This Tenderstem Broccoli Salad with soba noodles is a perfect lunchbox filler, with a crunchy peanut sauce and crispy broccoli with garlic & ginger.
🍴Why you will love this recipe
A quick and easy noodle salad that is packed with delicious flavours - perfect for a lunchbox or as a light midweek dinner.
Crunchy tenderstem broccoli and nutty soba noodles with a creamy peanut sauce. This lovely salad takes just 15 minutes to make, and is a really filling lunch or substantial supper for two.
If you're taking this to work in a lunchbox, I recommend taking the peanut sauce separately and adding it just before eating so that the salad doesn't become soggy. You can also customise it to your own taste - how about adding a bit of fresh chilli, chopped coriander, crunchy peanuts shiitake mushrooms or vegan 'chicken' pieces for extra protein?
📝 What you need
Tenderstem broccoli is perfect for stir-frying as its slender stems cook through without the need to steam or boil. If you can't get hold of Tenderstem, you can use normal broccoli and slice the thicker stems lengthways into thinner pieces.
Soba noodles have a deliciously nutty texture and flavour. They are made with buckwheat and are naturally gluten-free. Make sure you rinse them thoroughly after draining them, so they don't stick together and to stop them cooking any further.
Peanut butter gives a lovely creaminess and crunch to the salad - I use crunchy peanut butter as I like the peanut chunks, and sometimes add a handful of chopped peanuts too. My Spicy Thai Salad also has a creamy peanut sauce - take a look!
👩🏽🍳 How to make your Tenderstem broccoli salad
For a full, printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this page.👇🏼
Boil the soba noodles then drain and rinse. Fry the broccoli, garlic and ginger.
Use a potato peeler to shave long strips of cucumber into the bowl with the noodles. Slice the spring onions.
Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil and water into a smooth sauce. Toss the sauce through the noodles, divide between bowls and top with the Tenderstem.
🔪 Top Tips & FAQs
Don't be tempted to over-cook the noodles - they should be nutty and al-dente. not soft and floppy. If your water is already boiling, 5 minutes is perfect.
Rinse the soba noodles well in cold water after draining. This stops them sticking together and cools them quickly so they don't continue cooking.
Fry the broccoli over a medium heat. If your pan is too hot it will char on the outside before it cooks through.
It does, but I would recommend keeping the peanut sauce separate and adding just before you eat, as it will make the salad a bit soggy. If you are preparing this ahead I would also suggest leaving out the cucumber which doesn't keep so well, or adding this just before serving.
Yes - you can eat the whole stem. As the name suggests, the stems are tender and juicy - a bit like asparagus, and delicious when just cooked.
I like to add chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, fresh coriander, chopped fresh red chilli, fried shiitake mushrooms, or vegan 'chicken' pieces for variation each time I make it.
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🍽 If you liked that...
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📖 Recipe
Tenderstem Broccoli Salad with soba noodles
Ingredients
- 100 g soba noodles
- 2 tablespoon rapeseed oil
- 200 g tenderstem broccoli tips
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed (or 1 teaspoon ready-chopped garlic)
- 1 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated (or 1 teaspoon ready-chopped ginger)
- half cucumber
- 3 spring onions
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter
- 40 ml water
Instructions
- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the soba noodles. Simmer for 5 minutes until tender, then drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Whilst the noodles are boiling, heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the ginger, garlic and broccoli. Cook over a medium heat stirring frequently for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, use a potato peeler to shave off long strips of cucumber, and add these to the bowl with the noodles. Slice the spring onions finely and add these to the bowl.
- In a mug or small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, peanut butter and water into a sauce, and pour over the noodles, tossing to combine. Taste and season with a little salt or more soy sauce if needed.
- When the broccoli is cooked, divide the noodles between two plates (or lunchboxes) and top with the broccoli.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.
"Brilliant! Chock full of easy recipes and great tips and advice" Hello! Magazine
For more noodle salad recipes from blogging friends, take a look at:
- Nicola's Easy Nutty Noodle Salad from Kitchen Sanctuary
- Choclette's Samurai Samphire Noodles with Miso Marinated Tofu from Tin & Thyme
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Toni says
Such a perfect complete meal! It quickly became a favorite at my house!
Ieva says
I tend to love everything that contains peanut butter, but this has exceeded my expectations! So flavoursome and tastes healthy! Highly recommended!
Beth says
I made this the other day for my dinner and it was delicious. I am trying to eat a little healthier and this hit the spot just right. Thanks for the great recipe.
Jessica Stroup says
This was just the recipe I needed to get out of my dinner time rut! So good!
Gina says
This is totally my kind of noodle bowl! Love tender broccoli (fave veg!) and combining it with a simple peanut noodle is perfection for a light meal!
Jess says
This is perfect for a lunch option to change up my usual schedule of pb&j!
Savita says
This looks amazing, looks perfect for the brunch and lunch option.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I can over for a drool of this before. Thought I'd left a comment, but obviously not. Maybe I was on my phone. Just gorgeous Kate. Love it! Thanks for submitting it to No Croutons Required. The roundup is now live.
Jason Cruickshank says
Mmmm. That noodle salad looks amazing!
Eb Gargano says
I love this...such fab flavours and perfect for a packed lunch! Definitely pinning this on my must make board 🙂 Eb x
Nicky says
These noodles sound amazing! I'm not a fan of peanut butter on it's own, but I love it in dressings like this!
So true about the hot and cold foods - I'd never though of it before.
Diana says
I've never tried soba noodles before, but after seeing this recipe I will have to! Noodle salads are great to pack to work!
Gingey Bites says
Love this! It's perfect in plastic tubs as it's exactly how I'd imagine eating it! Perfect packed lunch. Yum.
Ceri Jones says
I only recently got into noodle salads, really enjoy them! Even cold! Love the idea of using tenderstem - shows how versatile salads can be!
The VegHog says
Hi Kate!
This looks fabulous! I really enjoy stir frys as cold lunches the next day, they are very suitable for that. I eat most of my lunches cold, as warm food during work somehow makes me very tired.
Please link this alsi with Eat Your Greens, as it contains such beautiful greens! 🙂