Garlic Sesame Noodles
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! If you love this recipe, try my spicy ramen noodles or a recipe from my roundup of the best asian noodle recipes next!
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! Try my gluten free ramen noodles next!
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.
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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).
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). Tahini is essentially the peanut butter of sesame seeds!
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.
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! Same with my vegetable noodle stir fry!
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!
If you do plan on serving these cold, I suggest slightly overcooking the noodles because rice noodles tend to get a bit firm when they sit in the fridge. Overcooking by 1-2 minutes helps keep them soft!
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!
Need more easy recipes? Try these!
- Vegetable Lo Mein
- Chickpea Stir Fry
- Orange Chickpeas
- Korean Gochujang Noodles
- Chili Garlic Noodles
- Thai Peanut Sauce
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Garlic Sesame Noodles
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 12 ounces brown rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/4-1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons veggie broth
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 teaspoon sriracha
- ½ teaspoon 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!
Notes
Comments
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Made this this evening with some egg rolls. The only thing I did different is I added roasted cauliflower and broccoli. It was absolutely delicious and so flavorful! I will warn some that the flavor is very strong but yum! Will definitely make again. Oh and it was also very easy.
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SO GOOD. Made this on a whim – had to sub creamy peanut butter for the tahini and it was absolutely delicious. Will be adding to the rotation!
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This sauce is so easy and so delicious! Everyone in my family devoured it! Thank you for a new recipe in our rotation. 🙂
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Love to hear that!
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This is so good and so easy! I made it the first time with regular tamari because I didn’t have low-sodium on hand. Like you said, it was too salty. So, I’m going to buy some low-sodium tamari. But I see that there are several choices…what do you use? 25% less, 28% less, 50% less? I’m only buying it for this recipe, so I want to make sure I get the low-sodium version that will make the best recipe. Thank you!
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I usually use the 28% less but it really just depends on your preference!
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This was so good! Did not use tahini but still amazing! Tahini was too expensive for me. Also I didn’t use measurements, just the balled!
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This was ahhhhhmazing. I used Japanese ramen noodles, fresh ginger, chicken stock ( what I had) 1 tblsp. Creamy peanut butter, my tahini was being stubborn, along with everything else. I topped it off with chili oil. This will make a great lunch for the hunting crew with added chicken. The perfect flavor..it is addictive. Thanks so much!
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Yum, love the addition of chili oil! Thanks, Lee!
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This is a keeper and easier to prepare than it looks! Glad I found this through Pinterest.
I substituted these ingredients in, using what I had on hand: regular spaghetti noodles for brown rice noodles, white wine vinegar for rice vinegar, dark soy sauce for tamari, and minced frozen hot pepper from my garden for sriracha. I would not add more than 1/4 cup of soy sauce. Next time I do it, I’ll try the crushed peanuts as a topping.
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Wow! Followed exactly – but I had to use 1 1/2 cups water to thin the sauce back out. It was then perfect spicy and salty!! Yum!!!
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Love this recipe
Thanks for sharing -
Outstanding recipe as written. Used low sodium soy sauce. Will try tamari next time. Added fresh sautéed shrimp (done separately in another pan, tails removed) and added toasted sesame seeds (toasted in a non stick skillet until golden brown) on top when served. I did add a bit of oyster sauce for added depth of flavors to the sauce. Next time will add roasted green beans and/or maybe roasted Brussels sprouts. Thank you for recipe.
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Sounds delicious, so happy you enjoyed this!
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Just wanted to note that soy sauce is not gluten free. Thank you!
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The recipe says soy sauce or tamari, which is the gluten free version. All of my recipes are gluten free (I have celiac), but not everyone knows what tamari is which is why I have to say soy sauce as well 🙂
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Just for information in regards to soy sauce & gluten. I live in Australia & the brand Kikkoman & Lee Kum Kee both make gluten free soy sauces. Hope this helps.
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We love this recipe! It so good and yummy. I found that chinese noodles hold up the best. I kept the low sodium soy sauce at 1/4 cup. I tried it with 1/3 and was way too salty. I also dialed back the sriracha to 1 1/2 tsp. I like hot but 2 tsp kinda kicks you in the back of the head.
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The flavor was really good, but this was way salty. Start with the 1/4c tamari and maybe add more to taste if you want. I’ll try this again and follow my own advice!
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Definitely make sure you’re using low sodium tamari and start off with a lower amount if you find it too salty!
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Just made this for the first time. Im always nervous with new dishes that Im going to mess up and that it will taste horrible, but it was INCREDIBLE. I don’t do soy sauce so used coconut aminos. Tasted totally great! Used yakisoba noodles and added stir fried broccoli and carrots. I loved that the tahini made it thick and filling. Will make again and again.
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The tahini is key! So happy you enjoyed it.
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Flavor is so good but struggling with the noodle texture – what brand brown noodles did you use?!
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I just used Jovial brown rice spaghetti!
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