Pasta with Summer Vegetables & Spicy Peanut Sauce

This is the noodle bowl you’ll crave on repeat: pasta and crisp-tender summer vegetables coated in a warm, spicy peanut butter sauce that tastes like the best Thai takeout you’ve ever had.

The sauce comes together in a saucepan in minutes. Peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, and cayenne whisked with hot water until smooth and glossy. That balance of salty, sour, nutty, and spicy is what makes this addictive.

The clever move is cooking the vegetables right in the pasta water, adding them in stages: carrots first (they need a minute), then broccoli (30 seconds), then snow peas (another 30 seconds). Everything comes out perfectly crisp-tender in one pot with one drain.

Kitchen Tips

• Slice the carrots thin on a diagonal so they cook through in just one minute. Thick coins will still be raw.
• Don’t overcook the vegetables. They should be bright in color and still snap when bitten. They’ll continue softening in the hot sauce.
• Toss the pasta and vegetables with the sauce immediately while everything is hot. The warmth helps the thick peanut sauce coat evenly.
• If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of hot pasta water to loosen it.

Variations

• Use soba noodles or rice noodles instead of regular pasta for a more authentically Asian dish.
• Add shredded rotisserie chicken or pan-seared tofu for protein.
• Garnish with crushed roasted peanuts and a squeeze of extra lime for crunch and brightness.