Chewy noodles, veggies and tofu get tossed in a rich, savory almond butter and lime sauce to make this delicious vegan soba noodle recipe that is sure to be a hit!
You guys. This vegan soba noodle recipe... I can't even! We love anything having to do with noodles in our family. Whether it's my Easy Vegan Miso Noodles or some quick and easy Asian Ramen Noodles, we're always down for a comforting bowl of carb-y goodness! However, soba noodles coated in this almond butter sauce may be my favorite soba noodle recipe yet. If you love noodles as much as we do, then you definitely need to try out this recipe. Pair these saucy almond butter noodles with some roasted veggies and marinated tofu and you've got a delicious, well-balanced meal!
Oh, and if you love almond butter as much as we do, then you need to make a batch of my Fudgy Flourless Almond Butter Brownies to enjoy after these noodles!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- I know many of you have tried peanut noodles, but have you ever tried saucy almond butter noodles? I don't know where I got the idea to use almond butter for a savory sauce, but I basically tweaked our favorite Low Fat Peanut Sauce and used almond butter instead of the peanut flour and lime juice instead of the rice vinegar and this amazing creation was born!
- This almond butter sauce is the richest, most amazing savory sauce that is super versatile and pairs beautifully with so many dishes. We obviously love it over noodles, but you can even use it as a sauce for buddha bowls or salads, or use is as a dipping sauce for Homemade Spring Rolls!
- Vegan soba noodles are a great way to use up leftovers such as roasted veggies and proteins. Mix the noodles and leftovers together, pour the almond butter sauce over top and you've got a quick and delicious meal in minutes!
Ingredients
- Noodles - Soba noodles are obviously my favorite kind of noodle to use in this recipe, but any noodle will work! If you don't have soba noodles on hand, you could use whole wheat spaghetti, regular spaghetti, rice noodles, gluten free noodles or even the noodles from a packet of ramen. Just discard the seasoning packet!
- Veggies - I always throw some veggies into this noodle recipe, whether they are roasted, steamed, frozen, leftover, etc.
- Protein Source - Our favorite forms of protein to enjoy in this vegan soba noodle recipe are tempeh bacon, easy marinated tofu and edamame.
- Almond Butter Sauce - See below for the list of ingredients!
Vegan Almond Butter Sauce Ingredients
- Almond Butter - I love to make my own almond butter with just roasted almonds and some salt, but you can also use store-bought almond butter. Just make sure the ingredients are only almonds and salt!
- Lime Juice - Fresh lime juice is my favorite part of this sauce. It adds so much freshness and zest to this recipe!
- Soy Sauce - Soy sauce is a must in the sauce for this vegan soba noodle recipe. It adds lots of umami and saltiness. I personally like to use reduced sodium soy sauce. You can always add more salt, but you can't take it away!
- Maple Syrup - Pure maple syrup is my favorite liquid sweetener, but any kind of liquid sweetener should work, such as agave, brown rice syrup or even honey, if you're not vegan.
- Garlic - Use a garlic press if you don't feel like mincing up a couple of garlic cloves.
- Ginger - Before you grate or mince your ginger, be sure to peel off the skin!
- Optional Spice - Add in some red pepper flakes or Sriracha for a little kick!
See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Almond Butter - While almond butter is the main character in this soba noodle recipe, you can always use peanut butter instead. I almost always have homemade peanut butter on hand!
- Soy Sauce - If you can't eat gluten, make sure your soba noodles are gluten free and use gluten-free Tamari instead of soy sauce!
- Lime Juice - Whenever I don't have fresh limes on hand, I use rice vinegar instead. Apple cider vinegar or plain white vinegar could also work, but I personally haven't tried those!
- Fresh Ginger and Garlic - If I'm in a pinch or don't feel like mincing a bunch of ginger and garlic, I usually just add a few shakes of ground garlic and ground ginger!
How to Make This Vegan Soba Noodle Recipe
Step 1: Cook your soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain and rinse them and mix them with some leftover veggies and protein.
Step 2: While the noodles are cooking, whisk together all of the ingredients for the almond butter sauce together in a bowl. Set it aside.
Step 3: Pour the almond butter sauce over the noodles.
Step 4: Toss the noodles, veggies, protein and sauce all together and serve!
Top Tips
- I love making this vegan soba noodle recipe whenever I have extra veggies and protein already on hand. All you have to do is cook the noodles, make the sauce and mix everything together.
- Be sure to rinse the soba noodles after you've cooked them so that they don't stick together.
Recipe FAQs
Soba noodles are Japanese noodles made from mostly buckwheat flour and a small amount of wheat flour. They have a dense, chewy consistency and a more nutty flavor. They can be eaten both hot and cold.
In general, most Japanese noodles such as udon noodles and soba noodles are vegan. However, if you are ordering them in a meal, the soup or sauce that comes with the soba noodles may not be vegan. If you have doubts, read the ingredients label on the packaging or ask your server.
Cook soba noodles in boiling water for anywhere from 3-10 minutes. The amount of time they need to cook depends on the brand and thickness of the noodles. Be sure to read the packaging to know how long you need to cook your soba noodles.
You technically can view soba noodles as any other kind of noodle. However, traditionally, soba noodles are served chilled with a dipping sauce (tsuyu) served on the side. To enjoy soba noodles hot, you can serve them in a hot broth for noodle soup.
More Vegan Noodle Recipes!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Vegan Soba Noodle Recipe
Chewy soba noodles get tossed in a rich, savory almond butter and lime sauce to make these rich and delicious Vegan Almond Butter Soba Noodles with Tofu.
Ingredients
PROTEIN & VEGGIES & NOODLES
- 1 block extra firm tofu or tempeh
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 8 ounces (or more) soba noodles*
- 1 cup frozen stir-fry vegetables**
- optional garnishes: sliced green onion, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes
ALMOND BUTTER SAUCE
- ½ cup almond butter
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 2-6 tablespoons water
- optional: ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. This will be used to cook the noodles later
- Heat a large, non-stick frypan over medium heat and coat the bottom with cooking spray or oil.
- If using tofu, drain the block of tofu and press out as much excess liquid as possible. Cut the block into ¼-inch thin strips and then cut the strips into bite-sized pieces. Place the cut tofu in a single layer on the hot frypan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook on one side until golden brown. Flip the tofu over, sprinkle the second side with more salt and pepper and continue to cook until the second side is golden brown. Watch the tofu carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.
- While the tofu is browning, mix all of the almond butter sauce ingredients (except for the water) together until smooth. Add in two tablespoons of water and mix well. Add in more water if you desire a runnier consistency. The sauce will thicken the longer it sits.
- Once the tofu has browned on both sides, remove it to a plate and set aside.
- Spray the same frypan with more cooking spray or coat the bottom with a little more oil and add in your frozen or leftover vegetables. Stir the vegetables occasionally and allow them to cook through.
- While the vegetables are cooking, and the soba noodles to the pot of boiling water and cook according to the package directions. Once cooked through, drain the water and rinse the noodles with cold water.
- To serve, place some noodles, sautéed tofu and vegetables into a bowl and top with the almond butter sauce, green onion, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes for kick.
- Enjoy immediately!
Notes
- I find pasta serving sizes usually aren't enough for us, so cook more noodles if necessary!
- I often used leftover roasted or sautéed vegetables for this dish, but frozen is a quick and easy option. Use whatever cooked vegetables you have on hand!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 409Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 772mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 23g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate provided by Nutrionix and should be used for informational purposes only.
Dena says
Faith, I have tried and loved so many of your recipes but this one might be my favorite! You have made plant-based eating so much more enjoyable for me. Thank you for creating and sharing so many wonderful recipes!
Dena
Faith says
Dena I'm so so glad to hear that! We absolutely loved this recipe so I'm so glad to hear you loved it too. Thanks so much for commenting and saying hi!
Marie says
Oh YUM! This is definitely on my list of recipes to try. Looks delicious! Do you keep leftover sauce in the fridge? If so, do you know how long it will last?
Faith says
You have to make this Marie! It’s delicious! If you mix everything together then it’s probably best eaten right away But if stored separately? the extra sauce should last a few days in the fridge as well as any extra roasted/frozen veggies. The soba noodles tend to stick together once chilled but you could toss them in a little oil right after they finish cooking to prevent that. The fresher the noodles the better though!
Marie says
Thank you so much for the reply! I live by myself, so would probably not make the whole recipe at once. But thought about making the full amount of sauce at once so that I just had to add freshly cooked noodles to make it more convenient the next day. But it looks delicious though, so it might not be anything of the sauce left...haha. But good to know that it´s an option !
Faith says
Yes that’d work great Marie! We do the same thing sometimes. Just roast a bunch of veggies, make a batch of sauce and just cook enough noodles for you when you want it! Let me know what you think!