Buckwheat noodles tossed in a sesame garlic sauce and served with tender roasted vegetables and savory baked miso-peanut tempeh. Vegan and gluten-free.
Soba noodles, winter edition. I love the combination of roasted vegetables and tempeh, and paired with soba noodles it’s an easy, satisfying meal that can be prepped in advance.
How to make This Soba Noodle Bowl:
Prepare the baked tempeh.
If you’ve never heard of tempeh, it’s a plant-based protein made of fermented soybeans, pressed into a cake. Tempeh is minimally processed, with a firm and meaty texture and distinctive nutty flavor.
The typical way to prepare tempeh involves steaming it in advance to remove the slight bitterness, but in this recipe, I’ve combined this process with the pasta– add the block of tempeh to the same pot of water, and simply remove the tempeh after a minute or two of boiling, before cooking your noodles according to package instructions.
Pat the tempeh dry and cut it into bite-sized chunks, then toss it the marinade: a mixture of peanut (or almond) butter, lime juice, maple syrup, tamari, and sesame oil. The tempeh will soak up all the lovely flavors as it sits.
In the meantime, keep an eye on the noodles (remove them from the pot when done and drain thoroughly).
Roast the vegetables.
Feel free to use any vegetables you have available, I used carrots, zucchini, baby broccoli, and cauliflower, but asparagus, bell peppers, brussels sprouts, etc would also be delicious.
Arrange vegetables on two baking sheets, then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt.
After the vegetables are tender, remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375F. Arrange the tempeh pieces onto the same baking sheet (they should be nicely marinated by this point), and bake until browned and caramelized.
Make the sauce.
The last step is simply to whisk together the sauce, which includes many of the same ingredients as the tempeh marinade. Toss the noodles in the sauce, then arrange in a bowl with the roasted vegetables and tempeh. Garnish with toasted sesame and sliced green onions.
The noodles can be served either hot and cold. If I’m packing it as a cold lunch I’ll also throw in some baby spinach/baby kale for extra leafy green goodness.
More Buckwheat Noodle Recipes:
- Cold Soba Noodle Salad
- Spicy Sichuan Buckwheat Noodles
- Soba Noodles with Pan-Fried Tofu and Sesame Sauce
If you made this recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and a rating below. Or tag me on Instagram @hannah__chia, I love seeing your re-creations!
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Print📖 Recipe
Soba Noodle Bowl with Peanut Tempeh and Roasted Vegetables
Delicious plant-based bowl of soba noodles tossed in a sesame garlic sauce, with baked peanut tempeh and roasted vegetables. Flavorful and packed with protein.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Pasta & Noodles
- Method: Cook
Ingredients
Noodles and Roasted Vegetables
- 12 oz soba noodles*
- 1 small head cauliflower, washed and chopped into florets
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into 2 inch strips
- 1 small bunch broccolini, washed and chopped into 2 inch pieces
- 2 carrots, cut into diagonal slices
Tempeh
- 1 8 oz (227g) package tempeh
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp miso paste**
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp peanut or almond butter
Sauce
- 4 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
Other
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Lay out chopped carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, and broccolini on two large baking sheets (lined with parchment paper) and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and a bit of garlic powder and roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender.
- In the meantime, fill a large pot halfway with water and place the block of tempeh in it. Bring to a low boil, and allow tempeh to cook in the water for a few minutes (this will remove any bitterness). Take tempeh out. Using the pot of still-boiling water, cook soba noodles according to package instructions.
- While noodles are cooking, pat the tempeh dry and cut into bite-sized pieces (slice in half lengthwise, then into triangles). In a large bowl, whisk together tamari, miso paste, maple syrup, sesame oil, lime juice, and peanut butter and toss the tempeh pieces in this mixture until completely coated. Set aside to marinate.
- Rinse cooked noodles under cold water and drain. Remove roasted vegetables from the oven, and reduce heat to 375F. Take the marinated tempeh and place onto baking sheet (reserving the sauce), and bake for 22-30 minutes or until caramelized and deep golden brown. Remove tempeh from oven and toss in the remaining marinade.
- Whisk together sauce ingredients in the original pot and toss noodles in it until coated. Taste and add more tamari, lime juice, or sesame oil as needed. Plate noodles with the tempeh and the roasted vegetables, and garnish with green onion and toasted sesame to serve. Will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for five days.
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten-free, use 100% buckwheat soba noodles. Most soba noodles found in store are made with a combination of wheat and buckwheat flour, but here is a 100% buckwheat noodle brand available online.
- Miso is a savory umami-rich paste made from fermented soybeans. I recommend using white or yellow miso for this recipe.
- For meal-prep, divide the noodles, vegetables, and tempeh into five separate lidded containers, and add raw leafy greens if desired.
LC says
My tempeh marinade was super thick, is this normal or how would you make it thinner without adding more lime juice (I don’t like it too sour)? the excess sauce on the tempeh ended up burning in the oven but the taste was there 🙂 thanks in advance and keep up the great work 😀
Maggie says
Made this and it was so delicious! Easy to make, healthy and flavourful. I prepped more protein and veggies so that it is more balanced nutrition wise.
★★★★★