This very cozy and warming beef and rice noodles dish is like an elevated take on hamburger helper. It’s made with a coconut milk, tamari, tomato paste and peanut butter sauce.
I told yall I would be working more on some dinner recipes this year and I did not lie!! I already have many recent favourites included in my new cookbook Your Everyday Table, and this particular beef and rice noodles dish evolved slowly after that. I’m not sure if it’s all kids or just mine, but both my toddler and my baby really seem to love ground beef – so this recipe has become a big hit in our household and is sometimes made once per week. I guess it’s hard to go wrong when it’s some combination of beef + noodles for any small children.
While I use pad thai rice noodles for this particular dish, you could also use whatever noodles you prefer, although the pad thai noodles do pair wonderfully with the sauce ingredients, which includes things like coconut milk, tamari, tomato paste and peanut butter. I promise it’s really good. I sometimes refer to it as an elevated hamburger helper, because it’s got the beef, the noodles, and the cozy factor down pat, but the flavour profile is just on another (much better) level – and it’s all homemade, too, of course.
I also love how much this recipe makes – it’s certainly enough to feed my family of four (which at the moment includes two small children and one large adult man who eats well, I’ll just say that) for two dinners. And the recipe itself is quite straightforward, you just need one large frying pan to sautee everything and a large bowl or plate, essentially. So not only is clean-up easy, but you can make this quite fast AND have leftovers for the next night? ANDDD the kids love it? I meannnn I call that a win-win-win!
Grab the recipe below and let me know in the comments if you try it! Follow me over on IG @earth.to.rose for more!
More yummy dinner recipes if you like this easy beef and rice noodles:
MUSHROOM SPINACH PARMESAN PASTA (GRAIN FREE)
THE EASIEST & MOST DELICIOUS FALL APART BLADE ROAST
SLOW COOKED & TENDER SHREDDED FLANK STEAK
creamy coconut peanut beef and rice noodles: ingredients
- 1 + 1/2 – 2 lb lean or medium ground beef
- 1 pack of pad thai rice noodles (300 grams of noodles)
- 1 bunch of green onions, divided (optional – I often leave them just for topping but you can also cook half with the sauce as well)
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (sub 1 tsp dried ginger)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup tamari
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/8 cup honey (optional – I often omit when I am making for my family as my daughter is under 1 years old)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper chilli flakes (use more or less depending on spice preference)
- pepper to taste
- toasted sesame seed oil to drizzle – at least 1 tbsp
creamy coconut peanut beef and rice noodles: how to
- Note: you can prepare your noodles for this dish by either soaking in a large bowl of water on the counter for 40 – 50 minutes before cooking, or by boiling according to the package directions (3-4 minutes on stovetop). Drain once ready to start cooking.
- In your largest frying pan or wok, cook ground beef until done. Drain of most of the excess fat, and in a large bowl, set ground beef aside as you make your sauce. Leave a little bit of fat in the pan.
- While the beef is cooking, prepare your noodles if they haven’t been soaked – boil for 4 minutes on stovetop and drain and set aside.
- In the same pan that you cooked the beef in, on medium heat, if you’re using green onions, add half of the chopped green onions as well as the ginger and garlic. Sautée for a few minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and once it turns dark red, or after few minutes, add in the whole can of coconut milk, stirring together.
- Add in the peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari and optionally, the honey, as well as all your spices. Combine well, stirring and allowing to simmer on medium heat.
- Finally, add your beef back in beef and stir.
- Add in noodles chunks at a time and mixing well as you go, so that both noodles and beef are covered in the sauce. Finally, drizzle with toasted sesame seed oil and mix.
- Serve with freshly chopped green onions and avocado on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds.
creamy coconut peanut beef and rice noodles
Ingredients
- 1 + 1/2 – 2 lb lean or medium ground beef
- 1 pack pad thai rice noodles (300 grams of noodles)
- 1 bunch green onions, divided optional – I often leave them just for topping but you can also cook half with the sauce as well
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger sub 1 tsp dried ginger
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup tamari
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/8 cup honey optional – I often omit when I am making for my family as my daughter is under 1 years old)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper chilli flakes use more or less depending on spice preference
- pepper to taste
- toasted sesame seed oil to drizzle – at least 1 tbsp
Instructions
- Note: you can prepare your noodles for this dish by either soaking in a large bowl of water on the counter for 40-50 minutes before cooking, or by boiling according to the package directions (3-4 minutes on stovetop). Drain once ready to start cooking.
- In your largest frying pan or wok, cook ground beef until done. Drain of most of the excess fat, and in a large bowl, set ground beef aside as you make your sauce. Leave a little bit of fat in the pan.
- While the beef is cooking, prepare your noodles if they haven’t been soaked – boil for 4 minutes on stovetop and drain and set aside.
- In the same pan that you cooked the beef in, on medium heat, if you’re using green onions, add half of the chopped green onions as well as the ginger and garlic. Sautée for a few minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and once it turns dark red, or after few minutes, add in the whole can of coconut milk, stirring together.
- Add in the peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari and optionally, the honey, as well as all your spices. Combine well, stirring and allowing to simmer on medium heat.
- Finally, add your beef back in beef and stir.
- Add in noodles chunks at a time and mixing well as you go, so that both noodles and beef are covered in the sauce. Finally, drizzle with toasted sesame seed oil and mix.
- Serve with freshly chopped green onions and avocado on the side. Garnish with sesame seeds.