Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Peanut Sesame Dressing

This cold soba noodle salad with peanut sesame dressing is absolutely bursting with flavour, colour and crunch. Vibrant vegetables tossed in a creamy salad dressing - this salad is the perfect balance of nutty, tangy and savoury. Perfect for a potluck, dinner party or mid-week salad!

Jump to:

• Why Is This Salad So Amazing?
• Recipe Ingredients For the Salad
• Recipe Ingredients for the Dressing
• Step By Step Instructions
• FAQs, Tips and Substitutions
• Serving Suggestions
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why Is This Salad So Amazing?

Easy, fresh, and bursting with vibrant color—this cold soba noodle salad is everything you want in a dish.

Packed with crisp cabbage, sweet red capsicum, tender broccoli, and crunchy carrot ribbons, it’s all tied together with the most incredible creamy sesame peanut dressing that elevates this salad to the next level.

Ready in under 20 minutes, this salad is your go-to for entertaining, meal prep, or a satisfying everyday lunch.

It feeds a crowd (easily serves 6!), keeps beautifully in the fridge, and tastes even better after the flavors have had time to mingle.

Whether you're hosting friends or planning ahead, this salad is a total win.

Recipe Ingredients For the Salad

For this cold soba noodle salad you'll need the following ingredients:

Purple Cabbage - I love this cabbage because it brings such colour to the salad. It's super fresh and crunchy and ties in beautifully with the rest of the salad ingredients. You'll need about half a cabbage - roughly 3-4 cups. The cabbage needs to be finely sliced.

Red Capsicum/Pepper - another crunchy and colourful element. Finely slice ½ to 1 red capsicums (size dependant). Try and keep the slices uniform in size.

Carrot - you'll need one carrot julienned. The julienne cut refers to cutting a vegetable (carrots in this instance) into long matchsticks that are uniform in size. This can be manually with a knife or with a julienne grater which will make the process ten times easier.

Broccoli - the key to cooking the broccoli is to cut it up into small pieces. I blanch the broccoli with my soba noodles for about 2-3 minutes so that they are still crunchy and hold their shape. Use one small size broccoli for this recipe.

Spring Onion/Green Onion - finely slice the white parts and the green parts. These add a nice flavour to the salad and some greenery.

Coriander/Cilantro - love it or hate it, coriander is underrated in Asian style salads! An essential part and don't forget to save a few extra leaves for garnish at the end.

Recipe Ingredients for the Dressing

This soba noodle salad would be nothing without this absolutely gorgeous peanut sesame dressing! Here's what you'll need:

Soy Sauce - brings saltiness to the dish. I use light soy sauce or tamari soy sauce if you need a gluten free option.

Rice Vinegar - brings acidity to the dish. Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar can also be substituted for rice vinegar.

Peanut Butter - crunchy or smooth! Brings creaminess to the dish. I actually quite like using crunchy because I get some peanut chunks spread through the salad.

Lime Juice - bring sour to the dressing. Juice one lime, add half then adjust to taste.

Brown Sugar - brings sweetness. Can also be substituted for honey or white sugar.

Ginger - a classic pairing for Asian dressings. You'll need a tablespoon of grated ginger.

Garlic - two garlic cloves crushed.

Red Pepper Flakes - brings some heat to other dish. I am not a huge child fan so I add just a pinch.

Step By Step Instructions

See recipe card for full recipe instructions.

1. Place all the vegetables excluding the broccoli in a large salad bowl. Use one that is fairly large so that you're able to toss the salad more easily.

How Do I Cook Soba Noodles?

Soba noodles are really easy to cook and only take a few minutes.

1. Bring a medium size saucepan of water to the boil.
2. Add your soba noodles and stir so that all the noodles submerge.
3. Bring noodles to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes (or as per the packet instructions).
4. At the 2 minute mark, add your finely chopped broccoli and blanch these with the noodles.
5. Test the noodles - they should be tender to bite but not mushy.
6. Then strain the noodles and broccoli.
7. To stop the noodles sticking together, place them back in the saucepan and drizzle a little bit of neutral oil over them and give them a stir - avocado oil or vegetable oil.

How to Make the Sesame Peanut Dressing

1. Place all the ingredients in a large jar.
2. Whisk with a small whisk or fork until combined. This might take a few minutes depending on the peanut butter you have used.
3. The dressing should be well combined and creamy.

Dress this salad at the last minute before serving!

FAQs, Tips and Substitutions

What are Soba Noodles?

Soba noodles are a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. Because of this they are naturally gluten free. They have a distinct nutty and almost earthy flavour, making them the perfect addition to savoury dishes like salad.

What Can I Serve this Cold Soba Noodle Salad with?

This salad can be served with virtually any protein. I personally love this with a miso dressed salmon, or Asian marinated chicken. It is also perfectly paired with simple barbecue meat such as sausages and lamb.

Can I substitute or add ingredients?

I have curated this recipe to perfectly balance the veggies and the flavours of the dressing, but there are a few substitutions you can make or some additions.

• Shelled edamame would give this salad an extra protein boost.
• Rice vinegar can be substituted for white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Brown sugar can be subbed for honey or white sugar.
• Chili flakes can be omitted if you don't any spice added to it.

Can I make this salad ahead of time?

Yes! This is another reason I love this salad.

• Cut all the vegetables ahead of time and keep in air tight containers.
• Make the dressing at the same time you cut the vegetables. Set in the fridge in an air tight container or jar.
• Cook the soba noodles before serving - they will not keep well, make sure however they have fully cooled down before adding them to the salad.
• Broccoli can be blanched separately before cooling and adding to the salad.

I would also wait until you are ready to serve the salad before adding the dressing.

How can I store this salad and does it keep?

This salad keeps beautifully as it is very robust. Leftovers can be kept for 2 - 4 days in an air tight container.

If you were to make this for a meal prep, I would section out the dressing into small containers to add on the day.

Serving Suggestions

• Air fry a piece of salmon to go with it.
• Cook some tofu to add into the salad for some vegetarian protein.
• Put it in containers for an easy meal prep idea.
• Take it to your next pot luck or barbecue gathering
• Pack it up for a new mum to have during the week.

Let me know if you make this recipe, I'd love your feedback!

Georgie xx

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