Sesame Noodle Bowl

This easy noodle bowl recipe is a delicious combination of crispy snap peas, sweet orange segments, shiitake mushrooms, and a savory miso dressing.

Sesame Orange Noodle Bowl recipe

This noodle bowl is one of my favorite “bowl food” recipes. “Bowl food” always has a mix of delicious veggie-heavy ingredients with varying tastes, textures, and flavors, with a hearty base underneath. It’s fun to eat because you get something a little different in each bite. The inconvenient thing about component bowls is that all those components can take time to prepare. Chopping and cooking raw plant-based ingredients is time-consuming! This Sesame Orange Noodle Bowl is the exception, though. You’ll be surprised how quickly and easily it comes together!

Soba noodle bowl recipe ingredients

How to Make this Noodle Bowl Recipe

  1. Whisk together the simple 5-ingredient sauce.
  2. Dress the cabbage right in the serving bowls!
  3. Sauté the snap peas and mushrooms one after another, using the same skillet.
  4. Cook the soba noodles.
  5. Assemble your bowls with the noodles & veggies and generously top them with orange segments, sesame seeds, tofu, and extra sauce.

This noodle bowl is a great recipe for a weeknight – it’s easy, packed with flavor, and full of fresh vegetables. It makes two large bowls of food, or 3 medium-sized bowls. If there’s any left over, pack it up for lunch the next day. See this post for my best meal prep and lunch-packing tips!

Noodle Bowl Variations

Bowl recipes are all about the components, so oftentimes, they’re incredibly flexible. This noodle bowl is no exception. If you don’t have or don’t like one of the ingredients in this recipe, feel free to swap in something else. Here are a few suggestions:

  • The veggies: I used red cabbage, sautéed mushrooms, and snap peas, but cucumbers, snow peas, carrots, radishes, blanched asparagus, roasted broccoli, or roasted Brussels sprouts would be great choices too.
  • The fruit: I love the juicy orange segments here, but diced mango would be good too. You could also skip it, or add pickled ginger for pop.
  • The protein: This recipe calls for baked tofu, but shelled edamame, crispy roasted chickpeas, or baked tempeh would be just as good.
  • The sauce: I make an easy stir-together sauce with miso, sesame oil, orange juice, rice vinegar, and tamari or soy sauce, but my 5-ingredient peanut sauce would work here too.
  • Something extra: I top this bowl with fresh cilantro, mint, and green onions. Feel free to use just one, or try fresh basil instead.

Let me know what variations you try!

Noodle bowl with snap peas, mushrooms, cabbage, and tofu

More Favorite Bowl Recipes

If you love this noodle bowl recipe, try one of these tasty bowls next:

Then, find more healthy lunch ideas (and tips on how to build your own bowl) here!


4.7 from 6 reviews

Sesame Noodle Bowl

 
This noodle bowl recipe is one of my favorite easy lunches - feel free to pre-dress the noodles and cabbage and pack it ahead. It keeps well for a few days in the fridge.
Author:
Recipe type: Main dish
Cuisine: Asian, American
Serves: 2 to 3
Ingredients
Dressing/sauce
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons tamari
  • ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • (plus excess juice from the orange below)
Bowls
  • 1 medium orange
  • 2 cups shredded red cabbage
  • 3 ounces soba noodles, cooked, drained, & rinsed* (see note)
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • ⅓ cup chopped scallions (about 3)
  • 1 cup snap peas, de-stringed and chopped
  • 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
  • 7 ounces baked tofu, sliced or cooked protein of choice
  • Sesame seeds
  • Handful of fresh herbs, cilantro or mint, optional
  • Sea salt
Instructions
  1. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, rice vinegar, tamari, and sesame oil until combined. Slice the segments from the orange, set aside, and squeeze the excess juice from the orange into the sauce.
  2. Make the bowls: Divide the red cabbage among two to three bowls. Drizzle with some of the dressing and toss gently to coat. Place the cooked soba beside the cabbage in the bowls.
  3. In a skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil and add the scallions and snap peas and cook, tossing until lightly blistered but still vibrant green, for about 2 minutes. Remove and add to the bowls.
  4. Add more olive oil to the pan and add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 8 minutes. Divide the mushrooms among the bowls and top with the orange segments, tofu, sesame seeds, and herbs if using. Drizzle with a little of the remaining dressing and serve the rest on the side. (Note: the dressing is slightly on the salty side so a little bit goes a long way - add it to taste and save any extra for salads/bowls later in the week).
Notes
*Cook your soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain and rinse them to remove excess starches. This helps them from clumping. If they start to stick together, toss them with a little bit of sesame oil.

 

22 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Amy
    12.27.2023

    I don’t understand the orange juice part. Can you tell me more? How much oj is there after squeezing the scraps leftover from segmenting?

  2. Samantha Pittman
    08.06.2023

    This was okay….something about the sauce kind of didnt…sit well with the noodles. Red cabbage already has a nutty, earthy smell and flavor so combined with the soba and the sauce there was just something off here. The second time I made it I made it with brown rice and it held better. And in the fridge better.

  3. Jessica
    03.14.2022

    I love, love, love this! I made a few modifications: didn’t add in the oranges, added in carrots and cooked them with the mushrooms, used chopped red onions in place of the green onions, threw in some shelled edamame in with the soba noodles while they were cooking, and added some peanut butter to this dressing. I made a few bowls of this for the week. I enjoy the texture of the baked tofu here too. YUM!

  4. Angelina
    01.15.2020

    I made this for lunches and used whole wheat spaghetti noodles since TJs doesn’t sell soba and it worked very well!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.17.2020

      Hi Angelina, I’m so glad you loved the recipe!

  5. tricia
    06.19.2019

    Made this for dinner last night and it was perfect! Light, sharp flavors, cool noodles mixed with warm grilled chicken {only substitution I made was grilled chicken in place of tofu}. Husband liked it, too–a hearty, yet light-feeling meal for two!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.22.2019

      Hi Tricia, I’m so glad you both enjoyed it!

  6. Riley Hunter
    01.28.2019

    I really love bowl food and this, my friend, is something I’m gonna try out. Thanks very much for sharing.

  7. Susan
    01.19.2019

    I made these bowls for lunch and they were delicious! I assembled the bowls the night before but didn’t add any dressing until it was time to eat. They pack well – my son even took his to school.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.22.2019

      Hi Susan, yay, I’m so glad they packed well and that you and your son enjoyed them 🙂

  8. Terry-Ann Torre
    01.13.2019

    We had the bowl today and it was delicious! I used Trader Joe’s slaw mix and mandarin oranges to make it simpler and I was amazed at good the oranges went with the sauteed mushrooms!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.22.2019

      Hi Terry-Ann, I’m so glad you loved them! I just love the savory mushrooms and the sweet oranges, I’m happy that you did too 🙂

  9. Liz Cencula
    01.11.2019

    This recipe looks delicious! But I think I am missing how many soba noodles are needed. Can you clarify?? Thanks!

  10. Gaby Dalkin
    01.10.2019

    I need this bowl in my life!

  11. Emily from carvingajourney.com
    01.10.2019

    Hi! Is there a soba noodle brand you use that is 100% gluten free? I find that most soba noodles have some wheat in them and I am looking for a good gluten free brand. Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.10.2019

      Hi Emily, the brand Eden makes both types – look for the package that says 100% buckwheat, those are gluten free. Or there’s a brand called King Soba, theirs are probably my favorite: https://amzn.to/2SLQG2T

      Hope that helps!

  12. Ashley McDonald
    01.10.2019

    Do you have any recommendations for baking the tofu? I’ve never prepared it myself.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.10.2019

      Hi Ashley, in this case I bought pre-baked tofu (it saves a cooking step!), but I just added my go-to tofu baking steps in the notes below the recipe. I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions about it.

  13. Susan
    01.09.2019

    This bowl sounds absolutely wonderful. I would probably make it for lunch. By the way, you are not the only one whose husband mixes everything together. Personally, I like to pick and choose what I eat when. I’m with you all the way. 🙂

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.10.2019

      Ha, I’m glad to hear, I hope you enjoy the bowls 🙂

  14. Terry-Ann Torre
    01.09.2019

    This is a long over due fan letter! We eat almost entirely from your wonderful recipes. My husband and I are truly grateful that you are doing your blog. We are vegans and not young in years, but very young in health and spirit. Thanks again for all the good eats!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.10.2019

      Hi Terry-Anne, thank you for commenting! I’m so glad you both have been enjoying the recipes!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.