I absolutely adore all of my Asian recipes. Some of the most noteworthy include Thai Butternut Squash Soup, Asian Quinoa Salad, and Thai Beef Curry in Slow Cooker. But I must admit, this easy Thai beef noodle salad tops all of my summer salads.

a close-up of Thai beef noodle salad from the top view

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Why Should You Try This Recipe?

I can assure you that you are going to fall in love with this Thai beef salad with noodles upon the first bite. I know you’ll love it because:

Crunch, crunch and more crunch. The more texture there is in my salad, the more crave-able they become. This has all the crunch, along with some creamy, too.
Balanced and flavorful. It has a little bit of everything – sweet, savory, salty, spicy, sour, and that special umami essence you just can’t put your finger on. And the beef is phenomenal here. It is first soaked in a flavor-packed marinade, then quickly cooked on the grill or stovetop. You will be making this beef noodle salad all summer long!
Easy to make ahead. The steak, dressing, and noodles can all be made ahead. This means all that’s left to do is some chopping and tossing come serving time.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this Asian steak noodle salad are broken down into a few parts – steak marinade, salad dressing, noodles, and salad.

For the steak marinade, you will need fresh ginger, garlic clove, soy sauce, coconut sugar, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, black pepper, olive oil, toasted sesame oil, NY strip steak, and Kosher salt.

ingredients for the dressing for beef Thai salad from the top view

For the Thai dressing, gather together fresh lime juice, hot chili paste, avocado oil, fish sauce, raw sugar, and honey.

ingredients for steak Thai salad in bowls from the top view

For the noodles and salad, you will need ramen noodles, toasted sesame oil, large mango, arugula, carrots, scallions, savoy cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, basil leaves, mint leaves, salted peanuts, and lime wedges.

Substitutions and Helpful Ingredient Notes

Soy Free: Replace the soy sauce with an equal amount of coconut aminos or tamari.
Sugar: Replace the coconut sugar with light brown sugar for the marinade and use regular granulated sugar in place of the cane sugar for the dressing.
Steak: Use your favorite cut of steak, such as NY strip steak, sirloin steaks, Filet Mignon, flank steak, or skirt steak. Note cooking times will vary.
Hot Chili Paste: My favorite chile paste is Sambal Oelek, easily found in the global/international food section.
Noodles: Replace the ramen with thin rice noodles, like vermicelli or lo mein noodles.
Fruit: If mango is unavailable, swap it out for pineapple or mandarin oranges.
Greens: Go the Houston’s route and swap out the arugula for watercress instead.
Cabbage: If you can’t find savoy cabbage (a bit milder and sweeter), regular green cabbage can be substituted.
Tomatoes: Replace the tomato with 1 cup cherry tomatoes.
Peanut Free: If you or your friends have a slight aversion to peanuts, crunchy and salted almonds are the next best thing. Sesame seeds are a great sub, as well.

How to Make

Houston’s Thai steak noodle salad recipe takes some prep work and an overnight marinade, but your patience will be rewarded. Here’s how I like to do it:

person showing how to marinate steak for Thai beef salad noodles

Prepare marinade: In a small bowl, whisk together the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce, black pepper, olive oil, and toasted sesame oil. Pour into an airtight container with a lid or a large resealable plastic bag. Place the steak in the marinade (or a small resealable plastic bag) and give it a gentle toss to ensure all parts of the steak are coated. Seal and let it marinate for 6-12 hours.
Prepare steak: Remove the steak from the marinade and place it onto a large plate lined with paper towels. Pat dry with another paper towel to remove the excess liquid. Discard marinade. Season with salt on both sides.
Grill steak: Preheat a gas grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Grill, flipping the steak a few times during cooking until lightly charred on both sides. Check for doneness by inserting a thermometer (affiliate link) into the thickest part of the steak. Pull it off when it registers 120 degrees Fahrenheit for medium-rare or 130 degrees Fahrenheit for medium, depending on your desired degree. This takes about 9-11 minutes in total. Once off the grill, tent with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes. Then, slice into 1-inch thick slices or cubes right before serving.

person showing how to make dressing and noodles for Thai steak salad recipe

Make the salad dressing: In a small bowl or mason jar, whisk together lime juice, hot chili paste, avocado oil, fish sauce, sugar, and honey. Give it a taste and add more salt if needed.
Cook noodles: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles for 3 minutes, or according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large salad bowl. Drizzle with the sesame oil and give it a gentle toss to coat.

person showing how to make salad for steak noodle salad

Assemble salad: Place the mango, arugula, shredded carrots, scallions, finely shredded savoy cabbage, and tomatoes in the bowl with the noodles. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to combine. Finish with the sliced steak, avocado, fresh cilantro, basil, mint, and peanuts. Gently toss and divide amongst four plates. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

What to Serve it With?

This Thai steak salad recipe needs nothing more than some company to share it with. Serve it as:

Main Meal: All it needs is a glass of red wine on the side.
With Vegetables: Serve it alongside even more veggies on the side, such as baked asparagus, sauteed asparagus and mushrooms, garlic green beans or roasted shiitake mushrooms.

How to Store

This beef Thai salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. After the 2-day mark, the vegetables break down and become mushy.

Thai beef salad with noodles on a plate from the top view

Expert Tips

Marinate the steak the night before. The steak can sit in the marinade for up to 12 hours without it affecting the texture.
Prepare steak, dressing, and noodles up to 2 days in advance. Grill the steak, mix the dressing, and boil the noodles. Store each in their own airtight container in the fridge. This salad (including the meat) can be served at room temperature. However, if you prefer, you can lightly warm up the grilled meat before assembling the salad.
Use a stovetop grill pan. Grill the steak on an indoor grill pan or cast-iron skillet instead.

Other Thai Cuisine Recipes You’ll Enjoy:

If you try this Thai Steak and Noodle Salad recipe or any other beef recipes on Foolproof Living, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit’s Thai Steak Noodle Recipe.

Thai Steak and Noodle Salad