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Sesame Cucumber Noodle Salad

Sesame Cucumber Noodle Salad

Hey — you and I both know salads don’t have to be boring. Meet my favorite crunchy, bright, and entirely 100% vegan riff on an Asian classic: Sesame Cucumber Noodle Salad. It eats like a side, a snack, or a light lunch, and it behaves like it has its life together even if you don’t
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 95
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Main ingredients
  • 2 English or hothouse cucumbers chilled
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 TBSP rice vinegar
  • 1 TBSP fresh lime juice about half a lime
  • 2 –3 TBSP maple syrup vegan swap for honey — use 2 TBSP if you want less sweet
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes to taste
  • ½ –1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds white, black, or a mix
  • 1 scallion sliced
  • 2 TBSP fresh cilantro chopped (optional)
  • FYI: The original recipe uses honey; I swap in maple syrup to keep this 100% vegan. Maple tastes great here.

Equipment

  • You don’t need a full gadget collection. Still, these items make life easy:
  • Spiralizer (best) or julienne peeler (fine) or a sharp knife (respectable effort).
  • Fine mesh strainer or colander.
  • Large bowl for tossing.
  • Small bowl or glass measuring cup for whisking dressing.
  • Paper towels or clean kitchen towel for drying the noodles.
  • Tongs or salad servers for mixing and serving.
  • If you don’t have a spiralizer, don’t panic — I’ve used a knife when I had to and survived. IMO, the spiralizer gives a better “noodle” vibe, but the taste stays the same.

Method
 

  1. Main ingredients
  2. 2 English or hothouse cucumbers, chilled
  3. 2 large carrots
  4. 1 tsp kosher salt
  5. 2 TBSP rice vinegar
  6. 1 TBSP fresh lime juice (about half a lime)
  7. 2–3 TBSP maple syrup (vegan swap for honey — use 2 TBSP if you want less sweet)
  8. 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  9. Pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste
  10. ½–1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds (white, black, or a mix)
  11. 1 scallion, sliced
  12. 2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
  13. FYI: The original recipe uses honey; I swap in maple syrup to keep this 100% vegan. Maple tastes great here.

Notes

Equipment + Servings + Nutrition at a glance

  • Serves: 4 people
  • Equipment: Spiralizer or julienne peeler or knife, strainer, large bowl, whisking bowl, towels.
  • Calories (approx.): ~95 kcal per serving (depends on how much maple syrup and sesame you use)
Vegan: Yes — I replaced honey with maple syrup. If you see honey here, toss it out like bad dating advice.

Nutrition breakdown (more detail)

I calculated the recipe roughly using common ingredient estimates. Total recipe calories ≈ 378 kcal. Per-serving ≈ 95 kcal.
Why such low calories? Cucumbers and carrots provide volume and fiber but few calories. The dressing contributes most of the energy (maple syrup and sesame oil). If you add nuts, tofu, or more oil, the calories rise accordingly