These take-out inspired Noodle Bowls are tossed in the most amazing homemade sesame sauce. Pair with your favorite protein, or enjoy all on it’s own as a tasty vegan/vegetarian main or side!
I have a bit of an obsession with creating totally crave-worthy take out dishes at home.
It’s much quicker than rushing out to the nearest restaurant or waiting in agony over a slower-than-molasses delivery to finally show up. Also, DIY-ing my favorite Chinese, Japanese, and Thai dishes at home is exponentially kinder to my wallet, which quite audibly weeps any time I try to dial up dinner out of sheer laziness.
We’ve mostly stuck to the same tried and true favorites in heavy rotation, such as my Szechuan Shrimp and Broccoli (a must-try!) and Sweet Chili Sriracha Salmon. Ooh! I’m also really batty over this One-Pot Spiralized Zucchini Noodle Soup which is beyond cheating since I use miso soup packets as my base. But hey, it’s super cheap and loaded with veggies so it’s an offense we can easily overlook right?
Speaking of zucchini noodles, you can 110% break out the spiralizer and sub zoodles for the long life noodles in this recipe. Another tasty gluten-free option would be to use rice noodles.
Though I made these tasty noodle bowls with fresh Yi mein noodles (aka long life noodles), there are lots of tasty swaps available.
For those of you who want to make this by raiding your pantry for what you have on hand, or for those who don’t have access to long life noodles, feel free to sub your favorite alternatives.
Ramen, Lo Mein, Udon, and a variety of other noodles work great as a last minute swap. For those of you who make their own pasta, please invite me over for dinner? I’ll love you forever!
Easy Vegan Noodle Bowls
I recently tried this recipe and fell head-over-heels in love with these chewy golden noodles and their flavorful sauce. They’re great as written below and also amazing served with shrimp, chicken, beef, or tofu.
I hope you adore it as much as we do!
:: pin it for later ::
Vegan Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 9 oz leeks
- 6-8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 3 scallions chopped
- 1 TBSP oil of choice (avocado, coconut, sesame, etc...)
- 6-8 ounces fresh long life noodles* or use your favorite noodles!
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
FOR THE SAUCE:
- 1 TBSP sesame seeds
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 TBSP sesame oil
- 1 TBSP rice wine vinegar
- 1 TBSP honey or brown rice syrup if vegan
- 1 TBSP water
- 1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- First make your sauce.
- Place sesame seeds in a large pan over medium heat and toast, stirring, until golden brown (3-5 min) Transfer to a medium bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, honey, as much crushed red pepper as desired, as well as half of your of scallions, and 1 tablespoon water. Stir to combine.
- Next prep your veggies!
- Rinse leek and trim and discard dark green tops. Halve lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1- inch pieces. Wash to remove any interior dirt and set aside. If you haven't already, clean and slice your mushrooms and scallions as well.
- Add 1 tablespoon oil to your pan at medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add mushrooms, leeks, and most of your remaining scallions (save a spoonful or two as a garnish) and sauté until tender and softened. Taste and add salt and black pepper as desired. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
- Next season a pot of boiling water generously with salt and cook your noodles per package instructions. I was using fresh, refrigerated noodles so mine only took 2 minutes so. Dried noodles will typically take a bit longer but nothing extreme.
- Add noodles to the pan with your veggies and heat to medium-high heat. Push noodles and vegetables to outer edges of pan and add sauce to center of pan and simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Stir to combine, then add spinach and cook until just wilted, about one additional minute.
- Remove pan from heat.
- Taste and add salt and black pepper as desired.
- Garnish with extra sesame seeds (optional) and the remaining green onion. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If you get a chance to try these tasty vegan noodle bowls, let me know! You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
I was looking for a side for some teriyaki chicken left overs, and I saw this and we love it. I used a low carb alternative (shirataki) noodle for mine, I just divided up the veggies and then added pasta to other portion. I didn’t have as much of each ingredient on hand so added a few sugar snaps too.
This was absolutely delicious! Followed recipe exactly, with just a few extra veggies added with the mushrooms and leeks.Awesome recipe!
Yay!!! So happy the recipe was a hit – thanks Jennifer!
My husband and I loved this recipe! I forgot to add the chile flakes, so we added a little chile crisp over the top and it was delicious. Next time I will probably try adding tofu for extra protein, although we found the dish very satisfying on its own.
Tofu makes an excellent extra – totally go for it! I’m so thrilled you enjoyed the recipe! xoxo
Made this for dinner and can’t wait to make it again.
We ate this for diner last night , I kept everything the same except for 2 cups brocoli instead of spinach . It was super good the perfect amount of sauce not too salty I used Bragg amino acid ..what a great dish !! I also had a few thinly sliced and sautéed tofu I had made in the afternoon I just added on top !!
So super glad y’all enjoyed it! Thanks!
our daughter had a shared lunch we made this recipe , and added a few more veggies so good, i hope today that her work mates like it , we dont eat egg or dairy or wheat , due to our daughters life long health issues , so have you got some stuffed recipes that look as yummy as your stuffed spuds , which look amazing except we cant use those ingrediants . im keen to make dairy egg free sweets and also healthy salads , i love your blogg we are from new zealand your an amazing cook , I have had to learn to cook all over again but our duaghter now keeps well without the foods she is allergic too,kindest michele
Hello Michele! Thank you so much for your sweet note! Are there any other ingredients you avoid besides dairy and egg? I’d be happy to help you find some more to try! I have some lovely Vegetarian Stuffed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Hummus that might work great! You can also check out my vegan recipes all in once place here <-- hopefully this helps! xoxo
I made this with gluten free spaghetti so yummy. Thanks for an awesome recipe as i am quite limited in what my stomach will allow me to eat yay no rejection woo hoo.
Yay!!! So glad you enjoyed it Christine!
Just made this for lunch with our CSA leeks and really loved it! Thanks for the great recipe!!
What a perfect way to use up a CSA box! Thanks Becca!
Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious!!! Great recipe, sauce was yum.
Thanks Niamh!!! xo