If you love any kind of dish with noodles in it then this bright and vibrant Salmon Soba Noodle Salad is for you. With a rainbow of vegetables, perfectly baked salmon, toasted cashews, soba noodles and the most perfect dressing, this is a salad recipe that I will go back to time and time again.
This is an great salad to meal prep so you can get ahead for the week. Or serve it up as a light yet filling and satisfying dinner. The inspiration for this salad came from a dish that is an absolute family favourite, my Baked Salmon Poke Bowls.
What’s to Love About This Salmon Soba Noodle Salad?
- nutritious – with lots of fresh and vibrant vegetables, edamame beans and wild-caught salmon, this salad is absolutely stacked with nutrients (hello healthy fats, fibre, protein, complex carbohdrates and more!).
- quick & easy – this salad recipe is ready in under 30 minutes, with the salmon cooked in just 7 minutes!
- adaptable for allergies – this salad is dairy-free and can easily be made gluten-free and nut-free.
- delicious – the salad dressing for this recipe takes this salad to the next level.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
This healthy salad recipe is made using wholesome and fresh ingredients, most of which I was able to source from my local grocery store. I did have to go hunting for the buckwheat soba noodles but you can use wheat flour soba noodles from the grocery store if you’re not needing gluten-free or rice noodles for gluten-free. I’ve listed all of the ingredients you will need including any possible substitutions and ingredient notes. Head to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe including ingredient quantities.
What You’ll Need
- salmon – I’ve opted for wild-caught Alaskan salmon as a healthier option to farmed salmon.
- soba noodles – I’ve used 100% buckwheat noodles. Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, however the packet wasn’t labelled as gluten-free, so I suspect there would be potential contamination of gluten. This didn’t bother me so much but if you are Coeliac then you will want to buy noodles that are labelled gluten-free. I also tested this recipe with rice noodles and it was delicious! If you’re not gluten intolerant or Coeliac then you can use regular soba noodles, which are Japanese noodles made from a combination of buckwheat flour and wheat flour.
- cucumber – I’ve used Lebanese cucumber, which can be swapped for another crunchy fresh vegetable like capsicum.
- carrot – the cucumber and carrot are both julienned, aka cut into matchsticks.
- red cabbage – also known as purple cabbage, you can swap the purple cabbage from green cabbage (also known as white cabbage) if you can’t find purple cabbage.
- fresh mint – I absolutely love fresh mint in this salad but you can also swap for coriander (cilantro) or green onions (Spring onions).
- toasted cashews – you can swap for other nuts like almonds or peanuts. Or make this recipe nut free and swap for toasted pepitas, sunflower seeds or sesame seeds.
- edamame beans – when I say edamame beans I mean the de-podded edamame beans that are often labelled as edamame salad. Don’t buy the edamame in pods.
The Salad Dressing
Here’s what you’ll need to make the super delicious sauce:
- extra virgin olive oil – can be swapped for flaxseed oil or avocado oil.
- sesame oil
- lime juice
- tamari – can be swapped for soy sauce. I always make sure that I am using gluten-free tamari. If you are gluten intolerant you can use gluten-free soy sauce or gluten-free tamari.
- honey – can be swapped for maple syrup.
- fresh ginger, minced
- garlic clove, minced
- oyster sauce
Optional Extras
While I love the salad as it is, there are definitely other veggies or ingredients that you can swap in to make it your own. Here are some ideas:
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- avocado
- mushrooms
- radishes
- salmon can be swapped for another protein like tofu or chicken. Chicken will need longer to cook, while tofu will cook in around the same time.
How to Make Salmon Soba Noodle Salad
Start by half filling a large pot with water and bringing to a boil. Add the soba noodles and cook as per the package directions. Once cooked, strain into a heatproof colander. I found that the noodles quite quickly clumped together so I added them back to the pot and topped with cold water to rinse them. This worked really well to stop them from sticking together.
While the noodles are cooking, make the dressing by adding all of the dressing ingredients to a jar. Place the lid on and shake vigorously to combine.
Add the salmon fillets to a medium bowl and top with about 1/3 of the dressing. Toss to coat the salmon evenly and then place onto a baking paper lined sheet pan. Place into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and use to forks to break the salmon into chunks. If the salmon has the skin on then remove the skin before breaking into chunks.
To assemble the salad, add the noodles to a large salad bowl along with the shredded cabbage, julienned cucumber and carrot, edamame beans, mint, cashews and salmon chunks. Top with the remaining salad dressing and then toss to combine.
Salmon with Soba Noodle Salad
Equipment
- Small glass jar
- Sharp knife
- Chopping Board
- Baking Tray
- 2 Fork
- Large salad bowl and servers
Ingredients
- 4 salmon steaks
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 knob ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 30 ml lime juice, from about 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 200 grams soba noodles
- 200 grams edamame beans
- 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, julienned
- ¼ head purple cabbage, finely shredded
- small bunch mint leaves
- ½ cup cashews, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the soba noodles and cook until tender. Turn off the heat and strain the noodles.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing by adding the soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, minced ginger, minced garlic, lime juice and olive oil to a jar, place the lid on and shake vigorously to combine.
- To a medium bowl, add the salmon steaks along with about 1/3 of the dressing. Toss to coat the salmon in the dressing. Place the salmon steaks onto the baking tray and into the oven to bake for 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a fork to break up into 3 cm chunks.
- If the edamame is frozen, add the edamame to a heat proof jug and top with boiling water.
- To assemble the salad, arrange the soba noodles, edamame, carrot, cucumber, cabbage and salmon on a serving platter. Drizzle with the remaining dressing, then top with mint leaves and cashews and serve.
Notes
To make gluten-free
- Use gluten-free soy sauce.
- Use gluten-free soba noodles or rice noodles.
- Check other ingredients to make sure they are gluten-free.
To make nut-free
- Swap cashews for toasted pepitas and sunflower seeds.
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