This might be (in my opinion) the best salad recipe I know. This salad is a meal in itself. It’s the kind of salad that you’d serve at a baby shower or a bridal shower, and everyone will be asking for the recipe. It’s a family favorite. Doesn’t it look so good?!
The recipe is at the bottom, but I thought I’d give you a little of the HOW TO in pictures, with a bit of commentary.
Here are the main ingredients lined up, minus the chicken…the rotisserie chicken if you wish.
The Salad’s Dressing Ingredients:
I make two batches of the dressing:
1. for marinating the chicken & pasta in overnight
2. for tossing the salad with right before serving
Toast the sliced almonds & the sesame seeds (separately) in a dry hot pan.
This step isn’t completely necessary, but I think it looks nice to take the stems off.
Green onions are my least favorite food, but I know they’re important to the salad. My solution is to chop them into oblivion, so as to not notice them.
Here are all the dry ingredients in a big bowl ready to be tossed with the chicken, pasta & dressing.
Round Two of the Dressing:
And here it is! Oh, it’s so good. I hope you make it.
The Recipe:
Asian Chicken Pasta Salad
1 box bowtie (farfalle) pasta
4 chicken breasts cooked & shredded or all the breast meat of one rotisserie chicken
1/4 Cup green onions (sliced & diced into oblivion)
1/2 pack sliced almonds – toasted
1 bag spinach (stems removed)
1 sm. bag peapods
1 can Mandarin Oranges (drained)
The Dressing (double this into two batches)
1/4 Cup Sesame seeds (toasted)
1/3 Cup Soy Sauce
1/3 Cup Red Wind Vinegar
1/3 Cup Veg. Oil *or Sesame Oil is great here too
2 TBS. Sugar
1/2 tsp. S & P
Marinate chicken & pasta in the dressing in the fridge overnight.
* It’s helpful to under cook the pasta a bit. Al dente would be perfect.
Toss altogether right before serving with round two of the dressing.
Okay, it's 1:30am in the morning but I'm craving Asian chicken salad. This looks so good! I definitely need to make it!
Wow! Scrumptious!
Rats, now I have to go to the store.
funny that Shauna likes it with lots of pasta and I like it with lots of spinache!
This looks really, really yummy. I haven't had breakfast yet, but I want this already. I love asian salads, so I'm printing this out and making it tonight!
That looks REALLY good. I am gonna have to give it a go!
Thanks
I love that recipe. It's so yummy!! I use sesame oil in mine. Have you ever tried that? It gives it a really good flavor.
I love all the recipes. I've never thought of using a rotissere chicken like that. I'm going to have to try it.
Does the chicken dry out in the fridge??
I always add sesame oil too. Kam you are sharing our family's secret recipe. It is sooo good!
Looks yummy. I make a salad like that with a Teriyaki dressing and peanuts added. I'm going to have to make both versions I can tell.
looks so yummy and fresh. I have enjoyed all your rotissere chicken recipes. I love how you can just get them at the store all finished and no roasting the chicken is needed. You can have a fresh gourmet meal fast.
There are so many variations of this recipe, but this is the first time I've seen it with bow tie pasta and spinach. I've seen the recipe with Ramen Noodles and Napa Cabbage. I also love the Mandarin Oranges in it. I'm going to try this. Thanks so much for sharing it.
MMMMMMMMMMMM, I'm totally trying that one! It looks delish!
yippee! a recipe i can make tonight- i have all of those ingredients at home!
thanks.
Can't wait to get to the store so I can make this. Thanks!
That looks so tasty! I will definitely have to try that one out.
Ha- I do the same "chop it into oblivion" thing with tomatoes when I make salsa. They are necessary for the flavor, but I don't like biting them.
I had this salad at a baby shower and yes, I have really been wanting the recipe. Thanks!
My mouth is watering now! That salad looks soooo good. Once again I'm loving your pictures of food. You should work for a food magazine.
Mmm… I'm for sure going to make that and try to impress people. My question is, do you need to undercook the pasta since it marinates overnight? I didn't know if it got mushy or anything.
Amanda & Shauna – I too usually use Sesame Seed Oil, not sure why I forgot that part. It really is so good in this recipe. I will edit now.
Shaunee – Yes, good point. It's a good idea to under cook the pasta a bit. Al Dente is ideal.
This looks so good! It just may be Sunday dinner. I have a similar recipe but I have to say this looks better. I think I'm throwing out the old one and adding this one to my file.
Thanks.
Seriously loving this series. Did I mention I buy a chicken every week? Thanks!
I'm lovin this series! And I'm loving the salad! nice work
I made this last night – It was SO tasty! I didn't wait to marinate overnight, it might have had more flavour though, but it was still yummy, I also added some sesame oil and julienned the sugar peas. Oh and I used rice vinegar because that's what I had on hand. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, Kami! You're making me want to start cooking again! These are so super yummy. I'm loving chicken week!
i've made this recipe before and it is so yum!
i made this tonight, and it was delicious! i'm linking to this post on my blog. thanks for sharing!
Making this without the chicken (since I'm doing the vegetarian thing). Looks delicious and know my kids would love it!
yum!i love this type of salad.
This looks absolutely delicious! I have a family gathering tomorrow that is pot-luck style, so I'm going to make this. Thanks for the recipe! I can't wait to try it!
This recipe was WONDERFUL, my kids (2 and 4) loved it too! I love the dressing/marinade, I think it would be great on pork chops or chicken grilled. Thank you for sharing! I will be making this again soon.
This looks delicious! I'm bookmarking this one.
Yum! I just made this tonight and it was delicious! It’s funny, I bought the green onions but I forgot to add them. The salad still tasted great
Thanks for sharing!
I made this tonight…….so good! My family loved it. I decided to salt and sugar the almost and they were GOOD! Thanks for sharing this recipe! I needed a good Asian Salad in the mix!