Make cold sesame noodle salad once, eat all week for meal prep or for a chilled dinner on hot summer days! With abundant crunchy veggies, tender edamame, and an easy flavor packed Asian ginger dressing, this noodle salad recipe is ready in about 45 minutes hands on time.
Hearty Summer Salads
Easy summer dinners, early morning baking, picnic food, and salads that can hang out in the fridge for daaaays is my idea of spending less time in the kitchen during summer.
Having a ready made salad in the fridge, like this Asian pasta salad or this Cold Peanut Noodle Salad, makes for an easy lunch or dinner because it can hang out in the fridge, ready when you are.
If you love crunchy, fresh salads and noodles, you’re going to love how this sesame noodle salad comes together. Versatile enough for lunch, dinner, an impromptu picnic or a lazy leftover dinner.
At a Glance: How to Make Sesame Asian Noodle Salad
Easy peasy to pull together, use the freshest veggies you can get your hands on! Upon the suggestion of a commenter, I updated the recipe to include edamame. It is optional, but I love the new addition!
- First, cook the edamame (optional), then the pasta.
- Second, toast the cashews and whip up the dressing.
- Third, chop the veggies.
- Next, when the noodles are done, drain thoroughly and toss with the dressing.
- Last, finish the salad by tossing the noodles and all the veggies together. Sprinkle with cashews, sesame seeds and green onions.
For a spicy sesame noodle salad, a hearty douse of Sriracha will do the trick!
What Noodles to Use?
For this sesame noodle salad, the sky is the limit! Enjoy with:
- whole wheat thin spaghetti
- angel hair pasta
- soba noodles
- brown rice (GF) pasta
Simply cook pasta according to package instructions, then follow the recipe.
The Best Sesame Oil for Asian Noodle Salad Dressing
The dressing utilizes multiple flavor builders to bring all the components of the salad together including fresh ginger, Tamari, sesame oil, lime juice and cayenne (or Sriracha).
My favorite sesame oil for this salad is organic toasted sesame oil. If not a new bottle, be sure to smell and taste the sesame oil prior to mixing into the dressing to make sure it’s not rancid. If it doesn’t have a fresh nutty smell, and/or tastes somewhat bitter, it’s time to replace it.
Look for a small bottle if this isn’t an oil you’ll use within about six months.
Traci’s Tips
- Big Salad Alert! This sesame ginger noodle salad makes a big salad, seven to eight servings, so it’s a good one to take to the office, picnic or toss in your loves lunch box.
- Kitchen Sink Sesame Salad: Use whatever fresh veggies you have on hand. Sometimes I toss in julienned carrots or seeded, thinly sliced and quartered cucumbers in place of the red bell peppers. But one ingredient, especially during summer, that takes this salad over the top is sugar snap peas. They have a crunch factor that is satisfying!
- No Snap Peas? If snap peas aren’t available, give snow peas a go. They make an excellent sub.
- Edamame: Upon the suggestion from Maggie who left a comment below, I added edamame to the recipe! It’s optional, yet worth the extra few minutes it takes to cook. Thank you, Maggie!
Sesame Ginger Noodle Salad with Cashews Recipe
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 3/4 C (100g) Raw Cashews, whole
- 1 C (140g) Shelled Edamame, frozen (optional)
- 1/2 lb (230g) Angel Hair Whole Wheat Pasta , or thin spaghetti, soba noodles or gluten free noodles.
- 1 1/2 C (170g) Red Bell Pepper* (see note), sliced thin and into bite size pieces, about 1 large pepper
- 1 1/2 C (150g) Sugar Snap or Snow Peas, cut on the bias and in bite size pieces
- 2 C (100g) Savoy or Green Cabbage, or a mix of green and purple
- 2 Scallions, green and white parts sliced thin
- 3 Tbs Sesame Seeds
- 3-4 Stems Fresh Cilantro and/or Thai Basil, chopped for garnish
For the Dressing:
- 1/3 C (76g) Tamari
- 1/4 C (50g) Toasted Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbs Honey or Maple Syrup
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, ground or use 1-2 tsp Sriracha – adjust to taste
- 2 tsp Fresh Ginger, microplaned or finely grated
- 2 Limes, one juiced, one sliced for serving
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Preheat oven to 350 and toast cashews for about 13-15 minutes. Alternatively, dry-toast the cashews on medium-low in a skillet tossing and flipping the cashews occasionally for about 5-6 minutes – watch these carefully as they burn quickly. The cashews should be golden and fragrant when ready. Once cool, rough chop and set aside. (I like the oven method better with cashews as the pan method produces uneven toasting – but for the sake of leaving the oven off… there's an option!)
- Optional Edamame: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling add the frozen edamame. Set a timer for five minutes and cook the edamame on high heat. The water should return to a boil. After five minutes, fish the edamame out of the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a strainer reserving the cooking water for the pasta. Rinse under cool running water. Set aside.Bring the water back to a boil, adding more water if needed, to cook the noodles.
- Cook the noodles according to package directions. The noodles should be cooked al dente (to the tooth – not soggy). While the noodles are cooking, make the dressing (see below). Set aside. Drain and rinse the noodles. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl, pour the dressing on and toss to coat. Rest the noodles in the refrigerator while you finish chopping/assembling all the veggies.
- To the noodles in the large mixing bowl, add the bell peppers (and/or carrots), peas, cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, herbs and chopped cashews. Toss well so that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Chill at least 30 minutes prior to serving so the flavors have time to marry.
- Serve with extra lime wedges and Sriracha (if desired). Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
For the Dressing:
- *taste your sesame oil before mixing the dressing to make sure it doesn't have a rancid taste. If it tastes off, replace it with fresh, otherwise you'll taste it in the salad. In a small jar add the Tamari, sesame oil, honey or maple syrup, cayenne (or Sriracha), lime juice and ginger. Shake well and set aside until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Made it? Leave a comment below!
The most helpful comment may include recipe rating, feedback, any modifications or helping other commentors.
Delicious! Added chicken and thicker noodles it’s a keeper! Ty
Thank you for your note, Melissa!
Absolutely fantastic!
SO excited, Kim! Thank you for your note and five star rating!
This noodle salad is absolutely fabulous! Full of flavor, crunch, and satisfying with the edamame added. It’s also quite beautiful to look at, but it was gone the day I made it!
Hiii Nancy! SO excited to read your note! Thank you for giving the salad a go… sounds like it’s time to whip up another!
My family loved this salad!
I made this for dinner last night and it was FABULOUS!! My husband loved it, too, and I basically had to concede to him so he could have the leftovers for lunch today :) This will be a go-to in the future. Thanks for creating this recipe. On tonight’s menu will be the Vegetarian One Pan Mexican Quinoa Recipe. Can’t wait to taste it!
Hi Dana! Best news ever = win-win! Thank you for your note and giving the salad a go. SO excited for dinner tonight! I hope you love the quinoa recipe :D !
Sorry for the delayed response about the quinoa recipe but we loved it too! There were enough left overs for a few days. One night, we made nachos with it! Winner! Winner! Vegan Dinner!
No worries, Dana! So excited you enjoyed the quina recipe too! Thank you for coming back and letting me know :D
Delicious, healthy and fresh salad and easy to make. Will definitely make again.
Hi Kathryn! Hooray! Thank you for your note, rating and giving the noodle salad a go!
When you say raw cashews, I have never seen those available in the store, we don’t live in the big city, so that may be why. At Costco they have salted and unsalted, we usually buy the salted. So would I rinse off the salt, let them dry and then toast them?
I also was thinking of buying a bag of already shredded cabbage, would that be enough for the two of us?
Hi Barbara! I’m thinking the salted at Costco are already roasted. You can leave the salt on, but the salad may be too salty. Rinsing and drying should be fine. Taste them after they’re dry and if you want to tease a bit more flavor out, you can probably roast them or not. Let your taste guide you. For the bag of shredded cabbage, I’m not sure how much cabbage is in a bag. Can you clarify?
This was fantastic. I made the vegan version. Made it on the weekend and had a delicious,protein packed salad all week. I didn’t change a thing in the recipe.
Thanks!
Hi Barbara! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! Hooray for a protein packed salad all week :D
My family loved this! Thanks for mentioning possible substitutions for the vegetables. I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Jocelyn! Thank you for your note and giving the recipe a go! Hooray!