The perfect garlicky, buttery and nutritious noodle recipe is here! This Kale and Soba Noodle Recipe with Garlic Butter Mushrooms is so easy to whip up, and it is sure to become one of your favorite weeknight meals!
Recipe: $4.14 | Per Serving: $1.04 | Yield: 4
This recipe was originally published in February of 2016 and has not been changed at all! This post has been updated with new photos, a YouTube video, and clearer instructions. 😉
In this dish, I'm combining the original garlic butter mushroom recipe with soba noodles and a whole bunch of leafy greens. Let me tell you, this soba noodle stir fry was an excellent idea!
Why You Will Love This Easy Soba Noodle Recipe
- Works great hot or cold! This means the your kale soba noodles leftovers are perfect to carry along with you for an easy lunch at work.
- Mushrooms are absolutely packed with flavor and nutrition!
- Quick and easy recipe using simple ingredients and takes less than 25 minutes to make!
Ingredients
All you need are seven ingredients to make this kale soba noodle recipe! Most are pantry staples along with a few fresh produce items.
- Mushrooms: I highly recommend shiitake mushrooms but if they're too expensive or you can't find them, button or cremini mushrooms will work fine.
- Soy sauce/tamair: This adds more umami flavor to the mushrooms. Tamari is a naturally gluten-free type of soy sauce.
- Leafy greens: Any leafy greens will do here, but I use kale most frequently. I highly recommend mustard greens if you can find them!
- Soba noodles: I love soba, which is made from buckwheat flour and whole wheat flour. You can also use whole wheat spaghetti or angel hair if that is easier or cheaper for you. For gluten-free soba noodles, I love the King Soba brand. I have also made this with edamame noodles and brown rice noodles.
- Chile paste: To add a bit of heat. You can use Sriracha, sambal oelek, chili garlic sauce or if you don't have an asian-inspired hot sauce, you can use red pepper flakes
Dietary Modifications
- Paleo: Skip the soba and substitute with zucchini noodles or another starch of choice. Swap the soy sauce for coconut aminos.
- Vegetarian: Yep!
- Low FODMAP: No, this dish contains garlic and mushrooms which are both high in FODMAPs.
How to Make Mushroom and Soba Noodle Stir Fry
This is such a delicious and easy noodle bowl - just cook the mushrooms & garlic, add the greens, and combine with the noodles. This is great served hot or cold!
- Prep your vegetables. Peel and thinly slice your garlic. Wash and slice the mushrooms. Wash and dry the greens. Remove the stems, especially with kale or another hearty green with hard stems. Chop the leaves into small bite-sized pieces.
- Cook the garlic in butter for 1-2 minutes to infuse the butter with garlic flavor.
PRO TIP: The garlic should not brown. If it does, the heat is too high.
- Add mushrooms to the skillet. Stir them around to coat with butter and then spread them out in a single layer to cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir and cook 5 minutes more.
PRO TIP: After cooking, the mushrooms will be much smaller with some golden brown coloring. If they haven’t developed any color, increase the heat to medium-low and cook for about 3 more minutes to brown the mushrooms. I will occasionally cook the mushrooms in 2 batches.
- Add the tamari or soy sauce, spicy chili paste, and the chopped greens. Stir and cook until the greens are wilted and remove from the heat.
- Cook the soba noodles according to instructions on the package. When ready drain immediately and rinse with water. You can also drizzle with sesame oil to keep the noodles form sticking.
PRO TIP: Cook the soba towards the end of the cooking process (or after you’re done with the mushrooms) since soba may clump together if left to sit too long.
- Combine the drained soba with the mushroom mixture in the skillet and stir well. I add the soba in batches to help it combine more easily.
- After it's mixed together, garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion if you have it and serve!
Prefer to watch how to make it? Check out my YouTube video for Kale Mushroom Soba Noodles!
How to Serve Vegetarian Soba Noodles
You can enjoy these noodles hot or use it as a cold soba noodle recipe! Either way it's delish, but warm is my preference!
Please note that this dish does not contain adequate protein! Here are my top tips for adding protein to turn these soba noodles into a balanced meal.
- These savory miso meatballs are an excellent pairing, or you can add some delicious ramen eggs (or soft boiled eggs).
- Edamame is another super easy option - just soak frozen edamame in hot water for 3 minutes and add to the dish at the end of cooking.
- If chicken is more your thing, this Idiotproof chicken recipe is a foolproof method for cooking chicken breasts, and I'm always a fan of my stovetop crispy chicken thighs.
- If you want to keep it completely vegan, add some stove top tofu or crispy baked crumbled tofu. I usually break up the tofu into ½ inch crumbles and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then bake on 415ºF for about 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway. You can also try this tofu beef crumbles recipe which is quite similar. (See image below with crispy baked crumbled tofu.)
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Don't overcook the soba noodles. You want them al dente. Cook 1 minute less than the package recommends.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days. I don't recommend freezing it because the noodles will turn to mush. Reheat it in a skillet or enjoy cold!
- Soba noodles are NOT gluten-free unless noted on the packaging. Traditional Japanese soba is made from a combination of wheat and buckwheat.
- Gluten-free soba will be stickier and starchier than regular soba so you must rinse it after cooking.
They have more protein than regular pasta, and I think they taste way better. But if you prefer another noodle here, go for it! I've also heard this dish works great with gnocchi!
In this recipe, I used regular butter, but you can also use ghee if you'd like! For a vegan version, use olive oil or Miyokos!
Protein! Definitely check out the protein section above to bulk this up. You can also add more veggies. Anything will taste great when they come into contact with these garlic butter mushrooms, but I think broccoli would be great in this recipe. A friend of mine especially loves asparagus and green beans here.
More Soba Noodle Recipes
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Kale and Mushroom Soba Noodle Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic
- 8 ounces mushrooms I recommend shiitake but button/cremini should do. 240 grams
- 8 cups kale or other leafy greens, we like mustard greens
- 2-3 Tablespoons butter for vegan/DF I like Miyokos "butter"
- 1-2 teaspoons chili paste like sambal oelek or sriracha
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce more to taste
- 4 servings soba noodles about 240 grams uncooked, for gluten-free try King Soba
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil optional
- sesame seeds and green onion for garnish optional
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables by peeling and thinly slicing your garlic. Wash mushrooms and slice them into ⅛- ¼-inch slices. Wash and dry the greens, then remove the stems (if using kale or another hearty green). Chop the leaves into small bite-sized pieces.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the garlic and cook over LOW HEAT for about 1-2 minutes to infuse the butter with garlic flavor. (It should not brown. If it does, the heat is too high.)
- Add mushrooms to skillet, and stir to coat with butter, then spread out in a single layer. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Stir (or flip one-by-one) and cook 5 minutes more.
- After 10 minutes, the mushrooms should be much smaller with some golden brown coloring. If they haven’t developed any color, increase the heat to medium-low and cook for about 3 more minutes to brown the mushrooms.
- Once the mushrooms have a little color, add the 2 teaspoons of tamari or soy sauce (more if desired), spicy chili paste, and the chopped greens. Stir and cook until the greens are wilted and remove from the heat.
- Meanwhile, cook soba noodles according to instructions on the package. I usually bring a pot of water to a boil, add the soba, and cook for about 6 minutes. If using gluten-free soba, cook for 1 minute less than package instructions.
- Drain soba and rinse immediately to wash off the sticky starch. Optionally, you can add a drizzle of sesame oil to help keep the noodles from sticking. I recommend cooking the soba towards the end of the cooking process (or after you’re done with the mushrooms) since soba may clump together if left to sit too long.
- Combine the drained soba with the mushroom dish and stir well. I dollop the soba in batches to help it combine best. Garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onion if you have it!
Anything with "garlic butter" in the title is a winner
Hahah that's so true!
Well that was absolutely delicious. A super easy recipe that made making dinner a treat. Thanks for posting!
Thanks Jorge! Glad you liked it. :)
Absolutely delicious. My fiancee told me this is one the best meals I've made. An instant favorite, and easy to make vegan.
Shelly, your comment just made my day! I'm really glad you & your fiancé enjoyed it! :) If you're vegan and you like to cook, I highly recommend looking through Serious Eats: The Vegan Experience, which is run by J. Kenji Lopez. Great cooking inspiration over there!
This looks SO amazing! Pinning and will make this week, likely with zoodles. Thanks for providing paleo options!
Thanks Stephanie - it's amazing, and I wish I could eat it again right now! Let me know how those zoodles work out for ya. :)