Quick and Easy Sesame Noodles Recipe

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

This easy sesame noodles recipe is packed with flavor, quicker than takeout and better for you, too. Vegan. Add tofu, shrimp, chicken or beef if you like.

Why we love this recipe

For quick dinners involving a pound of pasta, I sort of idiotically gravitate toward Italian flavors about 95% percent of the time. No offense to Italian flavors — they’re wonderful, obviously. BUT. How about shaking it up a little once in a while, right? Just as easy, just as delicious, and really great for a change: this easy sesame noodles recipe. It’s quicker than take-out, honestly. And fresher tasting, not to mention better for your bod.

Ingredients for sesame noodles

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe:

• Minced shallot
• Minced garlic
• Minced fresh ginger
• Seasoned rice vinegar (this is the kind with a little bit of sugar and salt added to it)
• Crunchy peanut butter
• Lower-sodium soy sauce
• Toasted sesame oil
• Sriracha
• Spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles
• Sesame seeds
• Scallions

How to make sesame noodles

Here’s how to make this easy recipe in about 15 minutes. You can watch all the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook the spaghetti or egg noodles until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining.
• Meanwhile, place the minced shallot, garlic and ginger into a large mixing bowl (big enough to accommodate a pound of noodles) and stir in the rice vinegar. Let it sit for five minutes. This takes some of the bite out of the raw shallot and garlic, mellowing their flavor a bit.
• Then whisk in the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha. Whisk in some pasta water — probably 1/4 cup total depending upon the thickness of your peanut butter — until the sauce is nice and loose. You’re looking for a consistency that will coat the noodles and cling to them nicely without being gloppy.
• In a small, dry pan, toast the sesame seeds over low heat, stirring a few times, until they’re fragrant and lightly browned.
• As soon as you drain the pasta, add it to the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat well.
• Stir in the scallions and sesame seeds and serve warm or at room temperature.

More recipes you might like

Into fast and fresh takes on takeout? You might also like:

• Pad Thai
• Napa cabbage stir fry with salt and pepper tofu 
• Roxane’s 20 Minute vegan sushi bowls

Continue to Content

Quick and Easy Sesame Noodles

So quick. So easy. So GOOD. Faster and better for you than takeout. Top with cooked tofu, shrimp, chicken or beef if you like. You could also include some broccoli, sliced red bell peppers, and/or snow peas.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti*
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons good soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining.
2. Meanwhile, place the minced shallot, garlic and ginger into a large mixing bowl (big enough to accommodate a pound of noodles) and stir in the rice vinegar. Let sit for five minutes. Then whisk in peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil and sriracha until perfectly smooth. Add some pasta water — probably 1/4 cup total depending upon the thickness of your peanut butter — until the sauce is nice and loose. You can watch the video for visual cues here.
3. In a small pan, toast the sesame seeds over low heat, stirring a few times, until fragrant and lightly browned.
4. As soon as you drain the pasta, add it to the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat well. Stir in scallions and sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Notes

* This recipe calls for spaghetti because I really want you to be able to make it with ingredients you already have in the pantry. (And because it's good with spaghetti!) But you can use thin Chinese egg noodles too, which may absorb a little less of the sauce and leave the dish a little saucier overall.

Nutrition Information

Amount Per Serving:

Calories:: 413 Total Fat:: 12.5g Carbohydrates:: 61.8g Fiber:: 3.6g Protein:: 13.5g

Did you make this recipe?

We'd love to see! Tag us on Instagram at @umamgirl and use the hashtag #umamigirl. We'll reshare our favorites.