Never cooked soba noodles? Follow the tips in this post to make a foolproof soba noodle salad that's loaded with veggies and great for weekday lunches!
These sesame soba noodles are one of my go-to easy weeknight dinners and healthy lunches. I toss the cold Japanese buckwheat noodles with a tangy, nutty sesame dressing. Then, I round out the noodle bowls with edamame, fresh herbs, and crisp spring veggies.
This soba noodle recipe is incredibly flavorful, yet quick and easy. It comes together in about 20 minutes! I’ve been making it for years now—ever since our first trip to Japan. Most often, I make it as written, but it works well with all sorts of different proteins and veggies too. Find my favorite variations below!
What are soba noodles?
Soba noodles are Japanese buckwheat noodles that are served hot or cold. Jack and I fell in love with them on our first trip to Japan, and we’ve been cooking them at home ever since. Made with buckwheat flour, these noodles have a wonderful nutty flavor and chewy texture. One of my favorite dishes I’ve eaten in Japan is traditional zaru soba or mori soba, cold soba noodles served with green onions, daikon, and a flavorful dashi dipping sauce. At home, I love tossing soba into noodle salads like this one.
Traditional soba is made with only buckwheat flour and water, so it’s easy to make soba noodle recipes gluten-free: despite its name, buckwheat has no relation to wheat! However, because 100% buckwheat noodles can be fragile and difficult to work with, you’ll often see dried soba that contains a mix of buckwheat and wheat flours. These are the noodles I usually choose—they still have the buckwheat’s yummy flavor, but they’re easier for tossing in a noodle salad like this one.
If you’re gluten-free, be sure to seek out 100% buckwheat soba. Both varieties are readily available in Asian markets or in the Asian section of regular grocery stores.
How to Cook Soba Noodles
If you’ve never cooked soba before, there are a few things you should know before starting this recipe. It’s easy for a package of soba to turn into a big gummy mess, but if you follow these tips, you’ll have soba success!
- First, unlike regular pasta, it’s essential that you cook your soba in unsalted water.
- Make sure not to overcook them! Don’t forget to set a kitchen timer for the time listed on the package.
- When your noodles are ready, drain them in a colander and rinse them thoroughly with cold water to remove starches that cause clumping.
- Finally, toss them with a drizzle of sesame oil to keep them fresh until you’re ready to eat!
Soba Noodle Recipe Variations
This soba noodle recipe is delicious as written, but there are all sorts of ways you can change it up! Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Try another protein. Sub baked tofu, sesame tofu, or baked tempeh for the edamame. You could even top the noodles with a soft-boiled egg!
- Change up the veggies. Add sliced cucumber or use blanched broccolini in place of the snap peas. Or stir in some sautéed mushrooms or baby bok choy!
- Experiment with the herbs. Swap in cilantro or Thai basil for the mint.
- Spice it up. Top your bowl with a squirt of sriracha or a spoonful of chili crisp.
Have fun making a bowl of soba noodles you love!
Make-Ahead Tip
This recipe is one of my favorite meal prep lunch ideas. You can assemble it ahead of time and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Just wait to add the avocado and herbs until right before you eat. That way, they’ll stay nice and green.
More Japanese-Inspired Recipes to Try
If you love these noodles, try one of these Japanese-inspired recipes next:
Sesame Soba Noodles
Ingredients
Sesame Dressing
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, plus more for serving
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey
For the Soba Noodles
- 6 ounces soba noodles
- Lemon wedge, for squeezing
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 2 cups blanched snap peas
- ¼ cup edamame
- 1 watermelon radish, or 2 red radishes, very thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and maple syrup. Set aside.
- Bring an unsalted pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain and rinse well in cold water. This helps to remove starches that cause clumping. Toss the noodles with the dressing and divide into 2 to 4 bowls. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the avocado slices and add to the bowls along with the snap peas, edamame, radish, mint, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Drizzle with more tamari or sesame oil, if desired.
Notes
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Yum! Asks easy enough for a beginner.
This was excellent! I made it with the Crispy Sesame Tofu. It was an easy and delicious weeknight meal!
Just made this and it is SO GOOD! Definitely recommend also doing the mushrooms she notes as an optional add on!
Hi Katie, I’m so glad you loved it!
What can I use if I don’t have soba noodles? Will angel hair be a good substitute?
yep, spaghetti would work too.
We loved this one. We had to use regular peas instead of snow peas. We are hiding from the pandemic at our lake home in Ontario’s cottage country. We are grateful for whatever ingredients we can get in our rural community so don’t complain about having to substitute.
I LOVE Asian-inspired recipes and this one did not disappoint! So simple and fresh. A new favorite for sure!
This was delicious! Will be making again for sure! Thanks
Thank you so much for this fresh, easy recipe! My family loved it – I made it last minute as my January Cooking Club submission and followed it exactly ?
Quick, easy, fresh and delicious! Made for a quick, light lunch; had to switch around the vegetables a bit for what I had; damn winter and pandemic! Dressing would be really versatile on greens; et al.
I didn’t expect to like this so much, but the dressing is a real winner! This is an awesome lighter alternative to the warm soba noodle dishes I tend to make with mushrooms, miso broth, egg, etc.
So delicious and refreshing! Great way to add a variety of veggies!
This was absolutely delicious! A perfect mid-week meal that everyone enjoyed. Will double the recipe next time to make sure I have leftovers!
As suggested in the blog post, I put baked tofu instead of edamame, and sauteed mushrooms and bok choy instead of snap peas. It was really good! The dressing is terrific!
This was yummy! I struggled a bit with cooking the buckwheat noodles as they clumped together initially in the hot water but I quickly separated them before it became a disaster. The ingredients were so simple but the dish was packed with fresh flavor. I will make this again.
Loved this recipe!
Absolutely loved this recipe! So light and fresh and filling – it was a hit and we’ll definitely will be making it again in the future.
This came together super fast. A nice quick work week meal.
I love the idea of a healthy noodle bowl for lunch! This was delicious!
Loved this recipe! Such a nice combination of different delicious flavours and textures
The perfect pop of brightness in the middle of winter. Great recipe warm and cold. Will definitely make again!