
The Best Cold Vegan Soba Noodle Salad
THIS IS A NEW FAVORITE DISH OF MINE, OMG. This recipe creates the BEST cold soba noodle salad on the planet. The combination of my tahini miso dressing with soba noodles over a bed of arugula and topped with crispy mushrooms, cucumber, and green onions is something magical. This soba noodle salad is creamy, earthy, slightly spicy, and highly satisfying. You’re going to want to run to your nearest grocery store and make this ASAP.
What are soba noodles?
Soba noodles are a famous Japanese pasta made from buckwheat flour and water. Sometimes they also contain whole wheat flour to keep the noodles in better tact. Soba cooks relatively just like any other pasta, except they have a habit of sticking together, so make sure not to overcrowd them and to stir often! Soba noodles can be eaten hot or cold, and they have a very plain flavor, making them a versatile ingredient.

Your New Favorite “Pasta” Salad
You probably think of a cold macaroni salad or an Italian rotini salad when you hear pasta salad. Those are both delicious but also overdone. Now, there’s nothing wrong with basic dishes like those, but let’s also normalize stepping out of our comfort zone and trying new things, like this creamy cold soba noodle pasta salad!
I toss cold soba noodles with my creamy, tangy, slightly spicy, and earthy tahini miso dressing. This dressing is effortless to make and so good I swear I’ve been tempted to eat it by the spoon. Then I pile the creamy goodness high onto a bed of arugula. The arugula adds an extra kick of spiciness that pairs so well with the sriracha in the dressing. Lastly, I top the salad with crispy shiitake mushrooms slices, thinly sliced cucumber, green onions, and white sesame seeds.
Not only does this salad look incredibly beautiful, but it tastes incredible! This soba noodle salad is ultra-creamy, very earthy, perfectly spicy, salty, and a teeny tiny bit sweet. I don’t know about you, but that flavor combination is a delicious dream.
Why This is the BEST Soba Noodle Salad
- Easy and quick to make
- Full of different flavors and textures
- Very filling and satisfying
- Aesthetically beautiful
If you make my vegan cold soba noodle salad recipe, don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see your recreation!

The Best Cold Vegan Soba Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- One 8 ounce pack buckwheat soba noodles
Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms
- Two 5 ounce containers shiitake mushrooms (stems removed), thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Tahini Miso Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 tbsp mellow white miso paste
- 2 tbsp vegan sriracha
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp pure sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp water
Garnishes
- Baby arugula
- Cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
- Green onion, thinly sliced
- White sesame seeds
Instructions
- Boil the noodles according to their package instructions. Then drain and rinse them under cold water to completely stop them from cooking. Finally, dump the noodles in a container of ice-cold water to keep cold and separated while preparing the rest of the recipe.
Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.
- Drizzle the shiitake mushroom slices with the olive oil and quickly toss them to distribute the oil evenly. Then, season them with salt and pepper, toss well, and evenly lay them across the prepared pan.
- Bake them on the middle oven rack for 15 minutes. Then, flip them over and bake them for another 15 minutes or until crispy to your liking.
Tahini Miso Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients into a bowl and stir until well combined and completely smooth.
How to Assemble the Salad
- Drain off the soba noodles from the water. Make sure they are COMPLETELY drained, so give the stainer a bunch of shakes. Otherwise, it will make the sauce watery.
- Add the noodles into a mixing bowl and toss them with all of the dressing until evenly combined.
- To build a salad, first place down your desired amount of arugula. Then top it with your desired amount of noodles, followed by cucumber slices, crispy shiitakes mushrooms, green onions, and sesame seeds. Each ingredient for assembling your salad is really a personal preference!
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2 Comments
Halley
The sauce was very yummy, but it was way too much!! I’m pregnant so it made me sort of nauseous halfway through how overwhelming the sauce was. My sister thought the same too though. Maybe doubling the noodles or halfing the sauce would be really beneficial. If it wasn’t for the EXTRA amount of sauce, this would have been a really great recipe.
garden grub
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy all of the sauce! The noodles are meant to be eaten over a bed of greens, like arugula. That way, the sauce can mix in with the greens, making everything balance really well together 🙂