Summer Kelp Noodle Salad
If you’ve been wondering, “what could I make with kelp noodles?”, you’re in the right place. This kelp noodle salad is nutritious as much as it is delicious.
Admittedly, the first time I tried kelp noodles a few years ago I wasn’t a fan. The way that they were prepared was in a stir-fry and soup and it seems odd to have these crunchy raw noodles in a warm dish.
So I didn’t think ever to use them in my cooking until my sister made this delicious salad with them. She’s a fantastic cook, and I love the way she prepares food.
I’ve had it a few times and thought that it complimented the noodles well and gave them the purpose that I felt like they were made for.
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I loved the recipe so much that I wanted to share it with you all!
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What are kelp noodles?
Kelp noodles are made from kelp, which is an edible brown seaweed. It’s widely known to be used in Asian cuisine, especially Korean-influenced recipes.
Kelp noodles are translucent and when they’re straight out of the packet they’re very crunchy. Depending on how you prepare them, they become softer and soak up some of the flavours from your dish.
The big benefit of kelp noodles is that they are incredibly low in calories and are gluten-free.
Where do you buy kelp noodles?
You can typically purchase kelp noodles in health food stores and some Asian grocers. Alternatively, you can buy them online through the likes of Amazon and health food retailers.
Have this kelp noodle salad at home or on the go
It’s a perfect salad for warmer months. Whenever I’ve made it for guests, they’ve loved it!
It’s perfect to take to work as you don’t have to heat anything up. Only have a 30-minute break? No problem, it’s ready to enjoy straight away.
It’s also quite lovely the next day as the sauce marinates everything quite nicely. You can easily add this to your work lunch rotation!
Try different veggies in your kelp noodle salad
You can add other vegetables like raw snow peas, capsicum/peppers, and broccoli.
This salad is pretty much raw beside the toasted sesame oil and seeds.
The dressing is what ties it together. It’s the perfect balance of spice, citrus, and saltiness to bring the dish to life.
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Rainbow Falafel Salad
- Spiced Carrot & Millet Salad
- Roasted Eggplant and Capsicum Buckwheat Salad
- Vegan Miso Soup With Veggies & Noodles (Gluten-Free)
- Mediterranean Pearled Couscous Salad
- Vegan Laksa
- Vegan Bún Chay Noodle Bowl (Vietnamese Noodle Salad)
If you try this recipe, let me know! We’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.
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Summer Kelp Noodle Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
Enjoy this healthy, and incredibly flavourful kelp noodle salad recipe, whether it’s at home or on the go at work.
Ingredients
- 1 packet / 450g / 15.87 ounces kelp noodles
- 2 small carrots, julienned
- 2 small cucumbers, julienned
- Small bunch of coriander/cilantro, chopped (one big handful)
- 3 scallions/spring onions, chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seedsÂ
- ½ cup / 70g cashews (preferably lightly toasted)
- A handful of mint leaves
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 fresh chilli, minced (leave the seeds in if you like it hot)
- ¾ cup / 115g peanuts, crushedÂ
- 3 tablespoons tamari sauce
- 1 heaped tablespoon tahini
- ¼ cup / 50ml toasted sesame oil
- 1½ tablespoons lime juice
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Wash the noodles under warm water and let them sit over the sink, and drip all the excess water out.
- Using a large bowl, add in the carrots, cucumber, cilantro, scallions, sesame seeds, cashews, and mint.
- In a jar, combine all dressing ingredients and give it a good shake.
- Add the drained kelp noodles and the dressing to the bowl. Toss through well. Take your time to mix well to give the noodles time to soak up the flavours from the dressing.
- I like to dress it with a few more nuts and seeds on the top before serving.
- Diet: Vegan
I had to supplement a few ingredients but turned out delicious. Will try the actual recipe next time.
chilis = chili paste
cashews = pepitas
toasted sesame seeds = furikake
mint = extra cilantro
cucumber = red bell pepper, radishes, bok choy
Thanks for sharing your changes, Amber. Glad to hear you enjoyed it! 😊
It does indeed. I’d been looking in Asian grocery shops – where I’d found most of the types of seaweed I needed, but not all – but hadn’t tried health food shops. Cheers!
Thanks for the recipe. It looks delicious! Can you recommend a place in Canberra where I could buy the kelp noodles? After a recent trip to japan I’m eagerly trying to find Japanese ingredients (including various forms of kelp/seaweed) so suspect that wherever you found these noodles will probably also sell some other products I need. Thank you 😉
Hi Karin! You can buy them in most health food stores. I’ve bought them from Mountain Creek and at the Discount Health Food Store in Gungahlin before. But for Japanese ingredients I would definitely go to either Mountain Creek or As Nature Intended 🙂 Hope that helps!
Thanks Masha for this beautiful dinner idea. Tried it yesterday and totally loved it! Planned to have some kelp noodles for a while, so this was a great opportunity. The sauce is amazing! I had to swap the cashew nuts for pine nuts & pistachios as I ran out of cashews but they worked well too. Keep up sharing your delicious & beautiful creations! So yummy!
Thanks Kris!! Glad you loved it 🙂 It’s nice to see that you can substitute things when you don’t have the right ingredients and still make it work xx