Enjoyed chilled or at room temperature, this Soba Noodle Salad tossed in a honey-soy dressing is exactly what you need for a quick, light meal.
What are some of your go-to warm-weather lunches? When I am not developing or testing a recipe, I like my summer lunch to be light and fuss-free. Today I made an easy and refreshing Soba Noodle Salad (蕎麦サラダ) that’s ready in less than 20 minutes.
In this recipe, I toss earthy Japanese soba noodles in a simple honey-soy dressing and garnish it with green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds. Simple yet bright in flavors, this salad is a true favorite of mine.
Table of Contents
What Are Soba Noodles?
Soba noodles are a type of Japanese noodles made of buckwheat, which has a completely different flavor and texture compared to the popular ramen noodles and udon noodles. Soba are often served cold such as Zaru Soba, room temperature, or in hot soup such as Soba Noodle Soup.
In Japan, we have different kinds of soba noodles depending on the percentage of buckwheat used in making the noodles.
100% vs. 80% Buckwheat Flour
Ju-wari Soba (十割そば) is made of 100% buckwheat flour, so it is gluten-free. It has a dry and rough texture so the noodles are easily broken compared to Hachi-wari Soba. Ju-wari soba has a strong buckwheat aroma and flavor, and it is hard to make because of the crumbly texture.
Hachi-wari Soba (八割そば) is made from 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour. Hachi-wari means 80% in Japanese. The noodle is much smoother with an al dente texture. Unlike Ju-wari Soba, it’s easy to swallow and chew. However, the buckwheat aroma is less than Ju-wari.
It’s hard to say which soba is tastier as it really is up to personal preferences.
Are Soba Noodles Healthy?
The Japanese consider soba noodles a healthy carb choice, especially among the variety of noodles. Low in fat, soba noodles are a great source of amino acids, manganese, protein, and fiber. It is definitely healthier than udon or ramen noodles or regular spaghetti.
For gluten-free, look for soba noodles made with 100% buckwheat. Make sure to check the ingredient list. Some Japanese grocery stores offer Juwari Soba (十割そば) that is made of 100% buckwheat flour. In the US, you can find some of the common brands like Hakubaku Organic Soba or Eden Foods Soba (100% buckwheat; gluten-free) available online or at your local grocery stores.
👉🏻 Learn more about soba, including its origin and nutrition on my pantry page.
How to Make Soba Noodle Salad
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Soba noodles
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Dressing: neutral-tasting oil, roasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes (optional), honey, and soy sauce (or tamari)
This Soba Noodle Salad recipe is the perfect blank slate for customization.
For substance, feel free to add in veggies or proteins and turn the salad into a main dish. Here are some delicious opt-in ingredients:
- Thin strips of cucumber, carrots, bell peppers, or red cabbage
- Edamame, sugar snap peas
- Pickled veggies such as kimchi or quick pickled cucumber
- Blanched broccoli or a handful of arugula
- Hard-boiled egg or ramen eggs
- Shredded leftover chicken
- Grilled tofu
A Few Quick Tips
- Soba noodles cook a lot faster than spaghetti pasta, so this noodle salad is ready in a very short time. It’s important to drain the noodles well and run them under cold running water. This helps to remove any starch from the noodles.
- You can prepare the dressing ahead of time, but toss everything together when you are ready to serve, or else soba noodles will absorb the dressing and become soggy.
More Soba Noodle Recipes
- Zaru Soba (Traditional Cold Soba Noodle)
- Toshikoshi Soba (New Year’s Eve Soba Noodle Soup)
- Soba Noodle Soup
- Oroshi Soba
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Soba Noodle Salad
Video
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes)
- 3 Tbsp honey (use maple syrup for vegan)
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
For the Salad
- 7 oz dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) (2–3 bundles)
- 2 green onions/scallions
- 1 handful cilantro (coriander) (0.7 oz, 20 g)
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Make the Dressing
- Combine 1 Tbsp neutral oil, 3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and ½ tsp crushed red pepper (red pepper flakes) in a small saucepan.
- Whisk it all together and infuse the oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Alternatively, you can put these ingredients in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 3 minutes. Set aside to let it cool a bit; be careful while handling as it‘ll get very hot.
- Add 3 Tbsp honey and 3 Tbsp soy sauce to the oil mixture.
- Whisk it all together until the honey has completely dissolved.
To Make the Salad
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot (you do not need to salt the water). Cook the soba noodles according to the package instructions, but make sure they are al dente. Drain into a colander and rinse the soba noodles under cold running water. This important step removes the excess starch from the noodles and stops the cooking. Drain well and transfer to a large bowl.
- Thinly slice 2 green onions/scallions and chop 1 handful cilantro (coriander) into small pieces.
- Add the dressing, green onions, cilantro, and 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds to the bowl with the soba noodles.
- Toss everything together. Transfer to a serving bowl or plate. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
To Serve
- Soba Noodle Salad is the perfect blank slate to customize with your favorite vegetables like edamame, sugar snap peas, cucumber slices, carrot strips, arugula, or red cabbage. Try adding blanched or pickled veggies like kimchi, Quick Fresh Kimchi, Spicy Japanese Pickled Cucumbers, and Blanched Broccoli with Sesame Oil. For a more substantial meal, you can add hard-boiled eggs, Ramen Eggs, shredded leftover chicken, or grilled tofu.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 13, 2013. It is updated with a new video and step-by-step pictures in August 2016. The content was updated with more information in July 2022.
Just tried putting together seasoning/dressing and hmmm taste like I’m having a yummy soba dinner later, well not really soba coz I don’t have them right now so I might be experimenting with yellow dried noodle I have. Wish me luck. Thanks again for all your wonderful recipe here.
Hi Julie! Hope you enjoyed the noodles! It should work – my friend uses spaghetti noodles and it tastes delicious! 🙂
I am getting really fond of your blog and I am so wanting to try all the recipe you are sharing here. Glad to have found your blog. Thumbs up!
Hi Julie! Awww thank you for your kind words! I hope you enjoy my recipes. xo 🙂
can we replace microwave with oven ? any advice?i dont have microwave
thanks for yr recipe.. its nice !
Hi Tammy! For step 1, you can use a small saucepan instead of microwave. You heat the oil and infuse with the chili to get chili oil. Hope that helps. 🙂
Thanks, Nami!
Hi ,Nami . Thanks for this succulent Recipe ..But Can I use Olive oil instead of grapeseed oil or sesame oil?
Hi Rasel! I’m sorry for my late response (I’m traveling and don’t spend much time in front of PC lately). Olive oil is too thick and has fragrance so I don’t recommend; however, if you don’t mind that, you can use it. Canola or grapeseed oil is lighter in texture and no smell, so it’s more appropriate for sauce. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hello Nami,
I hope you are enjoying your summer! Thank you again for a wonderful recipe. I tried it today, with three soba bundles. Lucky I did that because some friends dropped by, and it was enough for everybody to have a taste. It was refreshing. The spring onion and cilantro was a great combination. At first, I was not really sure if that combination would work. Everybody, including myself was expecting something Japanese tasting, but it turned out to be a Thai-style dish, which was a surprise. I’ll definitely make this salad again. It is a simple, make ahead dish, perfect for a hot, sunny day. Thank you again for sharing the recipe.
Hi Kisa! Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Yeah it’s not typical Japanese, especially when cilantro is in it, and this is more Asian style (I usually put Japanese name after the dish if it’s Japanese food. :)). Thanks so much for your feedback!
I am going to try this tomorrow for breakfast and pair it with korroke.
What do you usually eat this with, Nami?
Thanks for another exciting dish!!!
Hi Cha! Sorry for my late response. I hope you enjoyed this recipe. It goes well with pretty much anything, but maybe Asian theme dishes might be nice. It’s refreshing flavor, so if you have some BBQ meat this will be a nice side. Hope that helps. 🙂
I tried this out for lunch yesterday, and did as you suggested and added more things to make it a full meal. It was delicious. I ended up adding some crab sticks, cucumber (I sliced and quartered them), and shredded carrot (which was really very difficult to do with baby carrots). It looked beautiful with all that extra color and it it tasted amazing. I hope the leftovers have held up for today’s lunch! 🙂
Hi Angela! Happy to hear that you liked the recipe! Thank you so much for your feedback. Hope the leftovers were good too. 🙂
I just tried this recipe today. Not bad, but i had a few issues. First it seemed like it’s a bit too much sauce for 6 oz. i used an 8oz package and there was more than enough sauce. Plenty left in the bowl afterwards.
I used agave instead of honey, but the dish seemed overly sweet. (maybe it’s supposed to be very sweet? Or maybe the agave made it sweeter than it would be with honey) It also wasnt spicy at all, didnt really taste the red pepper.
Next time i try the dish im going to cut back on the amount of sauce a bit. Im also going to cut way back on the agave (1TBS should be more than enough. is 3 a typo maybe?), and im going to up the amount of red pepper a bit.
Hi Matt! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! As I mentioned, the heat was nothing to my husband while my kids and I thought it’s a bit spicy. If you like it spicy, you can even sprinkle crushed pepper instead of just using chili infused oil that we make with microwave. I don’t think 3 Tbsp. of honey wasn’t that sweet as I don’t like food with too sweet flavor. But honey will give a nice hint of sweetness, not like “sweet” food. I’ve never used agave before so I’m not too sure how that will turn out. Some people prefer the sauce to have extra rather than not having enough sauce, so I made the recipe plenty than just enough. I’ll update the recipe with that info. Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback. I really appreciate it. Thank you again for writing!
Hi Nami, thanks for the reply. Just wanted to post back and say that i had some of the leftover noodles that were stored in the fridge later on in the evening. The sauce had thickened a bit, and it was even better than before. It didnt seem as overly sweet as before and not as oily, so it was almost perfect. Like you said, i can always add more red pepper to suit my taste. I’ll definitely try the recipe again, maybe just cut back on the agave a little bit, and maybe chill it before eating. Thanks!
Hi Matt! Yeah, the oil thickens as it cools down. Some people may prefer that thick texture and it’s more refreshing when it’s cold too. Thank you again for your kind feedback! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful day!
What changes would you recommend to make this sesame-free? I’m deathly allergic and still learning how to cook things other than desserts, so I’m not that good at figuring out what can be replaced for what.
Hi Proto! This dressing has sesame flavor, so if you don’t add sesame oil/sesame, then the flavor will be different and it will be a little different dish. However, it will be still tasty with using regular oil and also using like rice vinegar to add some kick.
Yum! I am making this tonight! So happy that I have all the ingredients! Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Donna! Thanks for tagging me on Instagram and your Soba Salad was so pretty! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this dish. Thank you!!
Nami, I have made this soba salad about 5 times already! Despite the heat, it’s so refreshing and needless to say, it’s my favorite soba salad! I have the recipe memorized! Thank you again for sharing a wonderful recipe!
Donna, you made me SUPER happy!!!! Thank you so much for trying this recipe – already 5 times!! 😀 You totally made my day!
Hi Nami,
I am wondering if I can use vegetable oil or olive oil instead of canola or grapeseed oil for the dressing. Please advise.
Thank you.
Hi Cindy! Vegetable oil is good. You basically want to use some oil that doesn’t have flavor/flagrance which would not go well with sesame oil. Olive oil tends to have some flavor/fragrance so I’d avoid (but if you don’t mind, you can). Hope that helps! 🙂
PS: This can be made ahead and kept in the fridge until serving time, right?
Hi Jayne! When you keep the soba noodles in the fridge, they might be stick to each other. But when you pour the dressing, I think they will have enough oil to separate each noodle. I haven’t made ahead of time before, but I think it should work. 🙂
Yes, I think I will dress it first before keeping it in the fridge. More flavour absorption that way. 🙂 Tomorrow is the gathering so I’ll be prepping it in the morning for dinner. Thanks for the recipe, Nami.
Actually I’d recommend to dress it before you serve. The soba can be too salty if you soak it (it absorb fairly quickly) and the texture won’t be nice. If you pour the dressing before serving, it should be okay. Enjoy the gathering tomorrow! 🙂
Ooops. Okay. Will bear that in mind. Thanks for the tip! Will surely enjoy it. My little nephew is turning one. 🙂
Aww happy birthday to your nephew! 🙂
I love love love cold soba noodles. Everytime we go for Japanese, we would always have cha soba or zaru soba. I think we’ll love this very much. We’re having a little family gathering this Saturday. Might make this for a sort of appetizer!
I can’t wait to try this. I have all the ingredients except the soba noodles.
Hope you like this recipe Candice! (sorry for my late response… =P)
Hello Nami,
I can’t wait to try this, I have almost all the ingredients in my kitchen right now.
I just wanted to say thank you for all your great recipes and especially for all the extra information (including hiragana or kanji) about Japanese ingredients.
I’m British and currently living in Chiba prefecture, I love to cook but felt a bit overwhelmed when I first arrived in Japan. Now I have discovered your fantastic website I feel like I have a Japanese advisor in my kitchen. 🙂
Hi Claire! I hope you like this dish! Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m happy to hear you enjoy my site and hope you enjoy your stay in Japan! 🙂