Spicy Chili Garlic Noodles
These spicy chili garlic noodles are ready in about 15 minutes and full of flavor. They’re gluten free and vegan but delicious with some extra stir fried veggies and your choice of protein!
Is this turning into a noodle blog? Because it kind of feels like it lol. But I’m not complaining because I love them, they’re so easy to make, deliciously savory, vegan and gluten free but totally customizable depending on your preferences!
I’ve admitted this before, but I am very sensitive to spice. Almost embarrassingly sensitive. But here I am sharing a recipe for spicy noodles because ya’ll asked for it!
This recipe takes only about 15 minutes to whip up and can be easily customized with extra vegetables, protein, etc. You can serve these hot or cold so they’re the perfect recipe to meal prep.
These noodles are spicy and not for the faint of heart. Though you can definitely make them way less spicy if you prefer or so spicy that you’re sweating after two bites (me).
But no, you won’t die from eating spicy noodles, but you may sweat and need an extra large glass of water! Try my spicy chili chicken noodles , teriyaki tofu or one of my favorite asian noodles next!
Key ingredients
Noodles. I used wide white rice noodles, but really whatever you have is fine! White rice noodles can be quite sticky, so you want to add the sauce pretty quickly after the noodles cook. You can also rinse the noodles after cooking to help wash away some of the excess starch. Alternatively, use a brown rice noodle which is less sticky. I like to get items like this from Thrive Market to save money.
Shallots, garlic & onion. We’ll be sauteeing the shallots, garic and green onion in some oil to add a ton of flavor to the sauce.
Soy sauce. I used tamari to keep it gluten free, but I promise it tastes the same as regular soy sauce. Be sure to use low sodium so it doesn’t get too salty! If you only have full strength soy sauce, just cut the amount in half an then add more as needed to taste.
Chili garlic sauce. This sauce adds a delicious garlic flavor but also a lot of spice. Scale back if you’re sensitive.
Sriracha. This will take the spice up to the next level! Feel free to add as much or as little as you like.
Sugar. A little bit of brown sugar really helps to round out the flavors. It pairs well with the salty soy sauce and spicy sriracha.
How to make spicy noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions.
Add the shallot and garlic to a pot and saute with the oil until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the white part of the scallions and the grated ginger and saute for 2-3 more minutes.
Pour in all remaining sauce ingredients and whisk together. Start on the low end of the recommended amounts of sriracha and chili sauce (1 tbsp or less for each).
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It’s very easy to make it more spicy if you want, but if it ends up too spicy for you, it’s hard to tone it down! Everyone has different tolerance levels, hence the big ranges.
When the noodles are done cooking, combine with the sauce and diced roasted pepper and toss until well coated. taste and adjust flavors as desired.
The first bite might not seem that spicy, but it gets spicier the more you eat, so have a few bites before you decide to add extra sriracha or red chili flakes!
Serve as is or with any other vegetables or protein of choice. I love adding in bok choy, carrot or cabbage with chicken or tofu. Top with red chili flakes for more spice and the remaining chopped scallions. Enjoy and try my gluten free ramen next!
How to make it more or less spicy
I’ve listed various ways to make these noodles more or less spicy depending on your preference. An easy way to decrease the spicy level is to omit the sriracha and use less chili sauce.
So please don’t come at me in the comments saying they’re too spicy or not spicy enough, it’s simple to adjust to your liking and I try to give every one options : )
Even a pinch of red chili flakes will really take things up a notch if you’re looking for extra spicy noodles.
Serving suggestions
I like serving these spicy noodles with some extra pan fried veggies and some salmon or chicken. It’s also delicious with my air fried tofu or even some ground chicken. Anything goes here!
My favorite noodles
I love using wide rice noodles, but even just regular old spaghetti will work!
However, I generally find the texture of white rice noodles to be best for asian inspired dishes and the neutral flavor allows the flavors of the sauce to shine through.
You can even use ramen noodles, but be sure to follow the package instructions so you don’t overcook them.
Try these recipes next!
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Spicy Chili Garlic Noodles
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rice noodles I used wide rice noodles
- 2 shallots sliced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ cup chopped scallions/green onions just the white part, save the green for garnish!
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon oil I used olive, vegetable oil works too!
- 4-5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari depending on how salty/saucy you like it
- 1-3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce depending on brand and spice preference, click for the one I used
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar can sub coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon sriracha more or less to taste
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes optional for extra spice
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions.
- Add the shallots and garlic to a pot and saute with the oil until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the white part of the scallions and the grated ginger and saute for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add in all remaining sauce ingredients and whisk together. Start on the low end of the recommended amounts of sriracha and chili sauce (1 tbsp or less for each).
- It’s very easy to make it more spicy if you want, but if it ends up too spicy for you, it’s hard to tone it down! Everyone has different tolerance levels, hence the big ranges.
- When the noodles are done cooking, combine with the sauce and toss until well coated. Let simmer for a few minutes to allow the noodles to absorb the flavors. I also tossed in two diced roasted red peppers, but you can also add in any sauteed veggies you like!
- Taste and adjust flavors as desired. The first bite might not seem that spicy, but it gets spicier the more you eat, so have a few bites before you decide to add extra sriracha or red chili flakes!
- Serve as is or with any other vegetables or protein of choice. I love adding in bok choy, carrot or cabbage with chicken or tofu.
- Top with red chili flakes for more spice and the remaining chopped scallions. Enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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Great basic recipe! I used a mix of honey and white sugar as I didn’t have brown. I followed the rest of the recipe and served with a fried egg and it was delicious! Took literally 15 mins start to finish.
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LOVED THIS RECIPE! VERY EASY AND VERY GOOD. MY HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER FOUGHT OVER THE LEFT OVERS FOR LUNCH. THANKS FOR THE RECIPE
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amazing, I recommend it for a full-flavored delicacy as dinner. absolutely popping with delicious flavour. if there was 10 stars it would be 10/10
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Thank you, Mimi!
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Trying to watch my carbs so I made this recipe with cabbage instead of the noodles. It was absolutely delicious!!!! I will being using that sauce on everything.
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Love the idea of cabbage!
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I loved this dish!! I was inspired by an episode of Grocery Games where the contestant made spicy garlic noodles topped with papaya “steak”. So in my searching for recipes I found yours! It was delicious and topped with the papaya even better. Thank you!!
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Very nice! Quick and easy. Also added some mushrooms, paprika, soybeans and chicken.
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This sauce has quickly become a family favorite! So much so that I would like to give it away as Christmas gifts for my family’s “Favorite Things” gift exchange.
Have you ever tried canning it? Or any idea how long would it keep in a sealed glass jar in the refrigerator?-
I have not tried canning it, but it should keep in the fridge for about a week in a glass jar!
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Amazing recipe, perfect for a weeknight meal. My boyfriend and I come back to it again and again!
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Amazing, thank you Megan!
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This sauce is a keeper! I used the lower amounts of sriracha and chili garlic sauce and I added in thinly sliced jalapeños with the scallions for a different kind of kick. Excellent and flavorful recipe- who needs takeout noodles???!
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Thank you Helen!
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Really delicious! Thanks for sharing a great recipe. Stuck to the ingredients and quantities as per the recipe and definitely had a kick. Making again tonight and going to add in some veggies and prawns. Yum!
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Wow! These were amazing, it tasted exactly the way I wanted it too. I personally put too much extra chilli sauce, which made it too hot 🥵. So I’ll definitely tone it down next time, but otherwise it was delicious and I cooked some mushrooms and bok choy with the noodles too
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This. Was. Amazing. I added ground turkey and some veg and could’ve finished the whole thing but managed to restrain myself and save some for lunch tomorrow. I will double up on the sauce next time since the turkey soaks it up.
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Delicious! Need to try this with ground turkey, sounds so good!
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Let me start by saying this recipe is delicious! I substituted the chili garlic sauce with a fresh pepper from my garden (extremely hot, I wear gloves when cutting), skipped the chili flakes, and added an extra teaspoon of brown sugar. I love spicy to the point that I’m crying but I was afraid of overpowering the rest of the flavors and figured I could just add sriracha to each serving if I needed more. But the heat level was perfect for me!
My only recommendation is if you plan to serve this for dinner or if you’re meal prepping for the week, you should triple or quadruple the recipe or go heavy on added protein. These measurements gave me enough for one decent sized bowl.
I’ll definitely make it again!
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Love those substitutions! Thanks Meg!
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What a great dish. The heat/spice was perfect. Will make often but will double sauce since my husband wants his portion to contain shrimp. Thank you so much for this recipe.
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Perfect! So happy you both enjoyed it!
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Tried this recipe today! I thought it was pretty good. I agree with the advice to start out low with the spice — I would recommend doing the lowest amount in the range and then adding red chili flakes on top if you don’t think it’s spicy enough (unless you know you’re a spice fiend). I found mine overly salty, but I didn’t read the warning carefully enough in the notes about full strength tamari, so that’s on me!
I also used a random traditional hot sauce instead of Sriracha. I added a small amount chicken broth because I didn’t feel that there was enough liquid to constitute a sauce (?)… might be a way to thin down the spice if you overdo it!
Thank you ❤️
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