Sesame Noodles

6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Sesame Noodles is a savory, sweet and tangy Asian pasta dish! Serve it cold as a summer barbecue side or hot with your favorite take-out copycat recipe.

The next time you make Chinese Food at home, skip the go to sides like Chow Mein and Steamed Rice, and make these tasty, easy noodles instead!

Sesame Noodles in bowl

GARLIC SESAME NOODLES

These easy, delicious Sesame Noodles are an Asian pasta side dish you can serve hot or cold. They make a great barbecue side dish, instead of regular Pasta Salad, that gets better as it chills in the refrigerator. Sesame Noodles can be ready in just 15 minutes, for a quick and light lunch or dinner.

Sesame Noodles are a simple recipe made with just a few ingredients you can get at any grocery store. One of the best things about an easy recipe like Sesame Noodle is that you can easily swap out ingredients or add in your favorite mix-ins. The garlicky sesame sauce goes with so many flavors and seasonings.

The sesame flavor in Garlic Sesame Noodles comes from toasted sesame oil. Sesame oil can be found in most stores in the Asian Food aisle. It is a little pricey, but a little goes a long way with sesame oil. A couple teaspoons doesn’t sound like a lot with strong flavors like garlic and soy sauce, but taste the sesame sauce before adding more oil.

You can make Sesame Noodles with chicken, like this recipe, or use other meats you have leftover from grilling.  Leave out meat altogether and use veggies and tofu for a plant based meal. The possibilities are endless, especially because you can enjoy Sesame Noodles hot or cold. For a warm pasta dish, stir-fry the noodles and chicken with the sauce in a wok until hot.

Double this Sesame Noodles recipe for the easiest, budget friendly potluck or barbecue dish to feed a crowd. The ingredients for the sauce are cheap and will last a long time in your pantry so you can make this dish whenever you need a quick side. You can replace ingredients like rice vinegar or safflower oil with what you have on hand like olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

More Delicious Chinese Food Recipes You NEED to make:

Sesame Noodles are delicious and filling on their own or with just about any meal, especially Asian Food! Serve Sesame Noodles with saucy stir-fry main dishes like Orange Chicken and Mongolian Beef. These tasty mild noodles are a kid friendly lunch or dinner that goes great with easy veggie sides like Roasted Broccoli, or spicy Sichuan Green Beans for big kids.

Sesame Noodles in bowl

VARIATIONS ON SESAME NOODLES

  • Pasta: Try traditional Asian noodles like soba noodles, udon noodles, ramen noodles, rice noodles (gluten-free option!) instead of spaghetti noodles. You could also use other pasta like angel hair, linguine, or fehttuchini pasta.
  • Spicy: If you want some heat, use hot sesame oil, or add a dash of chili oil, sriracha, or red pepper flakes to the sesame sauce. 
  • Meat: Use any cooked meat you have on hand with this Sesame Noodle recipe. Toss in leftover Grilled Chicken, steak, ground pork sausage, or baked tofu.
  • Shrimp: Stir-fry shrimp in chili garlic paste until just opaque before adding noodles for a spicy Shrimp Garlic Sesame Noodles. 
  • Veggies: Crunchy raw veggies, or stir fried to crisp tender, would taste delicious with Sesame Noodles. Try shredded carrots, coleslaw mix, or broccoli florets for an easy, healthy crunch.
  • Peanut Butter: Add ¼ cup creamy peanut butter to your sauce for a Pad Thai-like flavor. You could also use tahini instead of peanut butter. Garnish the noodles with crushed peanuts or sesame seeds to serve.

MORE CHINESE MAIN DISH RECIPES TO SERVE WITH SESAME NOODLES:

HOW TO STORE SESAME NOODLES

  • Serve: Serve Sesame Noodles hot or cold, but don’t leave at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
  • Store: Store Sesame Noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days with chicken and up to 5 days without meat. Add a splash of safflower or olive oil if the noodles get too dry.
  • Freeze: Like most pasta salads, Sesame Noodles aren’t going to taste great if you freeze them and then thaw them. The oils separate and don’t quite come back together.

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Sesame Noodles

Easy Sesame Noodles are an Asian pasta dish with a sweet, tangy, garlicky sauce! Serve cold as a barbecue side or hot with your favorite takeout recipes.
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Asian, Chinese
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha
  • 1/2 cup green onions , thinly sliced
  • 2 cups chicken breast , cooked and chopped in 1" chunks
  • 1 red bell pepper , sliced into strips
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds , toasted

Instructions

  • Cook pasta one minute shy of the directions on the box then drain and rinse.
  • Whisk together garlic, sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and Sriracha.
  • Add sauce to the pot you boiled the pasta in and bring to a boil.
  • Add in the spaghetti, chicken, bell peppers and green onions and toss to coat.
  • Cook for 2 minutes until pasta has soaked up the sauce then garnish with sesame seeds.

Nutrition

Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 1066mg | Potassium: 257mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 762IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

Sesame Noodles collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

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Comments

  1. This recipe is simple and absolutely delicious! Better than take-out. My whole family enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.