It’s high praise, but this is my favorite high protein noodles recipe on my site. And I’ve made a lot of noodles!
The creamy noodles, sweet and spicy chicken, crispy roasted broccoli, and crunchy chopped peanut situation on top is just one heck of a combo.
Let’s take a look at how to make ’em.
Part One: Pan Roasted Broccoli
Take a 12-ounce bag of broccoli florets, cut them into smaller pieces to create a lot of surface area, and toss in a hot pan with olive oil. Cook for 6-8 minutes, tossing every couple of minutes, until the broccoli is nicely browned all over.
Alternative Veggie Ideas from Some of My Other Noodle Recipes: stir fried coleslaw mix, bok choy, or cucumber salad (no cooking required)
Part Two: Sticky Honey Garlic Chicken Crumbles
In the same pan, add a pound of ground chicken and cook one side for 2-3 minutes until a golden brown crust forms. Then break the chicken apart with a spatula and fully cook it.
While the chicken cooks, mix together three tablespoons of honey with two tablespoons each of black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar) and sriracha (or chili garlic sauce) and two frozen cubes each of crushed garlic and ginger.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, stir in the sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes until it begins to caramelize on the bottom. It should be nicely browned and sticky from the caramelized honey.
Part Three: Peanut Butter Noodles
Powdered peanut butter (or roasted peanut powder) is one of my favorite low calorie cheat codes. It provides lots of peanut flavor and thickens sauces without all the calories of regular peanut butter.
This sauce combines is with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter, coconut aminos, and water from cooking pasta or noodles to make a thick and creamy peanut sauce.
If you’re less concerned with calories, feel free to use all peanut butter. Or on the flip side, double up on the powdered peanut butter instead of peanut butter to save a few extra calories.
For the noodles, I used tagliatelle but any wheat noodle works here. I tested this recipe with my favorite Trader Joe’s instant noodles (without their sauce packets) and loved how it turned out.
Optional Part Four: Make a roasted peanut scallion garnish.
Sure, you could sprinkle some chopped peanuts and sliced green onion on top. But I think tossing the two with a bit of rice vinegar and chili flakes (or maybe even a little chili crisp) adds just the right amount of spice and sour to the dish.
And that’s the way the peanut butter cookie crumbles. There are quite a few moving parts, but I think you’ve got this.
Prep everything like sauces and any garnishes before you start cooking.
And take note of how long you need to cook your choice of noodles. If you’re using a faster cooking pasta, you can delay the start time. You want to finish the noodles last so the sauce stays nice and creamy. It’s easy to keep the chicken and broccoli warm while finishing the noodles.
Picky Eater Approved?
These noodles got two thumbs up from the picky eater in my house. I left the roasted broccoli out of her bowl and garnished with plain chopped peanuts, of course!
Going in, she wasn’t totally convinced peanut butter noodles would be her jam. So I made some backup rice just in case. I didn’t end up needing it, but the ground chicken (and broccoli) was great in a mini rice bowl tester I put together.
Happy cooking! Leave a recipe review if you dig these noodles as much as I did.
Peanut Butter Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 8 oz Pasta or Wheat Noodles, I used tagliatelle
- ¼ cup (60g) Coconut Aminos, see notes for substitute*
- ¼ cup (32g) Powdered Peanut Butter
- 2 Tablespoons (32g) Peanut Butter
- ½ cup Reserved Pasta Water
For the Chicken and Broccoli
- 1 ½ Tablespoons (24g) Olive Oil
- 12 oz Broccoli Florets, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 pinch Salt and Pepper
- 16 oz Ground Chicken Breast
- 3 Tablespoons (63g) Honey
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) Sriracha
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) Chinese Black Vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
- 2 Frozen Crushed Garlic Cubes, or 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 Frozen Crushed Ginger Cubes, or 1" piece garlic
Instructions
- Sauce prep. Mix the powdered peanut butter, peanut butter, and coconut aminos together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the garlic and ginger cubes, honey, vinegar, and sriracha together. Set both aside.
- Cooking the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Start cooking the pasta around the time you take the broccoli out of the pan after step 3. Cook the pasta just shy of al dente, about a minute less than the packaging suggests. Add about ½ cup of the pasta water to the peanut butter sauce bowl and stir until smooth. Use tongs to transfer the cooked noodles to the sauce and toss together. Add more pasta water to thin to your desired consistency.
- Pan roasting the broccoli. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the broccoli and toss to coat in the oil. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring every couple minutes, until the broccoli is evenly roasted on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Cook the ground chicken in the same pan you cooked the broccoli in. Add to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes until a golden brown crust forms on one side. Use a spatula to break the chicken apart and fully cook before adding the sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce begins to caramelize on the bottom (don't stir). Turn off the heat and add the broccoli to one side of the pan to keep warm until the noodles are ready.
- Plate the noodles and top with the chicken and broccoli OR add the chicken and broccoli to the noodles bowl and toss everything together. You can use a bit more pasta water to help bring everything together if needed.
- Garnish with sliced green onion or the chopped peanut garnish in the notes below.
