Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad is an easy dish filled with fresh vegetables and tossed in sesame soy dressing the dish is light, refreshing, and easy to prepare. It is perfect for potlucks and picnics since it travels well, can be served cold or at room temperature, and everyone loves it! Also makes a tasty side dish or a light lunch on its own.
What is Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad?
Ina Garten noodle salad includes cold noodles, vegetables, and a dressing made from ramen seasoning packets. It is delicious but high in sodium in preservatives.
This Asian-Inspired Noodle Salad is packed with lots of veggies, whole wheat noodles to boost fiber and whole grains, and a homemade Sesame Dressing, so no packets of seasoning are needed.

Why You Will Love This Recipe:
In addition to being good for you and delicious, this Ina Garten noodle salad also offers a variety of other benefits.
- Ideal for outdoor events: Since there is no mayonnaise in this pasta salad, it can sit out at room temperature for hours without spoiling.
- No matter what the season is: Vegetables can be found year-round and can be substituted for seasonal ones if desired.
- Child-friendly: The kids love it, and I’ll eat just about anything with veggies in it.
- Make a delicious meatless meal: The whole wheat noodles in this dish are filled with fiber and a good amount of protein, making them suitable for serving as an entree.
- This item travels well: Served cold or at room temperature, this Ina Garten noodle salad can easily be transported. Your kids can take them to school in their lunchboxes.
Ingredients That You’ll Need:
- Noodles: Traditionally, spaghetti noodles are the preferred type of noodle. For more fiber and whole grains, I choose whole wheat noodles, but regular noodles work, too. The noodle salad has also worked well with Barilla Gluten-Free Spaghetti noodles.
- Vegetables: Choose what you like and what you have available! It is possible to use peppers, green onions, fresh broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, steamed edamame, shredded cabbage, and even grape tomatoes.
- Sesame Dressing: This is a simple dressing you can make with pantry staples. To get the best results, use reduced-sodium soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Honey can be substituted for brown sugar.
Can this Noodle Salad be made Gluten-Free?
Absolutely! Dress with gluten-free soy sauce or Tamari, and gluten-free pasta.
How To Make Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad?
- Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and garlic in a medium bowl. Place aside.
- Prepare pasta according to package directions in salted water. Drain. Avoid rinsing!
- While you chop and prepare the vegetables, toss the pasta with sesame dressing and allow it to cool slightly.
- Toss together the noodles and vegetables. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toss again.
- Despite being able to serve immediately, the Ina Garten noodle salad is best served after it has been refrigerated for at least 1 hour, even better after 4-8 hours.

What Goes with Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad?
Ina Garten Asian noodle salad is actually great on its own, but if you want to serve it as a side dish for a barbecue, then any grilled meat or fish will go well.
- Salmon
- Beef And Snow Peas
- Pork and shrimp pancit canton
- Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs
- Chilli salmon
- French Bread Pizza
- Zucchini soup
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chili lime meatballs
- Black Bean Soup
- Jalapeno popper potato skins
How To Store Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad?
- In The Fridge: Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad can be stored in a sealed container for up to 4 days. It is normal for the noodles to absorb moisture after storing, however, if you want to add some moisture back in, you can toss it with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable broth.
- In The Freezer: Ina Garten’s Asian noodle salad cannot be frozen, but it will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Recipe Tips
- Because you’ll be serving this cold, you want to cook it a bit more than the recommended time rather than al dente. You don’t want it to be mushy, but not overcooked either. To prevent the noodles from sticking together, add 1-2 tsp sesame oil
- Do you want to save time? As an alternative to the cabbage and carrot, you can use a few handfuls of coleslaw mix, broccoli slaw, or pre-chopped vegetables.

FAQ Section
With the exception of edamame, I do not recommend cooking vegetables frozen. To add softer, or crispier vegetables to the boiling pasta water, add broccoli and sugar snap peas during the last 3 minutes of the pasta cooking process.
asta that is heated will absorb whatever it is tossed with. If you rinse it with water, it will lose its flavor. You can add flavor to the pasta by tossing it with sesame dressing.
If your noodles are a bit dry, you can add vinegar and soy sauce together to moisten them. Mix together 1 teaspoon rice vinegar and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and toss with the pasta salad.
It is the sesame oil that gives this ina Garten Noodle Salad its flavor, so I would not recommend replacing it. Sesame oil should be stored in the refrigerator to prevent it from going rancid.
Try More Recipes:
Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad Nutrition Facts
Amount Per Serving
- Calories 200.3
- Total Fat 8.3g
- Saturated Fat 1.1g
- Cholesterol 24.7mg
- Sodium 263.2mg
- Potassium 476.3mg
- Total Carbohydrate 20.2g
- Dietary Fiber 4g
- Sugars 7.1g
- Protein 13.5g
- Vitamin A 1.9%
- Vitamin C 40%
- Calcium 5.7%
- Iron 8.4%
Nutrition Facts Source: Source

Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad
Description
Ina Garten Asian Noodle Salad is an easy dish filled with fresh vegetables and tossed in sesame soy dressing the dish is light, refreshing, and easy to prepare. It is perfect for potlucks and picnics since it travels well, can be served cold or at room temperature, and everyone loves it! Also makes a tasty side dish or a light lunch on its own.
Ingredients
For the Noodles:
For the Sesame Dressing:
Instructions
- Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and garlic in a medium bowl. Place aside.
- Prepare pasta according to package directions in salted water. Drain. Avoid rinsing!
- While you chop and prepare the vegetables, toss the pasta with sesame dressing and allow it to cool slightly.
- Toss together the noodles and vegetables. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and toss again.
- Despite being able to serve immediately, the Ina Garten noodle salad is best served after it has been refrigerated for at least 1 hour, even better after 4-8 hours.
Notes
- Because you’ll be serving this cold, you want to cook it a bit more than the recommended time rather than al dente. You don’t want it to be mushy, but not overcooked either. To prevent the noodles from sticking together, add 1-2 tsp sesame oil
- Do you want to save time? As an alternative to the cabbage and carrot, you can use a few handfuls of coleslaw mix, broccoli slaw, or pre-chopped vegetables.
Servings 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 200.3
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 8.3g13%
- Saturated Fat 1.1g6%
- Cholesterol 24.7mg9%
- Sodium 263.2mg11%
- Potassium 476.3mg14%
- Total Carbohydrate 20.2g7%
- Dietary Fiber 4g16%
- Sugars 7.1g
- Protein 13.5g27%
- Vitamin A 1.9 IU
- Vitamin C 40 mg
- Calcium 5.7 mg
- Iron 8.4 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.