 minutes, until just tender with no chalky center. Drain and rinse under cold running water for a full minute, shaking the colander until it stops dripping. Toss with 1 tsp sesame oil.

  6. Toss the cabbage, carrots, cucumber and green onions with the 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl and let sit 5 minutes, then pour off any water that collects.

  7. Build four jars: noodles on the bottom, vegetables packed on top, then the cooled tofu, peanuts and cilantro in the top layer where they stay dry. Divide the dressing among four small lidded containers and tuck one in each jar or pack alongside.

  8. To eat, tip the dressing into the jar, screw the lid on and shake hard for 10 seconds, or turn everything into a bowl and toss. Finish with a squeeze of lime.

Storage: Seal the jars and refrigerate up to 4 days; keep the dressing in its own small container and pour it in just before eating. The tofu softens after about day 2 — crisp it back up in a hot dry skillet for 2–3 minutes if you like, or eat it as is. Do not freeze; the noodles and cucumber turn to mush.

Questions

How much protein is in cold peanut noodle salad meal prep jars with crispy tofu and cabbage?
Each of the 4 servings has 32 g of protein, 8 g of fiber and 690 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
Is cold peanut noodle salad meal prep jars with crispy tofu and cabbage vegan?
Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
How long does cold peanut noodle salad meal prep jars with crispy tofu and cabbage take to make?
25 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, so 55 minutes of hands-on time.
Can you make cold peanut noodle salad meal prep jars with crispy tofu and cabbage ahead?
Seal the jars and refrigerate up to 4 days; keep the dressing in its own small container and pour it in just before eating. The tofu softens after about day 2 — crisp it back up in a hot dry skillet for 2–3 minutes if you like, or eat it as is. Do not freeze; the noodles and cucumber turn to mush.
What can I substitute in cold peanut noodle salad meal prep jars with crispy tofu and cabbage?
Use soba or whole-wheat spaghetti instead of rice noodles — nuttier and chewier, and they hold up a little better to a long soak in the dressing.. Swap the tofu for baked tempeh cubes, cooked through in the same way — firmer, earthier bite; tempeh browns faster, so start checking at 18 minutes.. Use red cabbage in place of half the green — more color and a slightly peppery crunch, though it will tint the noodles pink once dressed.. Replace the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter and the peanuts with pumpkin seeds — peanut-free; the dressing tastes a touch more savory, so add an extra teaspoon of maple syrup..
Does cold peanut noodle salad meal prep jars with crispy tofu and cabbage contain peanuts?
Yes — the ingredient list includes peanuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.

Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.

Published September 21, 2026 ·Asian-inspired

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