When I shared my Sweet & Spicy Hot Chili Chicken Noodles a couple of years back I had no idea how much you all would fall in love with them. We even made them for one of our first Recipes of the Month!
After that, I was on a noodle and pasta kick, so I decided to bring you a veggie-packed, vegan noodle stir fry for your next #MeatlessMonday dinner. Damn, THEY ARE GOOD. They quickly became and AK reader fav, so you know I had to reshare them.
These vegan noodles are packed with a rainbow of veggies, an incredible sesame stir fry sauce, toasted sesame seeds and a boost of plant-based protein from chickpeas. What more could you need? Get ready for an amazing new dinner to try that takes just 30 minutes.
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What you’ll need to make these vegan stir fry noodles
The flavors in these vegan noodles are out of this world delicious thanks to a sweet & savory sauce and some fresh herbs. A rainbow of veggies and plant based protein makes it the perfect, well-rounded meal! Here’s everything you’ll need to make them:
- For the sauce: you’ll need low sodium soy sauce, some water, garlic, coconut sugar or brown sugar, sesame oil (I recommend toasted sesame oil), rice vinegar, fresh ginger, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and a little arrowroot starch to thicken it.
- For the veggies & chickpeas: we’re tossing these stir fry noodles with onion, carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli and a can of chickpeas.
- Noodles: I like to use stir fry rice noodles, but ramen or soba noodles would be delicious.
- To serve: garnish your bowl with fresh basil leaves, scallions, roasted cashews and some extra sesame seeds. YUM.
Simple ingredient swaps
Out of a few ingredients in these vegan stir fry noodles? No worries! Here are some substitutions I can recommend:
- No sesame oil? Feel free to use coconut oil or regular olive oil. Though I will say sesame oil, and especially toasted sesame oil, adds a wonderful flavor to the entire dish.
- Swap the sesame seeds: you can also use tahini in place of the sesame seeds in the sauce.
- Choose your sweetener: I like to use coconut or brown sugar in the sauce, but a little pure maple syrup will also work well.
- Pick the starch: adding arrowroot starch helps to thicken the sauce, but you can also use regular cornstarch.
- Get veggie crazy: the best part about this recipe is that you can throw in any veggies you have on hand! These vegan noodles would also be delicious with mushrooms, snap peas, green beans or cabbage.
Which noodles are best for stir fry?
I love using rice noodles in this recipe because they cook quickly and make the recipe that much easier. Soba noodles will add a stronger texture and a slightly nutty, earthy flavor, udon noodles are thicker and extra chewy, and ramen noodles will have a lighter texture.
If you’re out of these noodles you could also use spaghetti or fettuccine noodles for ease!
One bowl of sesame noodles, endless protein options
These stir fry noodles make the perfect base for tons of different proteins — plant-based or not! Have fun experimenting with some of these options:
- Tofu: bake, grill or stir fry tofu cubes right with the veggies! You could add cubes or ground/crumbled tofu for a delicious, plant-based protein.
- Chicken: cubed, cooked chicken or even ground chicken would be delicious in this recipe if you’re not vegetarian/vegan.
- Shrimp: do you follow a pescatarian diet (or just like seafood?) try adding some grilled, baked or pan fried shrimp!
- Egg: get fancy and throw a fried egg on top of your stir fry noodles — YUM.
Cozy stir fry noodles in 30 minutes
These vegan noodles come together in just 3o minutes for the perfect weeknight dinner.
- Make your sauce. Whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until well-combined and set it aside.
- Cook the veggies. You’ll then cook down all of those beautiful veggies in a little sesame oil until they’re tender but still have a nice bite to them.
- Cook the noodles. While the veggies are cooking, cook the stir fry noodles according to the directions on the package.
- Add the chickpeas & sauce. Next, stir your drained can of chickpeas into the pot with the cooked veggies. Turn the heat to low and add your stir fry sauce.
- Finish with noodles & enjoy. Once your sauce has thickened a bit, stir in the noodles, basil and cashews and enjoy!
You’ll love this time-saving tip
Looking to make these vegan stir fry noodles even quicker? Feel free to chop all of your veggies and make the stir fry sauce ahead of time and store them (separately) in airtight containers in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook!
Storing & reheating
Feel free to store any leftover stir fry sesame noodles in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Simply reheat the noodles in a microwave safe dish and enjoy!
If you like this recipe, you might also like
- Vegan Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Vegetarian Thai Pineapple Forbidden Fried Rice
- 30-Minute Sesame Chicken Green Bean Stir Fry
- Courtney’s Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
- Thai Peanut Coconut Cauliflower Chickpea Curry
- Sweet & Spicy Hot Chili Chicken Noodles
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I hope you love these 30 minute vegan stir fry sesame noodles! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
30 Minute Vegan Stir Fry Sesame Noodles with Chickpeas & Basil
Ingredients
- For the sauce:
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar (or sub 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (preferably toasted sesame oil)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (or sub 1 tablespoon tahini)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ tablespoon arrowroot starch (or sub cornstarch)
- For the veggies & chickpeas:
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (preferably toasted sesame oil)
- ½ white onion, cut into large chunks
- 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large head of broccoli, chopped into florets
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- For the noodles:
- 10 ounces stir fry rice noodles (or feel free to sub ramen noodles or soba noodles)
- For serving:
- ½ cup basil leaves, ribboned/julienned
- 1/2 cup roasted cashews, chopped
- Scallions (green part of the onion only)
- Extra sesame seeds
Instructions
- First make your stir fry sauce: in a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, water, garlic, coconut sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and arrowroot starch (or cornstarch). Set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to a large pot then add in chopped onion and sliced carrots and cook for 2-4 minutes until onions begin to soften. Next add in broccoli and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for an additional 6-8 minutes or until broccoli is slightly tender but still have a bite.
- While the veggies are cooking, make your stir fry rice noodles according to the directions on the package. Then drain and set aside.
- Add the drained chickpeas to the pot with the cooked veggies. Immediately turn the heat to low and add in the sauce. Cook for an additional 2 minutes over low heat until the sauce begins to thicken a bit. It should be nice and saucy. Stir in rice noodles, fresh basil ribbons and cashews; toss again to combine. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on April 26th, 2021, and republished on April 27th, 2023.
111 comments
Will be making this and your vegan dinners soon am a vegan so these are perfect for me can i skip red bell pepper as am not a big fan of it perfect for my after office meals will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
Great! Hope you love it!
Can’t wait to try this! I love all of your stir fry recipes! Have you ever thought of doing a healthier sweet and sour chicken recipe? That would be so good!
Hope you love this one! Hmmm I do have this orange chicken stir fry that you might like 🙂
Used brown rice ramen as I didnt have other noodles. Recipe was so quick and easy to make. Very tasty.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
The flavor was delicious!
We accidentally used very wide rice noodles (it was all we could find) and used a 14 oz. package instead of 10. This resulted in the noodles not being as saucy, but it still turned out great. We had never cooked with rice noodles before, so that was an experience of its own.
I would recommend sautéing the veggies for the 6 minutes vs. 4, as ours were still pretty crunchy.
We also added shrimp and enjoyed that.
We can’t wait to try it again!
Glad you enjoyed! Next time maybe try chopping the veggies a bit smaller if they were too crunchy (or yes, give them a little more time!) Shrimp sounds delicious in here.
Seriously SO DELICIOUS! It might replace our favorite takeout!!!
So glad you loved it!!
I am going to make this tomorrow night.
Thank you it looks delicious.
Hope you love it!
So yummy and perfect for a weeknight!! I didn’t have fresh basil or sesame seeds for serving, but it was still amazing. I also added in snow peas and made about 1.5x the sauce recipe because I used a 14oz pack of rice noodles.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
Monique my husband loved this recipe. He couldn’t stop raving about it. I added grilled chicken sausage and substituted Dececco Fedelini for the rice noodles. Fabulous! Thank you. Congratulations on the birth of Viggo. Two beautiful boys.
I’m so glad!! And thank you! 🙂
Super satisfying, and leaves you feeling good and not super heavy. Has a lighter, fresher taste which we loved! And was still full of flavour!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
This recipe was super tasty! Didn’t make any substitutions. My only complaint is that we found the texture of the chickpeas a bit odd with the noodles. I think I’ll make this again, but substitute tofu or eggs for the chickpeas for added protein.
Glad you enjoyed! And yes feel free to choose your fav protein.
The sauce is so good!!!
Isn’t it incredible?? Glad you like it!
Made this tonight, doubled the recipe for my house, and everyone loved it! Used ramen noodles and they worked well. The basil adds such a lovely freshness and flavor!
Perfect! Glad it was a hit 🙂
I just have a question before I make this… can I use glass noodles with this recipe??
That sounds incredible! Sure!
This is delicious! I was looking for a quick vegan weeknight dinner and this hit the spot. I loaded it up with veggies (broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, green beans). I omitted the chickpeas and subbed simple air-fried tofu instead but otherwise made it exactly as suggested. Served with extra Sriracha (I LOOOVE heat) and it was perfect! YUMMY – another delicious dinner!
Perfect! Love the idea of adding crispy tofu – YUM.
This recipe was so fast and easy. A fantastic weeknight meal. It will be added to our rotation!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
Delicious! I modified the recipe to account for what we had in the house, so I made the sauce and tossed it with rice noodles, chicken, and stir fry veggies (snow peas, sprouts, carrots, edamame), then topped it with cashews and sesame seeds, Super flavorful and I’m already looking forward to the leftovers. Just a note: I found the noodle ratio to be really high for 4 servings. I used the listed amount and thought it was too much compared to the sauce/veggies/other ingredients. Easy fix! Next time I’ll just scale down the noodles and keep everything else the same. Thanks for another hit, Monique!
So happy you loved it, Hilary! And good to know about the noodles, thanks for sharing 🙂
DELISH!! I used Soba noodles because that’s what I had on hand, omitted the cashews and opted for a little extra spice (little sriracha in the sauce). This dish is tantalizing, colourful, flavourful and packed with nutritious vegetables. Will definitely be using the sauce recipe for other stir frys as well.
So glad that the soba noodles worked and that you loved it! Thanks, Stacey 🙂
Love, love, love this recipe!!! It is so tasty, nourishing and filling! I have made it several times already, and I am planning to make it again this week. I normally use vegan meat in lieu of chickpeas, and I also swap broccoli for 10 ounces of green beans. It works perfectly every time! Your talent is impressive, Monique <3
Aw, thank you so much, Marija!! I’m so happy you’re loving it. Great idea to use vegan meat and green beans–yummm 🙂
Oh emm geee, this recipe was so yum! I made some small modifications tailored to my personal preferences and what I had on-hand. Namely, I reduced the coconut sugar and red pepper flakes 50% and also used 1/4 cup of soy sauce instead of 1/3. It was still spicy, and that’s coming from someone who loves spicy foods and eats them all of the time. I didn’t have carrots, but I did have green beans which fit great with the bell pepper, onion, and broccoli combo. I could see a wide range of veggies working well in this recipe. Mushrooms would be a great addition! Any noodle would work well here too, or even sans noodle and served over rice. Will be keeping this in my rotation. Thanks Monique!
I’m so glad you loved it, Steph!! Those are all great modifications and additions. Totally agree that lots of different veggies and noodles would work well in here 🙂
WOW! SO good!!! I made it tonight and after my husband took one bite he said “I love this.” Only had shrimp on hand, used coconut aminos + fish sauce instead of soy sauce and it was *chefs kiss*.* awesome recipe! Will be a regular one for sure.
YAY!! So happy you guys loved it. And those are excellent additions–yummm 🙂
This is my absolute favorite go to! It comes together so quickly and easily! I found it a bit too salty so I cut back on the aminos (because I’ve made it like 6x in as many weeks! 🙂 but otherwise follow exactly as suggested.
The best part – you can throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand! Yum yum yum! I opt for fried tofu instead of chickpeas and served with rice noodles. PERFECT! Also tastes delicious cold!
So happy you’re loving this one so much, Sarah!! And yep, it’s super versatile–love the idea of adding tofu 🙂
This was delicious and so easy to make. We added chicken and veggies we had in hand, and we ate the entire thing! The sauce was like something we would get in a restaurant.
Amazing!! I’m so happy you guys loved it 🙂
I made this dish last night and it was so good. I cannot wait for leftover at lunch! I added red cabbage to it as an additional veggie as well. Just yummy!!
Ooh love the idea of adding cabbage! SO glad you loved it 🙂
This is an amazing weeknight dinner! Next time I make it will add tofu or another protein so it keeps us fuller longer. Great flavors, so easy, and a crowd pleaser.
So happy you love it! And great idea to add tofu/another protein 🙂
I just made this for dinner and it tasted great! I honestly just wanted to use up some rice noodles we had left but this was so amazing that we might have to buy some more 😋 the flavour and textures were perfect and it was wonderfully healthy too!
Ahh yay!! So happy that you loved it so much 🙂
Amazing, easy dinner anytime of the week. Makes a great leftover!
Delicious! I was skeptical about putting chickpeas in a stir fry but they were super good. I didn’t have any fresh ginger so used a 1/4 teaspoon of dried ginger. Will make this again.
Made this last night and it was great!! I doubled everything but the sauce and it was still plenty saucy for me. I prepped the veggies and sauce ahead of time, so it came together very quickly. Definitely will make it again!
Yet another delicious recipe, my partner and I loved it!
Would not want to change a thing!
Aw yay!! I’m so happy you guys loved this!
So tasty! Added extra broccoli and wish I had doubled the sauce recipe because the sauce so so good
Glad you loved it! And great idea to double the sauce 🙂
Tried this for dinner for the first time – All of us enjoyed it and agreed that it should be on our routine rotztion – high praise coming from my family!
Another great recipe by Monique! Loved it. I made it exactly as the recipe stated and it worked beautifully. I am not vegan but love yo change up the meals for my toddler and I. Will be making again.
Yummmm! My boyfriend was a fan, too. Easy and a great week night recipe.
One of the best things I’ve cooked in a long time. My entire family loved it, I’d recommend doubling the sauce recipe because there wasn’t really enough to coat everything, but the flavor was still absolutely amazing.
Nice!! So happy everyone loved it 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a review, Isabell!
AMAZING! I made this for the first time two weeks ago and it’s one of my new favorite meals. I’ve already made it three times and the flavors are so good!
Oh YAY!! So glad this one’s on repeat in your kitchen 🙂 One of my fav dinners, too!
Made this for supper using pork chops cut very thin. Loved it! The sauce was perfect…not too salty. (Sometimes I worry about that with Asian dishes) Even my 10 year old loved it!
Loved!! Easy meal for a busy week night. Will definitely make again!
Loved this! Added cabbage to the veggies and a little tahini to the sauce. We had Rice ramen style noodles and they were perfect. Also added shrimp for some extra protein and it was amazing. Thank you!
This is so delicious and pretty quick to make. My kids even liked it! Will definitely be making it again.
Hi Monique
I’m curious about the nutrition info listed for the
30 Minute Vegan Stir Fry Sesame Noodles with Chickpeas & Basil.
It states 100 plus carbohydrates per serving, or is it for the total 4 servings? I would love to make this, but, having to be cautious about carbs (diabetes) I’d be unable to eat it! I know pasta and nuts are high in carbs, but, if it is 100 plus carbs per serving, what makes it so high? Thanks!
Hi, Kathy! We just recalculated and it’s right around there; the noodles + chickpeas + veggies are what lend all the carbs. Feel free to use a lower carb noodle like Banza chickpea-based pasta or even hearts of palm noodles if you’d like 🙂
Monique! I just made this for the first time tonight, and it is awesome. I love that I used 4 different colors of veggies. The sauce was so good too!
Oh I’m so glad you loved it!! Thanks for the review, Angela 🥰
Super simple and tasty, just what I needed on a week night. The only changes I made were to sub a little of the soy sauce for fish sauce and to use fresh ramen noodles.
Yay! Happy you loved it, Beth. And those are great swaps — I bet the fresh ramen noodles were fabulous!
Delicious!! Last minute dinner party, and these noodles were a hit for even the pickiest eaters!! Thank you!
This was sooo good! My son doesn’t like alot of food ever since he had covid, it changed how things taste to him. He ate a huge bowl! That made my momma heart happy, I only had a small amount of broccoli so I used some cauliflower with it. When I toasted the cashews I put a little maple syrup on them, it was really good!
Oh man, so sorry to hear that! But I’m glad that he really loved this one and that you did, too!
This meal will now be a staple in our home. We had all the ingredients on hand, easy to make and delicious!!
Ahhh this is amazing. SO glad you and the family enjoyed this recipe. Easy and delicious ☺️
This was excellent! And added to my favourites. Thanks!
Yum! So glad you are loving this recipe 🙂
For more protein I think I will add chicken, and for less carbs I will omit the noodles and serve over brown rice? Thought’s?
That should work!
Delicious! And easy to make! I made the exact recipe however I did t have cilantro as it was not on the ingredient list so I didn’t buy any. This was just delicious. It will become a regular in our rotation. The beauty is you can add other veggies if you wish.
When I make it again I will increase the broccoli by 50% and will double the sauce and increase the pepper flakes by 50% also as we like really spicy saucy Asian dishes. If you don’t like too much spice the. The recipe is perfect. It has a slight amount of spice that is quite pleasant.
I think fresh lime squeezed on it would add another layer of flavor. My son who is visiting from Guatemala noted that cilantro and lime would go great with it. I agree.
YUM! Glad you are loving this recipe ❤️🙂
Love this dish – so tasty. I wonder if anyone has any tips on how to incorporate the rice noodles into the dish and prevent them from being a lump in the middle of the pan. I have had this problem with rice noodles in other recipes in the past, so would really like some advice. I used Kame thin rice noodles and cooked them as directed on the package.
Wow! This was delicious! I am making it again this week. The only thing I am changing is making extra sauce!
Yay! I am so glad you loved this recipe. You can NEVER go wrong with extra sauce!! ❤️
Full of flavor and simple once the veggies are prepped. Added zucchini too.
YUM! Sounds so amazing, glad you’re loving this recipe, Allison 🙂
Made this last night and it was fantastic! That dressing/sauce is so flavourful. A keeper for sure. Did not change anything. Definitely going to be on a regular rotation and just change up the protein occasionally. Thanks for such a great recipe.
Such a staple meal, Karen! Glad you’re loving it and it turned out great for you ❤️
this was so yummy! such a great base recipe to make your own with what you have on hand! i did not use chickpeas (although i’m sure they’d be delicious), we had a lot of veg to use up so i doubled the sauce and did onions, bell pepper, kale, and string beans. also added some sauteed shrimp and used thin spaghetti. side note: i accidentally 3x the brown sugar but it was not noticeable so if you mess up just keep going (:
Ah yay! I am so glad you’re enjoying this recipe and it turned out great for you (even with the additional brown sugar lol 😂)
This was sooooo good. I wanted a second helping, but my daughter’s claimed it for lunch. Next time, I want to add in the chickpeas a little sooner, and give them some char love. So delicious!!
YAY! Glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you ❤️
Delicious! I used the veggies I had in my fridge (leek, cauliflower, celery, carrot, bell pepper), but it was still so good.
Yay! I am so glad you loved this recipe, Nina 🙂
Hi! I don’t see tahini in the recipe anywhere other than if you sub for sesame seeds? Is that incorrect ?
That’s correct! There is no tahini in the sauce for this recipe.
This came out so good!! Did not have enough rice noodles on hand, so used lentil spaghetti. The combination of the two was delicious!!
Perfect!!
I absolutely love a good stir fry and this recipe is great! For those who don’t want a peanut butter based sauce as many recipes have. My husband can’t tolerate PB so this is a welcome edition to our dinner rotation.
Absolutely – this sauce is a great alternative!
I love this recipe. I made it for the second time just now, feeling pretty proud of myself 😀 I added cooked chicken and shrimp.
Love it! You should be proud!
Could I use another type of oil? I don’t care for sesame oil. Thanks!
Yes feel free to use coconut oil or olive oil!
Amazing noodles, full of flavor! Followed recipe with one exception. Used pan fried tofu instead of chickpeas. So far my favorite noodles! Thank you ❤️
Perfect! Glad you loved this one!
Absolutely delicious. I try new recipes all the time and I’m often disappointed. Not this time! We all loved it!!! I used edamame in place of the chickpeas since I’m not a fan of chickpeas. Thank you for giving me a new recipe to add to my cookbook!