Easy Edamame

Here’s the best way to eat edamame as an easy snack or side dish! This irresistible edamame recipe is flavored with garlic, sesame oil and salt.

Are you a salty snack person? Meet your perfect healthy salty snack: edamame! Edamame are soy beans you eat right out of the pod, squeezing them into your mouth with a satisfying pop. Alex and I always order them when we get sushi, because eating them is the perfect in-between-bites-of-sushi activity. But protein-packed edamame can be served anytime: it’s great as a snack, appetizer, or easy side dish. This edamame recipe is basic but oh-so-tasty, mixed with garlic and toasted sesame oil and seasoned generously with salt. Here’s how to make it!

Buy edamame in pods for this recipe

Edamame is soy beans that are picked when they’re young and green, versus the mature soy used to make tofu. That means they’re full of plant-based protein, which makes them great for vegetarian and vegan diets! Alex and I eat mostly plant-based, so we love serving edamame because it adds protein that helps to keep us full.

You can buy edamame two ways: frozen shelled and frozen in pods. Edamame in pods are the kind served in Japanese restaurants as a snack or side. Shelled edamame can be used in salads, fried rice, noodle bowls, etc. You can also serve shelled edamame as a side dish: go to Shelled Edamame.

How to make this edamame recipe

This edamame recipe is so easy: there are really only two steps! But it’s also a little elevated from the standard edamame. We’ve added garlic and a little toasted sesame oil to bring things up a notch. Here’s what to do:

• Boil the frozen edamame 4 to 5 minutes. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil, then add the frozen edamame and boil 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, toasted sesame oil, and salt. Drain well, then mix it together with garlic (grate it right into the bowl with a microplane), toasted sesame oil, and a generous seasoning of salt.

Then dig right in, popping open the pods with your teeth! When you serve your finished edamame recipe, don’t forget to serve it with a small bowl for the discarded pods. It’s much easier and cleaner (especially if you’re entertaining).

Toasted sesame oil vs sesame oil

There are two types of sesame oil you can buy at the store, so make sure to get toasted sesame oil for this recipe! Toasted sesame oil has a strong, nutty flavor: it’s intended for flavoring foods. Sesame oil has a neutral flavor and is used for cooking.

A variation: try it spicy!

If you like the heat, make spicy edamame instead! It’s a fun heat-packed variation on this recipe. Just add chili garlic sauce to taste. We liked it with about 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, which made for a medium spicy edamame recipe. You could also use other Asian-style hot sauces you have handy, like Sriracha or sambal oolek.

Ways to serve edamame

There are so many ways to serve up this edamame recipe. Try it straight as a plant based and gluten free snack, or as a tasty vegetarian side dish. Since it’s packed with plant-based protein, it’s a great option for vegan and plant-based meals. But most of all, it’s just plain delicious! Here are some ways to serve it; it’s great with:

• Sushi, like Maki Sushi or Tofu Sushi
• Salmon, like Teriyaki Salmon
• Shrimp, like Shrimp and Broccoli
• Fried rice, like Vegetable Fried Rice or Quinoa Fried Rice
• Stir fries, like Vegetable Stir Fry or Teriyaki Stir Fry
• Ramen, like Vegetarian Ramen, Tofu Ramen, Miso Ramen, or Vegan Ramen
• Noodles, like Soba Noodle Bowl or Quick Soba Noodles

How much protein is in edamame?

Edamame is packed full of plant-based protein. In fact, 1 cup of cooked shelled edamame has almost 18.5 grams of protein! (Source) That’s on the same level as legumes like lentils, which also have 18 grams of protein per 1 cup cooked.

More ways to eat edamame

Here are a few more ways outside of this edamame recipe to eat this tasty vegetable:

• Edamame Salad Toss it with corn, cucumber, feta cheese and a red wine vinaigrette.
• Poke Bowl Recipe or Vegan Poke Bowl Throw them into that classic Hawaiian bowl of ahi tuna (or vegan stand-in) and rice.
• Cauliflower Fried Rice Add them to cauliflower fried rice to make it more filling.
• Beet & Blue Cheese Salad Try them in this elegant salad starring roasted beets, crunchy pistachios, and blue cheese crumbles.

This edamame recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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