Vegan Garlic Noodles (Spicy Chili with Sesame)

These vegan garlic noodles are quick and easy to make and create a spicy, flavor-packed dinner. Just combine lots of delicious sauces and fresh veggies with your noodles; it doesn’t get much easier!

Made in about 20 minutes, they’re perfect when you want a fast meal that’s better than takeout! Plus, you can customize it to perfection, adding or removing heat to suit your tastes.

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Spicy Garlic Noodle Ingredients

This garlic noodles recipe is easy to make but does rely on quite a few flavorful sauces and other ingredients. There’s plenty of substitution ideas below, if you don’t have some of the ingredients, but if you regularly make stir-fry-style dishes it may be worth trying to keep these flavorings on hand.

• Noodles or pasta: I use vegan (eggless) chow mein noodles for this recipe, but you can use any noodle or pasta.
• Sesame oil: For the best flavor, use toasted sesame oil. The flavor of sesame oil is unique and not replicated with any other ingredient, so I highly recommend you don’t substitute this for another type of oil (if possible).
• Garlic: As you would expect, this recipe uses a lot of garlic; at least half a head of garlic or 5-6 cloves. This is a large amount of garlic for the noodles you’ll make and more won’t necessarily improve the recipe’s flavor.
• Green onion: Along with garlic, green onions add great flavor. Sautee the white parts, then toss in the green tops at the end for a robust flavor profile.
• Soy sauce: Regular soy sauce adds salty, umami flavor to these noodles. You can use low sodium soy sauce, but the final dish may lack flavor.
• Hoisin sauce: This adds a nice touch of sweetness to these noodles, great for balancing the other salty and spicy flavors.
• Mirin: This Japanese cooking wine is sweet and adds a nice flavor to any recipe. If you don’t have mirin, regular cooking wine can work or use rice vinegar mixed with sugar (half vinegar, half sugar).
• Black vinegar: Also known as Chinkiang vinegar, this has a unique flavor that enhances so many dishes. If you don’t have black vinegar, substitute for rice vinegar/ rice wine vinegar.
• Vegan Worcestershire sauce: This ingredient may be hard to find but it’s well worth it! If it’s not something you have around, substitute for half soy sauce (regular soy sauce) and half vinegar (rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar are best).
• Chili paste: Add some (or lots) of heat to this dish with chili paste. There are a few varieties you may use, but my favorite is Sambal Oelek. Use as much or as little to get to your desired heat level. If you don’t have this ingredient, fresh red chili (finely chopped and sauteed with the garlic) can also work.
• Dark soy sauce: This ingredient has changed my cooking for the better and I highly recommend keeping some dark soy sauce on hand. It adds a lot of color to the dish and a rich, umami flavor. If needed, use additional light/ regular soy sauce, but the final dish won’t be the same rich color and may lack flavor.
• Ground turmeric: This is optional, but I like to add some earthiness to these noodles with ground turmeric.
• Edamame: To add some protein while keeping the recipe incredibly simple, I like to toss in frozen shelled edamame. Any vegetable, fresh or frozen, should work if you don’t have edamame on hand. Cooked tofu would also be great to toss in.
• Cilantro: Finish off this flavorful recipe with chopped cilantro. This is optional as there’s plenty of other flavors, so the meal will still be delicious without.
• Sesame seeds: Boost the sesame flavor and add a nice crunch by topping this meal with sesame seeds. Both white and/or black sesame seeds work well.

How to Make Vegan Garlic Noodles

This recipe is very easy to make with minimal prep required. Just prepare your fresh ingredients, cook some noodles, prepare the garlic sauce, then toss together and serve!

Step 1: Prep Ingredients

All you need to prep for this recipe is the garlic, green onion and cilantro (if using). Mince the garlic finely then slice your green onion and separate the white and light green parts from the dark green tops.

Remove large stems from your cilantro and chop it.

It’s also important to gather all other ingredients before starting the recipe as there’s quite a few and it’s fast to cook once you’ve started.

Step 2: Cook Noodles and Save Water

Cook whichever noodles or pasta you’ll use according to package directions. Before draining these noodles, save some cooking water to use later.

Step 3: Prepare Sauce

Start cooking the sauce by warming sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and white parts of the green onion.

Cook this, stirring regularly for two to three minutes, until the garlic and onion soften.

Then add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, mirin, black vinegar, vegan Worcestershire sauce, chili paste, dark soy sauce and ground turmeric. You’ll also add about 2 tablespoons of cooking water saved from your noodles.

Stir to combine the sauce ingredients and cook this for another two minutes, until the sauce bubbles nicely.

Step 4: Toss Noodles and Serve

Add the cooked and drained noodles along with your edamame, then toss to coat the noodles with sauce. You may need to add a few more tablespoons of cooking water to coat everything nicely.

Cook the noodles for 2-3 minutes, until sauce sticks to them and there isn’t any sauce pooling in the bottom of your pan.

Remove the pan from heat and stir in your green onion tops. You can also toss through the cilantro at this point (or save it to use as a garnish).

Serve hot, topped with optional cilantro and/or sesame seeds.

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.

These noodles offer carbohydrates and the sauce provides tons of flavor and some healthy fats (from the sesame oil).

There’s some protein, fiber and healthy fats in the edamame as well.

What’s missing from this meal is veggies! It’s fine to eat meals that aren’t completely balanced on occasion, especially if you’re short on time and just need something quick and delicious.

If you want some vegetables, serve them on the side or increase the amount of sauce and add the veggies into the noodles (cook fresh vegetables with the garlic in the first step, or add frozen veggies at the end with the edamame).

I love keeping some frozen mixed vegetables on hand for recipes like this. Frozen vegetables are a fantastic way to add nutrition quickly and easily, especially when you don’t feel like cooking or don’t have time!

How to Store Leftover Garlic Noodles

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. This is a great recipe to meal prep as it holds up well in the fridge and is easy to reheat.

You can reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove, tossing the noodles until warmed through.

If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!

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