This Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Tahini Dressing is one of my favorite dishes to enjoy on a hot summer day because it has so much flavor and texture! You can definitely serve this warm too for a dish that satisfies all year long.
What are Soba Noodles made out of?
Soba noodles are made out of buckwheat flour and sometimes traditional wheat flour is added to help the structure of the noodles. The higher the percentage of buckwheat flour the noodles have, the darker they will be.
Buckwheat flour is actually gluten-free, however many brands of soba noodles have wheat flour added.
There are brands of gluten-free soba noodles but I have found them harder to find in local grocery stores.
What is Tahini?
Tahini is a toasted sesame butter generally used in hummus, so it’s a flavorful addition to a dressing or vinaigrette.
What if I don’t have Tahini?
You can use creamy peanut butter as a substitution, no problem!
Can I customize the recipe with other veggies?
Absolutely! To avoid wasting precious dollars on uneaten food, use what you have in your fridge first.
If you have veggies that need to be used, by all means, substitute them in this dish. Some good options would be zucchini, squash, and cucumbers.
Tell me more about this delicious Tahini Dressing
The dressing has a touch of soy sauce (or gluten-free tamari can be subbed), fresh ginger, garlic, and honey. It has a distinctive earthy, nutty flavor that is really unique and blends beautifully with the crisp raw vegetables.
How to prep this recipe ahead of time
Soak your cranberries in orange juice to soften them to wake up their flavor. Chop the bell peppers, red onion, scallions, and place in containers in the fridge up to one day in advance.
Chop the cashews and place covered on the counter at room temp.
Make the dressing and cover in the fridge for up to three days in advance.
One more delicious soba noodle recipe
Easy Beef and Broccoli Soba Noodle Bowl
Bon Appetit Ya’ll,
Leslie O.
Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
For the Noodles
- 1 package Soba Noodles 9.5-12 oz package
- one half of a Red Bell Pepper finely diced
- one half of a Yellow Bell Pepper finely diced
- 3 Tbsp Red onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup Dried Cranberries
- 2 Tbsp Scallions chopped
- 1 Tbsp Orange Juice
- Drizzle of Toasted Sesame oil
- 1/4 cup toasted cashew or peanuts chopped
For the Tahini Vinaigrette
- Juice of one Lime
- 1/4 cup Neutral Oil like grapeseed, canola, or other neutral oil
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari for gluten free version
- 1 Tbsp Tahini
- 1 tsp Garlic finely chopped
- 1 tsp Ginger grated or finely chopped
- 1 tsp Honey
- dash of White Pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of water on the stovetop on high heat.
- Meanwhile, soak the cranberries in orange juice.
- Chop the veggies, scallions, garlic, and ginger.
For the Tahini Dressing
- Whisk the tahini, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, honey, and white pepper. Whisk in oil until emulsified.
- Salt the boiling water and cook the soba noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cool water and drain again. Drizzle with sesame oil and separate a bit to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
- Remove the cranberries from the orange juice and set aside.
- Add the reserved liquid from the cranberries to the vinaigrette.
- Combine the noodles, veggies, vinaigrette and serve immediately with a dash of sesame oil and scallions or cover and chill in the fridge. You can also serve this warm!
Notes
- You can chop the bell peppers, red onions, and scallions in advance and put cover them in containers and place in the fridge up to one day ahead.
- Chop the cashews and place covered on the counter at room temp.
- Make the dressing and cover in the fridge for up to three days in advance.
- This dish can be kept chilled for one day, but keep in mind the noodles may soften the longer they sit in the fridge.
- Don't overcook the noodles as they will fall apart and won't have good texture
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers
- Squash
Yum! I made this for dinner tonight. I used all your ingredients then cleaned out the fridge and added chopped yellow squash, cucumbers, and boiled shrimp. I doubled the vinegrette ingredients to gloss over the extra vegetables and shrimp. Cold and delicious!! Thanks!
Excellent Karen! This recipe is really versatile and tastes great with any and every kind of vegetable I could imagine. I like your addition of shrimp, that sounds like a perfect pairing with the noodles:)
I cant’ wait to try this dish. I love the version of this that Nashville’s Family Wash USED to offer. I have some Tahini in the fridge. Will I go to cooks hell if my Tahini has disappeared or I don’t have enough and use almond butter or peanut butter? Also I think this would be great with warm noodles and cold veggies
by the way when you get your show on Food Network your first guests. JUST SAYIN’
“Cooks hell”!! I think you will be spared if you use peanut butter. Add sesame seeds if have them, since tahini is ground sesame paste. Warm noodles and cold veggies sound perfect! Thanks Paula:)