This spicy garlic edamame recipe is easy to make and uses sriracha sauce for a spicy kick! It’s the perfect vegan appetizer, side dish or snack.
You can make this with in shell or pre-shelled edamame, depending on how you plan to use it. It’s a tasty snack for school or work, and pairs great with many recipes like sushi bowls or sushi bake!

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Ingredients for Edamame with Spicy Garlic Sauce
This recipe uses a few basic, but flavorful, ingredients to create a tasty dish. Add extra sriracha or toss in some chili flakes for a boost of spicy heat!
- Edamame: For an appetizer, I like to prepare edamame in the shell. However, if I use this as a side dish, in a sushi bowl, or as a snack, I prefer to use pre-shelled edamame. I’ve only ever bought frozen edamame, so the recipe assumes your edamame starts frozen.
- Green onions, garlic and ginger: These aromatic vegetables are a perfect base for this recipe. They add a ton of flavor to each bite.
- Sesame oil: For extra flavor, I like to cook the green onions, garlic and ginger in sesame oil. This flavorful oil is unlike any other! You could substitute for any cooking oil, but it’ll miss the signature sesame oil flavor.
- Soy sauce: This is the perfect way to add saltiness and umami flavor. Regular soy sauce is best to use, but low sodium options work if you prefer. Tamari or coconut aminos also work for a gluten free option.
- Maple syrup: A touch of sweetness helps round out other flavors. I keep maple syrup on hand, but any liquid sweetener should work.
- Sriracha: To put the “spicy” in this spicy garlic edamame, I use sriracha hot sauce. This sauce also includes other flavors like extra garlic and vinegar.
- Corn Starch: This ingredient is optional but helps the sauce thicken and stick to the edamame. Without starch, the sauce stays quite thin and will drip to the bottom of your bowl (you don’t get as much flavor in each bite).
How to Make Spicy Garlic Edamame
This recipe is easy to make in just 2 simple steps. Read the detailed directions below for an easy guide to making spicy garlic edamame.
Step 1: Prepare Ingredients
Before you cook, take some time to prepare the green onion, garlic, ginger and sauce.
Start by finely mincing the green onion, garlic and ginger. I like to use the small edge of a box grater to grate ginger into a fine paste. This allows each tasty ingredient to be featured in every bite!
You’ll also need to whisk the sauce ingredients in a small bowl or jar. Use a fork to whisk or shake a jar with its lid secured. Make sure there are no clumps of corn starch anywhere in your sauce.
Step 2: Cook Edamame
To cook your edamame, warm some sesame oil in a medium pan, over medium heat. Add the garlic, green onion and ginger and fry these vegetables for about 5 minutes. Lower the heat if your garlic starts to brown or burn.
It’s best to keep an eye on these veggies while they cook. It’s easy for them to burn since they’re chopped/ minced so finely.
Cook the garlic, green onion and ginger until there’s no longer a smell of raw garlic.
Then add the frozen edamame. Toss it so it’s coated in oil and vegetables and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Next, add your sauce and toss it to coat the edamame evenly. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until your sauce thickens and sticks to the edamame.
At this point, taste an edamame and ensure it’s hot all the way through. If not, cook for another minute or two.
Serve hot. I like to top this recipe with white and black sesame seeds, but that’s completely optional.
How to Serve a Balanced Vegan Meal
I consider a balanced meal one that contains a good source of plant-based protein, carbohydrates, fats and lots of vegetables or fruits.
This recipe is to be served as an appetizer, side dish or snack. Even so, it’s a great source of plant-based protein and healthy fats. Edamame can also count as a serving of vegetables even though it’s technically a legume (soybean).
You can certainly eat this as a snack on its own as the edamame is packed with protein and healthy fats that should help keep you feeling full.
If using as an appetizer or side dish, consider adding a source of healthy carbohydrates like whole grains or a starchy vegetable. This recipe is great to serve in a sushi bowl with rice and other veggies!
It’s also great paired with stir fry recipes that use noodles or rice for some energizing carbohydrates.
Edamame Variations
The main variation you can play with for this recipe is to use in shell or pre-shelled edamame.
If serving this as an appetizer, I like to use edamame in the shell. That way it’s more of a finger-food; just serve alongside an empty bowl to toss the shells into!
Otherwise, I prefer to make this with pre-shelled edamame. This is best when packing for work or school as you can use a fork and not worry about shells or messy fingers.
How to Store Leftover Edamame
Refrigerate leftover edamame in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can reheat in a pan over low heat or reheat in a microwave.
This is best served hot but can be eaten cold if you prefer. If you’ll pack this as a snack for work or school, I recommend using pre-shelled edamame because it’s easier to eat.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Spicy Garlic Edamame with Sriracha
Equipment
- Medium pan
- Small mixing bowl (or small jar)
Ingredients
Garlic Edamame
- 3 cups edamame in shell , frozen (330 g)
- 3 cloves garlic , minced or crushed (10 g)
- 3 tablespoons green onion , thinly sliced (30 g)
- 1 tablespoon ginger , grated or finely minced (15g)
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
Spicy Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (or tamari)
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup (or another liquid sweetener)
- 2 teaspoons sriracha *
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Garnish (Optional)
- sesame seeds
Instructions
Step 1: Prepare Ingredients
- Peel and finely mince the garlic.3 cloves garlic
- Thinly slice or finely chop your green onion. For a mild flavor, only use the green tops.3 tablespoons green onion
- Grate or finely mince the ginger.1 tablespoon ginger
- Prep some sauce by whisking together soy sauce, maple syrup, sriracha and corn starch in a small bowl or jar. Make sure there are no clumps of corn starch remaining.2 tablespoons soy sauce, ½ tablespoon maple syrup, 2 teaspoons sriracha, 1 teaspoon corn starch
Step 2: Cook Edamame
- Warm your sesame oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, green onion and ginger.3 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoons green onion, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon ginger
- Fry these vegetables for about 5 minutes, until you’ve cooked the garlic and it no longer smells raw. Stir the mixture while cooking to prevent the garlic from burning; lower the heat if it starts to brown.
- Add frozen edamame and cook for another 4-5 minutes.3 cups edamame in shell
- Then, add the prepared sauce and toss to coat the edamame with the sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- The dish is ready when your edamame is cooked through (taste one to find out) and the sauce sticks to it.
- Serve hot. Optional to garnish with white and/or black sesame seeds.sesame seeds
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
Cindy B
Best recipe I have found!
Nicole
Awesome! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂