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Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles

With a perfect balance of crunchy, creamy, salty, and fiery, these Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles are easily one of my favorite "clean-out-the-fridge" dinners. Made with your choice of noodles, a few pantry staples, and whatever veggies are kicking around in your drawer, these spicy sesame noodles are the ideal rent-week meal!
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Asian
Servings 6 - 8 people, depending on how many veggies you add
Calories 401 kcal

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Boil noodles of choice in salted water according to box directions and drain. 
  • Toss with oil. To keep the noodles from sticking together, toss them with a drizzle of hot sesame oil. NOTE: regular sesame oil, peanut oil, or even olive oil will achieve the same end. We just like foods nice and spicy over here.
  • Make Peanut Sauce by whisking together Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Fresh Minced Ginger, Peanut Butter/Tahini, Fresh Chopped Garlic, Sriracha/Chili Garlic Sauce/Gochujang, and Agave Nectar. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
  • Toss the noodles in your delicious sauce. Stop here and eat, or, if you have more time, energy, and ingredients move on to step 5!
  • Add the prepped veggies, tossing to combine.
  • Eat. Repeat. You know you want to.

Notes

Please note that nutrition facts are based solely on the noodles and sauce. Any additions (e.g. veggies or toppings) will change the makeup!
  • Crunchy Vegetables of Choice - If you have them on hand, add in as many crunchy vegetables as your heart desires so you can eat the full rainbow! Here are a few of our favorites to add:
    • Scallions, a.k.a. green onions, sliced thinly
    • Bell Pepper, any color, sliced thinly
    • Cucumber, seeded and sliced into short matchsticks 
    • Carrot, either shredded or spiralized
    • Cabbage, red, green, Napa, savoy, or Bok Choy, shredded or sliced thinly 
    • Radishes, cut into matchsticks
    • Sugar Snap Peas and/or Snow Peas, sliced thinly on the bias
  • Toppings of Choice - Add as many toppings as you like for extra flavor and crunch. I like: 
    • Fresh Mint, Fresh Cilantro, and/or Fresh Basil, Thai if you’ve got it, regular if you don’t
    • Chopped Peanuts or Cashews
    • Toasted Sesame Seeds
    • TJ’s Ghost Pepper Flakes or Red Pepper Flakes 
    • Extra Sriracha and/or Sambal Oelek
    • Nori Komi Furikake - This is a flavor shaker that has nori, which is dried seaweed, and sesame seeds. It is also awesome on popcorn with some sriracha salt. 
    • Maruesu Tempura Crisps - This is another Costco find that’s a GEM. We eat these by the handful, as well as use them as a garnish any time we can. Get you some!
Optional Variations:
  • Consider sautéing your veggies. I am perfectly happy throwing in all of the veggies completely raw, but Joe prefers his to be a little softer. On the occasions that he’s going to eat with me, I briefly sauté these additions (excluding the cucumber) in a bit of oil and a sprinkling of salt before adding them to the mix. If you want cold sesame noodles that are more like a salad and/or want one less dish to clean up, omit this step. Or, be lazy like me and use the pot you boiled your noodles in.
  • Consider adding protein. Keep it vegan with pan-fried crispy tofu or soy curls, or add sliced chicken, steak, salmon, or shrimp.
  • Swap in Italian-style noodles. Don't have ramen on hand? You can make sesame peanut butter noodles with spaghetti, angel hair, fettuccini, rotini, penne, or literally any shape of pasta you have on hand.
  • Gluten-Free - Opt for gluten-free noodles and use either tamari (soy product) or coconut aminos (soy alternative) in place of the soy sauce.
  • Soy-Free - Use coconut aminos (gluten-free) or Bragg's Liquid aminos (not gluten-free) in place of the soy sauce.
  • Nut-Free - Use tahini or sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 11gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 2074mgPotassium: 229mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 11IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 31mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Cheap, Easy, Fast, Gluten Free, Healthy, Vegan, Vegetarian
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