This quick and easy soba noodles recipe is healthy, simple and addicting. Loaded with tender vegetables, clean flavors, and succulent texture- keep it vegan or add your favorite protein. Make it in 35 minutes!
Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.
Omar Khayyam
These sesame soba noodles originate from our vegetarian restaurant. Our customers raved about them and complained if we removed them from the menu, so we kept them on the menu for years, changing the veggies depending on the season. Something about the toothsome texture and nutty flavor of soba noodles paired with the delicious sauce was almost addicting.
The secret to these noodles is truly in the sauce! Savory, nutty, earthy, and just slightly sweet, it will make you want to lick your bowl!
The best part? Once all the ingredients are prepped and ready, it takes just minutes to cook. The simple soba noodle sauce highlights the buckwheat flavor of the noodles and perfectly enhances the fresh veggies.
Soba Noodles Ingredients
- Soba noodles- buckwheat noodles
- Vegetables: shiitake mushrooms, carrot, garlic, ginger, napa cabbage, bell pepper, green onions
- Oil: sesame oil
- Vinegar: rice vinegar
- Sweetener: maple syrup
- Soy sauce: low sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, coconut aminos, tamari, or smoked shoyu
- Sesame Seeds: toasted white sesame seeds or black sesame seeds
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Soba Noodles
STEP ONE: Thinly slice all your ingredients. Cut the carrots in thin strips either using a julienne peeler, a mandolin or a spiralizer. Cutting them with a knife is fine too! Keeping them evenly cut will ensure a uniform texture.
STEP TWO: Cook the soba noodles. Cooking soba noodles couldn’t be any easier! Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to the package directions, just slightly on the al dente side. If using 100% buckwheat soba noodles, do not add salt to the cooking water, it can effect the texture and sturdiness of the noodle.
Drain in cool water to remove starches. This helps the texture and prevents the soba noodles from getting gummy and gluey. Toss with a little oil, and set aside.
STEP THREE: Make the soba noodle sauce. In a small bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients: sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce.
STEP FOUR: Stirfry! Heat oil over medium-high heat in a carbon steel wok or skillet. Add napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, carrot strips, and a sprinkle of salt. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes. Add bell pepper and white part of the green onion, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until just tender but still crisp.
STEP FIVE: Add the soba noodles and the sauce. Toss together 1-2 minutes, letting it thoroughly heat through.
STEP SIX: Sprinkle with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Add a sprinkle of the cilantro or black sesame seeds if desired. For extra spicy, add red pepper flakes to taste!
Soba Noodle Variations
- For extra protein, stir fry seasoned shrimp or chicken until cooked through and toss this with the soba noodles.
- Add a handful of leafy greens (kale, baby spinach) to the stir fry right at the end to increase the nutrition.
- Roasted veggies like cauliflower, cubes of roasted sweet potatoes, or butternut squash are a nice hearty addition during the colder months.
What to Serve with Soba Noodles
Serve soba noodles hot or at room temperature as a main dish or as a side dish with your favorite protein. Here are some ideas:
- Top with a fried egg.
- Top it with Miso Salmon or Miso Eggplant
- Add crispy tofu, or Baked Tofu
- Add chicken (leftover rotisserie chicken, stir-fried strips or cubes) stir-fried shrimp or steak strips
- Add this crispy sesame tempeh
How to Store Buckwheat Noodles
Leftover soba noodles will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a saute pan or in the microwave.
Soba NoodleS FAQS
Nutty and earthy in flavor, soba noodles look like spaghetti, but are made of buckwheat flour and may be one of the healthiest noodles to eat!
Buckwheat flour is gluten-free, incredibly nutritious, containing fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and protein.
Authentic soba noodles that are made from 100% buckwheat flour are gluten free. But sometimes, soba noodles can contain 20-40 percent wheat flour- so always check the ingredient label.
Udon noodles are a hearty thick noodle made from wheat flour, not buckwheat buckwheat flour, while soba noodles are thinner and often made wit buckwheat flour giving then a nutty earthy flavor.
Though they are very similar in size, soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour, not wheat like spaghetti. They are darker in color and are gluten free.
Because soba noodles vary greatly from brand to brand, always cook them according to the package directions, which are typically 7-9 minutes.
More Favorite Soba Noodle Recipes
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Longevity Noodles
- Japanese Farm-Style Teriyaki Chicken
- Seasoned Japanese Rice with Furikake
- Miso Tofu Wrap with Winter Squash and Furikake
- Spicy Cold Noodle Salad
Let us know how you like this!
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
Soba Noodles Video
Soba Noodle Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: vegan, main,
- Method: stirfry
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy Soba Noodles Recipe is healthy and simple. Loaded with tender vegetables, clean addicting flavor and succulent texture. Keep it vegan or add your favorite protein.
Ingredients
- 8–9 oz. soba noodles
- 1 tablespoon high heat oil (such as peanut oil, coconut oil or avocado oil)
- 2 cups napa cabbage, shredded
- 5–6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
- 1 large carrot cut in thin strips
- 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1-inch knob of ginger, minced
- 1 bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
- 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped fine- separating the white from the green stems
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- black sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Soba Noodle Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Smoked Shoyu
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil and cook the soba noodles according to the package directions, (just slightly on the al dente side). Drain in cool water to remove starchiness. (This helps the texture and prevents the soba noodles from getting gummy and gluey).*See notes for more cooking tips.
- Stir together the Soba Noodle Sauce ingredients: sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, soy sauce.
- Stir fry. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok or skillet. Add napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, carrot strips, and a sprinkle of salt. Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes. Add bell pepper and white part of the green onion stir-frying for 2-3 minutes until just tender but still crisp.
- Add the soba noodles and sauce. Toss together 1-2 minutes letting it thoroughly heat through.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Add black sesame seeds for garnish if desired.
Equipment
Notes
TIPS for cooking: Since the buckwheat does not contain gluten it can break more easily. Don’t stir while cooking and test for doneness before cooking time finishes. Cook in plenty of water. Don’t salt the cooking water. Do not overcook. Rinse immediately and thoroughly in cold water.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Serve as a main dish or as a side dish with your favorite protein.
Optional additions: hard-boiled or fried egg, crispy tofu, chicken breast, shrimp, steak strips.
Leftovers are best eaten in a day or two after making.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cups
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 6.5 g
- Sodium: 692.3 mg
- Fat: 14.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 56.5 g
- Fiber: 2.8 g
- Protein: 11.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
So easy, yet so good!
Great to hear!
Excellent recipe!
Yum!
We really enjoyed this recipe and had leftovers the next day. I used 9 oz of noodles which was a bit more than the recipe, I think. Next time I will double the sauce
Glad you enjoyed! More sauce can’t hurt.
You might try a different brand of soba noodles- I have success with Eden buckwheat soba. You want to Cook in plenty of water. Don’t salt the cooking water. Do not overcook. Rinse immediately and thoroughly in cold water. I will add these tips to the notes in the recipe card.
Really loved this recipe. First attempt was longer than anticipated, but now that I’ve don’t if, super easy meal to repeat. Like the noodles and simple veg mix. I used some diagonal cut celery in place of the cabbage, turned out just fine. My toddler approved as well! We paired it with some baked tofu (also from Feasting At Home) and some similar marinade thin sliced steak for my husband. Tastes great cold too!
Perfect Madison, love how you made it work for everyone!
Another fabulous dish that did not disappoint!
I really wanted to make this but didn’t have napa cabbage or soba noodles so I substituted with thinly sliced baby bok-choy and Japanese udon noodles (cooked al-dente and rinsed well). I had everything else and used low sodium soy sauce and added a little cubed cooked chicken breast at the end with the noodles to heat through. Cooked in a large cast iron skillet. Perfectly seasoned as written and delicious! My husband thanked me for not using any chili pepper flakes, ha-ha! Thank you again.
Perfect Celine! Love the improvising and so happy you enjoyed!
Made this as is and it’s now a family favorite! Everything was easy to prep and then throw together. Each tip was helpful. I made mine vegetarian using mushrooms as the protein source, great the next day cold as welL!
Excellent Melissa! I am so glad you found it helpful.
Excellent!
This was very good. I’m not sure about the ‘quick’ part. I added chicken thigh pieces so maybe that was what added some time but my kitchen was a disaster after. 🤣 I doubled the sauce because I had the chicken and a bit more veg. This was my first time making soba noodles and they came out great. Thank you for the tips on making them! Great recipe and teen kids enjoyed it too.
oh dear! Well glad it turned out well in the end!
If adding chicken, next time I would marinate it. I would also add red pepper flakes or sambal oelek sambal as a matter of personal taste as I like spicy food.
That’s a good idea Dawn.
Really great tasting and simple to put together. Only changes: I added skirt steak slices and did not include maple syrup. A gréât foundational soba recipe.
Sounds great Jess!
Thank you for the great recipe. I did not have peppers and mushrooms but that was not a problem because I was looking for something to serve with Pan-seared Salmon with Chia Crust and this was just perfect combination.
Oh great!!!
The recipe is misleading in that it says to soak noodles to remove gluten. Soba noodles are gluten free! People that can’t eat gluten may be mislead by the above statement.
Oh, I see what you mean. (Though not all soba is gluten free. Be sure to check the ingredient list!)
Fixed that comment in the recipe instructions. Thanks Merrilee!
Sylvia & Tonia, This recipe is so good! You hit it out of the park with this one. The recipe seems simple, but the flavors and textures are complex and so satisfying with a umami finish. We used thawed frozen extra firm tofu which absorbed the marinade so well. Again thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
oh great idea on the frozen tofu! So glad you enjoyed this one!
I tried this tonight as vegan family visiting. A big success.
Thank you Valerie, great to hear!
Will have to track those down and give them a try.
How would I incorporate baked tofu into the recipe? Does it need to just warm up at the end of the stir fry? It’s not crispy tofu. Thanks.
Hi Ginny, That’s what I would do, throw it in near the end. 🙂
Yummy. I added some edamame, but otherwise followed the directions as written. I will certainly make it again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks Krista!
Delicious! I added stir fried cubed chicken – will be adding to my weekly rotation.
Perfect and great to hear Mariana!
I made this for dinner last night. My fam gave it a two thumbs up! I added grilled chicken…..love the shiitakes too!
Great to hear!
We really loved the flavor to this dish, but the noodles just fell apart in the pan while mixing. And, it wasn’t at all pretty like your presentation. I followed the instructions for the noodles and rinsed several times under cold water. What should I have done differently? I even went to the store today and purchased buckwheat noodles as that was the only ingredient missing.
Sorry about that Pearl! It sounds like the noodles may have been overcooked. You might try testing them a couple minutes before the stated time to check the texture, keep them on the al dente side. Just curious if they were 100% buckwheat or if they had some wheat flour in them?
100% buckwheat.
Since the buckwheat does not contain gluten it can break more easily. Best if you don’t stir while cooking and keep testing for doneness before cooking time finishes. Thanks for letting us know Pearl, I will make a note of it in the recipe.
This was great! Pretty much made as written. I love how simple the sauce is. FYI recipe calls to add Napa cabbage twice.
ooo thanks for the catch Summer! Glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious and easy! I added some sambal chili and Japanese bbq sauce to the dressing for the noodles and it turned out great.
Perfect Chris! Glad you enjoyed.
Looks delicious! Will give this a try!
Let us know what you think Susan!