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

- 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
- 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
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Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and set aside to cool completely.
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Portion out pasta, zoodles, carrot noodles and chickpeas between four 2-cup storage containers. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds.
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Stir or shake together all almond butter sauce ingredients, and divide amongst 2 oz storage containers.
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Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. This recipe is not freezer-friendly.
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Enjoy cold. Drizzle with the almond butter sauce and toss up before serving.
Almond butter may be swapped with any other natural nut butter.

Lisa
This is definitely dinner tonight! (And lunch tomorrow) You make the BEST vegan stuff! Thank you!
Denise
Thanks Lisa! I hope you enjoy it 😀
Katie Lathrop
Oh my goodness… I want to eat this sauce on everything! Made this for meal prep for the first part of the week for my fiance & I (chickpeas in mine & chicken for him), and I am definitely adding it to the list of things to make again!
Denise
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it, Katie!
Megan
This was simple to make and tasted amazing!! I subbed GF pasta for the whole wheat and liquid aminos for the soy sauce to make this gluten free but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I do like a bit more spice, so will probably either increase the pepper flakes or add a touch of sriracha next time I make this.
Denise
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Megan! Thanks for reporting back.
Karen
Oh yes! This is my new favourite lunch! Just made it for dinner and got so excited to eat it that I forgot the chickpeas! I added some avocado and it was so delicious. Thanks for sharing. This is now in my rotation 👌🏻 I will remember the chickpeas next time.
Denise
Woo hoo! So happy you liked it!
Kate Larsson
Thanks for the Vegetarian option. I use these reusable glass 2 oz containers with lids instead of plastic. I try to avoid using plastic whenever I can. Green Sprouts Reusable Baby Food Glass Containers Freezer Cubes 2 ounce
They are available on Amazon.
Denise
I am looking those up asap! I dislike plastic as well. Thanks, Kate!
Jennifer
I love using silicone baking cups (round or otherwise shaped) for my sauce cups. They are so easy to clean and you can squeeze them to get all the sauce out. I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks amazing!
Denise
Love that idea! I need to get some mini silicone cups 🙂
karli
If i wanted to just buy a dressing to put on this vs make it what would you suggest? Like a Thai peanut dressing?
Denise
I think a Thai peanut dressing would be perfect!