Wanna skip takeout and cook a quick, nutritious, vegan AND gluten-free noodle dish? This Sautéed Sesame Kale Noodles recipe is one of my favorite ways to get fresh, green produce into my weeknight dinners with minimal effort. This Asian-inspired comfort food makes me love kale and Brussels sprouts more than I already do!
Sautéed Sesame Kale Noodles
There’s something to be said for timing…especially on a busy weeknight, when the last thing you feel like doing is cooking, but you need to eat. Timing has it, that with the right ingredients in place, you can actually pull off a pretty healthy meal, pretty darned quick…or PDQ as my dad always says.
In this case, the right ingredients are pasta, kale, and Brussels sprouts…as the major players anyway.
Let’s review all the things to love about kale:
- Eat it fresh or cooked…it’s so delicious either way.
- It’s very forgiving, easy to handle, and doesn’t care how you cut it.
- It has a decent shelf-life in the fridge…sometimes over a week.
- It’s available year-round at the grocery store.
- It has a handful of vitamins and minerals, like calcium and potassium, and vitamins A & C.
What’s to love about fresh Brussels sprouts?
- They’re more versatile than frozen Brussels sprouts.
- They can be shredded or thinly sliced, and sautéed briefly.
- They’re relatively inexpensive, available all year, and a little goes a long way.
- If prepared properly, they are beyond delicious.
Btw, my perfectly sliced Brussels sprouts (pictured above) were sliced with a Benriner Mandoline. I adore this kitchen tool. Email me with any questions…I’m happy to respond.
Here’s what’s to love about Sautéed Sesame Kale Noodles?
- If you have pre-cooked pasta on hand (which I often do), half of your meal is made! If you don’t, it’s easy to boil it up while you make the other half of the recipe.
- Pre-cooked pasta or not, this recipe comes together in under 30 minutes – we love that!
- It packs nicely for a work lunch; eat it warm or cold.
- It’s vegan, which means it’s vegetarian, which means…double BONUS!
- It can easily be made gluten-free by using rice noodles.
- It’s delicious…boom!
Two of my pantry staples (esp for Asian-inspired dishes) are:
- Tahini – pureed sesame seeds; commonly used in hummus; contains 2.6 grams protein in 1 Tbsp serving; two-month shelf life in refrigerator after opening. (buy the reduced-sodium option)
- Tamari – gluten-free, vegetarian version of soy sauce.
These are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:
- noodles (your choice)
- tahini
- lemon
- water
- reduced-sodium tamari (or soy sauce)
- sea salt
- avocado oil
- Brussels sprouts
- red onion
- almonds
- sesame seeds
- Dino kale
Tools you’ll find helpful for this recipe:
- chef knife
- cutting board
- salad spinner (for leafy produce)
- Mandolin slicer (for slicing Brussels sprouts)
- 3.5 qt saucepan with lid (for pasta)
- 12-inch nonstick skillet
- mixing bowls
Want more healthy, vegetarian, busy-weeknight recipes?
My Vegan Thai Coconut Vegetable Curry is a crazy popular recipe that goes the distance any night of the week. It’s creamy and full of nutrition! Also, my Zoodle Quinoa Power Bowl For Busy People is even easier and quicker…and while Zucchini is abundant during summer months, it’s always available at the grocery store…any time of the year. And lastly, Asian Quinoa Slaw Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette is just one of those salads you can eat for lunch or dinner any day of the week!
Yields 5 1-cup servings
Best-ever last-minute meal! In 20 minutes, you have scrumptious, secretly healthy noodles tossed in a light tahini sauce!
10 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
20 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups Noodles (cooked, rinsed, drained)
- 2 Tbsp Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)
- 1 Lemon (juiced)
- 1 Tbsp Water
- 1 tsp Reduced-Sodium Tamari (or Soy Sauce)
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 1/2 cup Brussels Sprouts (rinsed and sliced thin)
- 1/2 cup Red Onion (sliced thin)
- 2 Tbsp Almonds (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp Black or Brown Sesame Seeds
- 1 cup Dino Kale (washed, drained, sliced thin)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together TAHINI, LEMON, WATER, TAMARI, and SEA SALT; set aside.
- In nonstick skillet, add AVOCADO OIL and heat on med-high until shimmering (2-3 min).
- Add BRUSSELS SPROUTS and RED ONION; sauté and stir until slightly browned (3-5 min).
- Stir in the SESAME SEEDS and ALMONDS; allow to toast until fragrant (about 2 min).
- Stir in KALE; sauté a few minutes until slightly wilted; cover a few minutes until steamed.
- Stir in cooked PASTA and tahini SAUCE; continue to heat and toss until thoroughly warmed (about 5 min).
- Remove from heat; keep covered until ready to serve.
Traci Antonovich
About my recipes: Minimal meat & more plants!
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