Veggie Sesame Noodles
This riff on sesame noodles features tons of colorful vegetables. This recipe is healthy and easy to prepare (vegan and easily gluten free).
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
These sesame noodles are colorful and completely irresistible! Iโm always excited when I find sesame noodles amongst a plethora of dishes at a gathering. As a solo dish, I crave noodles with a little more color, perhaps, and more texture and flavor. Must be the โmaximalist vegetarianโ in me. Always more veggies!
This riff on sesame noodles is exactly what Iโve wished for. This recipe features tender noodles and green onions, of course. I replaced some of the noodles with tons of crisp raw veggies, plus I added tiny sesame seeds, toasted to bring out their best.
The bold but simple seasonings include soy sauce, sesame oil, fresh ginger and garlic, and a generous sprinkling of fresh cilantro (omit it if you donโt like it). I added some chili flakes for extra heat, which you can scale up or down to suit your preferences.
From what Iโve read, sesame noodles likely originated in the Sichuan province of China (please let me know if you know more). These noodles are not authentic, but they are tasty. I canโt stop going back for more.
Bring these noodles to a gathering or serve them as a side dish. They are nice at room temperature or chilled. Or, turn this recipe into a light meal by adding shelled edamame, crispy baked tofu or a fried egg or two. This recipe keeps well for several days in the fridge, and packs well for lunch.
Watch How to Make Colorful Veggie Sesame Noodles
This recipe is an updated and improved version of a very old recipe on my blog called โSoba Noodles with Vegetables.โ Way back in 2011, I wasnโt quite satisfied with the seasonings, but I wasnโt sure how to fix them. Iโve revisited the recipe and tweaked it to yield exactly the flavor Iโve been craving all this time.
If youโre a fan of the old recipe, view the original recipe as a PDF here.
Craving more noodles?
Try these related recipes:
- Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Sugar Snap Pea and Carrot Soba Noodles
- Almond-Sesame Soba Zoodles with Quick-Pickled Veggies
- Colorful Veggie Lettuce Wraps
You might also enjoy myย Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce,ย Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad, and the Fresh Sesame Soba Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce in Love Real Food (page 98).
Please let me know how your sesame noodles turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Veggie Sesame Noodles
This riff on sesame noodles features tons of colorful vegetables. This recipe is healthy and easy to prepareโperfect for bringing to get-togethers! Itโs vegetarian/vegan and easily gluten free. Recipe yields 6 side servings.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces soba noodles or spaghetti noodles of choice*
- ยผ cup raw sesame seeds
- โ cup reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce, just be sure itโs reduced sodium or it will taste too salty)
- ยผ cup toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 medium lime)
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ยฝ teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste (scale back or omit if sensitive to spice)
- 2 ยฝ cups thinly sliced red cabbage (about 10 ounces or ยผth medium cabbage)
- 3 whole carrots, peeled and then sliced into ribbons with vegetable peeler (about 1 ยฝ cups)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into very thin strips
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- ยฝ cup chopped cilantro
- Optional: 2 cups shelled edamame, steamed
Instructions
- Cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Once theyโre done cooking, drain them in a colander and rinse them well under cool water. Transfer the drained noodles to a large serving bowl and set aside.
- Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring often (keep an eye on them, as they can burn quickly). Once theyโre fragrant and turning golden, transfer them to a small bowl so they donโt burn. Set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the tamari, sesame oil, lime juice, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Whisk until blended. Set aside.
- To assemble, add the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro and optional edamame to your bowl with the noodles. Drizzle in the dressing. Add all of the sesame seeds, and use tongs to toss until the mixture is fully combined. Serve immediately, or refrigerate for later. This salad is best consumed within a couple of days, but it will keep for up to 5 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Last Minute Sesame Noodles on Aggieโs Kitchen, originally from Eatingwell.com
*Make it gluten free: If you are sensitive to gluten, seek out 100% buckwheat soba noodles (I like Eden Foodsโ brand) or substitute your favorite sturdy gluten-free spaghetti.
Change it up: Try adding a tablespoon or two of peanut butter to the dressing. Or, play around with the vegetables used hereโyouโll just need about 5 cups total. For additional protein, include the optional edamame or serve with crispy baked tofu on top, or add a fried egg or scrambled eggs.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Delicious recipe! We will be adding it to our vegetarian night rotation. We made a couple of adjustments:
Subbed fresh mint for the cilantro.
Thickened the dressing with a teaspoon of corn starch.
Sauteed the veggies for 3 minutes before mixing.
PS. Adding a tablespoon of peanut butter is the way to go!
hey hey! love your recipes โ could you add a metric converter to your recipes :). Thanks
Iโm head over heels in love with this recipe! It actually brought me back two decades to a salad I loved as a teen (funny how taste buds tie to memories!! Are the weight in soba noodles dry or cooked? Iโve just assumed dry but thought I should check as I make my second batch.
I love to hear that, Racheal!
This is SO good. I made it per the recipe and I think I actually โuglyโ ate, it was that delicious. LOL
Iโm happy to hear you enjoyed it, Alexis!
Good lord this was good. Had to make some minor adjustments due to items on hand, but split the tamari 60/40 with water since I didnโt have reduced sodium, skipped the sesame seeds due to laziness, and added a jalapeno to the veggies and 1 TB of peanut butter to the dressing. Used Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti. So delicious! Also added dry fried tofu instead of edamame.
Great to hear, Steph! Thank you for your review.
Hello, I really want to make this recipe. Looks lovely. Can you suggest what I could use instead of toasted sesame oil for it to be comparable?
The sesame oil really brings out flavor in this recipe. You could omit it and use more oil, but it wonโt have the same result and may be lack luster.
I made this and subbed sesame oil with a good olive oil and it tastes amazing!
Great recipe. Added peanuts, sautรฉed cabbage with water and lightly toasted the capsicum
Sautรฉed the bell peppers/carrots and added baked tofu. Made lots & was delicious :)
While I am not totally a vegetarian, I love your vegtable packed recipes. Always full of flavour and always taste great! Thank you.
I tried this recipe and it was beautiful in appearance and delightful to taste! I used about half teaspoon of organic peanut butter. This was shared with a friend who gobbled her portion down and made a copy of the recipe to do it herself. You cautioned that perhaps a low-salt soy choice would keep the salad from becoming too salty. I would do that next time.
Fantastic!
I looked for an Asian style recipe with noodle and veggies.
I prepared it with fried noodle.
Taste was exactly what I wanted.
Thanks
Thank you for all your great recipes. Do you think this recipe would work with your tahini sauce? Because of allergies I need to change the sauce. Thank you
I think that it is worth a try!
Absolutely loved this recipe. Cut it in half and had it for 2 dinners. I added the edamame and used whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Found it very filling & look forward to having it again .
Love this recipe! Iโve been looking for a great sesame noodle recipe, and this is it!
Itโs a solid foundation from which one can play with all kinds of ingredients, subbing in/out depending on what one has on hand. Having read the comments, I added 1TB of peanut butter to the dressing, a little rice vinegar and some extra garlic. To the salad, I added bean sprouts, extra carrot & Kateโs yummy crispy tofu cubes. When I saw the size of the salad, I realized that there wouldnโt be enough dressing, so I only dressed half and saved the rest for tomorrow night.
PS I used buckwheat noodles from the Asian grocery store, and they were nutty and delish!