Sesame Ginger Noodle Salad (w/ Chicken!)
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Jul 14, 2025 
This sesame noodle salad is everything you want in a cold noodle salad. It’s quick to throw together, absolutely full of flavor, and somehow better straight from the fridge. It’s got chewy noodles, tender chicken, bright crunchy veg, and a simple homemade gingery, sweet-salty dressing you’ll want to drizzle on everything.
5 star review
“This was dinner last night and it will be again tonight, it was so easy. Letting it sit before eating makes a big difference. We will be making this one again soon!”
– Christine
A Cold Asian-Style Sesame Noodle Salad to Make on Repeat
This is one of those recipes that hits all the marks. It’s savory, sweet, tangy, a little nutty, and juuuuuust the right amount of craveable-meets-fresh. For my take on an Asian-style noodle salad, I use grilled chicken (my citrus marinaded chicken is to-die-for here!) or rotisserie chicken, noodles that hold up well, and a silky sesame-ginger dressing that soaks into everything as it sits. It’s super low effort too with no hard-to-find ingredients, or complicated steps, just a big bowl of deliciousness that works for lunches, potlucks, or those “it’s too hot to cook” summer nights. Plus, it’s the kind of thing you can make once and eat on for a couple days.
Now, let’s talk noodles. When I tested this chicken salad with pasta, I found that using spaghetti or linguine totally works if you don’t have specialty noodles on hand. And leftover grilled chicken (or rotisserie) makes it even faster; though my slow cooker shredded chicken is also great here. I also love how flexible this one is when it comes to veggies: swap in cucumbers, cabbage, or even snap peas if you don’t have bell pepper. This style of protein + veggie salad is a close cousin to my corn and pasta salad, so if you’ve tried that one and loved it, you’re going to love this too!
Welcome to My Kitchen – Let’s Make Chicken Sesame Noodle Salad!
A Few Tips for the Perfect Cold Noodle Salad
- When I tested this salad, I found that dressing the chicken and noodles separately before adding everything else gave the best flavor. The chicken soaks up the sauce better and gives more flavor throughout.
- Don’t skip the sesame oil! I’ve found that a little gives that warm, toasty flavor that makes it taste like your favorite takeout, but fresher.
- When I made this for meal prep, I stored the almonds separately and added them right before eating to keep them crunchy.
Sesame Ginger Noodle Salad (w/ Chicken!)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry pasta or noodles (see note)
- 2 heaping cups grilled or cooked chicken, sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 cups cooked, shelled edamame
- 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and segmented
- ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
Sesame Ginger Dressing
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup neutral flavored oil, such as avocado or canola
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the Noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package instructions. Strain well and set aside.
- Prepare the Dressing: While the noodles are cooking, in a medium bowl, whisk the soy sauce, lime juice, oil, sesame oil, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, salt, and sriracha (if using) until well combined.
- Prepare the Salad: Add the chicken to a large bowl. Pour over ⅓ cup of the dressing, tossing to combine. Add the warm cooked noodles, then pour over ⅓ cup of the dressing, tossing to coat.
- Add the bell pepper, edamame, mandarin oranges, almonds, and green onions to the noodles.
- Pour over the remaining dressing and toss to combine. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes for the flavors to combine, tossing again before serving.
Notes
- Pasta: Spaghetti, fettuccini, or fresh egg noodles or udon noodles work best in this recipe. I found in testing that dry ramen didn’t stand up as well to the chicken and veggies.
- Best Flavor: I recommend letting the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, as it makes a big difference in how the flavors come together.
This was dinner last night and it will be again tonight. I used egg noodles. This was so easy. So fragrant while making the dressing. Letting it sit before eating makes a big difference. We will be making this one again soon.
Christine, fantastic to hear you enjoyed this one and that you’ll be able to get some leftovers out of it. Great tip about letting it sit, too. Thanks as always for leaving a review, I so appreciate it!