Garlic Sesame Noodles
You just need a few pantry ingredients to make these velvety Garlic Sesame Noodles. A no cook and easy noodle dish to make for lunch or dinner. Vegan, gluten-free and ready in 15 minutes.
One thing that I love about food is learning about how a single dish can have so many different origin stories and preparations. Sesame Noodles are no different with claims of origin coming from a restaurant in New York City, Taiwan Street Markets and even Hong Kong. And of course with this much diversity there are bound to be different styles of preparation.
At a very basic level, Sesame Noodles tend to have these things in common: usually contains some form of sesame paste, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, vinegar and aromatics like garlic and ginger. Where it might differ is whether a recipe will include something like kewpie mayo as an extra emulsifier, peanut butter or even what you end up serving with it.
Using some of the inspiration from these preparations to share these Garlic Sesame Noodles as a quick make-ahead lunch that doesn’t require massive cooking and chopping.
Why You’ll Love These Easy Sesame Noodles
- Only takes 15 minutes to make
- Great to meal prep for lunches or a quick dinner meal
- Uses simple pantry ingredients for the base
- A versatile and delicious budget friendly meal
- A great way to load up on extra veggies
- Vegan and gluten-free as is
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sesame Paste: You can use Chinese Sesame Paste or Tahini. Using either will change up the flavor. Personally, I like making this with Tahini because I always have it on hand and I like the flavor of it in this.
- Peanut Butter: Make sure it is a natural variety that only contains peanuts and salt in the ingredients. If allergic, you can try using almond, cashew or sunflower seed butter.
- Soy Sauce: To make this gluten-free, make sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce, wheat free tamari, coconut aminos or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.
- Sesame Oil: For a good depth of flavor, use toasted sesame oil.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: This one is pretty easy to find in the Asian or International section of your local grocery store. If you want a more pronounced taste I recommend Chinese Black Vinegar.
- Rice Noodles: I used these brown rice vermicelli noodles for this dish mainly because they hold up very well in the fridge for meal prep. You can try other rice based noodles or even wheat noodles for this preparation, just make sure to prepare according to package.
- Edamame: To make this a complete meal with protein, I like to serve this with edamame. You can use frozen edamame from the freezer section of your grocery store. Just thaw or warm through in the microwave or with running warm water.
- Vegetables: Typically, most dishes are served with julienned cucumbers, but I like to add some extra crunchy veggies. You can use hearty and less water concentrated vegetables to help keep them longer in the fridge. I recommend any of the following: carrots, cabbage and some Persian cucumbers.
- Sesame Seeds: Use some toasted sesame seeds for garnish. It helps to add more flavor to the final dish when serving and some more texture. You can also use chopped peanuts.
How to Make Garlic Sesame Noodles
Rehydrate Your Noodles and Thaw Edamame
This is one of the reasons I like to use rice noodles as they often can be rehydrated without the stove top. Just bring a kettle of water to a boil and pour over the noodles in a bowl and let them sit covered according to the package instructions.
For the edamame, just thaw in advance or pour extra boiling water overtop the frozen edamame and allow to thaw for a few minutes.
When both are done, just drain of the excess liquid and set aside.
Shredding Vegetables
Use a knife or a vegetable peeler to quickly shred your vegetables into thin strips. You can also use a food processor with a shredding attachment to quickly shred the vegetables. Or, use pre-shredded vegetables from your grocery store’s produce section.
Sauce
Combine all of the sauce ingredients except for the water and whisk or mix with a spoon until it starts to clump up. Slowly add in water and continue to mix until you have a nice creamy sauce. Taste the sauce and add more of any of the ingredients as necessary until it meets your preferred taste.
Assemble
Add your noodles to a bowl along with the veggies then pour on your sauce. Top with some of the ground sesame seeds and any extra fresh herbs or scallions as desired.
Expert Tips
- For quick veggie chopping, use a vegetable peeler. I take the peeler and run it around the carrot to create fast shreds. You can do this with the cucumber as well. For the cabbage, just run it along the side of a cut cabbage and you will see the cabbage turn int thin shavings which makes them perfect for eating.
- To save more time, use pre-shredded cabbage and carrots.
- To make the sauce even creamier, feel free to add 1 tablespoon of vegan mayo to it. I like either Just Mayo or Follow Your Heart Vegenaise.
- Use a mortar and pestle to grind some of the sesame seeds before topping. Grinding them helps to release some of their oils and aromatics, which helps add a more pronounced taste to this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
The main difference is whether the sesame seeds are toasted before blending. Chinese sesame paste uses toasted sesame seeds while tahini uses raw hulled sesame seeds. The flavor is different as the toasted sesame seeds have a robust roasted flavor while the tahini is more mild in flavor with a slightly bitter taste. I have tried this recipe with both and enjoyed it very much, but you will get more of that pronounced sesame flavor with the sesame paste.
You can make a variation of this dish without peanuts or soy. Here are some ideas for substitutions. You can substitute the peanut butter for more sesame paste/tahini or use a sunflower seed butter instead. For the soy, substitute the soy sauce for Coconut Aminos and swap out the edamame for a different bean or an allergy friendly vegan meat alternative. If dealing with a sesame allergy, you may want to do a different recipe like this Maple Soy Glazed Tofu and Noodle Sheet Pan Meal.
Place the shredded veggies and edamame in one container, the rehydrated noodles in another container and the sauce in it’s own jar or container. When ready to serve just top the noodles with the veggies and sauce. To use less containers, I like storing it in these bento containers.
It completely depends on how much chili oil you use. You can completely omit it if you aren’t a fan of spice or add even more (as I prefer) to the sauce to make it extra spicy.
How to Serve
This dish is great with the noodles, sauce and veggies by itself, but I like to elevate mine with some ground toasted sesame seeds, fresh chopped herbs, and sliced scallions.
For more protein, you can also add some crispy baked tofu on top or some pan-fried tempeh.
More Quick & Easy No Cook Meals to Try
- Lemon Garlic Marinated Chickpeas
- Peanut Miso Chickpea Stack
- Spicy Edamame Salad with Smashed Cucumbers
- Green Goddess Salad Sandwich
- Veggie Pinwheels with Avocado Edamame Spread
- Protein-Packed Avocado Chickpea Salad
15 Minute Garlic Sesame Noodles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2–3 sservings 1x
- Category: Lunch
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Chinese Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Description
You just need a few pantry ingredients to make these velvety Garlic Sesame Noodles. A no cook and easy noodle dish to make for lunch or dinner. Vegan, gluten-free and ready in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
Noodle Bowl
- 4 oz of brown rice vermicelli noodles
- 1 1/2 cups frozen edamame, thawed
- 1/2 cup or more shredded carrot
- 1/2 cup or more shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup or more julienned or shredded Persian cucumber
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (serve as is or grind in a mortar and pestle)
Sauce
- 2 tbsp tahini or sesame paste
- 2 tbsp natural peanut butter, with salt
- 2 tbsp gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vegan mayo (optional)
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tbsp or more chili oil (for less spicy replace with more sesame oil)
- 1–2 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 to 4 tbsp of water
For Serving, Optional
- Fresh minced cilantro and/or mint
- Sliced scallions
- Lime wedges
- Baked Tofu or store bought pre-cooked tofu
Instructions
- Bring a tea kettle with water to a boil. Place the noodles in a medium mixing bowl and pour over the noodles and cover to allow them to soak and rehydrate. When rehydrated according to package, drain off the excess water and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce by combining the tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, syrup, sesame oil, chili oil, garlic and ginger in a small bowl and give a good mix until it starts to clump. Slowly pour in 2 tablespoons of water then mix together. Add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired creamy consistency is achieved. Make sure to taste the sauce and adjust the amount of garlic, soy sauce, chili oil, etc. to your liking.
- Assemble to serve by adding a serving of the noodles to a plate topped with the shredded vegetables and thawed edamame. Then pour over with the sesame sauce and garnish with fresh herbs, scallions and the toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
For quick veggie chopping, use a vegetable peeler. I take the peeler and run it around the carrot to create fast shreds. You can do this with the cucumber as well. For the cabbage, just run it along the side of a cut cabbage and you will see the cabbage turn int thin shavings which makes them perfect for eating.
To save more time, use pre-shredded cabbage and carrots.
To make the sauce even creamier, feel free to add 1 tablespoon of vegan mayo to it. I like either Just Mayo or Follow Your Heart Vegenaise.
Use a mortar and pestle to grind some of the sesame seeds before topping. Grinding them helps to release some of their oils and aromatics, which helps add a more pronounced taste to this dish.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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