Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

This Chicken Satay Noodle Salad with whole wheat spaghetti and creamy peanut-soy sauce with rotisserie chicken is a delicious chicken dinner recipe to enjoy hot or cold. 

This recipe has been a family favorite for years. I was originally inspired by a Rachel Ray recipe, and it has serious staying power, thanks to the luscious creamy peanut sauce and simplicity of using rotisserie chicken. 

This is a great way to use leftover cooked chicken with a fusion of pasta with Southeast Asain flavors. 

Update: I’ve updated this post with new tips and photos to help you perfect chicken satay noodle salad even on the busiest weeknight. Enjoy!

What is Satay?

Satay (also sometimes spelled sate) originates in Indonesia and Malaysia. The popular street food dish usually consists of thin, lean slices of meat skewered and grilled over open flames. 

It’s often served with a creamy peanut sauce similar to the sauce on this noodle salad. 

How to Make Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

This salad gets layers of flavor from a nutty and sweet peanut sauce, whole wheat spaghetti noodles and fresh spinach. Plus satisfying protein from rotisserie chicken and crunch from crushed peanuts on top. 

The recipe calls for whole wheat spaghetti, which adds to the nutty flavor of this salad. However, if you’re not a fan or only have regular pasta on hand, you can use any other shape or variety of pasta you like. 

Keep these tips in mind when cooking your noodles: 

• Add salt and 2 teaspoons of oil to the water pasta boiling water. This will help prevent the noodles from sticking together after cooking
• For the best texture in this salad, only cook your noodles to al dente according to the package instructions. 

Peanut Satay Sauce

To make the creamy peanut sauce for your satay salad, slowly whisk the peanut butter from the center out until it is completely blended and smooth. I like to use a large bowl for this to avoid spilling. 

And be sure to heat the sauce as instructed in the recipe. This will make it more pourable to easily coat the noodle salad ingredients. 

Serving & Storing Chicken Satay Salads

I find that tongs are the easiest tool to mix up the noodles, sauce, chicken and veggies for this salad. Again, opt for a larger bowl for easy tossing without a mess. 

You can serve this salad hot or cold. If you’d like to enjoy it warm, I recommend adding the carrots to the pasta during the last minute of cooking. This softens them up just enough so they’re still crisp but not raw. 

You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Note that chilling will stiffen the peanut butter a bit. Before serving leftovers, let the salad sit on the counter for a half hour or so before stirring and serving. 

If you’re in a hurry, you can microwave the salad in 5-7 second increments until the sauce is smooth, but not hot. 

More Easy Pasta Dinner Recipes

Chicken and pasta go perfectly together to make easy and satisfying weeknight meals. Try these other popular recipes next:

• Chicken Sausage Pasta Bake includes flavor-packed sausage and gooey melted cheese for a delicious baked pasta recipe. 
• Quick and Easy Chicken Piccata with lemony, buttery spaghetti is a kid-approved weeknight dinner that comes together in a flash. 
• Instant Pot Chicken Marinara with Mozzarella from Pressure Cooking Today is our favorite way to make a fast chicken and pasta dinner with rich tomato sauce. 

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Yield: 6-8 Servings

Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes



Ingredients

• 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/3 cup shredded carrots (a generous handful)
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup tamari (dark soy sauce) (I used regular soy sauce)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (eyeball it)
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil (eyeball it)
• 2 cups skinned and sliced rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup packed fresh spinach, thinly sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente according to package directions. Add the carrots in with the pasta for the last minute. Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, in a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, honey and 1/4 cup warm water. Whisk in the soy sauce, lime juice, hot pepper sauce and garlic. Pour in the oil in a steady stream, whisking to combine.

Heat the sauce in a saucepan until warm. Mix the drained noodles, sauce, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl and top with the peanuts and parsley.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 743Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 1627mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 8gSugar: 20gProtein: 48g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.