Noodles are a girls best friend and these easy garlic sesame noodles are without a doubt my favorite noodle recipe to date. They require just a few ingredients, are gluten free and can be eaten hot or cold!
Given the popularity of my sesame chickpeas, two things are very clear. One, you guys love sesame flavored things. Those chickpeas, sesame tofu and teriyaki tofu, it’s hard to deny the deliciousness that is sesame.
Second, you guys love easy, 15 minute style meals. I mean, who doesn’t? Especially when they involve noodles.
So, I introduce you to (probably) your new favorite meal when you’re in a pinch: garlic sesame noodles.
They’re gluten free, vegan, ready in 15 minutes, can be eaten hot or cold (like my teriyaki noodles), pair well with salmon, tofu, or just on their own!
Key Ingredients
The best thing about these sesame noodles is that they require ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry.
If you’re in a pinch for dinner and need something quick, this is the perfect recipe for you!
Brown rice noodles: You can really use any type of noodle for this recipe. Ramen, soba, udon, regular spaghetti, brown rice spaghetti, whatever you have!
Soy Sauce/Tamari: I highly suggest using low sodium soy sauce/tamari for this recipe. If you use regular, it will still be delicious, but quite salty!
Honey: You can use maple syrup or even brown sugar or coconut sugar in place of the honey.
Tahini: Most sesame noodles are not going to use tahini, but honestly, sesame noodles without the tahini are just not as good in my opinion!
It helps make the noodles creamy and thickens the sauce a bit so you aren’t drowning them in pure soy sauce. You can safely sub the tahini for peanut butter for a sesame peanut noodle version!
Garlic: If you’re a regular around here, you know that garlic is a staple in virtually all of my savory recipe. Plus, they’re garlic sesame noodles after all!
Sesame oil: For this recipe, the sesame oil is where much of the flavor comes from. Be sure to use toasted sesame oil for the most flavor.
Rice vinegar: To help round out the flavors of the sauce. I’m not a huge fan of vinegar, so there is no strong vinegar flavor to these noodles.
It just acts to balance out the salty from the soy sauce, the sweet from the honey, and the spicy from the sriracha.
Sriracha: For a little spice! Any hot sauce will do, and feel free to adjust to your spice preferences. As written, the recipe is not super spicy (and this is coming from someone very sensitive to spice).
How to make sesame noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, prep the sauce. Start by mincing the garlic very finely or use a garlic press to get it super small since we won’t be blending up this sauce. You don’t want super large chunks!
Add the minced garlic to a pan with the neutral oil. This can be avocado, olive, or refined coconut oil. Avoid using virgin coconut oil since it has a stronger coconut flavor.
Saute until the edges of the garlic look golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together all of the remaining sauce ingredients in a bowl until there are no visible clumps of ginger and the tahini is spread throughout.
Pour the sauce into the pan with the garlic and mix well. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
When the pasta is done cooking, combine with the sauce. Taste, and feel free to add any additional flavors you choose.
Garnish with scallions, red pepper flakes, crushed peanuts and enjoy!
Make it a meal!
There are so many ways you can serve this recipe and so many ways to jazz it up. I love it fresh out of the pot with a side of chicken or salmon. Or keep them vegan and add my peanut tofu or teriyaki tofu.
You can toss in some steamed broccoli, serve it alongside my General Tso’s chickpeas, or saute a bunch of veggies and make this a stir fry! You can use different noodles, sprinkle on peanuts, make it spicy, whatever you want!
It’s versatile and since it’s so great hot or cold, it makes for the perfect on the go and work lunch.
Just a quick note: if you do plan on adding protein or vegetables to the mix, I’d suggest doubling the sauce recipe!
Frequently asked questions
How to store
Once prepared, these sesame noodles will keep for 5 days in an air tight container in the fridge. You can eat these noodles cold or warm them up in the microwave or stove!
Are they spicy?
As written, these noodles are not super spicy on their own, you can add more sriracha or red pepper flakes for more spice if desired.
These are also delicious with a bit of chili paste! But if you’re looking for some really spicy noodles, try my chili noodles instead!
What is tahini?
These sesame noodles call for tahini, which is similar to, but not the same as, sesame paste.
Sesame paste has a stronger flavor but it’s not found in all grocery stores, so I opted for a version that everyone will have access to.
Sesame paste is made with toasted sesame seeds, whereas tahini is made with raw sesame seeds (usually).
If you can find sesame paste near you, you can use that instead! You are also welcome to use peanut butter if you want a peanut flavor to these noodles.
Need more easy recipes? Try these!
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Garlic Sesame Noodles
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked brown rice noodles
- 1 tbsp olive or avocado oil
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/4-1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce*
- 2 tbsp veggie broth
- 1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tsp sriracha
- ½ tsp ground ginger
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Mince the garlic very finely or use a garlic press to get it super small since we won’t be blending up this sauce.
- Add the minced garlic to a pan with the neutral oil. This can be avocado, olive, or refined coconut oil.
- Saute until the edges of the garlic look golden brown.
- Meanwhile, whisk together all of the remaining sauce ingredients in a bowl until there are no visible clumps of ginger and the tahini is spread throughout.
- Pour the sauce into the pan with the garlic and mix well.
- Let simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
- When the pasta is done cooking, combine with the sauce.
- Garnish with scallions, red pepper flakes, crushed peanuts and enjoy!
Monika says
This recipe was very easy to make! I’m not mad at this sauce at all – it came out great! I used pad thai brown rice noodles and braggs coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce. I paired with leftover ground beef and broccoli. Will plan to make again, thank you!
Daisy says
Thanks for the recipe! It turned out amazing and my family loved it:)
Keep coming up with new and easy recipes.
LettuceDance says
This was so good! I brought it to a potluck and people asked me for the recipe. I used brown rice flour/buckwheat noodles. It’s a great potluck dish because it is so good cold or at room temperature. Really easy, forgiving recipe too.
Keri says
This was excellent! I seated some shrimp before hand, removed it once it was done, then added the garlic and fresh ginger!!! Yummmmm!!
Liz says
Made these for dinner last night when in a rush! So good!
Jessica says
Had some brown rice noodles lounging in the cupboard, so I looked up a recipe. I’m so happy I did! I had to change a few things due to lack of specific ingredients; sesame oil=hempseed oil, tahini=peanut butter, sriracha=garlic chili sauce and ground ginger=fresh ginger(sautéed with garlic).
OOOOOOO!!!!! It’s my new favorite. I’m overly excited about this! Thank you for including substitution ideas! Love this!
Claire Cary says
Amazing! So happy those subs turned out well!
8Bit Baker says
This was surprisingly tasty! I wasn’t sure how it would come out but we ended up really enjoying it. Like others, we made it with ramen noodles. I prepared it by cooking two chicken breasts in a shallow pan with the sesame oil, then pouring in all the sauce and simmering until it was mostly thickened, then stirring in the noodles. It came out great. 🙂
Tiffany says
I made this with ramen noodles and some pan fried tofu. My husband loved it too!
Claire Cary says
Delicious! So glad you both enjoyed!
Mica says
So good! I used fresh ginger instead of ground to make it spicy. Next time I’ll add some cucumber as a garnish for a light refreshing touch.
Claire Cary says
Yum! Love the idea of adding cucumber.
Brooke says
Very delicious. I used regular soy sauce and could handle it. Didn’t have any peanuts and I’ll make sure to have them on hand next time. This is what I want when I order noodles out.
alex says
I made these yesterday as I was craving some cold pasta. I made the pasta and poured the hot sauce over the hot noodles and threw them all in the fridge for a few hours. When I went to eat them, the noodles were all stuck to each other! I’m planning to make this recipe for a retreat I’m leading in a few weeks. Wondering how to best get the noodles to not clump up and get sticky? I used Banza angel hair noodles. I’m really looking forward to heating them up, adding broccoli & veggie “meatballs” for dinner tonight! Thanks for a superb recipe
Claire Cary says
So happy you enjoyed them! Unfortunately, Banza noodles are just inherently very sticky. You can try tossing the noodles with some oil before adding the sauce on and see if that helps!
Melissa says
I just finished eating a bowl of these sesame noodles and WOW, this recipe was amazing. I was looking for a way to get rid of my left-over, hardly used tahini in the fridge. After this recipe though, I think that I’ll be sure to keep a jar of tahini on hand so I can make this recipe whenever I’m craving noodles.
I did make a couple of ingredient swaps. First, instead of brown rice noodles, I used soba noodles. I also switched out brown sugar for the maple syrup. Last, I did not add siracha – I used some Sichuan chili oil that I made using a recipe from the Omnivore Cookbook site – I really liked the authentic Chinese spice that it added to the tahini-soy base.
This definitely will be a regular dish for me. I’m looking forward to trying this with shrimp and more veggies in the future to make it a filling lunch or dinner option. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Melissa! So happy you enjoyed them and all the swaps worked out!
Angela says
So so yummy. I made a simple salad with cabbage, radishes, carrots, bell pepper and edamame beans and added the noodles. Squeezed some lime over it and garnished with coriander and cashew nuts. Finally added a small amount of bbq chicken breast. OMG this was so nice. Tasted exactly like my favourite chicken noodle salad from Eat. Recipe is a keeper.
Claire Cary says
Yum, love the addition of BBQ chicken, sounds perfect!
Meghan says
Omg so yummy and easy to make! I only did one teaspoon of Sriracha and that was a perfect amount of heat for my husband and I!!
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So happy you both enjoyed it!
Kayla says
This was delicious! I added broccoli and shelled edamame and the sauce coated them well. It kept well in the fridge and reheated perfectly at work for lunch.
Claire Cary says
Perfect! So happy you enjoyed it!
Samantha says
I’ve been loving this recipe but some of the ingredients seem to have disappeared! Can you please remind me how much peanut butter to use? And how much of the spicy chili sauce? Thank you!!
Claire Cary says
Hey Samantha! I think you’re confusing these with my peanut butter noodles? There is no peanut butter or chili sauce in this recipe.
Samantha says
Oops!!! Yes! Thank you so much for pointing it out. I love these noodles too!
Amanda says
These look so delicious, and easy to make! Totally going to make this tonight for dinner. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
Janel says
These are great! All ages love them. From my ten year old daughter to my fifty year old husband. It’s one of my favourite dinners. Nice and easy great way to eat vegetables. Love this!
Abbie says
Is this fresh ground ginger or ginger powder?
Claire Cary says
Just ground ginger powder!
Sharice says
Loved this recipe! Making it again tonight but I’m adding broccoli and chicken. The first time I made it I only had 8 oz of quinoa pasta but it worked anyway So easy! Who knew you could use gluten free spaghetti noodles like this! Any told on adding things like chicken or broccoli? Does it require more sauce?
Claire Cary says
So happy you enjoyed it!! If you’re going to be adding things to the dish, I would recommend more sauce! You probably won’t need too much more, but if you just double the sauce recipe and use what you need, you can store the rest in the fridge, which should keep for about 5 days and can be used in lots of other dishes!
Ingrid says
I had these for lunch today and they were so good! I subbed the tahini for PB and still so good! This is my third recipe from your blog and I’ve loved them all! Thank you ☺️
Claire Cary says
YUM! I’ll have to try it with the peanut butter, that sounds so good!
Ines Lombardi says
This is so amazing and delish!!!! I shared with all my friends! Really easy and fast to make it! I didn’t have the rice vinegar or scallions, I used cilantro for a
Little color and I added black sesame seeds! I will make it again ! Thank you
Claire Cary says
Yum! So glad it still worked without the vinegar! Thank you for the feedback!
Jamie says
Claire is 3 for 3!!! This recipe is SO yummy. I used pad Thai noodles and added broccoli and a veggie slaw mix. SO yum. This will be a staple!
Claire Cary says
Thank you Jamie!! Sounds so good with the veggies, thank you for the feedback 🙂
Kara Lee says
My husband and I tried this tonight and it was so yummy! Very easy and quick to make with such great flavor. We served it with sliced grilled steak and I put a squeeze of lemon on top because I love lemon 🙂 This is a wonderful meal all on its own without anything as well! If you haven’t tried this one yet it is a MUST cook and will most definitely be in our meal plan from now on!
Claire Cary says
Thank you so much for the feedback! That sounds delicious with the lemon on top, so glad you both enjoyed!