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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Really tasty! I had to sub a few ingredients that aren’t available where I live. But, I think I achieved a mostly equivalent result. I will definitely making this again. Thanks!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This was VERY good!! I Sautéed some mushrooms and added slices of cucumber.
Cilantro substitute for the herbs and “AWAY we go!!”
Timing was tricky with all that going on but it was good.
So glad you enjoyed it, Kevin!
Outstanding and simple recipe! Lovely genuine Japanese flavour.
Superb!! It took me back to my years living in Kyoto. I tweaked it by reducing the rice vinegar and substituting the remainder with homemade dashi to complete the 1/4 cup required. Instead of mint leaves, I substituted them with fresh shiso leaves. Arigato for sharing this recipe.
Hi Raul, I’m so glad you loved the recipe! That sounds like a wonderful variation.
I really like the overall recipe but the sauce is overwhelmingly vinegar-y from the rice vinegar
Try using less rice vinegar and add 2 tbsp of dashi. That should cut the acidity.
Fresh, quick, and infinitely customizable.
So glad you loved the noodles, Mara!
We loved this! We used the mild-tasting noodles you recommended, which kept their shape for the next day’s snack. I say snack because there were hardly any leftovers! I’ll double the recipe next time. Thank you.
Ha ha, I’m glad you loved it!
Made this last week and it was divine! Like all of your recipes. I added a dollop of sweet chili sauce and it was delicious.
Omgoodness this was sooo good! The sauce was fantastic. What a delicate blend of textures with filling nutritious balance.
I’m so excited about the variants. I also included some crispy baked tofu here. Just yum. Thank you for these.
This was so delicious! I followed the recipe except for the radish (used baby sweet bell peppers to add some red and orange with all of the lovely green). It rivals my favorite restaurant’s soba noodle salad (and maybe even better, so fresh and bright). I love sesame oil and soba, so this is right up my alley.
Hi Karen, aww I’m so glad you loved the noodles!
It’s great that you shared your secrets!
I wasn’t a big fan of the mint or the sauce.
It was super yummy and filling. It was a little too minty for me, next time I’ll try it with different herbs. This will become a staple lunch, for sure!
Hi Lisa, I’m glad you enjoyed the noodles!
This was so fresh and delicious!!! What’s more is that it was incredibly simple and made for a quick weeknight meal. Healthy and satisfying at the same time. This is going into the rotation. Thank you Love and Lemons ??
Hi Ashley, so glad you loved it!
This was good and a nice change. I wish I had mint on hand when I made it.
I really appreciated how the dressing was delicate in flavor, not too strong in soy. Well done, definitely a keeper. Thank you
I’m so glad you loved it!
This came out very bitter-tasting for me. I tasted my noodles after cooking and they were fine, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy how they combined with the dressing. I think I should have omitted the lemon, which was overpowering, and it could have used a little more salt.
I have made this a couple of times. A very enjoyable side dish.
Hi, thank you so much for this recipe! It sounds delicious!
I was just curious, as I’m trying to break into meal prepping, would this be stored all put together (minus the avocado)? And how long would you recommend before consuming? I was thinking to make a couple of servings ahead of time for quick grab-and-go lunches for work. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks so much in advance!
Hi Jamie, yes, I would store everything into individual containers without the avocado. It’ll be fresh for about 3 to 4 days in advance. I hope you enjoy!
Hi what is the nutrition breakdown please?
I’m sorry, we don’t post nutrition facts, but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.