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Sesame Noodles

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This 15-Minute Sesame Noodles recipe is quick and easy to make and can be served warm or cold. Feel free to add in extra veggies or proteins (such as chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, tofu, etc.) if you’d like!

Sesame Noodles

Got 15 minutes?

Let’s make some sesame noodles!

This was actually one of the very first recipes that I shared on the blog way back in 2009, and it has been one of my back-pocket, most-used, and most-loved recipes ever since.

As you can see, it’s ridiculously quick and easy to make, basically just taking however long your stove requires to heat and cook a batch of pasta. It’s tossed with a yummy simple sesame sauce made entirely with pantry ingredients. (So no chopping required!)  It works goes well as a side dish with just about anything, or can also be gussied up with extra veggies or proteins to make it a main. It is just as delicious served hot outta the pan, or nice and cold as a pasta salad. And most importantly — these sesame noodles are totally tasty.

We make them constantly to serve with stir-frys, soups, salads or baked/grilled proteins. And they are always a hit with any crowd. So if you love noodles as much as we do, I thought I would bump this one back to the top of the blog today so that you can bookmark and keep in your back pocket as well!

Sesame Noodles Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Linguine for Sesame Noodles

Sesame Noodles Ingredients:

To make this easy sesame noodles recipe, you will need:

  • NoodlesI’ve always just made this recipe with basic linguine. But virtually any kind of noodles will work here!
  • Soy sauceI use low-sodium soy sauce.
  • Rice vinegarOr you could substitute red wine vinegar as well.
  • Toasted sesame oilOne of my favorite ingredients ever — so much flavor!
  • Ground ginger and garlic powderI’m taking a shortcut here, so that you don’t have to get out your cutting board. But you’re welcome to sub in fresh ginger and garlic if you’d like.
  • Chili garlic sauceI love the flavor of this sauce, but sriracha or other any other hot chili sauces that you like would also work.
  • Black pepperFreshly-cracked is a must here! I also love adding extra to the noodles just before serving.
  • Green onions: We will toss these into the noodles themselves, but feel free to sprinkle on a few extras as a garnish.
  • Toasted sesame seedsThese are another optional garnish, but I love the extra flavor and crunch that they add. Don’t forget to lightly toast the sesame seeds to bring out their flavor!

Sauce for Sesame Noodles

How To Make Sesame Noodles:

To make these sesame noodles, simply:

  1. Cook your pasta. Whatever kind of pasta you choose, just cook it al dente according to package instructions.
  2. Whisk together the sauce. Meanwhile, as the pasta is cooking, whisk all of your sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
  3. Toss everything together. Then once the pasta’s ready to go, drain it completely. Then toss it with the sauce and green onions.
  4. Taste and season. See if it needs any extra salt, pepper, sesame oil and/or chili garlic sauce.
  5. Serve warm or cold. Then serve the noodles up right away if you’d like, garnished with your favorite toppings. Or — transfer them to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

How To Make Sesame Noodles

Possible Variations:

Guys, the sky’s the limit with variations on this one! Feel free to:

  • Add in protein. Feel free to add in some chickenbeefporkshrimp, or tofu to your noodles, either stir-fried in a separate sauté pan or baked separately in the oven.
  • Add in veggies. Just about any stir-fry veggies would work well with these noodles, such as asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, green beans, mushrooms, onions, peas, squash or zucchini.
  • Add in greens. Sautéed bok choy, cabbage, kale, spinach or other greens would also be delicious mixed in.
  • Make it peanut-y. Feel free to add in 2-3 tablespoons of natural peanut butter to the sauce to make it more of a peanut sauce.
  • Make it sweeter. Sounds odd, but I also love this recipe with a tablespoon of maple syrup added. It makes for a nice sweet and salty balance.
  • Make it spicy. Feel free to double or triple the amount of garlic chili sauce in the recipe if you would like an extra kick.
  • Use different noodles. Any kind of noodles — from ramen to rice noodles, udon, soba, yakisoba, lo mein noodles or sweet potato noodles — would work well in this recipe.
  • Use zoodles. Want to make this gluten-free and healthier? Try subbing in zucchini noodles for half (or all!) of the noodles.

Sesame Noodles Recipe

What To Serve With Sesame Noodles:

These sesame noodles would go well with a number of other dishes, including:

Cold Sesame Noodles Recipe

Sesame Noodles

Enjoy, everyone!

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Easy Sesame Noodles

Sesame Noodles

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 31 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 -6 servings 1x

Description

This easy sesame noodles recipe can be made in just 15 minutes, and can be served either warm or cold. It’s also great with some extra veggies or proteins mixed in!


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions in a large stockpot of generously-salted water.
  2. Meanwhile, as the pasta is cooking, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ground ginger, chili garlic sauce, garlic powder and black pepper together in a bowl until combined.
  3. Once the pasta is ready, drain it. Then immediately toss the pasta with the sauce and green onions until combined.
  4. Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with your desired toppings.  Or transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.


Notes

Recipe edited in January 2019.

Easy Sesame Noodles

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160 comments on “Sesame Noodles”

  1. Wait! This was super easy and freaking amazing…… Thank you!

  2. Just what we needed to avoid getting take out tonight! Thanks! 

  3. These look amaze!! Says who? Sesame! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Great pics, thanks for sharing. I added this to my “recipes to eat stat!” list on Pinterest. ; ) 

  4. Not very impressed with the sauce. very bland. I used Asian Toasted Sesame I had in the refrigerator.

    • We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this Gina, we hope you can find another recipe you like better!

  5. My kids and I just cooked this for the first time and served these noodles with your Char Sui pork fillet dish ; I can honestly say that together, it was one of the tastiest meals I’ve had for a very long time! The kids LOVED them too and both dishes were so easy that my sons (11 year old twins) could easily manage them by themselves. I also realised that apart from store cupboard bits, the pork and noodles together cos us less than £4.50!! Am certain it will become a staple in our house! THANK YOU!! 

    • Awww thanks so much Lindsey, we’re happy you and your kiddos enjoyed these! :D

  6. Hi Ali! Do you think this sauce would be cupboard sustainable for a few days? I thought maybe because of the ingredients it might. I’m trying to send my son in the Navy a care package of easy ingredients to put together and he loves Asian noodles:)

    • Hi Belinda! We think that should absolutely be fine, and that’s so nice of you! We hope your son enjoys it! :)

  7. This is a great recipe for that authentic “asian” noodle flavor. To the lady who said it was bland, maybe you did something wrong? If you made this dressing exactly as the recipe states, it’s basically impossible for it to be bland. You’ve got your salty/umame flavor from the soy sauce, tang from the rice vinegar, spicy, nutty sesame, savory garlic, spicy/sweet ginger and the great green onion flavor. Maybe you didn’t let it sit together and meld the flavors long enough? Or maybe you just added all the ingredients separately into the cooked pasta? Either way, I would recommend making this sauce even a day or so ahead and then warming it up a bit before you toss with the noodles. Perfection!

  8. I made this tonight 01/21/2016 exactly all the ingredients and my family of five loved it. I didnt think i would like the whole wheat linguine but it was actually good.  I definitely will make this again.  Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  9. Do you have nutritional information available?

    • Hi Lathonia! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!

  10. Delicious!! This was a perfect, fast dinner tonight!! Threw in sautéed spinach, leftover broccoli and corn at the last minute and it was a perfect addition. Thank you!

  11. wow this looks great! Thanks for sharing—i think ill make this with some rice noodles

  12. I made this recipe for my daughter’s chang shou mian, or birthday longevity noodles and it was a hit. All that was left was an empty bowl. It will definitely become a staple in our house!

  13. I’m getting ready to make this and I’ll give my thoughts in a few.

  14. I love all the recipes but I wish they would use metric as well as cups for the English followers. We don’t use cups or sticks of butter.

  15. You are truly an an amazing human. Thank you for your recipes I just discovered and posts. I’m so new to this world and its anazing.

  16. Can I substitute tamari for soy sauce?

  17. When do I add the ginger?

    • Hi Andy! Oh no, we totally left that out — oops! Thank you for catching that, we just edited the recipe! You add the ginger when you add the garlic, vinegar, etc. We hope you enjoy these!

  18. This recipe was excellent! I made it for a potluck for the 4th of July and everyone gave it rave reviews! The only change I had to make was that I used Somen noodles as opposed to the pasta.

  19. OMG Ali! I just made this and it’s amazing! I already had everything in my kitchen, so I didn’t even have to go shopping. It came together so fast and it’s delicious.:D

  20. My God amazing….only thing was I got no photo cause it disappeared so fast

  21. Delicious! Used rice noodles and added some egg, mushrooms and cabbage. Also splooshed a little bit extra hot chili oil in so it’s a bit spicy.

  22. This is a great recipe from way back. I have dumped some roasted chicken into the pot. When I do, I double the quality of sauce. Also works well with flat rice noodles.

  23. Quick, simple and delicious… Perfect for us… :O)

  24. This is a delicious and super easy side dish! I usually use a whole wheat linguine for noodles. It has definitely become my go to side for any meal!






  25. Just made this. Followed recipe as is, except I cut it in half. Perfect, thank you.. I make meals ahead of my work week, so that I don’t need to cook after a long day. A definite keeper. Delicious.






  26. So good

  27. I added water chestnuts and al dented cabbage and grilled chicken thighs to make it a one meal picnic served cold. This recipe is so versatile and easy. Best of all it’s delicious and a cheap crowd pleaser. It feeds six adults for cheap.






  28. I love taking the sauce portion of this recipe and marinating salmon in it. Marinate for at least two hours, preferably overnight. I put the salmon in a greased baking dish, and then dump the marinade over it. Bake @ 350 for 30 min (or until salmon is done). Pair with rice and steamed broccoli and it’s a super easy dinner.

  29. Made this tonight and it was wonderful! I doubled the sauce ingredients since I made this just for myself and wanted to make sure the dressing wasn’t completely absorbed in my leftover portions. Also, substituted chives just because I didn’t have any green onions – will make with green onions next time. Thx for the recipe!






  30. This is just the noodle dish I was looking for today. I have leftover potsticker veggies from the Superbowl I wanted to use up. Shredded cabbage, mushrooms, shredded carrots, all going in. Can’t wait to throw this together!

  31. Hi, Ali.
    I made this great recipe for lunch today. Love it. Quick and easy. So many variations so I can’t wait to make it again soon.
    I used fresh garlic and ginger. And dried chili flakes. I’ll add veggies and figure out how to make the sauce thicker. This week end I’m going to make your tofu and the stir fry. Thanks for all the tasty recipes. Lisa in Indianapolis. Hope all is well with you both in Spain!!






  32. I tried this again using siracha this time but the only flavor we get is sour – probably the vinegar. I want to like it but it wasn’t our favorite.






  33. I made this a boatload of veggies and cleaned out the fridge! It was delish!






  34. I don’t need to cook after a long day. A definite keeper. Delicious.

  35. Hi Ali!! I’m a college student and I think I’m absolutely addicted to these noodles. This has been the first year that I’ve been living on my own and your page has literally been teaching me to cook, I really look forward to your recipes so much! Can’t wait to try out some new ones :) Thank you!!






  36. Has this recipe changed since it’s original posting? It’s one of my favorites, but it looks different.

  37. A dash of wasabi makes sesame noodles amazing! Not a lot to make it spicy, but just enough for people to say “there’s something special about these”.
    Great recipe though!






  38. Do yourselves a favor folks and ADD THE MAPLE SYRUP! Ali’s easy recipes are fan favorites around here (and I’ve got toddlers, y’all). This one was good, but I felt it was missing a tiny something. Decided to go out on a limb and add the syrup and it is perfection. Kids devour it.






  39. Yum! I make this all the time with fried chopped up salmon and asparagus. Thanks for the recipe!

  40. I make this for my elite team when we travel for tournaments, I de construct it so that the athletes (girls) can build their own bowls… They are beyond loving this and its a recipe that they request for all tournaments… I definitely suggest low sodium, I also … I’ve taken liberates with it and add maple syrup to add a touch of sweetness to it, I use the marinade from the 12 minute broccoli chicken recipe and it pairs really well. The girls love that I grill up fresh pineapple and use it as an option for their noodle bowls. Well done!






  41. One of my family’s stand-by recipe for sure! Easy to toss together, with ingredients that I usually already have. Thank you!






  42. Made this dish and it was amazing! The only thing different I did was to use lo mein noodles (I happened to have them in my pantry) and fresh ginger. I added chicken & zucchini to make it a full meal. Seriously bookmarking this recipe because I will be using it a lot for quick dinners!






  43. So good! I added red peppers and steamed broccoli. Easy and yummy!

  44. For the last 6 months I have made this almost every other week for lunch and toss in some chicken. My job is on the road and I hate trying to find a microwave. This recipe is great cold. So glad I found it.






  45. Made this. Doubled everything for the sauce. I used stir fry rice noodles and spaghetti (broken in halves). And 1 tbs of chili garlic sauce. Everyone loved ❤! Thank you ?






  46. Yum – enjoyed by all in our family.






  47. Love this recipe! Have made it many many times!

  48. Finally! A noodle recipe that doesn’t contain sugar! It’s a keeper!

  49. I have searched for a good, easy sesame noodles recipe and this one IS IT! I made it to accompany seared scallops for a beach picnic. I added the few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter and garnished with chopped kale and toasted sesame seeds. YUM!!