Creamy Sesame Noodle Salad

This creamy sesame noodle salad is an easy and healthy lunch or dinner recipe with a variety of veggies and tossed in a delicious sauce. The creamy sauce is made up of tahini (making it nut-free and allergy-friendly!), soy sauce, sweet chili and more. It can easily be made both oil-free and gluten-free if needed, and prepared in advance as meal prep lunches throughout the week!

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Servings: 3

Ingredients

• 1 block of extra-firm tofu (350g)
• 2 tbsp white flour (or cornstarch for gluten-free)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (see notes for oil-free)
• 1 1/2 cups shelled edamame beans
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cups red cabbage
• 150g ramen noodles (or 200g rice noodles)
• 1 green onion
• Sesame seeds

Sesame Dressing

• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 tsp maple syrup
• 2-3 tbsp water

Equipment

• Small pot
• Mixing bowl
• Small bowl or jar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Cut tofu into 3/4 inch cubes, then add to a mixing bowl and coat with flour, soy sauce and olive oil. Place on a lined baking sheet, then place in the oven for 25 minutes.
3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil to cook the ramen/rice noodles.
4. Thinly slice the red pepper, shred the red cabbage, and thaw the shelled edamame beans in the microwave.
5. Cook the ramen/rice noodles according to package directions, then strain, rinse with cold water, and strain again.
6. Prepare the tahini dressing in a small bowl or jar by mixing together tahini, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sweet chili sauce, maple syrup and water (starting with 2 tbsp, up to 3).
7. Thinly slice a green onion.
8. Once the tofu is out of the oven, assemble the salad with the noodles, crispy tofu, edamame beans, red pepper and red cabbage. Top with green onions and sesame seeds, then drizzle the tahini dressing on top, toss and enjoy!
9. If meal prepping this salad for lunches, add the dressing to the bottom of the container, then add edamame beans, red pepper, red cabbage, tofu, noodles, green onions and sesame seeds. Enjoy throughout the week for lunches (up to 5 days).

Notes

*For an oil-free version, omit olive oil from the tofu (it will still be crispy and delicious!).

*For a gluten-free version, substitute cornstarch for flour and tamari for soy sauce.

*This makes a great meal prep salad! Use containers or jars to layer the salad (starting with the dressing at the bottom) and enjoy throughout the week (up to 5 days later).