Loaded with fresh, crunchy veggies, this healthy Asian-flavored pasta salad is one of my most popular all-in-one meals, and it’s also a great side dish for potlucks and picnics.
One can’t have too many pasta salads in their arsenal of recipes. This year I’m partnering with DeLallo Foods to share recipes using their pastas, pestos and sauces and while I’m always a fan of classic pasta salads with an Italian bent, this beauty is heading to the Asian side of the globe.
Fresh and crunchy with loads of slivered fresh veggies, this pasta salad is perfect for serving as a main meal and that is exactly what I did.
Well, actually it’s what my mom served, that I cooked, for her turn in hosting her ladies who lunch book club. I don’t know if that’s what they really call themselves, but it seems an apt description when there’s elegant women, good conversation, chilled wine and tasty eats to share.
My mom is ALWAYS first in line to help me when I’m in need, so I was more than happy to try and repay her and be her chef for the day. I know she gets angst when it comes to hostessing (just like so many of us do,) so I hoped to take the load off at least part of her entertaining schedule so she could enjoy the afternoon instead of worrying about slicing bread or dressing the salad.
I think by the looks of the smile on her face, success was mine.
Knowing my mom wanted to host the book club discussion in her bodaciously blooming backyard (with nary a weed in sight thanks to my dad’s slight obsession with weeding and sweeping) we wanted to make it easy for her friends to eat their meal sans-table, and with a drink in their hands.
An all-in-one noodle dish was just the ticket.
About the Recipe
I used DeLallo’s linguine for this recipe, but have used their fettuccine before too, with the balance of textures still working just right. DeLallo’s pasta is one of my favorites simply because it has more of a toothsome flavor and doesn’t turn into slime as it sits in sauce. Each strand of linguine help up to the peanut dressing, a very important characteristic for this pasta salad.
The veggies are all slivered finely, long and thin, complementing the linguine strands. I use this tool to get the julienned cuts just the right size.
The peanut sauce is accented with sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce for a bit of umami. It’s slightly sweet thanks to a dose of sugar that’s offset with the spicy heat of chili sauce. My favorite flavor combo.
I serve this pasta chilled because it holds up well on a buffet table, even when book clubbers are heatedly discussing the ins and outs of Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage and I can barely get them into the kitchen to dish up their plates. Who knew? These book clubbers actually read the book!
I made 1 ½ times the peanut sauce just because I know my mom always loves extra sauce with her pasta. Her friends did too so they added a little extra to the top and made sure to add heaps of fresh flavored cilantro.
My mom picked up the chicken already cooked from the deli case at Costco. You could always use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or bake your own, like I show you how to do here.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.
Peanut Noodles With Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound DeLallo linguine noodles
- 3 chicken breasts , cooked and sliced or chopped, about 4 cups
- 5 carrots , peeled and thinly shaved into ribbons
- 3 seedless cucumbers , thinly shaved into ribbons
- 2 bell peppers , red, yellow or orange, seeded and thinly sliced
- 6 green onions , chopped thinly
- ½ bunch cilantro leaves , chopped
- For the Peanut Dressing
- 4 garlic cloves , minced or pressed
- 1- inch knob of ginger , peeled and grated
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ⅓ to ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hot chile sauce , like Sambal Olek
Instructions
- Cook the DeLallo linguine noodles according to the package directions. Rinse and set aside.
- Add the cooled noodles and chopped vegetables to a large bowl.
- Add the ingredients for the dressing to a blender and blend until smooth. Add more water as needed to thin out the dressing. Pour the dressing over the noodles and vegetables and toss to coat. Garnish with more cilantro and green onions as desired.
Nutrition
Do you have a classic pot luck main dish you have success with? I’d love to hear more, so share in the comments below.
Have a great day, and make something good.
This post is part of a partnered series with DeLallo Foods. As always, thank you for reading and for supporting companies I partner with, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you. All opinions are always my own.
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This sounds great! Used shrimp to make it healthy! GREAT; all loved it. Especially good by the way for sending off in lunches! Since it can be eaten cold! Yea!
Hello,
The article mentions the peanut sauce that’s slightly sweet thanks to a dose of sugar that’s offset with the spicy heat of chili sauce. There is no sugar in the recipe and a few people have asked, without an answer. Can you please clear up this confusion? I really want to make this but would like clarity on the sugar. Thanks so much!!
Can I use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth ? Also what can I use instead of Sambal Olek ?
Can I use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy ? Also, what can I use if I can’t find Sambal Olek. I have never seen it in my store. Thank you.
Where is this?! The landscaping is beautiful!!!
Do you know how long this would last in the fridge? This looks like an awesome lunch!
Mmmm looks so tasty.
I just made this and it is delicious. The flavors are to die for!
I would just recommend one small change. I didn’t like the texture of the “ribbon” cucumbers and next time I will scoop out the center of the cucumbers and slice them into little half-moons. This would add another dimension to the dish too since everything is ribbony. I also added some chopped dry roasted peanuts as a garnish.
(also, don’t forget to salt the cucumbers for 20 min then rinse and pat dry to remove excess liquid from the cucs)
Thanks for your note Joyce, that’s an easy switch to make for your taste buds.
My husband had a peanut allergy. Had anyone tried it with cashew butter? It looks amazing!!
*has*
I haven’t but I’d love to hear what you think if you do. Or almond butter?
Made this today for dinner. The sauce is amazing! We’re going to have plenty of leftovers. I ended up using half the chicken and half the noodles (I used DeLallo’s capellini noodles because the store I went to didn’t carry the linguine). Thanks for another great recipe, Heidi!
That is so great to hear Ana. Thanks for coming back and letting me know!
Made this as my donation to a Meal Train that was set up for a friend who is recovering from surgery. She is a vegetarian, while her husband is not. I left the chicken out, and provided it in a separate bowl…..as well as sesame roasted edamame. Worked out perfectly!
I see the sugar in the article and the photo, but not in the recipe. Could you specify how much you used, please? This looks delicious and summery…can’t wait to try it!
Recipe looks great! Did you serve this hot or cold? I imagine it would be great either way.
I made this & we all LOVED it! Added 2 tbsp brown sugar & worked perfectly. Didn’t need extra cilantro as a garnish but extra green onion was great. Also, added only half the noodles, dishes a couple plates out, then added the rest. Excellent recipe. Served with sliced, baked chicken breast. :)
I just made this for tomorrow’s lunch minus the chicken for a meatless option and I can’t stop sampling it. It’s a delicious and quick meal. I’ll definitely be making this again. Greetings from Trinidad and Tobago!
I just made this for my family & we all loved it! Everyone went back for seconds & I can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Great summer dinner- I will definitely be making again
Hi Lisa, so glad you liked it. It’s definitely one of our faves.
I cooked last night for today’s lunch. It was delicious and my husband text me that he loved it. It was so easy and quick to prepare it.
I didn’t have noodles so I used vegetable spaghetti instead and I didn’t have the ingredients for the dressing so I use a ginger dressing and was really good.
I will cook this again for sure.
I made this last night, so good, having leftovers for lunch now. I have to comment on something in your post – your mom’s backyard is to die for! I think anything would taste delicious out there!
I have an unhealthy obsession with noodles. I could eat them every day if I wouldn’t end up on an episode of “My 600lb Life”. This looks too good not to try! :)
I have tried a few recipes for Asian salads with peanut dressing and was never really impressed. So I figured if you made this for your mom’s book club, it has to be a winner. And it was. The hubby and I both just loved it.
So delicious!!! Will try it.
We made this tonight– fantastic! I made it with rice noodles because my husband has a gluten allergy. Even my two year old loved it and he can be very particular! I can tell this is also going to be really good as leftovers.
By “dose of sugar” are you referring to the peanut butter?
How long do you refrigerate?
Do you sauce before and after chilling?
Too much heat for kids?
Sounds so yummy!
I agree that there cannot be enough pasta salad options in the world! I LOVE this version! Adding it to my pasta salad list.
Where do you get the Sambal Olekere at?
Hi Marcia, you can find it pretty much at any grocery store. Look for it in the Asian section. It has a green lid.
That peanut dressing sounds like the best, I think I’m showing up at your house for dinner ;).
My mom made a meal like this growing up and I always loved it…this would not disappoint!!
I’m going to make this but will be making it a hot dinner dish. I’ll also use my new found obsession, rice noodles. What tool did you use to julienne the veggies?
There is a link in the paragraph under About the Recipe for the tool. It’s a hand held julienne.
The link seems to be broken.
I’m curious to see it too.
This recipe looks wonderful!
Agreed, you can NEVER have too many pasta salad recipes. And you can NEVER have too many recipes that involve peanut sauce….
Was that 1 inch knob supposed to be ginger?
I was one of the lucky ones at Book Club that day! Thank you for putting everything together! Delish!!
What a fun beautiful day. Thank you so much honey for all your hard work. The salad was a perfect choice for a group, plus it was delicious, and I loved having all my that energy and competence in the kitchen while I just enjoyed my friends. I’m a lucky mama!
You are so welcome my mom! And so happy to finally meet some of your friends! XO
I love Delallo products and that their pasta offerings are made with Italian wheat, not the nasty American hybridized stuff. Also, that should say a “knob of Ginger,” I suspect. Great recipe!
Freaking delicious. . this will be one of the first things I make when I can eat pasta again! 23 more days!
We recently started buying DeLallo and we couldn’t by more pleased! We tried the whole wheat linguine and both were sold. As or this peanut noodles, my husband will hoard all the leftovers once I make him this!
Whole wheat noodles would be equally as good in this. I like them a lot in Asian flavored recipes as they stand up well to thicker sauces.
Yes please! Savory pb recipes are one of my favorite things on the planet!