Easy Vegan Chili Oil Noodles

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So you want a quick and easy dinner bowl that takes less than 30 minutes? You’ve come to the right place. Introducing these easy vegan chili oil noodles. Packed with tons of spice, heat and flavor this noodle bowl is the ultimate comfort dish plus easy dinner wrapped up in one. 

While this recipe is by no means a traditional chili oil noodles recipe, it follows the same main components that all good chili oil noodles must have. Think tons of spice, green onion and buttery oil. 

Oh, and unlike most noodle bowl recipes, this recipe is for chili oil noodles with veggies and tofu. Meaning that you’ll have the perfect balanced bowl  – carbs, fats and proteins! 

Vegan Chili Oil Noodle Ingredients

Here’s your grocery list…

• Brown rice noodles – love these ones here from Lotus Foods
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh ginger
• Chili flakes
• Cumin seeds – totally not traditional, but I love the added depth of flavor they give this noodle dish
• Kosher salt
• Avocado oil – Chosen Foods is my go-to avocado oil brand
• Amino acids or soy Sauce – usually get amino acids from Bragg’s
• Miso paste – I love the umami flavor this adds, but feel free to omit this if you don’t have it on hand
• Green onion
• Cilantro
• Spinach – optional add in, but I like to add some greens into this dish so it’s not just noodles
• Sesame seeds
• Crispy tofu – I use my crispy tofu recipe and mix it into the noodles for added protein

How to Make Vegan Chili Oil Noodles

Keep in mind that the full recipe, with measurements and detailed directions, is in the recipe card below.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and dump the noodles in. Cook according to package instructions, about 6 minutes. 
2. While the noodles cook, prep the veggies and spices. In a bowl, add in the garlic, ginger, chili flakes, cumin seeds and kosher salt.
3. Once the noodles are done cooking, drain and rinse well with water. Dump the noodles into a bowl and rinse out the pot you used to cook the noodles in and pat dry.
4. Pour the avocado oil into the pot and heat on medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering and hot, add in the spices. Let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 minutes. Just enough time to let the spices bloom. The spices will be sizzling in the oil and turn a slight golden-brown color.
5. Next, add in the soy sauce, and miso paste (this is totally optional) and stir to combine.
6. Finally, add in the noodles, green onion, cilantro, spinach and crispy tofu (if you’re adding this in) and stir to coat with the chili oil.
7. Add the finished chili oil noodles into a bowl and garnish with sesame seeds.

Variations of this Recipe

There are so many ways you could change up this recipe. Starting with adding in a protein for…well for extra protein lol!

• Edamame
• Crispy baked tofu
• Tempeh – baked the same way as the tofu 
• Any type of vegan mock meat – this isn’t healthy at all, but it does make a fun treat!
• Additionally, you can also wilt in some arugula, spinach or cabbage for some extra veggies in these noodles.

Prepping This for Work/School

One of the great things about these vegan chili garlic noodles is that they are so easy to meal-prep. Simply make the noodle bowl as instructed and then pop into a glass container or even better a thermos. Then, when you’re at school or work you can either eat the noodle bowl cold (honestly tastes so so good) OR you can heat up the noodles in an oven or microwave. Just takes 5 minutes to heat up!

Why These Vegan Chili Oil Noodles are Healthy 

Oily noodles, indulgent chili sauce, doesn’t sound super healthy right? Or maybe it does! Either way, this bowl of chili oil noodles is incredibly healthy and will make you feel amazing! 

• Avocado Oil: is an amazing source of healthy fats and omega’s! The most abundant fatty acid in avocado oil is oleic acid, a fatty acid that provides numerous health benefits. Additionally, the fatty acids in avocado oil have been shown to help decrease blood pressure levels and bad cholesterol. 
• Tofu: we all know that tofu is a great lower calorie source of protein and all essential amino acids. But, one interesting fact about tofu is that it can help lower levels of “bad cholesterol”. Soy isoflavones have been found to help lower LDL, which is bad cholesterol. Additionally, in doing so, it lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. 
• Garlic/Ginger: Share many benefits that I wanted to highlight in tandem. Garlic and onions alike stimulates the synthesis of nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels. This could potentially support healthy blood flow and pressure. Additionally, both garlic and onion help boost your immune system. Allicin, present in garlic, and a similar compound found in onions provides antibacterial properties. Onion and garlic work both have antiviral properties that work in two ways. By blocking the entry of viruses into cells and also by strengthening the immune response to that it can effectively fight off potential illnesses. So essentially, this soup couldn’t be better for you during the colder months when everyone else is getting sick!

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