Broccoli Rabe Peanut Soba Noodles
This Asian soba noodle bowl features sautéed broccoli rabe tossed with spicy peanut sauce. It’s a weeknight meal that’s hearty, quick and full of greens!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Have you ever tried broccoli rabe? It’s new to me and took a little getting used to, but I have to say, I’ve become quite a fan. Contrary to what the name suggests, broccoli rabe (also called rapini) is not related to broccoli. It has some small, broccoli-like buds, but it’s actually more closely related to turnips.
Broccoli rabe is best cooked; even then, it is on the bitter side, but delightfully so. If you need it, an extra sprinkle of salt helps reduce the bitterness. The flavor reminds me a bit of kale, and I know there are a lot of kale lovers out there, so I hope you will give broccoli rabe a shot. It plays nicely with flavors that complement broccoli and kale, like garlic, lemon and red pepper flakes.
Since that’s the case, I thought there was a good chance that sautéed broccoli rabe would go well with savory peanut soba noodles (since they are also fantastic with broccoli). I was right! Sautéed rabe is right at home with peanut sauce and soba noodles; once cooked, it becomes almost noodle-like and twirls right around the fork with the pasta.
If you want to lighten this dish or make it extra green, you can cook up even more broccoli rabe than specified below.
Broccoli Rabe Peanut Soba Noodles
This soba noodle bowl features sautéed broccoli rabe tossed with spicy peanut sauce. It’s a simple weeknight meal that’s hearty, quick and full of healthy greens! Feel free to double the amount of broccoli rabe for extra greens. Recipe yields 2 large or 4 modest servings.
Ingredients
Soba and broccoli rabe
- 6 ounces soba noodles or whole grain spaghetti
- 1 pound broccoli rabe
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Peanut sauce
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more for sprinkling
Garnishes
- Small handful of chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 small lime wedge
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the broccoli rabe by rinsing it well and patting it dry. Slice off the tough lower ends of the stems and discard. Slice off any remaining stems that are over ¼-inch in diameter and discard those as well, since they will be too fibrous even after cooking.
- Next, prepare the peanut sauce. In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together the ingredients until well blended. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli rabe and season with the salt and a small pinch of red pepper flakes. Toss to combine and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the leaves have wilted and the stems are easily pierced by a fork, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Once the water is boiling, add the soba noodles and cook just until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain the noodles, then return them to the pot, add the broccoli rabe and toss with peanut sauce (you might not quite need all of it) until blended.
- Transfer to a serving bowl or individual bowls and top with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro, a small squeeze of lime juice, a sprinkle of sesame seeds and red pepper flakes, if you’d like some extra heat.
Notes
Make it vegan: Use agave nectar instead of honey.
Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce and substitute firm gluten-free spaghetti (adjust cooking time accordingly) for the soba noodles.
Storage suggestions: This dish is best served fresh but will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to three days.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I love broccoli rabe! And that peanut sauce? To DIE for! Can’t wait to put this on the rotation at my house!
Hi Kate,
Once again, each time I visit your blog I see something delicious. I just recently made your salad with same peanut dressing and noodles (https://14.canadaremotejob.infinityfreeapp.com/2014/peanut-sesame-slaw-with-soba-noodles/) and spread the word on Facebook. I am a recent rapini convert and think it would be stellar here. Hope Yellowstone is amazing for you and your dad this week.
Cheers,
Anna
That’s so nice to hear, Anna. Thank you! Hope you get a chance to try this one soon! We had a great time. Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
Oh my gosh this looks and sounds so good! Love your addition of slightly bitter broccoli rabe to go with the peanut sauce.
I’m pretty sure our taste buds are one in the same; I love ALL of your recipes!
Hooray, thank you, Hillary!
Yum I LOVE broccoli rabe! Sauté with garlic and red pepper flakes and throw it on pizza – the best.
Ohhh, I will have to try broccoli rabe pizza next! Thanks, Lis!
OMG this looks perfect! I love the noodles…the sauce… the rabe! YUM! And your pictures are just gorgeous;…the one with just the fork makes me want to slurp it all up!
Wow this looks great! I’ve never had broccoli rabe, I will keep an eye out for it! Your peanut sauce sounds amazing too, I will be trying this soon! H x
Aha! I purchased some broccoli rabe just yesterday! Now I have an idea on what I can do with it :) Enjoy yellowstone, beware of the bears!!
Perfect! Hope you enjoy the broccoli rabe, Emma!
Hey, both parks start with a Y, so you’re not too far off! Is Cookie along for the adventure? This dish looks wonderful — anything with soba noodles gets high marks from me!
Right?! Thanks, Amy!
I live in Montana!! How exciting! I hope you enjoy your trip! Oh, and this recipe sounds fantastic too!
Yay, thanks Kaleigh! I had a great time!!!
You had me at peanut and broccoli!
I actually love broccoli rabe and the bitterness it has! I can’t wait to make this and bring it to work! Always look for tuberware/microwave friendly recipes.
Most of the times I’ve had broccoli rabe it’s been much too bitter for my tastes … so I wonder if cooking it your way would bring the bitterness down to a level I could handle. Plus mixing it with noodles and peanut sauce can’t hurt! Lovely photos as always. :-)
Maybe! I didn’t find any of my rabe to be terribly bitter, so I don’t know if it was just my bunches or if I’ve burned off all my bitter tastebuds. ;) I think a bold peanut sauce helps!
Hello, Kate and Sara!
I hope that you’ll forgive me for interjecting. I found your blog, Kate, via Finding Vegan, thanks to this recipe. This meal looks friggin out of this world.
I grew up eating rapini, prepared by my Italian family, but when I made it on my own (stir-fried as you mentioned above), I always found it too bitter. I spoke to my mum about this and it turns out that she and my grandmothers always boil/steam the rapini first until it gets that luscious deep green colour. Then they stir-fry it in olive oil with garlic and voilà! No-bitter rapini. I hope that helps :)
I can barely wait to try this! I LOVE peanut sauce AND rapini, so this is perfect. Thanks for sharing :-)
Kris
Thanks for sharing, Kris! I will have to give your mom’s method a shot!
Oh man, so much flavour packed into one bite! Love this!
You’ve actually become my go-to for a good peanut sauce recipe! Plus, your African Peanut Stew is terrific, I used it to impress my mother law. Points!
Hooray!!! Thank you, Tamanique.
To be honest – I have never cooked with buckwheat noodles before. I really never knew what recipe to use them in. Now I have no excuse. Broccoli Rabe Peanut Soba Noodles here I come. :)
looks delightful!! and the plate is super cute :)
I made this last night with steamed broccoli subbed in (as that’s what I had in the fridge) and it was AH-MAY-ZING. In love! Thanks once again :)
Awesome!!! So great to hear. Thanks, Stefanie.
Kate I hope you are having a wonderful time! I loved Yosemite when I visited, and I hope to make it to Yellowstone someday soon :)
Now, about this dish. I cannot wait to make it! Winter greens are in season here at the moment, and a big ole bowl of noodles is just what I feel like after a chilly evening run. I can’t wait to refill with this one soon! Thanks for sharing and have a great time (I hope to see some photos soon!).
Thank you, Amy! I’m still kicking myself for getting the two mixed up. I hope you love this one, and I’ll try to share photos soon!
I love a good soba noodle salad – especially when packed with vegetables!
Wow! I like your taste buds…that combination looks amazing!!
I just made this for dinner to use up some leftover steamed broccoli and the sauce was great! Thank you so much for the inspiration! I love reading your website.
Hooray, thank you, Maya! Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Recipe was awesome
Thank you, Bev!
I have recently developed a very deeply rooted obsession with peanut sauce on anything, so I am definitely working this into my weeknight dinner rotation. Your recipes are so inspiring and push me to incorporate more veggies into every meal. Thanks Kate!
We share the same peanut sauce craving! Thanks, Jessie!
i made the recipe with the additions of tofu (small cubes sauteed in olive oil before adding the broccolini ) and spinach (also wilted) plus green onion. delicious – and my better half cleaned his plate and he is not a peanut sauce fan!
That’s great to hear! Your version sounds great, Susan. Thank you.
Hi Kate,
I was wondering if you think this would be good using almond butter or even cashew butter!?
Yes, I think almond butter would be great! I’m not so sure about cashew butter, but it might be worth a shot.
This was ridiculously good AND easy to make. Next time, I’ll probably chop my greens a bit more to distribute them better throughout the dish. My leftovers ended up being mostly noodles. I have a feeling that I’ll end up using the sauce for other purposes — it seems like it would make an amazing dipping sauce for spring rolls!
Thanks, Claire! Happy to hear it! I was wishing I’d doubled the rabe last time I made this dish. My friend said it turned out well with kale, if you want to give that a shot! This peanut sauce would go well on all sorts of things, yes. :)
My mom made pasta with broccoli rabe all the time when I was growing up! And i hated it. Until I one day grew up and realized I LOVED IT. The bitterness definitely takes some getting used to. I’ve only ever had it in Italian food so I kind of love that you paired it with peanut noodles. SO fun.
I want to try your mom’s broccoli rabe! I guarantee my mom never introduced broccoli rabe to the table, although we ate plenty of broccoli!
My husband and I were craving Asian, so we made this tonight (with a few adaptions)! We didn’t have broccoli rabe, so we just sautéed peppers and greens in place. We also julienne peeled carrots on top for a fresh element! But Kate… That peanut butter sauce?! It’s magical. Anything with peanut butter is heaven sent. Thanks for another easy and delicious recipe!!
Hi CC! Thank you for your comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Your version sounds so fantastic! Love the idea of adding carrot noodles.
so delicious, quick and easy – the perfect summer dinner! I used an 8.8oz package of noodles and about 1.5 pounds of rabe and the amount of sauce was perfect!
Thank you, Catrina! Glad you enjoyed it!
Definitely a recipe I will be making for dinner this week. I love easy and healthy bowls like these.
I made this for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe and so happy I discovered your blog.
Thanks, Megan! So glad you enjoyed it!
I absolutely love this quick and easy dinner recipe! Tasty and filling with minimal time and effort. I made it with cale and whole wheat spaghetti and it turned out beautifully..
Thank you, Marie! Yay!
Went way out of my comfort zone in trying this recipe (I typically only like peanut butter on apples and pb&j) but i am so glad I did! This was spectacular! The only thing I noticed was my peanut sauce was a bit thick and I think it is probably because I only had chunky peanut butter on hand. I just added a bit more soy sauce and it was perfect!
Thank you, Madeline! I’m glad you enjoyed this one. I have quite a few other savory peanut recipes, like this peanut stew! It’s great, I promise.
wow, it looks so delicious and healthy. It makes me hungry :-)
Would frozen broccoli rabe be good for this? I have never seen fresh broccoli rabe at my local grocery store, even when it is in season.
I used Tahini instead of peanut butter which was also very tasty. Thanks for the recipe!
This was absolutely delicious!!!!!.
My husband and I are just started a vegan/vegetarian life styles and your recipes have been outstanding!!!
Thank you so much!!!!
Thank you, Jenn! I’m so glad you found my site.
Fantastic recipe! And so quick and easy to put together on a weeknight. I made the sauce just as you said except using crunchy peanut butter because thats what we buy. Both my husband and I thought it was delicious — a little on the acidic side which I love and he’ll tolerate. I used soba noodles and regular broccoli and served it along side some seasoned, steamed edamame pods.
Thank you, Emily! I’m glad you both enjoyed it.
Hi Kate
I’ve been saving your recipes for quite some time. Always wanted to cook some, but I actually only cooked two recipes so far. I wanted to cook this particular recipe for a very long time now, (I am allergic to gluten and I LOOOVE Soba Noodles:))
Today I’ve finally made it
I had some spare shirataki noodles that needet to be eaten, so I thought why not cooking them with some frozen vegetables and this delicious peanut sauce?! Since the shirataki haven’t got any flavour of their own and the soba noodles are very good without any sauce.
So I tried it out and it was delicious.
I love this recipe, the mixture of peanutbutter, tamari, rice vinegar, just heavenly and the texture is a dream:).
It is just veeeery filling^^
Thank you very much for all your great recipes, you are an amazing cook
Kate,
Great dish!!!
Had it with salmon.
Thumbs up!!
Made this tonight and it is AWESOME!! I love the sauce. The market didn’t have broccoli rabe, so I got broccolini and some lacinto kale. I also threw in some mushrooms. Fantastic!
Hi,
What would be a good substitute for the broccoli rabe if I can’t find it at my local grocery store?
This peanut sauce is a regular in our household. We make a ton of it at once and have it around all the time. We take it camping, we have stashes of it everywhere. So good! Kate, your recipes are on our weekly menu at LEAST twice a week. Such great stuff.
The first time my husband and I started cooking from your recipes we fell in love. The next week I literally planned our entire weekly menu from your recipes. Wonderful food, wonderful job. Thanks for adding so much joy to our lives through beautiful and delicious food.
Sara, that’s so awesome! I’m delighted to hear that you are both enjoying my recipes so much. Hooray!
LOVED this! Used regular broccoli and added some thinly sliced red pepper. Also used crunchy PB and whole wheat spaghetti. I love how adaptable your recipes are. Haven’t struck out yet!
Just made it. It is very good. Added a bit of sesame oil to the peanut sauce to go with the sesame seed. Only other thing I would do is find a thicker soba (I did not use what was called for, as the store I was at had a angel hair size soba noodle.) But in the end, it is going to be go too dish.
Wonderful! Thanks, Bill.
Made this quick, simple, delicious dish the other night. The whole family loved it. I will be making this again soon!
Awesome! Happy to hear this was a hit, Leslie!
This peanut sauce is SO. GOOD. (I make this recipe all the time). I never buy broccoli rabe, so the soba noodles are cooked and drained (but still hot), I combine them with a few zucchini’s worth of ‘zoodles’ (a julienne peeler does the trick). Sometimes I add some raw thinly sliced red pepper. Because this recipe makes a lot of sauce, I find that even a huge pile of thinly-sliced veggie are fully drenched, and the zucchini softens once its mixed in with the hot soba.
This recipe is delicious and super quick. I make it along with a protein for dinner for the whole family, even my baby loves it!
I made the recipe exactly as it calls for and I still do but I use regular broccoli as well. Sometimes I add sesame oil. So good!!
Oh, I like the sesame oil. Thanks for sharing, Karly!
Can I make the sauce ahead of time?
Yes, you can!