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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!
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
Sesame Noodles Ingredients:
To make this easy sesame noodles recipe, you will need:
Noodles: I’ve always just made this recipe with basic linguine. But virtually any kind of noodles will work here!
Rice vinegar: Or you could substitute red wine vinegar as well.
Toasted sesame oil: One of my favorite ingredients ever — so much flavor!
Ground ginger and garlic powder: I’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 sauce: I love the flavor of this sauce, but sriracha or other any other hot chili sauces that you like would also work.
Black pepper: Freshly-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 seeds: These 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!
How To Make Sesame Noodles:
To make these sesame noodles, simply:
Cook your pasta. Whatever kind of pasta you choose, just cook it al dente according to package instructions.
Whisk together the sauce. Meanwhile, as the pasta is cooking, whisk all of your sauce ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.
Toss everything together. Then once the pasta’s ready to go, drain it completely. Then toss it with the sauce and green onions.
Taste and season. See if it needs any extra salt, pepper, sesame oil and/or chili garlic sauce.
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.
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 chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, 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.
What To Serve With Sesame Noodles:
These sesame noodles would go well with a number of other dishes, including:
Proteins: Any of your favorite proteins, such as Chicken, Beef, Pork, Shrimp, or Tofu, would be delicious served alongside (or mixed into) these noodles.
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
1 pound (16 ounces) uncooked pasta (I used linguine)
Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions in a large stockpot of generously-salted water.
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.
Once the pasta is ready, drain it. Then immediately toss the pasta with the sauce and green onions until combined.
Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with your desired toppings. Or transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
so yummy! I used Rice Ramen Noodles (from Costco) and added bell peppers. Instead of soy sauce I used coconut aminos. I mixed in some chicken sausage, because it was my only defrosted protein. So yummy, so easy, and will be great leftovers for work tomorrow! I appreciate quick, healthy, and delicious meals.
These noodles are amazing! I’m feeding a very picky husband and a 2 year old and these noodles were devoured by both! I used a sweet chili sauce instead of a spicy one and it worked perfectly as a replacement if you’re feeding anyone who can’t handle the heat (like a toddler ?). I really appreciated how quickly and easily this all came together, perfect for a weeknight dinner. And I had all the ingredients in my pantry!
I just finished making this recipe, my first sesame noodles made by me. I and my family absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m so happy I used this recipe.
Yum! Liquid aminos were just the thing! I’ve tried other sesame noodles recipes that included soy sauce and they just didn’t hit the right notes. These were perfect and by using a protein pasta, made a great main dish. Thanks!
I really liked the simplicity of this recipe. Personally, I believe that a final drizzle of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil is needed before serving. The pasta will soak up the oil overnight.
Wonderful recipe, excellent flavors and very very simple. Exactly the sort of thing I like to make for lunch or a quick dinner. I used soba noodles, minced garlic, and ginger paste. I did switch the amounts on the sesame oil and the vinegar to suit my own tastes, and should have gone down to 1/8 cup soy sauce since I used regular not low sodium, but that’s on me. Definitely going into my recipe box
This isnt what I thought it would be but I cant stop nibbling. Really good really fast.
I added some peanut butter per one of the suggestions, and topped it with mung sprouts, green onions, black sesame seeds and matchstick cucumber. Next time I’ll double the sauce because there wasn’t enough to properly coat all my veg.
Yum! I suggest adding a teaspoon of arrowroot powder to thicken the sauce and help stick to the noodles.
Fantastic! I’ve tried this with both linguine and sweet potato noodles. It’s fabulous with both.
When you don’t have meat in the fridge this recipe was a life saver. My son and daughter enjoyed this so much! Thank you!
Wow, thank you so easy so quick so yummy
Great Recipe! thanks for posting. I served for my “Family” ……yum!
so yummy! I used Rice Ramen Noodles (from Costco) and added bell peppers. Instead of soy sauce I used coconut aminos. I mixed in some chicken sausage, because it was my only defrosted protein. So yummy, so easy, and will be great leftovers for work tomorrow! I appreciate quick, healthy, and delicious meals.
These noodles are amazing! I’m feeding a very picky husband and a 2 year old and these noodles were devoured by both! I used a sweet chili sauce instead of a spicy one and it worked perfectly as a replacement if you’re feeding anyone who can’t handle the heat (like a toddler ?). I really appreciated how quickly and easily this all came together, perfect for a weeknight dinner. And I had all the ingredients in my pantry!
I just finished making this recipe, my first sesame noodles made by me. I and my family absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m so happy I used this recipe.
Added extra garlic by cooking a clove of garlic in pasta water , I also added 2 tablespoons peanut butter
Fabulous!
Yum! Liquid aminos were just the thing! I’ve tried other sesame noodles recipes that included soy sauce and they just didn’t hit the right notes. These were perfect and by using a protein pasta, made a great main dish. Thanks!
This is honestly a good one.
It was so delicious my family loved it.
I made this and used wide rice noodles, 1 whole teaspoon chili paste and a little extra soy sauce . Very easy and tasty .
I really liked the simplicity of this recipe. Personally, I believe that a final drizzle of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil is needed before serving. The pasta will soak up the oil overnight.
These were so simple and really tasty!
Very quick and very tasty! Wish I had had the chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds….that would have helped, I think!
Wonderful recipe, excellent flavors and very very simple. Exactly the sort of thing I like to make for lunch or a quick dinner. I used soba noodles, minced garlic, and ginger paste. I did switch the amounts on the sesame oil and the vinegar to suit my own tastes, and should have gone down to 1/8 cup soy sauce since I used regular not low sodium, but that’s on me. Definitely going into my recipe box
This isnt what I thought it would be but I cant stop nibbling. Really good really fast.
I added some peanut butter per one of the suggestions, and topped it with mung sprouts, green onions, black sesame seeds and matchstick cucumber. Next time I’ll double the sauce because there wasn’t enough to properly coat all my veg.
I cooked the noodles in chicken broth for richer flavor
Excellent Perfect balance if you like things a little spicy! I used fresh ginger and garlic, a full tbsp of chili garlic sauce and spicy sesame oil!