If you are looking for a simple and healthy lunch on the go, this is for you! This vegan udon noodle bowl can be made in 30 minutes and it can be served cold. The tofu is full of flavor, the veggies are fresh, and the peanut dressing on top makes everything even better! This also makes a simple, quick dinner if you are short on time.
Other Vegan Bowls You May Like
- Simple Vegan Sushi Bowl for Meal Prep
- Vegan Meal Prep Burrito Bowl
- Moroccan Cauliflower Rice Buddha Bowl
- Healthy Tofu Scramble Breakfast Bowl
- Warming Chickpea Bowl (oil-free)
- Quinoa and Black Bean Buddha Bowl (Iron-Rich)
- Vegan Tuna Poke Bowl
What You Need For This Vegan Udon Noodle Bowl
To make this delicious udon noodle meal prep bowl, you'll need:
- tofu: Firm or extra-firm tofu works best for this recipe. We cut it into cubes and bake it in the oven - a super simple way to prepare tofu.
- tamari: Alternatively, you can use soy sauce. We add the tamari to our tofu for more flavor (nothing worse than some bland tofu, right?), to the noodles and also to our dressing.
- cornstarch: The cornstarch is added to the tofu and helps us make crispy tofu without using oil.
- udon noodles: If you don't want to use udon noodles, see below for some alternatives.
- veggies: For this recipe, I used carrots, red cabbage, radish and cucumber. Feel free to play around. Thinly sliced bell peppers would also work great!
- peanut butter: The base of the dressing is peanut butter. If you are allergic to peanuts you could try almond butter or another nut butter. If you are allergic to nuts, you can use tahini which is made of sesame seeds.
- lime juice: Adds some nice acidity to our dressing.
- maple syrup: To balance the flavors of the dressing, we are adding a liquid sweetener (like maple syrup, agave syrup, ...).
What Can You Use Instead Of Udon Noodles?
While I made this recipe with udon noodles, you could certainly use another type of noodles. Here are some ideas:
- udon noodles: Udon noodles belong to the Japanese cuisine and are made out of wheat flour, salt and water. They are white, quite elastic and typically quite thick, although there are also some thinner versions.
- soba noodles: Soba noodles are also a Japanese type of noodle and they are made out of buckwheat flour. They have a more brown-ish color.
- ramen: Ramen noodles are another type of Japanese noodles and typically used in Ramen - a type of noodle soup.
- rice noodles: As the name says, rice noodles are made from rice (rice flour) and water. They can very in thickness and texture. Rice noodles are a part of many East and Southeast Asian dishes.
How To Make Oven-Baked Tofu
Step 1
First, take a block of firm or extra-firm tofu and cut it into bite-sized cubes. You could also go for triangles if you want a more fun shape. Add the tofu to a bowl together with the tamari (or soy sauce).
Step 2
Combine everything and then add the cornstarch to the bowl. Again, combine everything so that all pieces of tofu are first covered in soy sauce and then with cornstarch.
Step 3
Add the tofu to a baking tray. Make sure the individual cubes don't touch each other. Bake the tofu in the oven (200C) for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
How To Make This Vegan Udon Noodle Bowl
Step 1
Prepare the dressing by mixing peanut butter, lime juice, tamari and maple syrup in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Add water a teaspoon at at time until you get a runny, but not too thin consistency. You should be able to drizzle the dressing with a spoon, but it should not be watery.
Step 2
Cook the noodles according to package instructions (or some types of noodles only need to be soaked in hot water). When done cooking, rinse under cold water and add a little bit of tamari (to add more flavor) and sesame oil (to prevent them from sticking together). If you plan on eating this dish straight away, you could omit the sesame oil. However, if you're making this for meal prep, I'd strongly recommend adding a little bit of oil.
Step 3
Next, prepare the veggies. Thinly slice the cucumber and radish. Then, grate the carrots and red cabbage (or cut very thin).
Step 4
Now you can assemble your bowls! Either plate them in a bowl if you're eating them straight way, or assemble in food containers. If you are meal prepping this, store the dressing on the side and only add it before serving. You can garnish this dish with some parsley/coriander, lime and sriracha.
How To Store This Vegan Udon Noodle Bowl
I would recommend to store the udon noodle meal prep bowl in some glass containers (or other containers you use for meal prepping). Make sure to store the dressing in a separate container. You can store the bowls in the fridge for 3-4 days although the tofu may dry out after a few days. To reverse this, simply add some tamari (or soy sauce) to the tofu cubes when you eat it.
If you don't make this bowl to take it with you (to work, to school, ...) but want to have it in the evening, you can also store the individual ingredients separately.
Vegan Udon Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
for the tofu
- 450 g tofu firm or extra-firm
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
for the udon noodle bowl
- 250 g udon noodles
- 100 g cucumber
- 60 g radish
- 1 small carrot
- 60 g red cabbage
- a little tamari or soy sauce
- a little sesame oil
for the dressing
- 3 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 lime juice
- 1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp maple syrup or another liquid sweetener
Instructions
to make the tofu
- Preheat your oven to 200C.
- Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces (like cubes or triangles) and add to a bowl with the tamari. Mix well.
- Add the cornstarch and combine so that every piece of tofu is coated with some cornstarch.
- Add to a baking tray and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until crispy, flipping halfway through.
to make the dressing
- Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and combine until smooth. Add water a teaspoon at a time until you reach a somewhat runny, but not too thin consistency (you should be able to drizzle it).
to make the udon noodle bowl
- Cook the noodles according to package instructions. When they are done, rinse them under cold water. Then, add a little tamari and sesame oil to add flavor and prevent them sticking together.
- In the meantime, prepare the veggies. Thinly slice the cucumber and radish. Cut the carrots and red cabbage into thin slices (you can grate them, too, if you want).
to assemble the bowls
- Add a third each of the tofu, noodles and veggies to a bowl and drizzle over the dressing. Serve with some lime or parsley/coriander.
to assemble the bowls (to-go version)
- Assemble the bowls by adding a third each of the tofu, noodles and veggies to a food prep container. Store the dressing separately in 3 little jars until serving.
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