Cheesy vegan udon noodles with Brussels sprouts (25-minute recipe)

The noodles are tossed in a cashew cheese sauce that’s flavored with sautéed onions and garlic, nutritional yeast flakes, miso paste, tamari, and sriracha.

Then they’re topped with browned Brussels sprouts. The slight bitterness of the charred sprouts works beautifully with the flavorful, cheesy sauce.

It’s a dish that’s spicy, hearty, and ready to eat in just 25 minutes. Can’t beat that!

In this post:

Udon noodles can be a little confusing. Depending on if you buy frozen or dried, they can really vary in terms of thickness & chewiness.

For this vegan udon noodles recipe, I recommend buying the frozen variety. They are closer in quality to fresh udon noodles. They have a thicker, chewier texture that can really hold up to a creamy vegan cheese sauce.

Frozen noodles have already been fully cooked. So it’s just a matter of removing them from their packaging, and re-heating in boiling water for a minute. Because they only need to warm, they’re an awesome convenience item to have on hand for quick lunches and dinners.

(Frozen udon noodles are also terrific in udon noodle soup or peanut butter noodles.)

For this recipe, I don’t recommend using dried udon noodles sold in the middle aisles of the grocery store.

Dried udon noodles are reminiscent of the noodles you might find in a dried packet of noodle soup, like you’d bring along if you went camping.

The noodles are thinner and more delicate. They are too thin and light for a heavy sauce. And the texture isn’t as satisfying and chewy.

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Frozen udon noodles: These thick udon noodles are a Japanese product. Look for them in the freezer section of your favorite local Asian grocery store.

The udon noodles come in a big package with 5 individual packets of noodles inside. For this recipe, you’ll need two of the individual packets.

The specific noodles I buy are sanuki style udon noodles made by Shirakiku. But the brand doesn’t matter so much.

Just review the ingredient list and find the one with the fewest ingredients. Look for ingredients like water, wheat flour, tapioca starch, and salt.

Oil: Avocado oil is my preferred, all-purpose oil, but any neutral-flavored cooking oil will work here.

Produce & pantry staples: Onions, garlic, Brussels sprouts, and salt.

White miso paste: This mildly flavored fermented soybean paste adds umami and saltiness to the dairy-free cheese sauce. Look for it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store near the tofu.

Raw cashews: Raw cashews give the sauce creaminess and body. Look for them with other nuts at the grocery store.

I recommend buying raw cashew pieces over whole since they tend to be less expensive. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s.

Nutritional yeast: Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that gives the sauce its cheesiness. It’s a must for this recipe. Look for it in the health food section of the grocery store or near the flours.

For more information on “nooch,” check out this post that highlights everything you need to know about nutritional yeast.

Tamari: This Japanese soy sauce adds salty umami to the sauce. I usually buy the low sodium variety.

Tamari can be replaced with any other soy sauce, nama shoyu, or coconut aminos, if you prefer.

Sriracha: To insure your sriracha is vegan, buy a brand that uses organic sugar. Organic sugar cannot be filtered through bone char (the bones of cows). Or look for brands that have alternative sweeteners like dates and/or raisins.

There are loads of vegan sriracha brands on the market like Wildbrine (my favorite), Trader Joe’s brand, Yellowbird, Sky Valley, and Ninja Squirrel.

Chili crisp: This optional garnish adds spice and interest to the finished cheesy udon noodles. Fly By Jing is my current favorite.

Here’s how to make this recipe at a glance. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

1. Remove the noodles from their packaging. Boil the udon noodles in water for a minute. (Or follow package instructions.) While they are cooking, give the noodles a stir to break them up.

Once they are fully warmed through, drain and set aside.

2. Sauté onions and garlic in a skillet with oil. Once they are translucent and fragrant, move them to a blender, and set aside for now.

3. Re-use the skillet to cook the Brussels sprouts. Add a little more oil to the skillet, as well as the thinly sliced Brussels sprouts and a pinch of salt. Cook until the Brussels are nicely browned and fully cooked.

Browning tip: The Brussels sprouts will brown better if they are evenly spread across the pan and moved infrequently. If you stir them too often, they won’t get that lovely brown finish on them.

4. In addition to the sauteed onions & garlic, place the following into the blender:

• Water
• Tamari
• Sriracha
• White miso paste
• Nutritional yeast flakes
• Raw cashew pieces

Heads up: If you have a high speed blender, you don’t need to soak the raw cashews ahead of time. However, if you have a standard blender, it will need some help in breaking down the cashews into a smooth, beautifully creamy sauce. Follow the tips in the next section for more information.

5. Blend the cashew cheese sauce ingredients until completely smooth.

6. Move the blended cashew cheese sauce to a medium-sized soup pot. (I like to reuse the same pot in which I boiled the udon noodles. Fewer dishes that way!)

Bring the pot to a medium heat and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. You want to heat the sauce and thicken it as well. If it gets too hot and starts to splatter, lower the heat.

7. Once the sauce is thick like a gravy, turn off the heat and add the cooked udon noodles to the pot. Fully combine the noodles with the cashew cheese sauce. Taste for salt, and add a pinch more if necessary.

8. Evenly distribute the noodles between two bowls. Top the udon noodles with Brussels sprouts. Then finish with a drizzling of sriracha or dollops of chili crisp.

If you have a standard blender that’s not high speed, it will need some help to get the cashews totally creamy.

Choose one of these workarounds. (Option 1 is my favorite, because it works so well and doesn’t require any additional waiting time.)

1. Grind the dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they have the consistency of flour. Then add the ground cashews to the blender with the other cashew cheese sauce ingredients. 
2. Put raw cashews in a bowl, cover them in water, and allow them to soak for a few hours to soften them. Then drain the cashews and add them to the blender with the other ingredients.
3. Boil the raw cashews in water for 15 minutes. Then drain & add to the blender.
4. Microwave raw cashews in water for 2 minutes. Then drain & add to the blender.

You can make this vegan udon noodle recipe your own by modifying the ingredients.

Vary the noodles

If you don’t have access to frozen udon noodles, use your favorite sturdy dried noodles instead. Cook them according to package directions. I particularly like chiocciole or gobbetti.

In total, you’ll need 3 cups of cooked pasta for this recipe. For more information, check out the notes section of the recipe card below.

I do not recommend using dried udon noodles. They are too thin and light for a heavy sauce.

Vary the noodle cooking method

Instead of boiling the frozen udon noodles, microwave them for 1 to 2 minutes or until warmed throughout.

Vary the vegetables

I am a huge Brussels sprouts fan. But if you’re not into them, broccoli or green beans would be delicious here instead.

Cauliflower, air fried asparagus, or sauteed kale would also be good options. Or you can leave the veggies off and just enjoy the cheesy noodles on their own.

Make it spicier

If you’d like your udon noodles to be spicier, add more or hotter sriracha in the cheese sauce. Or after the bowls are complete, pile it on with drizzles of sriracha or chili crisp.

This delicious bowl is a full meal on its own. But if you’re hankering for more, add any of these tasty appetizers or side dishes to go with it.

• Spinach salad with pecans
• Green salad with oranges
• Vegan crab rangoon
• Fried zucchini
• Sesame kale
• Sugar snap peas stir-fry

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3 or 4 days.

If the sauce thickens or dries out in the refrigerator, simply add a splash of water and stir to combine.

Reheat in the microwave until fully warmed.

📖 Recipe

Cheesy vegan udon noodles with Brussels sprouts

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 4 votes

Nothing says comfort quite like a bowl of cheesy noodles. This take on it has a bit of an Asian spin with miso, tamari, sriracha, and udon noodles. Because frozen udon noodles are already cooked, they only take 1 minute to warm. Topped with cashew cheese sauce and Brussels sprouts, a satisfying lunch or dinner can be yours in just 25 minutes!

Makes 2 generous servings.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Vegan

Keyword: bowl, dairy free

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 (250 gram pouches) frozen udon noodles
• ▢ 2 teaspoons avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil, divided
• ▢ ½ cup chopped onions
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 2 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ ½ cup water + more or boiling udon noodles
• ▢ 2 teaspoons white miso paste
• ▢ ¼ cup raw cashew pieces**
• ▢ ¼ cup + 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon tamari
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sriracha + more for drizzling on top
• ▢ Chili crisp optional garnish

Instructions

• ▢
  Fill a medium-sized soup pot with water and bring to a boil. Add frozen udon noodles and cook for a minute, stopping to stir the noodles to break them up. (Or follow package instructions.) Drain and set aside.
• ▢
  Bring a large non-stick skillet to a medium heat with 1 teaspoon oil. Saute onions & garlic a few minutes, until translucent & fragrant. Once fully cooked, put the onions & garlic into your high-speed blender, and set aside.
• ▢
  Now add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the large non-stick skillet. Evenly spread the sliced Brussels sprouts across the skillet, along with a pinch of salt. Cook at a medium heat, allowing the Brussels sprouts to get nice & dark on one side before flipping. (If you move the sprouts too often, they won't brown as nicely.)

  Cook for about 10 minutes, until the Brussels are brown and cooked through.
• ▢
  Now it's time to add the remaining ingredients into the blender. Into the blender, add ½ cup water, white miso paste, raw cashew pieces, nutritional yeast flakes, tamari, and ½ teaspoon sriracha. Blend until completely smooth. Stop and scrape down the sides, if necessary.

  (If you don't have a high-speed blender, you will need to do some workarounds to get the raw cashews totally creamy. See the notes for suggestions.)
• ▢
  Bring a medium-sized soup pot to a medium heat. (If you like, reuse the soup pot from earlier that you used to boil the noodles.)

  Pour the blender ingredients into the pot. Cook for a few minutes, so that the sauce can heat & thicken. Stir constantly, so that it heats evenly and doesn't burn on the bottom. If it starts to splatter or get too hot, lower the heat. The sauce is ready when it's thick like gravy.
• ▢
  Turn off the heat on the pot, and add the drained udon noodles to the sauce. Stir to combine. Taste for salt and add a pinch more if necessary.
• ▢
  Evenly divide the noodles between two bowls. Top each with half of the Brussels sprouts and a drizzling of sriracha.

Notes

Noodle substitutions

If you don’t have frozen udon noodles, use another sturdy pasta that holds sauce well. My favorites are chiocciole or gobbetti. You’ll need 3 cups of cooked pasta total for this recipe. (1 ½ cups, per person.)

To yield 3 cups of cooked pasta, you’ll roughly need 1 ½ cups dried pasta.

I do not recommend using dried udon noodles for this recipe. Dried, shelf-stable udon noodles are too thin & light to hold up to a heavy sauce.

Standard blender instructions

If you have a high speed blender, you don’t need to soak the raw cashews ahead of time. However, if you’re using a standard blender, it will need some help making a perfectly smooth, creamy sauce.

You have 4 options:

1. Grind the dry raw cashews in a coffee grinder until they have the consistency of flour. Then add the ground cashews to the blender with the other cashew cheese sauce ingredients. 
2. Put raw cashews in a bowl, cover them in water, and allow them to soak for a few hours to soften them. Then drain the cashews and add them to the blender with the other ingredients.
3. Boil the raw cashews in water for 15 minutes. Then drain & add to the blender.
4. Microwave raw cashews in water for 2 minutes. Then drain & add to the blender.

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Nutrition

Calories: 343kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 459mg | Potassium: 1279mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 671IU | Vitamin C: 80mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 5mg

Photos, recipe, and content updated January 30, 2025. Originally posted November 13, 2018