This easy and flavorful Asian-inspired soba noodle salad is perfect with any veggies you have on hand, and can be served cold, warm, or at room temperature.
I love a good pasta salad, and that doesn’t have to mean the Italian dressed salad that usually first comes to mind. Noodle salads are extremely versatile and are a great way to use up any veggies you have left in your fridge! My Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Ginger Soy Vinaigrette can be served either hot or cold, and is a great option for make ahead lunches, or for entertaining!
Ingredients:
- For the salad: soba noodles, green beans, grated carrot, scallions (green onions), and black roasted sesame seeds.
- For the vinaigrette: lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, grated ginger, sesame oil, and chili paste (optional for a kick of heat).
How to Make Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
Start your soba noodle salad by cooking your soba noodles in salted water. Add the cut green beans for the last couple of minutes.
Then strain the noodles and green beans, making sure you rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and keep the green beans from overcooking. Set aside.
Then in a medium to large measuring cup, add the soy sauce and lime juice.
Next add the sesame oil.
Then use a microplane to grate fresh ginger into the vinaigrette.
Then add the sugar.
Finish with the chili paste. If you don’t like spicy food, you can skip this step.
Whisk the vinaigrette together until the sugar has fully dissolved.
Then in a large bowl, put in your noodles, green beans, grated carrots, and chopped scallions.
Pour the sesame ginger soy vinaigrette over the top of the noodle salad.
Toss well until evenly coated, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Finish your soba noodle salad with the black roasted sesame seeds before serving either hot or cold, whatever you prefer!
Change It Up
- Make it gluten-free. Soba noodles are already gluten free, so just make sure your soy sauce is gluten free (like tamari brand), and this dish is celiac friendly!
- Switch up the veggies. Instead of green beans, use broccoli or asparagus! Or add them all together.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are soba noodles fattening?
No. Soba noodles are lower in carbs than typical pasta, and very low in fat while being a good source of fiber.
Is soba better hot or cold?
Soba is just as good served hot as it is cold. It’s all about your personal preference, or even the weather or temperature outside!
How do you store leftover soba noodles?
Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
More Asian Inspired Recipes
- Sesame Chicken and Napa Cabbage Stir Fry
- Spicy Chicken Ramen
- Garlicky Bok Choy
- Teriyaki Baked Chicken Thighs
- Vietnamese Shrimp Salad
Did you try this recipe and love it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your meal.
I’ve enjoyed my Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Ginger Soy Vinaigrette both hot and cold, and either way, it’s a great way to get my family to eat a filling, nutritious meal. Let me know how your family likes it in a comment!
Your fork is waiting.
Soba Noodle Salad with Sesame Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Noodles
- 8 ounces Japanese soba noodles
- 2 cups green beans (trimmed and cut in 2 in. pieces)
- 1 medium carrot (grated)
- ½ cup scallions (minced)
- 2 tablespoons black roasted sesame seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
Sesame Ginger Soy Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon chili paste (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add soba noodles. Cook according to package instructions adding the green beans 2 minutes before the end of cooking time.
- Drain noodles and green beans in a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process. (This keeps the beans bright green.)
- In the bottom of a medium bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette: lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, sesame oil, and sambal oelek (chili paste).
- Add the soba noodles and green beans to the bowl with the vinaigrette along with the grated carrot, scallions, and black roasted sesame seeds.
- Toss well to coat and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.
I added a tablespoon of orange marmalade instead of sugar – added a nice extra zip.
Oh that sounds delicious! Great idea!
I love this recipe. It has become a new staple in our house. So easy. My 16 year old daughter takes it for lunch at least once a week.
That makes me so happy Michele!
I came across this recipe last night and just tried it today. It is VERY delicious- Thank you for sharing! :)
Oh I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it!! Funny enough I’m eating a soba noodle shrimp soup right now. :)
This was AMAZING!!!! It was so fresh, refreshing, and the flavors are beautiful! I doubled the recipe and added shrimp to make it an entree for my family. Love it. Will be a regular dinner!
Oh I’m so glad you made it!! You’ve inspired me to make it again soon!!
I made this but only had frozen beans and added the capsicum to stretch it further for four of us and topped it with a seared tuna steak and was absolutely delicious thank you for the inspiration I’ll make this again for sure
Hi Heather! Thanks for sharing how it turned out for you! So great to hear this 👍🏼
Very good! Made it tonight. I used Siracha sauce and sweet peas instead and it turned out amazing! Thank you for this recipe! I will definitely make it again.
Nice recipe. Thank you, Liz.
I hope you enjoy Liz!
Love this recipe! I just made something similar, but used spiralized vegetable noodles instead and used tahini. This looks ridiculously delicious and refreshing – love the Asian flare! Thanks for sharing… check my noodle bowl out here: http://www.inspiralized.com/2013/08/19/meatless-monday-spiralized-vegetable-tahini-bowl-with-tofu-edamame-avocado/
Your recipe looks delish!!! I love tahini!
Delicious! I love soba noodles, I can’t wait to make this at home :)
You would love it!! It’s great with a peanut sauce too.