Name: Sesame Noodle Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti; 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter; ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce; 1 tablespoon sesame oil; 1 tablespoon honey; 2 tablespoons water; ½ teaspoon minced garlic; 1 teaspoon minced ginger; ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste; 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken; 2 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix; ¼ chopped lightly salted peanuts, chopped; 2 green onions, sliced

Easy sesame noodle salad that’s ready in less than 30 minutes! This is a great side dish or light dinner for the summer and so, so easy to make. It has lots of noodles, rotisserie chicken, cabbage, and green onions tossed together with a quick and easy sesame peanut sauce.

Recipe Highlights
Ingredients
How to Make the Recipe
More Ways to Dress It Up
Make-Ahead Tips
More Cold Pasta Salad Recipes

Cold, noodle-y salad with a simple peanut sauce (dressing?) is on my summer salad list for sure this year. If you’ve been reading this here blog you probably already know that for me summer = pasta salad. Well, all year = pasta for me, but during the summer I trade the hot pasta recipes for cold and delicious pasta salads like this sesame noodle salad.

Which, by the way, is not authentic and very, very, very loosely modeled off of Chinese sesame noodles. It’s definitely an Americanized version turned pasta salad and a nod to my favorite take-out style sesame noodles that I like to eat warm. Consider this sesame noodle salad its cold summertime cousin, although it’s just as easy to make and equally as delicious.

Recipe Highlights

We are using whole wheat spaghetti to make this noodle salad. You can use regular, but the whole wheat pasta has a nice bite and chew that you don’t get with the other.
I use rotisserie chicken for this recipe because, hello, it’s easy. But, it’s also a great way to use up any plain leftover chicken you might have on hand.
The cook time for this recipe is about 10 minutes with a prep time of 15 minutes. While the noodles are cooking, you can make the peanut sauce. All in all, you need less than 30 minutes total time for this recipe. A plus during the summer, for sure.

It’s perfect for potlucks, BBQs, and picnics as a side dish or make it for a light dinner. Either way, it’s an easy summer recipe.

Ingredients

Whole-wheat spaghetti noodles
Creamy peanut butter
Low-sodium soy sauce
Sesame oil
Honey
Water
Minced garlic cloves
Minced fresh ginger or ginger paste
Red pepper flakes
Shredded rotisserie chicken
Shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix – I use the bagged thin-sliced cabbage (sometimes called angel hair cabbage).
Chopped salted peanuts
Sliced green onions or scallions

How to Make the Recipe

Boil the noodles following the package directions or until they are al dente – this usually takes about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by mixing the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, water, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl.

the other ingredients added to the bowl with the sauce.

Once the noodles are done, drain and then rinse them under cold water. Drain them really well and then place them in the bowl with the sauce.

Add in the chicken and cabbage and mix, mix, mix until everything is evenly coated with the sauce and well combined. Garnish with the peanuts and green onions and serve.

More Ways to Dress It Up

Trade the spaghetti for soba noodles or even ramen for a different twist.
Feel free to add more veggies – julienned or diced red bell pepper, blanched broccoli, or blanched snow peas would work well, too.
For some texture, sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top.
Instead of red pepper flakes try adding some sriracha to the sauce.
For a tangier sauce, use the same amount of rice vinegar instead of the water.

Make-Ahead Tips

You can definitely make parts of this dish a day ahead, but it’s not a good idea to assemble it ahead of time. The noodles will absorb a lot of the sauce, leaving it dry after sitting in the refrigerator.

You can make the sauce ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container a few days in advance.

You can also cook, drain, and rinse the pasta ahead of time and keep it in its own container in the refrigerator for up to a day in advance. When you’re ready to serve it the next day, toss all the components together before serving.

Make this cold sesame noodle salad for a light weeknight dinner or make it to share at all of your summer get-togethers. The Asian-inspired flavors are so good and perfect in this cold pasta salad.

Happy Cooking,

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More Cold Pasta Salad Recipes