Spicy Sesame Zoodles? I say yes. And throw in some crispy tofu for good measure. This is SO totally how we roll.
Are you down with this?
It starts with zoodles (zucchini noodles) tossed with a thick and intensely deep spicy sesame peanut sauce that will then eventually get loaded up with crispy tofu that has been made crispy by just pan-frying it with the same spicy sesame peanut sauce, but waiting until those crispy browned bits appear in the pan / wondering if this is going to be weird / actually loving the texture of the browned bits in contrast with the tofu and sesame zoodles.
We are letting this browned bits situation happen intentionally so it feels like we did more work (making an additional crispy topping) than we actually did (re-using the same sauce for everything and calling it good). Do you like this strategy?
No need to go out of our way for multiple sauces with this recipe. You know I’m weak for a one-sauce wonder.
How to Make Our Sesame Zoodles (1 MIN):
Now that you’re excited about all these chili flavors and crispy-creamy textures, I’m going to present you with the hot vs cold dilemma.
I know. Let me blow your mind for a hot second -> I DID NOT COOK THE ZOODLES. Repeat: DID NOT COOK.
I let them be raw and crunchy because sometimes I find that cooked zoodles are 50% awesome and 50% sad and soggy. When I made this as lunch for myself the other day, I was very okay letting it be more crunchy and salad-like in nature, and also cold. Cold sesame noodles are a thing, you know. So why can’t cold sesame zoodles have their moment to shine? The idea of taking this to the hot level was kind of weirding me out once I had the vision of trying to replicate those yummy cold sesame noodles.
It almost always happens like this – that I have an idea for what I want to make for dinner and then at the last minute I jump ship on whatever my idea was, delete all those grocery items from my grocery list and add a few new ones (or skip the grocery store altogether – amiright?), and just make something that’s way easier and more convenient than my initially overambitious plan.
But usually that’s a good thing, because usually what that means is that I end up making something that is faster, more practical, and tested + approved for everyday life while still being super delicious. Maybe even halfway healthy.
Just everyone cross your fingers that it’s not takeout sushi again. Ughhhh I’m weak.
In this case, sesame zoodles won out over takeout sushi and over my initial idea for a more complicated and time consuming recipe. Easy. Delicious. Halfway healthy. Check check check.
I’m telling you, those browned crispy bits. Let them get REAL nice and crunchy.
Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu! SUPER easy recipe with familiar ingredients – soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil, garlic, zucchini, and tofu. Vegan / Vegetarian
Ingredients
Chili Sesame Sauce:
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup sesame oil
- 1/3 cup light low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chili paste (like sambal oelek)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Zoodles and Tofu
- 12 ounces extra firm tofu
- 4–6 zucchini
- sesame seeds and scallions for topping
Instructions
- Chili Sesame Sauce: Shake all the sauce ingredients in a jar or toss them in the food processor and give them a whirl. If you’re going to have this cold, refrigerate your sauce for a while.
- Tofu: Press excess moisture out of the tofu. Cut into bite sized pieces. Heat a tiny bit of oil in a nonstick pan. Add the tofu and stir fry until golden brown. Add about 1/2 cup sauce and simmer until the sauce starts to evaporate / absorb into the tofu and becomes browned in the pan. Keep gently flipping and scraping browned bits off the bottom – after a while, you should end up with nicely golden brown tofu with some little yummy browned bits from the sauce.
- All Together: Spiralize your zucchini and toss with about 1/4 cup sauce per serving. Top with tofu, sesame seeds, and scallions. Serve immediately.
Notes
I did NOT cook the zoodles. I wanted this to be more like a salad, cold and creamy and crunchy. Whether or not you cook the zoodles, when the sauce hits those zoodles they’re going to get a little watery. I found that this was only a problem when I didn’t serve immediately, so to avoid excess moisture, serve it right after you toss it up!
You may want to use more tofu depending on how many servings you are wanting to get out of this. I was fine with 12 ounces as 6 servings (just doing a small scoop of tofu on each pile of zoodles) but if you were super hungry you might want more.
Storing this: I would store the sauce separate from the zoodles and tofu, and then toss it all together just before serving.
One more thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy tofu recipes. Check it out!
I’ve yet to find a Pinch of Yum sauce I don’t love!! This one was delish with tonight’s pork and egg noodle stir fry 😀
★★★★★
Sounds delicious! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
Do you serve the whole dish cold? Or hot tofu and cold zoodles?
We served it as hot tofu with cold noodles!
This recipe looks incredibly delicious!!! I lové the use of zoodles here too. Looking forward to trying this one out. Thanks for sharing
What kind of pan would you recommend for the browning of the tofu sauce goodness. I have a non-stick on as well as a stainless steel. Have heard that the stainless steel is good for getting that crisp, but one wrong move and I’m scrubbing for days. Can’t see from the pic what you used. Either way, looks BOMB!
Hi Andrea! We used a non-stick pan – would definitely recommend it. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was so good that I was inspired to write and say thank you!! This was delicious – a big thumbs up.
This was very tastey! I used buckwheat noodles instead of Zoodles and turned out great. Added sliced jalapeños, squeezed lime, cilantro and shredded carrot to top it off. VERY GOOD RECIPE!
★★★★
Sounds amazing! Glad you enjoyed it!
Honestly the best tofu recipe I have ever made at home!
★★★★★
Love hearing that, Heather!
LOVE so many of the recipes on here. I’ve been keeping up with this blog for quite some time – actually the reason I ended up getting a spiralizer a year ago (which has been great btw)! I’ve noticed quite a few times that when I don’t legitimately cook the zucchini noodles, I (and everyone I cook for) end up with some pretty bad digestion problems an hour or so later. Has anyone else experienced that? or do I and everyone I let eat my food just have weak stomachs?
I’ve never wanted to nose dive into my laptop so bad in my life. Zoodles never looked so good!!
http://www.itscheatdayeveryday.com/
★★★★★
Thanks, Vicci! Hope you enjoy them!
Just made this tonight for dinner subbing chicken for the tofu because I didn’t want to freak my husband out to badly. He LOVED it and asked for help packing the “noodles” so they would stay crispy for his lunch tomorrow. Thanks for soooo many great veggie noodle recipes.
★★★★
OMG!!! Made this for dinner tonight and absolutely loved it. I added some halved cherry tomatoes (Not that it needed them)This will definitely be a regular dinner go to.
Very yummy and easy to make (and I had never made tofu before trying this recipe). I made it on a hot day so I left the zoodles cold and it was perfect. We also had some leftovers so I kept the zoodles in a separate container from the sauce and it was still yummy the second day.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it, Laura!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Only thing we did differently was cook the zoodles. Would def make it again
★★★★
So excited to make this but I want to make it ahead and with lo mein noodles instead of zoodles. Do you recommend mixing the sauce with the noodles and storing that in the fridge for the next day, or storing everything separately in the fridge and mixing right before eating?
Could go either way! I always like keeping ingredients separate before they’re ready to be assembled, so I’d opt for doing that. 🙂
This is delicious & works great with spiralized cukes! I did tweak the peanut sauce a bit ( more pb & garlic, less sugar & sesame oil )
★★★★★
Awesome! Glad to hear it!
I made this last night and was blown away by the sauce!!! I can think of many ways that can be used. The only thing that failed was my tofu. I squeezed it about 30 minutes before frying but was I was frying it would break into crumbles whenever I tried to move it in the pan. I used a non-stick but it was still sticking. It didn’t affect the taste, just the look. But, I’ll definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
This looks amazing- and not terribly hard to do! Love a good “zoodle” recipe 😉 Thanks for posting!
Any recommendations for substituting for peanut butter. Deathly allergic……
I’d use some almond butter! 🙂
I just wanna say, I just made this.. This dish.. I was whipping it up and took a taster.. this sauce, let me tell you, it took me by the hand and and caressed me and made mad passionate love to my tastebuds. Amazing! I seldom freak out about food but this was something else altogether. I grated in some carrots, purple cabbage and purple radish because today I was feeling colourful.
– I popped by thru Pinterest pin.
Glad to hear it, Julina!
Thanks so much for posting! U made this with rice noodles though and it was super devine! My husband also loved it and he’s a tough one. Will definately make this again.
★★★★★
Glad to hear it, Shelley!
Do you think this would well with sesame butter instead of peanut butter? We’ve got a peanut allergy here (it’s a swap I’ve done before). Thanks!
I don’t see why not! 🙂
This is so good. I think e had it 3 times in a month. I do saute the zoodles for about 3 minutes. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Oh, my goodness, this was fabulous! You definitely don’t want to cook the zoodles. The tofu was crispy and yummy, and the peanut sauce was delicious. Thank you for a great and easy recipe that I will certainly make again.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it, Brenda!
Always looking for great tofu dishes and this one qualifies! Loved the crunchiness of the tofu when adding the sauce. This will be made many more times.
I made it with rice could not do anymore zuchinni. Next time. Thank you
★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it, Analisa!
Hi! I’m new to the site and just wanted to stop by and say I used this awesome sauce and mixed up the recipe a bit! (Although I’m definitely keen to try it on Zuchs, we just didn’t have any in the fridge tonight. I used fresh tuna instead of tofu, seared the tuna for a bit then added about a third of the sauce (which I halved the recipe for). added it to a bed of fresh shredded lettuce, carrot, pickled ginger, salted edamame, and nori. Was so yummy, drizzled the remaining sauce on top and sprinkled with sesame.. So good! Thanks heaps, definitely gonna use that sauce again 🙂
★★★★★
Sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed it!