Say goodbye to boring salads! This Vietnamese-inspired rice noodle salad is loaded with crisp veggies, a zippy soy-ginger dressing, and savory-sweet hoisin glazed tofu. It’s naturally vegan and optionally gluten-free, so everyone can dig in!
Salad recipes aren't really my thing. Oh, I love salads and eat them all the time — but salad recipes don’t tend to go over big on this site. And I totally get it! When I make salads at home, I usually just throw a bunch of random ingredients in a bowl and call it dinner. No recipe required.
But there are exceptions. Some salads are just too good not to share, especially when they’re vegan spins on classic favorites. I’m talking vegan Caesar salad, vegan taco salad, vegan Greek salad… you get the idea. I love veganizing those!
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And then there are noodle salads. Because let’s be real: when your salad is mostly noodles, it doesn’t feel like a salad. But still, this sucker is packed with fresh, crunchy veggies — and it’s super satisfying. I don’t usually feel full after a bowl of salad, but boy oh boy did this one do it for me.
If you’ve ever had a Vietnamese rice noodle salad, you know what I’m talking about. That’s exactly what inspired this recipe!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Vegetable oil. Feel free to swap this out with any high-heat oil. Peanut oil, coconut oil, canola oil, and avocado oil are all great choices.
- Tofu. We're using super-firm tofu, which is my preferred variety for a noodle salad like this one. Firm or extra-firm tofu can be substituted, but you'll need to press it.
- Hoisin sauce. Look for this in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Rice noodles. The recipe calls for vermicelli, which is a super skinny variety of noodle. If you happen to have fatter rice noodles on hand, use them. They'll work just fine!
- Rice vinegar. This can also be found in the international aisle of the store.
- Soy sauce. Gluten-free tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed.
- Sugar. Use organic granulated sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Ginger.
- Garlic.
- Napa cabbage. You can substitute with regular cabbage or even another green like lettuce, if needed. I can't always find napa cabbage at the supermarket, but the local Asian market and the produce store always have it.
- Carrots.
- Cucumber.
- Fresh cilantro. Cilantro haters can skip this, obviously!
- Fresh mint.
- Scallions.
- Jalapeño peppers. These will add some heat to your noodle salad! Leave them out if you prefer it mild.
- Peanuts. Not into peanuts? Try cashews or sesame seeds instead!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Pan-fry the tofu. Heat your oil in a skillet, then add tofu cubes. Cook them for a few minutes, flipping them just a couple of times, until they're golden brown and crispy.
Glaze the tofu. Pour the hoisin sauce over your tofu, toss it a few times to get it nicely coated, then cook it for a couple minutes longer, until the sauce thickens a bit. Take it out of the skillet and transfer it to a plate when it's done.
Make the dressing. Whisk your rice vinegar, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, ginger, and garlic together in a small bowl.
Cook the noodles. To do this you'll be boiling water, then taking it off of heat. Submerge the noodles in the water to soften them up. Refer to the package directions to find out how long they should soak. Drain them, then rinse them under cold water when they're done.
Tip: Make sure to drain your noodles really well! If the noodles aren't drained thoroughly, the extra moisture can water down the dressing — so be sure to let them sit in the colander for a bit after rinsing.
Combine the salad ingredients. Place your noodles, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, cilantro, mint and scallions into a large bowl, then pour in just as much dressing as you like.
Mix it up. Stir everything together until the ingredients are nicely combined and coated in dressing.
Tip: Not sure how much dressing to use? Start with less and serve any extra on the side!
Serve. Divide the salad among plates or bowls, then top each one with some tofu and chopped peanuts. Done! Enjoy your Vietnamese rice noodle salad right away.
Variations
- Swap out the protein. If you're not into tofu, try making this salad with hoisin-glazed tempeh or seitan instead.
- Add some sweetness. Throw in some diced mango or pineapple.
- Add some heat. Include a squeeze of sriracha or a spoonful of sambal oelek in the dressing to give it a little kick.
- Make it grain free or low carb. Use zucchini or shirataki noodles.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is if you use gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
You can, but for the best texture, I recommend storing the tofu, noodles, veggies, herbs, and dressing separately, if possible. Keep them in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to three days. If your noodles dry out in the fridge, give them a quick rinse with cold or lukewarm water to bring them back to life.
Once assembled, the salad will keep for a day or two in the fridge. The noodles will soak up dressing over time, so the texture may not be as good as on day one, but the salad will still be delicious!
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Rice Noodle Salad with Hoisin Glazed Tofu
Ingredients
For the Hoisin Glazed Tofu
- 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil
- 8 ounces super-firm tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons organic granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
For the Salad
- 4 ounces dried rice noodle vermicelli
- 3 cups shredded Napa cabbage
- 2 medium carrots, julienned
- ½ medium cucumber, halved and sliced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
Make the Hoisin Glazed Tofu
- Coat the bottom of a large, flat-bottomed skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the tofu cubes in a single layer. Cook the tofu for about 10 minutes, flipping the pieces once or twice to achieve browning on multiple sides.
- Pour the hoisin sauce over the tofu and flip a few times to coat. Cook another minute or two, until the sauce thickens up just a bit.
- Remove the tofu from heat and transfer it to a plate.
Make the Dressing
- Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl or container.
Make the Noodle Salad
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Remove it from heat, add the noodles and submerge them. Soak the noodles until tender, about 3 minutes (or refer to the package directions). Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse them well with cold water. Leave the noodles in the colander to drain while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Place the noodles into a bowl and add the cabbage, carrots, cucumber, cilantro, mint, scallions, and jalapeño peppers, if using. Pour the dressing over the noodles and toss to coat.
- Divide the noodle salad onto plates or into bowls. Top with tofu and peanuts. Serve.
Notes
- This recipe was updated in July of 2025. After several comments from readers saying that they'd like more dressing, I doubled the amount. Feel free to cut the amount in half if you loved the original version as written, or just prefer less dressing.
- The nutrition information is based on 3 servings, but you could get up to 6 side dish servings out of the recipe, or even make 2 giant meals out of it.
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I love the recipe. but what I REALLY love is the calorie count and how it prints nicely on one page. Thank you for putting in the extra effort.
I'm glad to hear it's helpful!
Aloha Alissa, I made the recipe tonight for a summer dinner. I doubled the dressing recipe for four adults, using brown sugar instead of white sugar, shredded green leaf lettuce instead of Napa Cabbage, it's what I had in the fridge. I also added roasted sesame seeds while cooking the tofu, I wish I had had some fresh beans sprouts. It was fun to watch each person create their own dish. This was a easy recipe to prepare with my sweetheart. Added it to my Pinterest board.
Mahalo for sharing,
Joanie
That sounds like a wonderful meal! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Joanie!
Terrific recipe! We’ve made it multiple times.. I’d say it’s on our official rotation now!
I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Aimee!!
Yummy Tofu Noodle Salad i will must try it
Thank Alaina! I hope you enjoy it!
I give this a big thumbs up. We made a really big bowl of salad so we could have leftovers and I should have doubled the dressing. It was a little light on flavor but the flavor was excellent. There was a lot of prep. I had help. I'd make it again.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
Looks delish!! I need to try out some more tofu dishes and will have to give this a try!! :)