Cold Sesame Noodle Meal Prep Bowls (Vegan)

These cold sesame noodle meal prep bowls are the perfect vegan prep ahead lunch: spiralized vegetables tossed with chickpeas and whole wheat spaghetti in a spicy almond butter sauce. 

After almost a year of losing my spiralizer during our move, I finally found it! Happy dance!

I was SO excited to unpack it and get back to spiralizing. I love spiralizing to add new textures to salads, and trick myself into lightening up some traditionally carb-laden recipes.

Now I’m not saying these cold sesame noodle meal prep bowls are low carb…however they are much lower carb then they would be with straight up pasta.

And please, no one tell him, but Kai happily munched on a zucchini noodle thinking it was pasta. He was totally tricked! Muah ha ha.

See how we made these cold sesame noodle meal prep bowls:

Reasons to love these cold sesame noodle meal prep bowls

• they are vegan. I’m hoping to add more plant-based meal prep recipes in 2018 for you guys!
• THE SAUCE. Spicy, creamy, tangy, gingery…gah. Enough said.
• You are eating a ton of veggies but it really doesn’t feel like it! I cut the standard 2 oz pasta serving in half and swapped with spiralized zucchini and carrots. It is still a filling and satisfying meal.
• no microwave needed. Open, toss in sauce, eat. The end.

Now there are a few different components to these cold sesame noodles: whole wheat pasta, spiralized veggies, and sauce.

All round, it should still take you under 30 minutes to prep, since you can work on the almond butter sauce and spiralizing the veggies while the pasta cooks.

For protein, we kept it simple with canned chickpeas. You could swap for edamame or even chicken if you’d like.

Tips for perfect cold sesame noodle meal prep bowls:

• I used my favorite 2 cup storage containers similar to these, and some 2 oz condiment containers similar to these (let me know if you have a favorite re-usable condiment storage container!)
• this is the spiralizer model I own and love
• Swaps: zucchini & carrots for thinly sliced bell pepper, cabbage, or your favorite bagged slaw, chickpeas for chicken or edamame
• If you don’t have a spiralizer, shred your zucchini and carrot with a box grater or food processor (press out extra moisture from zucchini)
• Looking for more vegan meal prep recipes? Check out these Grilled Veggie & Black Bean Meal Prep Bowls, these Southwestern Sweet Potato & Lentil Jar Salads, and this round-up withe 59 Vegan Meal Prep Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner 

Print

Cold Sesame Noodles with Spiralized Vegetables

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

These cold sesame noodle meal prep bowls are the perfect vegan prep ahead lunch: spiralized vegetables tossed with chickpeas and whole wheat spaghetti in a spicy almond butter sauce.

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4

Calories: 452 kcal

Ingredients

• 4 oz whole wheat spaghetti uncooked
• 1 medium-sized zucchini spiralized
• 2 large carrots spiralized or shredded
• 2 cups chickpeas 19 oz can, drained & rinsed
• green onions to garnish
• sesame seeds to garnish

Almond Butter Sauce:

• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce I use reduced sodium
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional; omit for non-spicy version

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and set aside to cool completely.
2. Portion out pasta, zoodles, carrot noodles and chickpeas between four 2-cup storage containers. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.
3. Stir or shake together all almond butter sauce ingredients, and divide amongst 2 oz storage containers.

Storage

1. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. This recipe is not freezer-friendly.

To Serve

1. Enjoy cold. Drizzle with the almond butter sauce and toss up before serving.

Recipe Notes

Almond butter may be swapped with any other natural nut butter.