Sesame Noodle Salad

5 from 2 votes

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Shake up your salad game with this quick and easy Sesame Noodle Salad recipe. This Asian-inspired dish is packed full of veggies, topped with a made from scratch sesame ginger dressing, making it delicious AND nutritious! It’s one of my most popular recipes from way back in 2010 with all 5-star reviews. Try it for yourself!

close up of sesame noodle salad in a bowl

Why You’ll Love This Sesame Noodle Salad

This Sesame Noodle Salad has tender noodles tossed in a mouthwatering sesame dressing, mingling with crisp veggies and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for that extra oomph. Trust me, once you try this dish, you’ll never look at salads the same way again! There is a lot of chopping, but it’s totally worth the labor of love. Whether you’re craving a light lunch, a satisfying side dish, or a flavorful meal prep option, this salad has got you covered. Get ready to slurp those noodles and savor every delicious bite!

sesame noodle salad ingredients

Ingredients Needed for Sesame Noodle Salad

As mentioned before, there is a lot of chopping involved with this recipe but it is going to be so worth it! You’ll have a healthy, tasty and filling dish for a main or side dish and I actually find it therapeutic! Whether you want to shop at Asian markets in your area, or your local grocery store, you should have no problem finding every ingredient listed. Here’s what you’ll need:

salad ingredients:

  • Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles- these will be our noodles for the salad.
  • Red Bell Pepper – you can use another color of pepper if you’d like, just know that they have slightly different tastes.
  • Savoy Cabbage – this has a milder flavor compared to a regular napa cabbage. You can use either here.
  • Green Onions – great subtle onion taste.
  • Carrots – a great source of beta carotene and color in this dish.
  • Cashews – this is for a crunchy, nutty flavor for a topping.
  • Cilantro – for garnish and for taste.
  • Ramen Noodles – another element of crunch, just use the plain kind here.

dressing ingredients:

  • Garlic – oh delicious garlic flavor…
  • Ginger – a super important flavor for any Asian dish. I used fresh ginger!
  • Soy Sauce – to add umami and saltiness.
  • Brown Sugar – to balance out acidity and salt.
  • Sesame Oil – this is where that sesame flavor comes from.
  • White Wine Vinegar – you can also use rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or plain white vinegar.
  • Pantry Staples: canola oil (or other light colored oil), salt + black pepper

Sesame Noodle Salad Variations

No Nuts? If you don’t have cashews, then use almonds or peanuts. The nuts are really quite an optional thing too, so if you don’t have them on hand, it’s not the end of the world.

Vegetables: Feel free to switch out the fresh veggies for ones your family will like/what you have in the fridge. Bell peppers, snow peas, green beans or broccoli slaw would be good options- if you like them. The dressing is pretty strong so it makes vegetables more palatable for picky eaters.

Noodles: Feel free to use a different type of noodles if you like- angel hair pasta, brown rice noodles or various Japanese noodles like lo mein noodles or buckwheat soba noodles.

plated noodle salad on a tablescape

How to Make Sesame Noodle Salad

One of the best things about this salad is it tastes great whether you enjoy it room temperature right after you make it or the next day as a cold noodle salad. The depth of flavor makes this salad a real crowd pleaser! For full recipe details, including ingredient measurements, see the printable recipe card down below.

1. Make the Sesame Dressing

In a small bowl, whisk garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, vinegar, canola oil, salt and black pepper together. Set aside. 

2. Cook Spaghetti to Al Dente

In a large pot of water, cook spaghetti until al dente- you want it to be chewy, not soft and mushy. Drain pasta and toss with half of the prepared dressing while it is still warm. Set aside. 

3. Combine Vegetables, Spaghetti and Dressing

In a large bowl, toss all chopped vegetables (red pepper, cabbage, green onions, and carrots) together. Add in cooked noodles and mix. Pour in remaining dressing and toss to coat. At this point, it all should be luke warmish. It’s really good like this, or you can refrigerate it until it’s cold. 

4. Serve

Once you’re ready to eat, top the salad with crushed ramen noodles, cashews and cilantro.

Storage + Make Ahead Directions for Sesame Noodle Salad

If you know your family won’t eat the whole dish in one sitting, don’t top the entire thing with the ramen and cashews. They will get soggy and mushy in the salad overnight and eating it the next day isn’t all that delectable…unless you like soggy and mushy things, in which case you can ignore this whole thing.

You can store this dish, in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The longer it sits the better it tastes, just don’t wait too long!

What to Serve With Sesame Noodle Salad

More Asian Inspired Recipes to Try!

This Asian pasta salad is a great recipe to complete any meal. The printable recipe card is below! Have a great day, friends! 🙂

If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.

plated noodle salad on a tablescape
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5 from 2 votes

Sesame Noodle Salad

A quick and easy Sesame Noodle Salad Recipe. Enjoy lukewarm or cold, either way, this Asian side dish is packed full of delicious flavor.
servings 6 servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Total Time 36 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb whole wheat spaghetti
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup savoy cabbage shredded, or napa
  • 3 green onions diced
  • 1/3 cup cilantro chopped
  • 1 large carrot julienned
  • 1/4 cup cashews toasted, chopped, for topping
  • 1/2 package ramen noodles crushed, for topping

for the dressing:

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
    whisk stirring salad dressing
  • Cook spaghetti until al dente- you want it to be chewy, not soft and mushy. Drain pasta and toss with half of the prepared dressing while it is still warm. Set aside.
    cooked spaghetti noodles in a strainer
  • In a large bowl toss all vegetables together. Add in cooked spaghetti and mix. Pour in remaining dressing and toss to coat. At this point, it all should be luke warmish. It's really good like this, or you can refrigerate it until its cold.
    chopped veggies in a bowl
  • Once you're ready to eat, top the salad with crushed ramen and cashews.
    sesame noodle salad in a bowl

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 671mg | Potassium: 381mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2863IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 4mg
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: noodle salad, sesame noodle salad
5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




37 Responses
  1. Soozie

    5 stars
    I’ve made this a couple of times and both times were really good I punched it up a notch by adding a couple of tablespoons of sweet chili sauce to the noodles for kick of sweet spice. Another time I’ve added a couple of tablespoons minced dried pineapple-SO GOOD!

  2. Lindsay

    5 stars
    This was DELICIOUS! We had it for lunch, I was planning on having leftovers tomorrow, but my husband said “let’s have the rest for dinner and add chicken” – clearly he thought it was a hit, too!

  3. Laura RM

    Making this tonight with some chicken on the side. Can’t wait. Couldn’t find the cabbage the recipe called for so I just grabbed regular cabbage.

  4. Lori

    5 stars
    Such a delicious salad! To speed up prep, I use a small bag of prepackaged coleslaw mix in place of the cabbage and sub in a handful of matchstick carrots for less chopping.. Yummy!

  5. Morgan DiCarlo

    5 stars
    My roommate and I made this and packed it for lunch all week! It’s so much tastier than a boring sandwich and worked for multiple days of meal prep. My trick was adding sautéed mushrooms for an extra veggie. Loved it!

  6. Ricci Alcorn

    This looks amazing! My family is always trying to find new recipes to bring to our “take out from home” nights. I’m definitely going to try this.

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    […] initially wasn’t planning on being lazy….I was totally going to make the dressing from this recipe but didn’t have ginger, garlic or sesame oil. I’m REALLY good at planning ahead. Can […]

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  9. Molly

    5 stars
    This is the yummiest salad ever! I have the pickiest eaters at my home and I make this almost every week. That’s how much we love it!!♥️

  10. Katie Holdeman

    5 stars
    Oh WOW! This salad is G.O.O.D!!! I first had it back in March of this year when my future mother-in-law made it for dinner. I liked it so much I asked her where she found it and she told me about this website. I then made this from my family and for my sister’s family and since I’ve been married for the last 4 months, I’ve made it for my husband and for company. Every time I make it people just rave about how good it is and it is one of my husband’s favorite meals! Thank you so much for sharing this one! It is a winner in our home for sure!

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    […] initially wasn’t planning on being lazy….I was totally going to make the dressing from this recipe but didn’t have ginger, garlic or sesame oil. I’m REALLY good at planning ahead. Can […]

  12. Shayna

    5 stars
    Lauren brought me over a bunch of this to try, and I did…with the intent of sharing with Tony when he got home from work, but ALAS I happily ate the whole thing. SO YUMMY!!! Asian tasting noodles and sauce but with fresh light veggies…MAN. Tony was jealous so she wonderfully made him his own the next day. Thanks Lo! A great recipe!

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