Gluten Free Sesame Udon Salad (Soy Free)

A hand uses chopsticks to pick up udon noodle salad mixed with sliced vegetables in a white bowl.

Gluten Free Sesame Udon Salad (Soy Free)

This delicious udon noodle salad makes a perfect lunch or side dish, and it's completely gluten free and soy free! Our recipe combines gluten free udon noodles, veggies, and a sesame dressing for a cool noodle dish that's great in the summer.

Makes about 4 cups of salad (8, ½-cup servings)

Gluten free, soy free, dairy free

Course Salads

Cuisine Asian

Keyword asian noodle salad, udon noodle salad

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 157kcal

Author Sarah Jane Parker

Ingredients

8 ounces Lotus Foods udon rice noodles*
Salt for noodle cooking water
1 cup julienned snow peas
1 cup julienned rainbow carrots (or regular carrots)

Dressing

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons sweet chili sauce
2 Tablespoons San-J no-soy tamari (OR coconut aminos)
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1-2 teaspoons Sriracha optional
Fish sauce, to taste optional, leave out for vegan

Finishing touches

1-2 Tablespoons green onions, sliced thin
Any additional salt and pepper (or white pepper), to taste
1 teaspoon sesame seeds or black sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

Fill two 2-quart saucepans 2/3 to 3/4 the way with water and cook over medium heat. One pot will be for blanching the veggies, the other pot will be for cooking the noodles.
Add 1-2 teaspoons salt to the pot that the noodles will cook in.
While the water is heating up, wash and jullienne your carrots and snow peas and measure 1 cup of each after cutting.
When the pots of water come to a boil, add the noodles to the salted pasta water and cook according to the package directions (the Lotus Foods rice udon cooks for 10 minutes).
While the noodles are cooking, blanch the vegetables for 1 minute by placing them in the boiling water for 1 minute, then immediately putting them into an ice water bath. Blanching these veggies softens them just a bit so they have a better texture with the noodles.
When the noodles are done cooking, drain them and rinse them in cold water. Let them drain thoroughly.
While the noodles are draining, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
Drain the blanched veggies and put them into a large bowl, add the drained noodles, the dressing, sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and any additional salt and pepper and toss to coat.
You can serve this immediately, or you can let this rest for 10-15 minutes and the noodles will soak up some of the dressing. You can also chill this in the fridge for later. If you make this for later, toss this salad again to mix the dressing over the noodles before serving, then sprinkle with some more sesame seeds.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. These noodles continue to absorb moisture in the fridge, so they will continue to soften, so the texture of the noodles will change after 1 day in the fridge. I recommend eating this recipe the same day it's made for the best texture.

Notes

*You can use gluten free ramen noodles instead if you want a ramen noodle salad. Cook them according to the package directions and rinse in cold water, drain thoroughly before mixing with your dressing and veggies.

Nutrition