Simple and delicious garlic sesame soba noodles in 20 minutes. Enjoy them warm or as a cold sesame noodle salad with the veggies of your choice! It’s fast, healthy, and requires minimal effort for a foolproof, gluten-free, meat-free mid-week meal!
On days when we want a quick, simple, low fuss meal on our tables in under 20 minutes, noodles and stir-fries often come to the rescue. We’ve previously shared recipes for a simple veggie chow mein, udon edamame stir fry, and a shiitake-asparagus-tofu stir fry. Now, it’s the turn of these garlic sesame soba noodles!
With just a handful of pantry staples and a couple of extras, this sesame noodle recipe is simple, budget-friendly, and makes for a delicious last-minute midweek meal. Even better, with several ways to adapt the recipe, you can enjoy it as a side or main, warm with all your favorite stir-fry veggies, or as a cold sesame noodle salad with crisp veggies like shredded carrots, cabbage, and bell peppers. It’s up to you!
What Are Soba Noodles?
Soba noodles are a type of long noodle made from buckwheat flour (soba is simply the Japanese name for buckwheat). Buckwheat noodles are darker than regular wheat noodles and have an earthy, subtly nutty flavor. Buckwheat is also naturally gluten-free - though some varieties of the noodle include wheat flour.
Even better, buckwheat noodles pack in additional fiber and protein over regular noodles. They also boast several health benefits thanks to several healthful plant compounds, antioxidants, and numerous vitamins and minerals. These include being anti-inflammatory, blood sugar control, improving heart health, and even cancer prevention.
When combined with a simple, savory, zingy ginger garlic sesame noodles sauce, this vegan soba noodle recipe is a delicious and foolproof way to pack in nutrients. You might also enjoy this warm soba salad with cucumbers or chap chae-style soba noodles.
The Ingredients
This vegan soba noodles recipe requires a handful of pantry staples and just a few extras, with plenty of opportunity for versatility.
Soba noodles: Use 100% buckwheat noodles (which are gluten-free) when possible, as some versions contain wheat.
Aromatics: These aromatic Japanese soba noodles rely on a combination of garlic and fresh ginger.
Sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil packs in tons of flavor and shouldn’t be substituted with another oil.
Soy sauce: Use dark or light/ reduced-sodium soy sauce. For a gluten-free option, use tamari or coconut aminos.
Chili paste: You can use chili paste, chili sauce, sriracha, chili garlic paste, etc. Adjust the amount to taste or omit it entirely if you want mild sesame sauce noodles.
Vegetables: We used yu choy. Bok choy or broccolini would also work or refer to the FAQs for more ideas.
To garnish: We used sliced green onion/scallions (the white and green parts) and sesame seeds (raw or toasted. We prefer the latter).
Optional add-ins & Recipe Variations
There are several simple ways to adapt this garlic sesame noodle recipe, including:
Chili: To increase the spice in the sesame ginger noodles, you could add some red pepper flakes or chili oil to make delicious chili garlic noodles.
An acid: Add a small splash of either lemon or lime juice or rice wine vinegar to add zing and depth to the sesame oil noodles.
Sugar: A pinch of sugar or maple syrup helps to balance the flavors, especially when an acid is added.
Protein: Easily boost the protein in this garlic sesame noodles recipe with the addition of tofu (crispy or puffed), tempeh, or your favorite meat alternative like ‘chicken strips.’
Tahini: Add some tahini (or possibly peanut butter) for a creamier sauce.
Nori: While this isn’t cheap, if you have some at home, some shredded seaweed is a delicious garnish for the healthy soba noodles.
Veggies: There are plenty of quick-cooking stir-fried veggies you could add to the sesame noodles recipe. Check the FAQs for all our top recommendations.
How to Make Ginger and Garlic Sesame Soba Noodles?
1) First, cook the soba noodles according to their package instructions (this usually takes between 5-7 minutes).
Immediately after cooking them, drain and rinse the noodles. This is important to remove excess starches and stop the noodles from clumping up.
2) Meanwhile, prepare the soba sauce. To do so, first finely mince/grate the ginger and garlic. Then, combine them with the sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili paste, and whisk together.
3) In a skillet, add the chopped yu choy (or veggies of your choice) and allow it to wilt slightly.
4) Then, add the noodles to the pan along with the sauce and sliced green onions and cook for a minute, mixing well.
5) Finally, serve garnished with sesame seeds (and optionally some more green onions). Enjoy!
The Cold Soba Recipe:
After cooking the soba noodles, drain them and place them in a bowl with cold water or rinse under running cold water.
Then, toss with the sauce and any raw veggies and enjoy the cold sesame noodles immediately.
FAQs
Can I substitute the soba noodles?
Yes, this sesame oil soba sauce would also make delicious sesame garlic ramen noodles, udon, rice noodles, vermicelli, etc.
What vegetables can I add to the sesame noodles recipe?
You can add any of your favorite stir fry vegetables to these vegan garlic sesame noodles, including:
Broccoli Broccolini Snow peas Green beans Spinach Peas Shredded carrot Shredded cabbage Bell peppers Bean sprouts Water chestnuts Zucchini Mini corn or sweetcorn Mushrooms
You could also use a fresh or frozen prepared ‘stir fry vegetables’ combination to add to the garlic sesame noodles. Plus, if you plan to make a cold sesame noodle salad, you could also use raw veggies like avocado, sugar snap peas, radish, etc.
When adding any vegetables, try to choose veggies with similar cooking times and chop them into even pieces, to cook evenly. Stir-fry them while the noodles cook.
How to cook soba noodles?
The package should contain instructions. However, soba noodles are generally cooked in boiling water for 3-5 minutes until al dente. Then, drain them well and rinse to remove any excess starch (to avoid them sticking).
Do I need to rinse the soba noodles?
Yes, if you don’t, they clump up quickly after being drained. Rinsing will remove any clinging starches and leave you with individual noodles. Tossing a small amount of oil into the noodles will also help reduce clumping (in this case, the oil in the sauce).
Top Recipe Tips and Notes
Don’t overcook the noodles: They are best enjoyed while al dente, with a slight chewiness.
Rinse the cooked noodles: This can help remove excess starches from the cooked soba noodles and avoid a clumpy mess.
Toast the sesame seeds: This simple step packs in a ton of extra flavor. Add the seeds to a dry skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and golden.
Adjust to taste: We all have different levels of preferred garlic, ginger, spice, saltiness, etc. So tweak the amounts to your liking.
Soba noodles vary: Different brands have different results, and some even contain wheat, so read the ingredients list and feel free to experiment with several brands.
How to Serve?
Once the sesame soba noodles are ready, enjoy them as a simple side dish or main. Top up the dish with a protein, dumplings, and/or veggies for more of a ‘fully loaded’ noodle bowl or serve alongside simple sides like this edamame salad.
How to Store?
You can store any leftover sesame soba noodles in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Enjoy the leftovers as a chilled soba noodle salad OR reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Enjoy these Garlic Sesame Soba Noodles warm or as a cold sesame noodle salad with the veggies of your choice! It’s fast, healthy, and requires minimal effort for a foolproof, gluten-free, meat-free mid-week meal!
A few stalks of yu choy (or a green veggie of choice like broccolini or bok choy), chopped up a bit
Green onions, sliced
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
Cook soba noodles according to package instructions.
In a standard-size bowl, whisk together the garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili paste.
In a large pot or saucepan, add yu choy (or vegetable of choice) to wilt slightly. Then add cooked noodles to this pan along with sauce and green onions. Cook about 1 minute, mixing together all elements.
Top with sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
Variations:
Chili: To increase the spice in the sesame ginger noodles, you could add some red pepper flakes or chili oil to make delicious chili garlic noodles.
An acid: Add a small splash of either lemon or lime juice or rice wine vinegar to add zing and depth to the sesame oil noodles.
Sugar: A pinch of sugar or maple syrup helps to balance the flavors, especially when an acid is added.
Protein: Easily boost the protein in this garlic sesame noodles recipe with the addition of tofu (crispy or puffed), tempeh, or your favorite meat alternative like ‘chicken strips.’
Tahini: Add some tahini (or possibly peanut butter) for a creamier sauce.
Nori: While this isn’t cheap, if you have some at home, some shredded seaweed is a delicious garnish for the healthy soba noodles.
Veggies: There are plenty of quick-cooking stir-fried veggies you could add to the sesame noodles recipe. Check the FAQs for all our top recommendations.
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I've made these 3 times in the past week. They are amazing! I also added cubes of smoked tofu to it and my husband is in love. He's asked for more every day! 😀
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Janaye says
These noodles look so good!
Andrea White says
So flavorful and delicious!
Michelle Cehn says
the photos are gorgeous!!
Andrea White says
Alfonso is the GOAT!
Teodora Grujic says
This is one of my favorites! So delicious!
Andrea White says
So flavorful and delicious!
Gina House says
I've made these 3 times in the past week. They are amazing! I also added cubes of smoked tofu to it and my husband is in love. He's asked for more every day! 😀
Andrea White says
Love that! So glad you guys are enjoying this one 🙂
Tina G says
This looks incredible! Love all of the veggies.
Andrea White says
The flavor makes eating veggies so easy!
Amanda Meth says
GORGEOUS photos! This looks so good!
Andrea White says
Aesthetic and delicious!
Oscar says
Loved all the flavours in this easy recipe. Garlic and ginger is my favourite combo and the noodles were delicious. Great recipe.
Andrea White says
Definitely a nice combo!
Rob says
This looks so easy and delicious! Love all the additional vegetable options and looking forward to making these noodles!
Andrea White says
Let us know what you think of it! 🙂
Sara says
This recipe was beyond delicious! Super flavorful and easy to prepare. We will definitely be making this again soon!
Andrea White says
Awesome! I love the flavor too. So so good!
Andrea White says
So delicious!
Nancy Wu says
healthy and low carbs!! perfect!
Andrea White says
Easy and delicious!