Meal Prep Sesame Noodle Bowls! Fork-twirly noodles, an easy creamy sesame sauce, perfect browned chicken, and all the veg. YUM.
Sesame Noodle Bowls
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I love easy, I love healthy and I love yummy!! This recipe delivers on all three. What a GREAT dish for any time of the day. Thanks for sharing!!
Linger
Sometimes you just need to really look forward to your lunch, and sometimes = always.
Will you look forward to:
- silky smooth, lusciously creamy sesame sauce that you can just shake up in a jar real quick
- fork-twirly noodles with just the right amount of stick to hang onto that sauce
- salted edamame
- crispy cucumber bits
- juicy browned chicken or tofu or whatever protein you love – like, I don’t know, I’m having visions of a soft boiled egg?
YOU TELL ME.
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Easy Is What We’re Working with Today
This recipe is incredibly easy, which, as you know, is kind of the only way I do meal prep. E-A-S-Y.
The sauce can shake up in a jar and the noodles can cook in 2 minutes (serious).
And just like that, you have sesame noodles.
And said sesame noodles are, in fact, the base of the sesame noodle bowls, so basically you’re done. Now it’s just up to you how extra you want to get with your bowl-ing.
I went medium effort on my sesame noodle bowls with cucumbers, edamame, sesame-ish chicken, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds, and it was part noodles, part salad, part health bomb, and I loved it.
You can debate me on hot vs. cold all day – I will let you win either way because both are amazing.
Guys, this is a desk lunch to keep you counting the hours till lunch BUT NOT LIKE I DO THAT?! Happy prepped lunches to you!
Sesame Noodle Bowls: FAQs
Is this recipe heavier on the sauce or on the noodles?
Kinda however you want it. If you love sauce like me, make a 1.5x batch. Especially if you are going to use some on the chicken. Or want some leftover in your fridge or freezer.
What kind of noodles did you use?
The noodles I used said “Oriental Style Noodles – Product of Japan” on the package, but a lot of the videos I watched for sesame noodles recommended Chinese egg noodles. Whatever noodles you use, I’d recommend cooking for slightly less than what is directed on the package.
I have dark soy sauce. Will that work?
A lot of recipes I saw called for dark soy sauce! I liked using dark soy sauce and probably would do that again, but I also found that the sauce still tasted really good with regular or low sodium soy sauce. In my opinion, either one can work.
Do I eat these noodle bowls hot or cold?
Either! If you do want to eat these sesame noodles hot, I would recommend storing the cucumber separately and adding it after you heat it up.
What other veggies or proteins would work in these bowls?
Cucumbers are traditional with sesame noodles, but I think just about any vegetables (and/or protein) would be great. Carrots. Bell peppers. Broccoli. Green onions. Shrimp. Salmon. Tofu. Tempeh. Peanuts.
15 Minute Meal Prep: Sesame Noodle Bowls
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 bowls 1x
Description
Meal Prep Sesame Noodle Bowls! Fork-twirly noodles, an easy creamy sesame sauce, perfect browned chicken, and all the veg. YUM.
Ingredients
Units
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Sesame Sauce:
- 1/4 cup sesame paste (or tahini)
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- Sriracha and sugar to taste
Bowls:
- 6–8 ounces stir fry noodles, Chinese egg noodles, or linguine in a pinch
- 2 cups edamame, cooked
- 2 cucumbers, diced
- 1 lb. chicken breast, cooked and diced (optional: see notes)
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Sauce: Whisk all sauce ingredients together until smooth (or you can run it through the food processor, or shake it up in a jar).
- Noodles: Cook noodles a few minutes LESS than package instructions. If your noodles seem very sticky, rinse them in cold water. Toss noodles with about half of the sesame sauce.
- Bowls: Divide noodles, edamame, cucumber, and chicken into containers. Drizzle with a little extra sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Voila! Store in the fridge for 3-4 days. Eat hot or cold. Take a shot for the ‘gram cause this is your moment.
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Notes
Ideal method for cooking the chicken: Cut a pound of chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Done. If you like a little browning on your chicken (like what’s pictured here), once it’s baked, just pop it in a skillet with some extra sesame sauce and let it get nice and roasty-browned on the outside!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Keywords: sesame noodle bowls, meal prep sesame noodle bowls, sesame noodles
More Twirly Noodles!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our simple slurpable noodles page. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Bowls Dairy-Free Fall Healthy Lunch Meal Prep Most Popular Pasta Recipes Spring Summer Winter
February 21, 2019
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
Sounds delicious.
How do you think this would work with spaghetti in place of the noodles?
I am looking for a lower carb option!
Thanks!
That noodles recipe I love it. But I like with tomato and bins are awesome
I love this recipe!! It works perfectly as an obento! If I may ask, if I keep the sauce separate from the other ingredients, will it last okay in the fridge on its own? Thanks!
I made this with whole wheat spaghetti and it was great!
I love easy, I love healthy and I love yummy!! This recipe delivers on all three. What a GREAT dish for any time of the day. Thanks for sharing!!
Can’t wait to make this! Do you have a brand of ‘stir fry’ noodles you can recommend? Are they fresh or dry?
Beautifully portion-sized meal Lindsay. Since I’ve been cooking more home meals recently, I don’t have the urge like I used to to eat at Hibachi restaurants and gulp down large meals at once. Thank you for this blog. 🙂
The sesame sauce sounds absolutely to die for. I would love to try it with zucchini noodles, chickpea pasta, or black bean pasta someday along with air-fried tofu and my favorite vegetables for dinner! Woot woot–can’t wait!
That sounds amazing!
Really great words.
Rinsing noodles in cold water defeats your purpose — as it prevents the sauce from clinging to the noodles. Loosen the noodles using a small amount of sauce….
I never knew that, Linda. Thanks for letting us know. 🙂
YAY something with no peanut butter in it! 🙂 🙂 🙂 This sounds delicious – can’t wait to try.
Hope you enjoy it!
This was super yum and so easy!
I am loving your quick (but healthy) weeknight meal recipes lately! I’ve tried a couple of your recent ones and am definitely here for them. Thanks for sharing & looking forward to what you have in store 🙂
I made this last night and it was delicious! My husband really loved it as well. Thanks for a great recipe and super easy and quick to make. This will definitely make it into our weekly rotation.
Glad you enjoyed it, Liza!
I made this sauce up as soon as I read it! I did use the dark soy sauce and tahini. I added 1/4 tsp Sriracha and 1/2 tsp. sugar. Seemed lacking a bit of something for me, but it was good. I made it using rice noodles. Next time I will make it with a thick, sweet soy sauce and sesame paste. Hoping that will give a bit deeper flavor profile. LOVED how easy it was to make!!
Glad to hear it, Beth!
Just made this for dinner
I forgot chicken so just grated carrot (vego version)
Was delicious! Even my hubby likes it
I agree I’m not sure but the flavour slightly lacking (I used normal soy and chilli flake instead of siracha) but I’ve never had sesame noodles before so maybe the flavour is something I’m not used to fully.
I made it hot as I love hot noodles + cold veg together
This would be an excellent fresh lunch
Make this quick and easy recipe for dinner tonight and it was yummy. I had everything except the tahini, so I just subbed crunchy peanut butter. I doubled the sauce and added broccoli. Other than the tahini and broccoli I followed recipe.
I think the recipe looks very good. And that it is also very healthy because it contains only 395 calories and only 23% fat. I like that after the recipe you also give tips on how to make it the best. I also like that for some ingredients you give other possibilities because I don’t really like sesame seeds. What is also very nice is that the preparation of this only takes 15 minutes. I appreciate your hard work really hard for sharing the recipe with others so they can see and hopefully make it. I want to thank you for the recipe and wish you all the best.
would marinating tofu in the sesame sauce also work? i want a good vegetarian recipe so i’m thinking that could work but i’m not sure
Yes! That would work great.
Can’t wait to try this! I’m just a little confused about the calculated protein in the nutrition facts. 1 pound of chicken is about 100g of protein and this is 4 servings. So it would be about 25g of protein per serving, not 8g.
Thank you for posting this recipe!!
This sounds so tasty! Thoughts on serving it cold as a cold noodle salad? I think it’ll be scrumptious!
Definitely!
How do you think soba noodles would work in this dish?
Just meal-prepped this for lunches this week. I used tofu which I pan-fried after watching HOW to pan-fry it on the website. It was quite delicious! I forgot about using Dark Soya Sauce and I wish I would have tried that. I found the sesame sauce not quite as flavourful as I would have liked, so shall play around a bit. All in all a GREAT meal for lunch for the hubs and I.
Glad to hear it, Heather!
Loved this dish! Added carrots and green onions. Wonder how the sauce might be with peanut butter instead of tahini.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I am inspired.
your recipe is fantastic I never knew that, Linda. Thanks for letting us know.
This would be so perfect for lunch! I am a sucker for asian bowls and this looks so delicious.
Hope you enjoy it, Tara!
Made for dinner tonight, delish! Used whole wheat thin spaghetti, what was on hand, great recipe, easy & delicious!
Glad you enjoyed it, Maggie!
So excited for this recipe! A handful of pinch of yum recipes have become staples in our house. (I need to start tagging for insta). My husband and I always laugh that when our now toddler is in school and has friends over for dinner they will be so surprised to see curry or a spring roll bowl for dinner rather than chicken fingers!
What is sriracha? Is there a substitute?
Why would you ask for a substitute if you don’t even know what it is? (Btw…Google is your friend.)
Looking at the picture, I would’ve never thought that this recipe can be made with so little ingredients on hand. I couldn’t believe that I had all ingredients on hand, so I made this for dinner and it was mouthwatering. Thank’s for the inspiration!
I have made so many recipes from the site and they have ALL turned out delicious! My all time favorite is the spicy soba noodle salad and the 15 minute lo mein. I made this recipe the other day while my daughter napped….I have to say it took MUCH MUCH longer than 15 minutes. By the time I cut the chicken, boiled and cooked the noodles, made the sauce, my daughter was up. It took almost an hour! It was pretty tasty but I’ll stick to the soba noodles and lo mein.