Easy Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce

If you’re a fan of sesame noodles found on Pan-Asian restaurant menus, you’ll love these naturally plant-based, easy cold noodles with sesame sauce. Peanut-sesame noodles are great, too, but this recipes uses only tahini (sesame paste), highlighting its distinctive flavor.

With just a few ingredients, you’ll love how simple this recipe is to make. While your noodles are cooking, whisk together as simple sauce, matchstick-cut a vegetable or two, and you’ll be enjoying this dish in no time.

Use your favorite noodles: I enjoy making this with soba or udon noodles, but it’s also good with thin spaghetti or your favorite short pasta shape. It’s lovely with twists or medium shells.

Tahini tip: If you you’ve just opened a new jar of tahini, it should be easy to whisk together for the sauce. But if you’ve gotten to the bottom of the jar it may have hardened. so you’ll need to make the sauce in a food processor or mini-prep, and add a little water to give the sauce a flowing consistency.

What to serve with cold noodles with sesame sauce

Serve as a side-by-side dish with your favorite stir-fries, in place of or in addition to rice. Here are a few possibilities for companion dishes:

• Spicy Eggplant and Tofu in Garlic Sauce
• Vegan Mongolian Beef with Eggplant and Peppers
• Spicy Tempeh and Green Bean Stir-Fry

Explore more …

• Tahini Recipes (Savory & Sweet)
• Asian-Inspired Cold Noodle Dishes
• Cold Spicy Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles
• Spicy Peanut Noodles with Zucchini and Tomatoes

Continue to Content

Yield: 4

Easy Cold Noodles with Sesame Sauce

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This cold noodle dish uses a generous amount of tahini (sesame paste), highlighting its distinctive flavor. 

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 ounces noodles (soba, udon, or thin spaghetti; or see variation in Notes)

Sauce

• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons agave syrup
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or other mild vinegar

Garnishes (use any or all)

• Matchstick-cut cucumber
• Matchstick-cut daikon radish or turnip (peeled)
• Crushed peanuts
• Sesame seeds
• Gochugaru or dried hot red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente, then drain. Rinse under cold running water until fairly cool, then drain well in a colander.
2. In the meantime, combine the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl that will comfortably hold them. If your tahini jar is new and fairly full, you should be able to whisk the ingredients together easily. But if it’s from the bottom of the jar and has hardened, you may need to use a food processor or mini-prep, adding a little water to get things flowing.
3. Combine the cooked noodles and sauce in a serving container and stir gently until the noodles are evenly coated with the sauce. 
4. Serve at once. Use any of the suggested garnishes to embellish individual servings. 

Leftover tip: As the noodles stand, they absorb a bit of the sauce (especially after refrigerating), so add small amounts of water as needed and stir together to loosen the sauce.

Notes

Using a short pasta shape works, too. Twist pasta and medium shells are especially nice.

Find lots more delicious vegan pasta and noodle recipes.

Photos: Bhofack22/Bigstock