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Nothing screams summer more than eating a cold noodle salad (at least for me), and this chili crisp cucumber soba noodle salad is definitely going to be on repeat until fall.
It’s an easy throw-everything-in-a-bowl kinda weeknight dinner – it’s packed with summer cukes, chewy soba noodles, and edamame! Plus, a chili crisp lime sauce that is to die for!
I love having this for dinner when it’s way too hot to even think about using the oven – it’s the perfect cold salad for a hot summer day!
Note: This recipe serves one, however it is a large portion, so technically, you could split it.
Cucumber Soba Noodle Salad Ingredients
Everything you’ll need for this cold noodle salad, plus a couple ingredient notes!
- Soba noodles: Highly recommend Hakubaku soba noodles – most stores carry them. The ingredients are super simple and they taste fantastic.
- Mini cucumbers: Persian cucumbers, mini cucumbers, or my personal favorite, Qukes, all work great in this.
- Frozen, shelled edamame: Optional, and in fact, I feel the salad tastes better without the edamame, but I like to throw it in for some added protein. Feel free to omit it or swap it out for another protein.
- Scallions
- Cilantro
- Roasted cashews or roasted peanuts: Feel free to omit these, however, I love the added layer of roasty, toasty flavor and crunch they add to the salad.
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce or liquid aminos
- Lime juice
- Chili crisp
- Honey
- White miso paste
- Kosher salt
Method Behind this Salad
Start by boiling the noodles. Add the noodles to a pot of boiling water along with a large pinch of salt, and cook until soft but still chewy. About 1 minute before the noodles are done, add in the frozen edamame to blanch them. Drain and rinse the noodles and edamame in cold water and set aside to drain.
In parallel, while the noodles cook, prep the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. Alternatively, you can whisk the dressing in the same bowl you’ll use for the salad to minimize dishes.
Lastly, mandoline the cucumbers on the thinnest setting, and add to a large bowl along with the scallions and cilantro. Add the drained noodles and edamame, pour over the dressing, and toss together. Adjust for salt as needed, and top with a generous amount of toasted sesame seeds.
Suggestions + Notes
- Mandoline the cucumbers as thin as possible. The cucumbers blend better into the salad (and are easier to eat with the noodles) when they’re super thin. Linking the mandoline I use here.
- Chewy noodles are the key to a good cold noodle salad. No one wants a mushy noodle salad!
- Play around with the veggies/aromatics/edamame. Feel free to throw in some fresh ginger and garlic into the sauce for even more flavor, swap out the cucumbers for thinly sliced snap peas (so it’ll be similar to my salad here), or sub in diced steak or crispy tofu for the edamame.
And that’s all for this cucumber soba noodle salad – can’t wait for you to make it. Don’t forget to leave a starred review and rating below – love hearing your feedback!
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Chili Crisp Cucumber Soba Noodle Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: Dinner, Salads
Description
Nothing screams summer more than a cold noodle salad, and this chili crisp soba noodle salad will be on repeat until fall. Think chewy soba noodles and crispy sweet cucumbers tossed in a chili crisp lime sauce, topped with loads of toasted sesame and roasted cashews!
Ingredients
Noodles & Greens
- 1 bundle (4.75 oz or 90 g) soba noodles (love Hakubaku soba noodles)*
- 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame (optional)
- 2 persian cucumbers or mini cucumbers, thinly mandolin (about 120 g)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced on a bias
- 1/4 cup roasted cashews or roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
- Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Chili-Lime Sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 2 tsp chili crisp**
- 1 tsp honey (sub with maple syrup if vegan)
- 1 tsp white miso paste
Instructions
- Boil the noodles and blanch the edamame. Start by boiling the noodles. Add the noodles to a pot of boiling water along with a large pinch of salt, and cook until soft but still chewy. About 1 minute before the noodles are done, add in the frozen edamame to blanch them. Drain and rinse the noodles and edamame in cold water and set aside to drain.Â
- Prep the sauce. In parallel, while the noodles cook, prep the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together. Alternatively, you can whisk the dressing in the same bowl you’ll use for the salad to minimize dishes.Â
- Prep the veggies. Lastly, mandoline the cucumbers on the thinnest setting, and add to a large bowl along with the scallions and cilantro.
- Toss and serve. Add the drained noodles and edamame, pour over the dressing, and toss together. Adjust for salt as needed, and top with a generous amount of toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
*If you’re gluten-free, use rice noodles instead.
**Start with 1 tsp chili crisp if you want less heat.
It’s so good! I have had it for two nights in a row and absolutely delicious. Not hard to make and easy to bulk for the week!Â
So happy you like it – thank you SO much for leaving a review!!
This is so delicious! Not really a meal on its own, but when paired with grilled salmon was delicious and very filling!!
So happy to you liked it – pairing this with salmon is def the move!!
I never comment on recipes, but this was so good! So refreshing and light, but filling. Exactly what I was craving.Â
I added some tempeh for some extra protein too.Â
Definitely adding this to my meal rotation.Â
Made my day reading this! Beyond honored that you left a review, thank youuuu!
Have to give this a review because it was delicious. Made it for an on the go softball game salad and I’m excited to make this for groups. So good.
ah so happy to hear that – hope everyone else loves it just as much!!
Hi! So good!
Tripled the recipe, used fresh edamame and a six pack of mini cucumbers from Trader Joe’s. My only feedback was that much chili crisp was a little spicy (I used Momofuku – maybe it’s spicier) – I’ll use half next time and leave it out to add “to taste”
So happy you liked it, thank you SO much for leaving a review!! I LIVE for spicy food and always forget to note if a dish is on the spicier side, will add that in the recipe notes asap! 🙂
My partner and I can’t get enough of this!! I even made it for guests and they loved it too. We’ve had it multiple times a week!! We pair it with miso salmon and add avocado. So yummy. Thank you for sharing!Â
Live for review like this – so happy you both love it!! And thank you SO much for leaving a review, means the world 🙂
Hello! I couldn’t find white miso paste near me, unfortunately. Would soy spice be an acceptable substitute, or is there something else I should look for to replace the creamy texture? Thanks!
Hiii – 1 tsp soy sauce or coconut aminos would work, or if you want the sauce slightly creamier you can use a mix of 1/2 tsp soy sauce and 1/2 tsp tahini. So excited for you to make this!!