Peanut Noodles With Chicken

by Heidi Larsen Updated: Jul 1, 2025

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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.

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