Sautéed Kale Sesame Noodles recipe with kale, Brussels sprouts, and pasta in a lemon tahini sauce. This dish can be served warm for dinner or as cold sesame noodles for lunch. It's one of my favorite vegan recipes.
Kale Sesame Noodles
You will love diving into this scrumptious pile of Asian noodle goodness. This easy sesame noodle recipe requires minimal prep of everyday, fresh veggies and is loaded with flavor and nutrition. Fresh kale, red onions, and Brussels sprouts are sauteed and tossed with spaghetti noodles in a lemon tahini sauce. These sesame noodles are such a comfort food, yet quick enough to enjoy for dinner or lunch for your busy week.
Kale sesame noodles ingredients
- sesame oil and avocado oil
- Brussels sprouts
- red onion
- kale
- sliced almonds
- sesame seeds
- spaghetti or brown rice pasta
- tahini
- lemon juice
- soy sauce
- water
How to make Kale Sesame Noodles
* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe
- Cook spaghetti according to package instructions, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Toast the sesame seeds and sliced almonds on the stove. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Whisk together tahini, soy sauce, lemon juice, and water in a bowl.
- Saute brussels sprouts, onions and kale until tender.
- Add toasted seeds and almonds.
- Fold in tahini sauce and continue heating, stirring as needed.
- Add noodles to veggies and saute until warmed through, stirring as needed.
- Serve warm
Sesame Noodles Meal Prep Tips
- Cook pasta noodles up to 3 days ahead to make this a quick midweek dinner. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
- Clean and prep the produce (onion, Brussels sprouts, and kale) up to 3 days ahead. Store separate from the pasta until ready to cook. The Brussels sprouts can be shredded via food processor or mandoline, or thinly sliced by hand with a knife.
- Allow the noodles and vegetables to cool completely before packing into airtight containers.
- When ready to eat, drizzle more tahini sauce over veggie noodles; serve cold, or reheat to serve warm, depending on your preference.
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What's the best pasta for sesame noodles?
I prefer to use whole-grain spaghetti, vermicelli, or brown rice noodles for this recipe. You can pretty much use any noodle, so pick your fav and go from there!
Soy sauce or tamari?
You can use soy sauce for this recipe (I prefer reduced sodium). Also if you want a gluten free alternative, use tamari. Just make sure it says it's certified gluten free.
Avocado oil and sesame oil
I love to combine avocado oil and sesame oil for this recipe as opposed to using sesame oil by itself. It keeps the oil on the light side. Also, I lovvve toasted sesame oil, but non-toasted works beautifully too! Either one will get the job done.
White sesame seeds vs black
I use black sesame seeds for this recipe mainly for their contrasting color. However, white sesame seeds will add just as much flavor and texture and likely more available in most grocery stores.
What type of kale for sesame noodles?
I love to use dino kale for this recipe, but any kale will be a great choice! Kale contains vitamins and minerals like calcium and potassium, and vitamins A & C, so...live it up!
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Recommended Tools:
- chef knife and cutting board
- salad spinner (optional for cleaning kale)
- Mandolin slicer (optional for slicing Brussels sprouts)
- 3.5 qt saucepan with lid (for pasta)
- 12-inch nonstick skillet
- mixing bowls
More healthy kale recipes
- Lemony Kale Salad with Chickpeas & Avocado
- Vegan White Bean Kale Soup (for Instant Pot or Stove)
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Kale & Apples
- Crispy Kale Chips
Grab these healthy Asian recipes
- Thai Peanut Zucchini Noodles
- Stir Fry Vegetables in Black Bean Sauce
- Vegetable Lo Mein Noodles
- Vegan Thai Coconut Vegetable Curry
- Asian Quinoa Slaw Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
Kale Sesame Noodles
Ingredients
Noodles
- 8 oz Spaghetti or Vermicelli Noodles or other noodle
Seeds
- 2 Tbsp Sliced Almonds
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Tahini
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1/2 Lemon juiced (1 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp Water
Veggies
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tbsp Avocado Oil or any neutral cooking oil
- 12 Brussels Sprouts thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 large Red Onion thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
- 6 leaves Dino Kale thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
Recipe Instructions
Noodles
- Cook NOODLES according to package instructions; drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Seeds
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the SESAME SEEDS and ALMONDS. Toast until fragrant and lightly browned (about 5 min), stirring as needed. Transfer to a plate; set aside to cool.
Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together TAHINI, SOY SAUCE, LEMON JUICE, and WATER. set aside.
Veggies
- Heat AVOCADO OIL and SESAME OIL in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add BRUSSELS SPROUTS and RED ONION; sauté until tender, stirring as needed (3-5 min).
- Stir in KALE; sauté until tender (2-3 minutes).
- Stir in TOASTED SEEDS and LEMON TAHINI SAUCE.
- Add cooked NOODLES and continue heating until warmed through, stirring as needed.
- Serve warm.Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days. Serve chilled or reheated.
RECIPE NOTES
- Cook pasta noodles up to 3 days ahead to make this a quick midweek dinner. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
- Clean and prep the produce (onion, Brussels sprouts, and kale) up to 3 days ahead. Store separate from the pasta until ready to cook. The Brussels sprouts can be shredded via food processor or mandoline, or thinly sliced by hand with a knife.
- Allow the noodles and vegetables to cool completely before packing into airtight containers.
- When ready to eat, drizzle more tahini sauce over veggie noodles; serve cold, or reheat to serve warm, depending on your preference. If meal prepping, do not add tahini sauce until you're ready to serve the entree. Store the sauce and noodles separately, and add it just before serving.
Nutrition
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Made this on Monday and just finished it up. You're right! It's delicious warm or cold. I loved having it in the fridge this week for lunches. Easy, super healthy, and love all the green!
Glad to hear it, Jeff! This is definitely one of those dishes that makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing lol 🙂 Thanks!!
This looks fabulous! I really like the idea of sliced Brussels sprouts, yummy.
Thanks, Andrea 🙂 They really make the dish!
Love your recipe and love the combination of your ingredients. Delicious ..
Thanks, Veena...glad you think so 🙂
What a savory recipe! I am adding this delicious dish to my dinner line up for the week!
Awesome, Sara! So glad to hear it and glad you can enjoy this one 🙂
This looks great and I am not a huge kale fan. Maybe I just hadn't had it in the right dish yet.
Haha, I love to think you can like it with this dish 🙂 Hope so! Thanks, Sara 🙂
Oh wow, this recipe sounds amazing! I want to make the lemon tahini sauce right now! I can only imagine how great these noodles are. Thanks for sharing,
Thanks, Paula! So glad you can enjoy this 🙂
Wow! My new go to favorite! I've made this 3 times now and it is a truly amazing dish; I increased the veges because I just love them; I used Soba Buckwheat noodles and it was outstanding!
Thank you Tee! This absolutely makes my day...my week! I really appreciate you dropping in and commenting 🙂
Now this is my kind of healthy comfort food. Any way I can get some kale in to my meals is good with me!
Thanks Danielle, I'm right there with you 🙂
Hello dinner! So easy to make and looks delicious! Win-win!
Thanks Taylor! Yep, easy and delicious...my favs 🙂
these look great! i love sesame anything it's so fresh! this looks healthy too so I am down!
Thanks Georgie! Yep, pasta with fresh, healthy things...I'm with you! 🙂
Fresh sprouts are my favorite ever! And kale is so very good for you! I haven't sauteed it yet, only fresh or in soups!! I'm definitely giving this a try!
Thanks Beth! Hope you love it! 🙂
So much flavour in this 30 minute meal! Love that Dino kale. It's so much more tender than other varieties. Crunchy almonds are perfect on top!
Thanks Elaine! Yep, love my dino kale.
I made your recipe and loved it!! Thank you! Would you please share which kind of noodles you used?
Hi Shawna...so glad to hear you loved it! I typically use regular pasta noodles...everyday spaghetti noodles work great! Or, if you're gluten free, brown rice spaghetti noodles from Trader Joes work perfect! Hope that helps 🙂
Wow! These look great! I would never thought to do this with Kale!
Thanks so much Deanna. Yeah, been doing this for years (and thinking everyone does it lol). Hope you get a chance to make them 🙂
PDQ! Hahaha I haven't heard that term in so long! This is EXACTLY my kind of meal. I love "sneaking" kale in anywhere I can - although sneaking isn't the right term. I'll eat kale with anything! 😉
Thanks Tracy! I love it that you know what PDQ is LOL. And yeah, I'm not a 'sneaker' either...I'm crazy about kale! Remember when it used to only be a salad bar decoration? Hahaha! So glad it's allll changed for the better!
Bookmarking this recipe and making it the coming week! I would have made it like right now but I don't have the ingredients at hand:( I absolutely love recipes like this which don't entail spending hours in the kitchen on a weeknight when you don't want to do anything hard or complicated or time consuming!
Awww Saima, I love hearing this! And I'm 100% with you...I want quick meals to get in and out of the kitchen on busy weeknights. Yay, hope you love this one like I do...thanks again! 🙂
Hi Traci! Made your recipe today. It turned out just great!! I did sub avocado oil wih olive oil and added half a teaspoon each chilli flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Husband and kids loved the taste of sesame and the demand is that it be made every other day. Subscribing to your email list for other great recipes!
Yay Saima...I'm so excited to hear this! Thanks for the kind words and great feedback...and your subs sound perfect. I'm so glad to hear you've found a new fav. Looking forward to seeing you on my subscriber list! Let me know if you have any questions 🙂
This is so much my kinda dinner, you have no idea! GORGEOUS!
Yay Dorothy! That makes two of us! Hope you get a chance to try it out...thanks!
I am always looking for ways to add more kale to my diet!! I've been using it in salads a lot lately, so I really like the idea of these noodles to change it up some!
Thanks Pam! Glad to inspire you...and if you like pasta, you'll love this! 🙂
This looks crazy delicious! I'm totally an ambassador for meals under 20 mins, so thank you for the inspiration on my next quick dinner 🙂
So glad to hear it, Chris! I love hearing this 🙂
This looks crazy delicious!! Also I'm totally an ambassador for meals under 20 mins, so thank you for the inspiration on my next quick dinner 🙂
As soon as saw that title I knew I wanted to jump into that recipe. And it's got Brussels sprouts! Delicious!
Thanks Ginny! It's a fav of mine and the Brussels sprouts just add that extra bit of texture and flavor. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
This looks so good! And I love that you sliced the Brussels sprouts for easy eating!!
Thanks Mindy! Ya, it's a great way to "sneak" them into the dish 🙂
This sounds delicious! I've been trying to eat more vegan meals recently and this looks like just the thing for a busy weekday.
Yes, this is the perfect meal, especially if you're working vegan into your diet. It comes together easily and can be eaten as an entree or side dish. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂