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# Buckwheat Soba Noodles with Matcha Pea Pesto
- URL: https://explore.breakawaymatcha.com/buckwheat-soba-noodles-with-matcha-pea-pesto/
- Published: 2024-11-15T18:58:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-19T00:41:59.000Z
- Description: It's rare for dishes to be equally good served warm or cold, but this is one of them.
- Author: Eric Gower
- Tags: Cooking With Matcha, #shopify-import, #Import 2026-02-19 02:04

# Matcha Soba Noodles With Pea Pesto (Warm or Cold)

**Quick answer:** Cook 8 ounces of buckwheat soba, then toss with a quick pesto of peas, mint, avocado oil, lemon, garlic, ginger, and a teaspoon of matcha. Twenty minutes start to finish, two servings, and one of those rare dishes that is equally good warm or chilled straight from the refrigerator.

It is rare for a dish to be equally good served warm or cold, but this is one of them. Good soba noodles are such a delight: earthy, almost nutty, with a wonderful chew and mouthfeel that wheat pasta never quite reaches. Buckwheat is a pseudograin, botanically closer to rhubarb than to wheat, and its seeds grind into a creamy, nutty flour. The peas and the matcha do something quietly clever here, pulling the natural sweetness out of the noodles while the mint and lemon keep the whole bowl bright. Green on green on green, and it tastes like it.

This is also, not incidentally, one of the best answers to the question we get constantly: what do I actually do with matcha besides drink it? Cook with it. Matcha behaves in savory food the way a great herb does, contributing grassy depth, gentle bitterness for structure, and umami, and a pesto is the friendliest possible place to start.

## Why matcha belongs in a pesto

A classic pesto balances something green and aromatic, something rich, something sharp, and salt. Matcha slots into the green column with unfair efficiency: one teaspoon carries concentrated chlorophyll, savory amino acids, and a faint pleasant bitterness that plays the same structural role parmesan's saltiness does in the Genovese original. This pesto happens to be dairy-free, and the matcha plus nutritional-sweetness of the peas is a big part of why nobody misses the cheese.

Use a matcha you would be willing to drink. Culinary grade is exactly right for this, that is what it exists for, but culinary grade should still mean vibrant green powder with a fresh, vegetal smell, not the dull khaki dust sold in bulk bins. A [proper culinary matcha](https://www.breakawaymatcha.com/collections/culinary-grade-matcha?ref=explore.breakawaymatcha.com) keeps its color and flavor through cooking; stale matcha turns army-drab and contributes nothing but bitterness. Our [good matcha vs bad matcha guide](https://explore.breakawaymatcha.com/good-matcha-bad-matcha/) applies to the kitchen too.

## Ingredients

Serves 2\. Makes about 2/3 cup of pesto.

### For the pesto

- 1 cup defrosted frozen peas
- 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon matcha
- 1 teaspoon diced fresh ginger
- Good salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Grated fresh lemon zest, to taste

### For the noodles

- 8 ounces buckwheat soba noodles
- Matcha salt, for sprinkling (or make your own: fine sea salt mixed with matcha, about four parts salt to one part matcha)
- Toasted sesame seeds, for sprinkling

A few buying notes. Frozen peas are the correct choice here, not a compromise; they are frozen at peak sweetness and defrost in minutes. For the soba, check the label: many supermarket soba are mostly wheat with a token gesture of buckwheat. Look for a high buckwheat percentage, or juwari soba if you want 100 percent buckwheat and a gluten-free bowl. And the avocado oil is chosen for its neutrality, so the peas, mint, and matcha stay in front; a mild olive oil works if that is what you have, and brings its own pleasant grassiness.

## Instructions

1. **Make the pesto.** Combine the peas, mint, avocado oil, lemon juice, garlic, matcha, ginger, salt, pepper, and lemon zest in a food processor and process until blended. Aim for a texture just short of completely smooth; a little pea texture is nice against the noodles. Taste and adjust: more lemon if it is flat, more salt if it is shy, a touch of water if it is too thick to toss.
2. **Cook the noodles.** Prepare the soba according to the package instructions, and take the timing seriously. Soba goes from perfect to mush faster than any pasta, so start tasting a minute early. Drain, and if you are serving the dish cold, rinse the noodles under cold running water, rubbing gently to remove surface starch. This keeps them springy instead of gummy.
3. **Toss and serve.** Toss the drained noodles with the pesto until every strand is green. Divide between bowls, season with matcha salt, and finish with a generous rain of toasted sesame seeds. Serve warm, or chill and serve cold.

## Variations and additions

**Make it a full meal.** A soft-boiled egg, seared salmon, or pan-crisped tofu turns this into dinner without crowding the flavors.

**Swap the herb.** Basil pushes it toward a classic pesto profile; cilantro plus a squeeze of lime takes it somewhere brighter. Mint remains our favorite against the buckwheat.

**Add crunch.** Thin-sliced snap peas, cucumber ribbons, or scallions are all excellent, especially in the cold version.

**Loosen it into a sauce.** A splash of the soba cooking water, added while tossing, turns the pesto into a silkier coating for warm noodles.

## Make-ahead and storage

The pesto is happiest made a few hours ahead; the flavors settle and round out in the refrigerator. It keeps, covered with a thin film of oil to slow oxidation, for about three days, though its color is brightest in the first 24 hours. Matcha's chlorophyll, like basil's, dulls with air and time. It also freezes well in small portions.

The pesto is worth doubling or tripling on its own merits: it is a great dipping sauce for raw vegetables, a fine spread in a sandwich, and very good spooned over rice or roasted potatoes. Dressed noodles keep a day in the refrigerator and make an excellent packed lunch, which is where the equally-good-cold property really pays off.

Store your matcha itself properly between kitchen projects, sealed, cold, and dark in a glass jar. The details are in our [matcha storage guide](https://explore.breakawaymatcha.com/how-to-store-matcha/).

## FAQ

### What do matcha soba noodles taste like?

Earthy and nutty from the buckwheat, sweet and fresh from the peas, with matcha adding grassy depth, gentle savoriness, and a whisper of structure underneath. The overall effect is bright and clean rather than "tea flavored." If you can taste bitterness, the culprit is usually stale or low-quality matcha, not the quantity.

### Can I buy noodles with matcha in the dough, or is the matcha in the sauce?

Both exist. Cha soba, a Japanese classic, has green tea worked directly into the buckwheat dough. This recipe takes the second route: ordinary soba with matcha in the pesto, which needs no specialty noodle and gives you more control over the flavor. If you find good cha soba, this pesto doubles the green happily.

### Is this recipe gluten-free?

The pesto is entirely gluten-free. The noodles depend on your soba: many commercial brands blend wheat flour with buckwheat, so check the label. Juwari soba, made from 100 percent buckwheat, keeps the whole dish gluten-free and delivers the deepest buckwheat flavor, though it is more delicate to cook.

### What kind of matcha should I use for cooking?

Culinary grade, but a genuinely good one: vibrantly green, fresh smelling, and pleasant enough to drink plain. Grades sold for cooking are blended to hold their flavor against other ingredients. Dull, brownish-green powder is stale regardless of its label and will read as bitter in the finished dish.

### Can I make it without a food processor?

Yes. Mash the peas with a fork or mortar and pestle, mince the mint, garlic, and ginger finely, then stir everything together with the oil, lemon, and matcha. The result is a chunkier, more rustic pesto that clings to the noodles nicely. A blender also works; add a spoonful of water to help it move.

### How long does matcha pesto keep?

About three days refrigerated in a sealed container, with a thin layer of oil pressed over the surface to slow browning. Color and aroma peak in the first day. For longer storage, freeze it in small portions; an ice cube tray works perfectly, and cubes thaw in minutes at room temperature.