Spicy Kohlrabi Noodles Recipe

An easy vegan weeknight recipe made with ginger-lime marinated kohlrabi, fresh herbs, and rice noodles. A great make-ahead lunch! Healthy & gluten-free.

Oh, kohlrabi… I first learned of this alien vegetable years ago when I received my very first CSA box. At the time, I wasn’t adventurous with vegetables, so I had no clue what it was and no clue what to do with it. Kohlrabi has seemed to gain some popularity since then – I often see it on restaurant menus – but back then it was barely google-able.

Fast forward to now – it’s one of my favorites. People say it’s similar to broccoli stems, but I think it’s closer to daikon or even jicama. Slice it up into sticks, marinate it a bit, and it makes a great crunchy slaw. I’ve put this exact slaw on tacos, but today I’ve mixed the white kohlrabi sticks with rice noodles.

Slice your kohlrabi so that it’s a similar shape to the rice sticks. You’ll feel like you’re eating a huge bowl of noodles, when, in fact, half of your bowl is all veggie. If you can’t find kohlrabi, you could do a similar thing with cucumbers.

spicy kohlrabi noodles

Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Serves: serves 2-3

Ingredients

2-3 kohlrabi
4 oz. cooked (and cooled) rice noodles
½ jalapeño, sliced and/or a few thai red chiles
½ avocado, sliced
herbs: cilantro, basil, and/or mint
handful of crushed peanuts
sriracha, to taste
extra lime slices
optional: tofu or a protein of your choice

dressing:

juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce or tamari)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger

Instructions

Mix the dressing together.
Peel the kohlrabi if you like, (I just try to peel off the fibrous nubby sections and I leave the more tender skin on). Use a mandoline to slice kohlrabi into planks and then slice the planks into thin matchsticks. Toss the sliced kohlrabi with the dressing and chile peppers. Chill for about 30 minutes.
Toss the marinated kohlrabi with noodles, avocado, herbs, crushed peanuts and sriracha. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve cold or at room temp, with extra lime slices on the side.

I used these noodles, but you could also use these.