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
This post contains affiliate links.
So simple, so yum. Subbed a few ingredients, turned out perfect ❤️
This was wonderful! So easy and quick to prepare – and a hit with everyone!
I made this for the January Cooking Club and wow what an easy recipe that felt light! I love Japanese food but have never made it before as it seemed too daunting but really loved it. I added your baked tofu recipe with sambal instead of sriracha!
Made this recipe with my sisters over a video call So much fun. I think this would be a cold lunch the next day.
I made these with my sisters over video call. They tasted great and were a fun thing to try together!
Really love how easy and delicious this recipe is. Unfortunately, my store didn’t have soba noodles, but subbed in a pad thai noodle instead.
Will definitely put this on the list for weeknight meals! So good!
My husband and I made a giant batch of these sesame soba noodles to share with friends! It was so easy and a lot of fun- we sat this big bowl in the middle of the table so everyone could help themselves. On the side, we HF sesame oil, soy sauce, and chili garlic so everyone could flavor to their desired taste. It was a huge hit!
Made this today for lunch. It was yummy! I love the sesame dressing! Thank you!
Soba noodles come from Japanes, whole grain noodles with an upscale , warming flavor. Buckwheat protein is superior to other cereal grain because it has all essential amino acids, & is that the best.
I love how this recipe came into apple’s WWDC 2020 today. Gorgeous Webpage, amazing recipe!
I used udon noodles because I coudln’t find soba noodles. Also I did stir-fried it
This is delicious! The perfect meal on a hot day.
I’m so glad you loved it!
great dish, have eaten but never cooked soba noodles,, interesting to know about the non wheat in buckwheat and version that actually has a little wheat, nice choice of ingredients too, thank you!
What happened to that thingie with the red center? What’s that?
it’s a watermelon radish
My new favorite recipe! Makes a great packed lunch
Tried this for lunch today and it was delicious! I will definitely make it again, thank you for sharing!
Yum! I love cold soba, and with temps poised to start climbing any minute now, I’m about to be looking for more non-hot meal options. Pinning to try!
I love this kind of dish for a quick weeknight meal (and I like the leftovers even more for lunch the next day!)
This seems very easy to make, but looks delicious! A perfect weekday meal.
i have been experimenting with a lot more asian-inspired recipes. this sounds amazing. can’t wait to try it!