Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls are a healthy and easy weeknight dinner or lunch. Shredded chicken, red bell pepper, carrots, edamame and ramen noodles are tossed in a delicious Thai-style almond butter sauce.
This recipe and photos have been updated since their original publish date of 12/10/2015.
Bowl recipes are one of my favorites to make. You can customize them with whatever ingredients you like or whatever happens to be in your refrigerator. It’s a meal you can really get creative with.
Another great thing about making bowls is you can prep all of the ingredients at the beginning of the week and then assemble whenever you need a quick dinner or lunch. These Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls are being added to my growing collection of bowl recipes.
The flavors of these ramen noodle bowls are Thai/Asian inspired. I love the salty, savory, umami notes from almond butter sauce combined with the crisp vegetables. This is a meal that can be eaten warm or cold.
Ingredients For Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- red bell pepper
- carrot
- shelled edamame
- green onions
- cilantro
- sesame seeds
- almond butter
- low sodium soy sauce or tamari for gluten free
- rice vinegar
- honey
- fresh ginger
- sriracha
- garlic powder
- toasted sesame oil (optional)
How To Make Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls
To make these noodle bowls start by cooking the ramen noodles. I always use Lotus Foods Millet and Brown Rice Ramen Cakes. The texture is great and it’s a good option if you’re keeping this meal gluten free. Whatever ramen you choose to use, make sure it is unseasoned and that you don’t add any seasoning packets to it.
While the ramen cooks, prep the vegetables. Thinly slice the pepper into strips and finely chop the green onions and cilantro. Use a box grater to grate the carrot. Add the vegetables, cilantro, shelled edamame and shredded chicken to a large serving bowl.
After the ramen is cooked, drain the noodles and run them under cold water. Add the noodles to the serving bowl with the vegetables.
Making the almond butter sauce for this noodle salad is so easy. Add the almond butter, soy sauce (or tamari), rice vinegar, honey, grated fresh ginger, sriracha, garlic powder, sesame oil and a couple tablespoons of hot water to a blender. Blend everything together until it’s smooth and combined.
Pour the sauce over the noodles and the vegetables and add in the toasted sesame seeds. Use tongs or a couple forks to toss everything together until it’s coated in the sauce. Serve it up in bowls topped with some extra cilantro or green onions and sesame seeds.
How To Meal Prep Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls
This is a great meal to make it you meal prep. If you’re planning to meal prep these bowls divide the ramen into containers. Add the vegetables, edamame and cilantro in with the ramen. You can toss everything together at this point or keep it separate.
Divide the sauce into four containers or just keep it in one container and pour the desired amount into the container the day you plan to eat it. You want to keep the sauce separate up until the time you plan to eat it or it will absorb into the noodles. I also like to add the sesame seeds on the day I’m eating it so that they stay crunchy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Peanut butter is more traditional for this type of sauce and would be a great replacement. I chose almond butter because I love the flavor and it’s something I always have on hand. If you have a nut allergy use tahini or sunflower butter instead.
To make the noodle bowls vegan, omit the chicken and substitute the honey with maple syrup. I would add additional vegetables and extra edamame to make the bowls more substantial.
Any type of rice noodle will work for this recipe. You can also use spaghetti.
More Bowl Recipes
- Greek Chicken Bowls
- Chili Lime Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Thai Basil Chicken Bowls
- Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bowls
- Southwest Salmon and Rice Bowls
- Jerk Chicken Bowls with Pineapple Black Bean Salsa
Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 4 ramen noodle cakes (about 10 ounces uncooked)
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 of a red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame
- 1 carrot, shredded
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Sauce
- 5 tablespoons almond butter
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons hot water
Instructions
- Cook the ramen noodles in salted water according to package instructions omitting any seasoning packets.
- While the noodles cook prep the vegetables and add them, the cilantro, edamame and shredded chicken to a larger serving bowl.
- When the noodles are cooked, rinse them under cold water, drain and add them to the serving bowl.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce in with the other ingredients and toss together until everything is coated in it. Divide into bowls and top with extra cilantro, green onion and sesame seeds.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 535Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 640mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 5gSugar: 10gProtein: 37g
Nutritional information is an estimate. Please consult a registered dietician for the most accurate nutritional information.
