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 flavor, this salad is a true favorite of mine.
Table of Contents
What Are Soba Noodles?
Soba noodles are Japanese buckwheat noodles. They have a completely different flavor and texture from the popular ramen and udon noodles. Soba is often served cold, such as Zaru Soba, or in hot soup, such as Soba Noodle Soup.
In the US, some of the common brands like Hakubaku Organic Soba or Eden Foods Soba (100% buckwheat; gluten-free) are available online or at your local grocery stores.
In Japan, there are different types of soba noodles depending on the percentage of buckwheat used in the noodles.
100% vs. 80% Buckwheat Flour
Juwari 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.
Hachiwari 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 and has an al dente texture. Unlike Ju-wari Soba, it’s easy to swallow and chew. However, the buckwheat aroma is less than that of Ju-wari. Hachiwari soba is also known as Nihachi Soba (二八そば)—ni (two) and hachi (eight) for the ratio.
It’s hard to say which soba is tastier as it really is up to personal preferences.
Ingredients for Soba Noodle Salad
Here’s what you’ll need to make Soba Noodle Salad:
- Soba noodles
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Dressing: neutral oil, roasted sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, honey, and soy sauce (or tamari)
How to Make Soba Noodle Salad
- Make the salad dressing: Heat the neutral oil, sesame oil, and red chili pepper flakes in a saucepan and cook until fragrant. Remove from the heat and add the honey and soy sauce. Set aside to cool.
- Boil the soba noodles: Cook according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse off the starch under cold running water. Drain well and set aside.
- Assemble: Combine the chilled noodles, the cooled dressing, freshly chopped green onions and cilantro, and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Toss everything together and serve immediately.
Customize Soba Noodle Salad
This Soba Noodle Salad recipe is the perfect blank slate for customization. For substance, feel free to add 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 Spicy Japanese Pickled Cucumber
- Blanched Broccoli or a handful of arugula
- Hard-boiled eggs or Ramen Eggs
- Shredded leftover chicken or Miso Salmon
- Grilled or pan-fried tofu
Cooking Tips and Techniques
- Soba noodles cook much faster than spaghetti noodles, so this dish comes out very quickly. If you’re serving other dishes, make sure other dishes are also ready to go.
- Remove any starch by draining the noodles well and running them under cold water. Soba noodles will keep better without starch.
- Toss everything together when you are ready to serve, or else soba noodles will absorb the dressing and become soggy. You can prepare the dressing, chop all the herbs, and boil the soba noodles ahead of time.
How to Store
You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks.
FAQs
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. They are definitely healthier than udon, ramen, 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) made of 100% buckwheat flour.
👉🏼 Learn more about soba, including its origin and nutrition on my pantry page.
Can I use another type of noodles?
Sure! You can make this dish with spaghetti noodles, udon noodles, ramen noodles, rice noodles, or konnyaku (konjac) noodles.
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. In a large pot, bring water to a boil (you do not need to salt the water).
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. The oil should be sizzling but do not burn the chili flakes. If you smell something burnt, the heat is too strong or you are cooking for too long. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1–2 minutes.
- Add 3 Tbsp honey and whisk well until the honey has completely dissolved. Tip: Don't add the soy sauce first as it will splatter.
- Add 3 Tbsp soy sauce to the mixture and whisk it all together. Set aside.
To Make the Salad
- Cook 7 oz dried soba noodles (buckwheat noodles), stirring once in a while, according to the package instructions, but make sure they are al dente.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice 2 green onions/scallions.
- Discard the stems of 1 handful cilantro (coriander) and chop the leafy parts into small pieces.
- 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. Pour the cooled dressing over the soba noodles.
- Add the green onions, cilantro, and 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds to the bowl with the soba noodles. Toss everything together.
To Serve
- Transfer to a serving bowl or plate. Serve chilled or at room temperature. For a spicy kick, you can sprinkle shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice).
To Customize
- 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.
Hi Nami! My family and I really enjoyed this recipe. The sweet/salty dressing is a perfect balance to the cilantro and green onions. Thank you for sharing this great dish!
Hi Anita! Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I tripled the sauce so I’d have some in the fridge for other salads. I also did NOT triple the crushed red pepper flakes. I added some raw red pepper strips, thinly sliced green cabbage, blanched snow peas and baby spinach…dreamy! Next time I”ll add some cooked chicken breast. This is a wonderful recipe.
Hi Diana! Oh that sounds yummy! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
If this is not rude, I propose you change “WHAT IS SOBA NOODLES?” to “WHAT ARE SOBA NOODLES?” As you did correctly above, because the noodles are plural, we must use a plural verb.
Thank you for letting me know, it’s been fixed. 🙂
I cannot read your recipes without the distraction of 3 SNS option icons JUMPING UP AND DOWN at the bottom of the page! (They are Pin, Facebook and Twitter). Is there any way to prevent this? If not, I must unsubscribe as it is tormenting. Also, in your Japanese Pickled Cucumber recipe, is the sugar essential to the pickling process or can we omit it at will?
Hi Christina! I am sorry the social media buttons are distracting you. Unfortunately there is no option for each reader to disable it with this plugin. I have it for a while, but if others claimed to be distracting, I’ll consider removing it. There are many ways to make Asazuke, and you can omit sugar if you like – but please adjust other ingredients.
Hey Nami! Wonderful recipe and I love your blog! Just wanted to say that some vegans would not consume honey (since it’s a product that comes from an animal), do you have any good plant-based substitutions instead? Cheers!
Hi Hannah! Thank you for your kind words! I just doubled check and this recipe was under Vegan category. I apologize it was in the wrong category.
I like soba noodle salad as it has a lot of health benefits.
Hi Amy! Yes indeed! Hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂
Thank you for the wonderful Soba salad recipe. I made it for Japanese style dinner together with some other salads from your website and me and my partner really enjoyed it. Deliciously easy dish. Will certainly try more recipes as I really love Japanese food.
Thanks a lot. Mara
Hi Mara! Thank you for trying this recipe and other recipes too! I’m so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed my recipes. Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
Love your recipes! Where did you buy your whisker?
Thank you Wendy! Amazon: http://amzn.to/23Xyfq1 I use it all the time! 🙂
We love the Soba salad and have it once a week now. Thank you 🙂
Hi Sandy! So happy to hear that you like this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Hmm in a pinch, can I used udon for this salad? I still have a serving of udon made using your JOC recipe in the freezer.
Hi Christina! The texture will be different, it will be more like a meal than salad (as it’s thick and when you eat, it’ll be more mouthful of udon haha). But I think it’ll work. 🙂
Ah thank you Nami for the explanation. I forgot about the texture. Will definite get soba noddles before trying the recipe to do justice.
I will make this over the weekend…..Since my husband is allergic to cilantro…should I just leave out or garnish with Italian Parsley….your thoughts???
Thanks
Hi Lyn! You can totally omit it. If you like parsley you can add, but I recommend keeping it “Asian herbs”. You can add julienned cucumbers etc if you feel like you want to add more green. Otherwise, chopped green onion should give enough kick. 🙂
I’m definitely more familiar with Hachi-wari, I love it. I just tried making this with a black bean noodle – the texture was a bit rough, but the flavor was not bad. I still very much prefer a buckwheat soba though.
Hi Damie! Yeah, I’ve been told by JOC readers that it’s hard to find 100% buckwheat (they are looking for GF option). I think mostly Japanese packages and imported from Japan. Oh I never thought of making this with a black bean noodle kind! Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
Nice recipe – over the Summer I really have been more keen on making cool recipes a few more times than usual. I like the use of honey in dressings – made recently That Peanut Dressing (by Jenn on @onceuponachef) where the sweetness really brings a unique flavour to the dish.
To your lifestyle post that came with this recipe: I always preferred waking up early, usually just before 6am (for me work doesn’t start until 9am officially, but I’m there early anyway 😉 ). Immediately when awake I start doing my morning fitness programme which takes a bit over an hour to do. To refresh further after that a good shower with a moderate temperature that’s neither hot or cold. I find that personally more refreshing than caffeine ;-). Also instead of caffeine I drink a good amount of water as, after waking up, a good amount of water helps feeling awake – I drink water stepwise during exercise so I gradually hydrate.
Towards the last 30 minutes before going to bed I try to avoid doing anything active, which doesn’t work out every day because of a new creative idea. When I got it noted down though I feel much happier and my brain feels cleared of that thought so I can sleep well (strangely enough). I also start reducing any liquid consumption 1-2 hours before bed time – I find that drinking a lot of water or anything else that late keeps me more awake and proactive mentally, which reduces the chances of sleeping on time. I usually only need 6 hours sleep or a little bit less so I keep that amount of sleep in mind so I plan a set time frame when I should consider going to sleep to wake up at my usual and preferred morning time.
This is just my lifestyle habit. Everybody’s different so it’s important for an individual to realise what is healthier and preferential to them in terms of sleep and exercise. The good thing about your new lifestyle plan is, once you have gotten used to doing it like that, you feel more energised in the morning to deal with all that has to happen for the day from breakfast onward! I personally like that sort of lifestyle, which sounds like mine with early waking up, jumping straight to exercise and taking a suitable time to go to sleep for a good amount of sleep, so I can recommend that you and Mr JOC pursue it!
If your kids are early awake as well (don’t know if they are – my mum described me as an early daily waker ever since I was born), you and Mr JOC might have them join as fitness buddies: I’ve seen other mums buddying with their kids with their exercise, which they both seem to enjoy!
(I just realised the length of this message – I should consider sharing it with others as well! Feel free to share this post with others 😀 ).
Hi Leo! Thanks so much for sharing your story! I loved it! So far so good. I really like that big part of morning activity (workout + shower) is BEFORE everything starts. I used to drop off the kids, go home, and start my exercise. By the time shower is done, it’s 10:30 am. Some days I have to go pick up kids at 2 pm. I struggle for not having a big chunk of time. I think waking up early solved this issue, as I’m available at my desk at 8:30 am WORKING. It’s great.
Only issue I have is that after cleaning up the dinner, around 8 pm, I’m so close to my sleeping time that I can’t barely have time to work… I have to squeeze in work time here and there and often I work till 10 minutes before I go to sleep. LOL. I think I wasn’t sleeping enough hours that I actually pass out quickly (no trouble falling asleep. HAHAHA).
I like your quiet time before bed time. I usually don’t have that time but I love the sound of it and want to try. Thanks for sharing the tip!
My kids wake up early enough since I study Japanese with them for 30 minutes before going to school (we have homework and activities after school so I have to squeeze in Japanese in the morning!). In the summer my daughter and I did some exercise together (fitness blender youtube) and that was fun. 🙂
Oh, and drinking water… I really need to work on that. I just don’t like plain water… (drinking tea and coffee all day) 😀 Thank you for inspiring me and us (including JOC readers)!!! I love that you responded to my newsletter story! Thank you!
Sounds like a great turnaround in your life thus far – hope that it’ll work out with the evening that you get the chance to make a turn on that as well and get your sleep. Exhaust does help with falling asleep too LOL! But I hope you get the chance of the 30-minute quiet time before bed – like I said, I don’t get that every evening, particularly if there is something that needs doing (either personally or work-related) or a sudden creative spark emerges! But getting to bed with that time at hand is unwinding for my proactive mind and, personally, feels rewarding somehow 🙂
Yes, the water drinking I can recommend. A lot of people find water boring and therefore prefer drinking something more tasteful – I can speak of many examples particular my dad! I became big on water drinking as I found that hydration keeps me more active and awake, as well as avoiding headaches and lack of concentration! I do drink a lot though, and that mostly fairly fast, without any thought of the taste – I daily exceed 2 litres! I also wanted to reduce my coffee and tea consumption because I found myself not liking the drinks as much as I just felt like I didn’t take time to enjoy that great flavour – now I drink either one cup of coffee or tea every second day to do that! My family think I’m crazy for drinking too little coffee LOL! I do drink other things with taste much slower, like milk, juice, smoothie or an alcoholic beverage, which does allow me to take more time enjoying the taste (if I like it)!
Just as a note: As a result of focussing much on water drinking I actually can’t drink any soft/soda drinks like cola, fanta, etc. without getting unwell. Energy drinks are particularly bad for me!
Thank you for saying that it’s inspiring! I do hope it helps cuz it does on me! 😉
Hi Leo! I’m super motivated now thanks to you. I have been moving around with a bottle water reminding myself that you drink 2L. LOL. I don’t like soda or juice much (I’m more of tea and coffee person) but water is something I need to learn to enjoy. I’ll keep it up! Thanks for all of your encouraging words and advice. I appreciate it!
Yumm. I really enjoy this website. You are the best!
Thank you for reading my blog, Aimee! 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Are you sure it’s 3 minutes for step 1? Won’t the oil explode in the microwave?
Hi Ben! It’ll get hot, so please be careful. My microwave (old one) was 1100 W. It doesn’t explode, but you can also use a pot, instead of microwave. 🙂
hi Nami, can i use olive oil instead ? thats the only oil I have in the kitchen. thank you.
Hi Star! Some reader above (search “olive oil” on this page) tried this recipe with olive oil. I think it’s good to use natural flavored oil since you’re infusing the oil with chilis. Olive oil is not neutral flavor. 🙂