Name: Gochujang Noodles
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 7
Ingredients: 16 oz dry spaghetti; 1 Tbsp avocado oil; 2 bell peppers, sliced; 24 oz broccoli florets; 4 Tbsp butter, cubed; 2 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish; 6 Tbsp gochujang; 4 Tbsp maple syrup; 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce; 1 Tbsp rice vinegar; 1 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil; 3 cloves garlic, minced

Jump to Recipe

A little sweet, a little savory. Saucy noodles that are packed with flavor and veggies? Totally my jam. I love the colors in this one and it always solves the leftover Gochujang dilemma with a bit of butter to pull all those statement flavors together with a decadent finish.

WHAT’S NEW?

Y’all, this week is starting out BRUTAL. This body, this mama, this full-time employee…I’m not made to be playing hockey from the wee hours of Sunday on into the wee hours of Monday. But, here we are. I crawled into bed around 1:30am with my Apple Watch wildly impressed and curious as to what type of midnight activities I’m up to. I normally have trouble sleeping after hockey but that was most definitely not the case last night.

Perhaps I was tired from the day trip to Chicago to see my family and my niece and nephew. My 1-month-old nephew is good for the soul. I enjoyed every second of baby snuggles and had to fight off both my parents and my children to get myyyyyyyyy baby time with him. I absolutely love, love, love babies. #BabyFever #UhOh #ThatShipHasSailed

ROLL CALL FOR THIS RECIPE

Weeknight warriors: ready in 30 or under, this veggie-packed meal is whipped up in a flash! Get your pasta water going first, veggies next, and then the sauce comes together in a matter of just a few short minutes. Then toss it all together with a bit of butter and pasta water, if needed, and that’s all there is to it!
Meat-free peeps: Got the veggies and the noodles covered! This recipe is saucy goodness with the sweet’n spicy thing going on. You’ll love it!

KEY INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS

Gochujang: A fermented red chili paste is both savory, sweet, and spicy and quite common in Korean cuisine. It is sold in most major retail grocery stores as well as online (Amazon, of course!).
Pasta: To dramatically increase the fiber in this recipe, swap in whole wheat pasta. While whole wheat pasta takes a bit longer to cook, it is generally an easy, nutritious swap to make. I simply used what was on hand in my pantry.
Toasted Sesame Oil: This ingredient is truly what makes or breaks so many Asian-inspired recipes for me. This nutty, smoky oil is so big on flavor, its district qualities are truly missed when swapped for another oil. That said, peanut oil is the closest substitution.
Meat: There’s none in this recipe. Newp. But feel free to add your favorite protein – pretty much any would do swell in this dish! Tofu, too! Cook in the skillet before the veggies and remove to a plate to avoid over-cooking while you cook up those vegetables!

NUTRITIONAL MERITS

While Gochujang is higher in sugar than soy sauce, Gochujang is about 1/3 less sodium tablespoon for tablespoon. That said, both ingredients are rich in sodium.
With lots of colors in this dish, the bell peppers offer loads of vitamin C and the broccoli supplies additional vitamin C while also providing vitamin K, iron, and potassium.

VARIATIONS, TIPS, & STORAGE

I’m a big-big fan of broccoli florets that are pre-floret-ed for you in the produce section. They’re always perfectly sized whereas my cuts from the stalk are always a bit less consistent. In the end this only matters for even cooking and aesthetics, as well as time saving, of course!
Gochujang can be stored in the fridge for as long as 2 years when kept covered air tight. So, while it’s not an ingredient you may use often, it won’t go to waste, either!
Store leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days.