Cold Peanut Soba Noodles
Chilled buckwheat noodles in a creamy, tangy peanut sauce. It takes ten minutes to put together and tastes better cold than hot, which makes it ideal for a lunch prepared the night before.
By Vegan Cook. Published 5 August 2026
Ingredients
Serves 2.
- 200 gsoba noodles
- 3 tbspsmooth peanut butter
- 2 tbspsoy sauce or tamari
- 1 tbsprice vinegar
- 1 tbsplime juice
- 1 tspmaple syrup
- 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tspchilli flakes or sriracha, to taste
- 3 tbspwarm water, to loosen
- 2spring onions, sliced
- 1 tbspsesame seeds, toasted
- 1/2cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks, to serve
Cookware
- Pot
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
Method
Read each step end-to-end before starting.
- 01
Cook the soba
Boil the soba noodles for the time given on the packet, usually 4-5 minutes and no longer, as they turn mushy quickly. Test a strand early.
- 02
Rinse cold
Drain and immediately rinse under cold running water, tossing with your fingers, until fully cooled. This stops the cooking and washes off the surface starch that would otherwise glue the noodles into a clump.
- 03
Whisk the sauce
In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, maple syrup, sesame oil and chilli. It will be stiff at first, so add the warm water a spoonful at a time until it becomes a smooth, pourable sauce that coats the back of a spoon.
- 04
Toss
Add the cold, well-drained noodles to the sauce and toss until every strand is coated.
- 05
Serve
Top with the spring onions, toasted sesame seeds and cucumber matchsticks. Eat it cold, or chill it until lunchtime. If the sauce has thickened in the fridge, loosen it with a splash of water.
Allergen profile
Every recipe here is fully plant-based. Cross-contamination risk depends on your kitchen, so check all packaging.
Swap note
Contains peanut, soy and gluten. Use 100% buckwheat noodles and tamari for a gluten-free version; the peanut and soy are structural to the dish.