Special Sesame Chicken Salad

Name: Special Sesame Chicken Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 22 servings.
Ingredients: 1 package (16 ounces) bow tie pasta; 1 cup canola oil; 2/3 cup white wine vinegar; 2/3 cup teriyaki sauce; 1/3 cup sugar; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 3 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained; 2 cans (8 ounces each) sliced water chestnuts, drained; 2 cups cubed cooked chicken; 1-1/3 cups honey-roasted peanuts; 1 package (9 ounces) fresh spinach, torn; 1 package (5 ounces) dried cranberries; 6 green onions, chopped; 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley; 1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

With its delicious mix of crunchy peanuts, tangy dried cranberries and mandarin oranges, this colorful Asian chicken salad is a definite crowd-pleaser. Water chestnuts and a teriyaki dressing give this main dish its Asian flare. —Carolee Ewell, Santaquin, Utah

Ingredients

1 package (16 ounces) bow tie pasta
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained
2 cans (8 ounces each) sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1-1/3 cups honey-roasted peanuts
1 package (9 ounces) fresh spinach, torn
1 package (5 ounces) dried cranberries
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and place in a very large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, sugar and pepper. Pour over pasta and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Just before serving, add the remaining ingredients; gently toss to coat.

Test Kitchen Tips

Place parsley or cilantro sprigs in a small glass container and snip with kitchen shears until chopped to desired fineness. This is a helpful way to avoid dirtying a cutting board.

Canola oil is high in monounsaturated fat, a type that helps to decrease blood cholesterol levels, and low in saturated fat, which can increase blood cholesterol.

Check out 20 of our favorite Asian-inspired recipes.

Nutrition Facts

1 cup: 302 calories, 16g fat (2g saturated fat), 11mg cholesterol, 358mg sodium, 32g carbohydrate (13g sugars, 3g fiber), 10g protein.

Originally published as Sesame Chicken Salad in Taste of Home August/September 2007

Reviews

My Review

Click stars to rate

Average Rating:

muffbear74

Aug 26, 2014

I halved the recipe and used it as a main dish summer dinner. Very nice!
TexasCookie

Apr 28, 2013

Great recipe; easy to prepare and tastes fabulous. A wonderful combination of flavors and textures and a very satisfying meal.I agree with earlier posters about adding the honey roasted peanuts to the individual salads at the end.
emaurer125

Oct 28, 2011

Made this today for a tennis luncheon and it was a bit hit, everyone wanted the recipe. I used extra spinach (I like more greens) and added Chinese noodles for crunch. It really does make a lot, so you might want to halve the recipe if you aren't serving a lot of people. I followed the dressing directions exactly and loved the taste. Put the peanuts and the Chinese noodles in at the end to keep the noodles crunchy and the glaze on the peanuts.
kfree1993

Jun 30, 2011

This salad was oh so yummy!!! I took it to work and everybody had to sample it and many asked for the recipe. Definitely a keeper.
10sChick

May 19, 2011

Brought this to a potluck and it was GONE! I myself thought it was great too!! After reading reviews I decided to do the 1/2 canola and 1/2 sesame oil mix and the rice vinegar instead of just white wine. Awesome flavor! I couldn't decide if I should do all teriyaki or all soy in the dressing as suggested by someone else, so I did 1/2 of each and the dressing was the perfect thickness and had a wonderful flavor. One last note -- 1 lb. of pasta was WAY too much. I only used half of that and still added more greens to get the salad to look like that one in the photo.
irilax

Aug 16, 2010

This recipe is ALWAYS a hit every time--whether at a potluck brunch, sweet table at work or picnic. It's extremely flavorful and the textures all work so well together. It's become one of my favorite salads to make (and eat of course)...Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
wullawhy

Jul 11, 2010

I would recommend adding the peanuts atop each serving rather than stirring in because they lost the sugary glaze that makes them so good. I halve the recipe for my family since it makes such a huge amount, but my kids all asked for seconds. I doubled the amount of greens with good results. Good good good.
kakjw

Jun 1, 2010

Made this several times for big gatherings and am always asked for the recipe - I make it w/out the chicken & use sunflower seeds instead and it's still delicious!
glitterchatter

Mar 20, 2010

Absolutely LOVE this pretty salad, which makes enough for a crowd. It does have an odd combination of ingredients with a variety of flavors in a single bite. I would agree with one of the raters. . . one time I made this salad and it didn't get the attention of the usual/ordinary potluck salads, but at another event, it was a huge hit.
Chef-Sudey

Jun 30, 2009

With substitutions, this recipe is AWESOME!! Instead of doing a whole cup of canola, I did 1/2 cup and then added 1/2 cup of sesmame oil (Dynasty is the best.) Also instead of teriayki, I used soy. Instead of white wine vinegar, I used rice wine vinegar. I also thought that slivered almonds went better with this than peanuts. I didnt use the spinach- just pasta. It was a hit! Lots of people asked me for the recipe!! SOOOOO good:)