Sweet Sesame Tahini Noodles Recipe

Sweet Sesame Tahini Noodles are a great vegetarian weeknight dinner! Made with tahini, lime, almond butter, ginger, and plenty of veggies.

vegetarian / dinner

I have more than a few soba noodle recipes on this site, but I’ve decided that THIS recipe is my new favorite. These noodles are rich, tangy, creamy, sweet and a little spicy, with loads of kale mixed in – I love meals like this for weeknight dinners. The formula is simple: sauce + noodles + seasonal vegetables. Check, check, and check. The sauce can be made in advance and the rest can be assembled fairly quickly.

First, let’s talk about this sauce because it’s the main component of this recipe. It’s tangy, nutty, salty, and lightly sweet. It’s sweetened with Truvia Nectar, which is a blend of stevia leaf extract and honey. It has 50% fewer calories per serving than sugar, but I have to tell you that it tastes just like honey… or maybe even a tad sweeter which means that you can use less of it without sacrificing flavor.

I usually use peanut butter to thicken noodle sauces but this time, I’ve used a mix of tahini and almond butter. You can choose to use one or the other, but I think the combination of both gives this tangy sesame sauce a rich flavor without being too nutty.

I get a lot of reader requests for recipes that use alternative sugars, so I hope you give this lower-sugar recipe a try!

The vegetables I chose here were from my weekend farmers market haul. I picked up kale, garlic chives (you could use regular chives!), scarlet turnips, and black radishes. You can switch out the vegetables however you like (in the summer I would go for cucumbers), but I really loved the combination of these bitter root vegetables with the sweet sauce. Plus – HOW PRETTY ARE THEY?

5.0 from 2 reviews

Sweet Sesame Tahini Noodles

Sweet Sesame Tahini Noodles are a great weeknight dinner at any time of year. Swap in your favorite seasonal vegetables to customize your noodle bowl!

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Serves: 4

Ingredients

8 ounces soba noodles
1 bunch kale (about 8-10 large leaves), chopped
¼ cup chopped chives
1 black radish, thinly sliced*
1 scarlet turnip, thinly sliced*
½ cup microgreens, optional
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Lime slices, for serving
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Sesame Sauce

3 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1½ tablespoons Truvía Nectar
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon chili-garlic paste, more as desired

Instructions

Make the sesame sauce by whisking together the tamari, sesame oil, tahini, lime juice, Truvía Nectar, almond butter, garlic, ginger and chile-garlic paste in a small bowl. It should be a drizzable consistency. If it’s too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
Cook the soba noodles according to the package directions or until al dente. Drain and gently rinse under cold water. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil to keep them from clumping together. Set aside.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and sauté until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and stir in the chives. Add the soba noodles to the kale/chive mixture and toss. Drizzle with ¾ of the sesame sauce and toss again. Taste and add the remaining sauce as desired. Assemble four individual serving bowls with the soba/kale mixture, radish and turnip slices, microgreens, if using, and sesame seeds. Serve with lime slices and extra chile-garlic paste on the side.

Notes

*Feel free to sub with a handful of small red radishes, or 1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced.

This is a cold noodle recipe but feel free to heat your noodles up if you like.

This post is sponsored by Truvia. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!