Some items were just meant to convert from a main course to a salad. Teriyaki Chicken, Vegetables, and Noodles are three elements that combine perfectly to make Marinated Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Salad!
My dear friend Eden Bennett made this salad for me years ago and I’ve loved it ever since. Eden is an amazing cook and generous when it comes to sharing her talents. If you’re looking for a dessert to pair with this salad, check out their Giant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. You are legendary! Eden’s Giant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with big chunks of chocolate are so good.
I modified Eden’s recipe for Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Salad a bit – I used tomatoes, carrots, and cucumber for the veggies, but I substituted other fresh veggies as they become available during the summer. Snow peas are a favorite, but when they’re $5 a pound I skip them or toss in some blanched broccoli instead! You can add or omit the vegetarian ingredients depending on your preferences. Everything is possible here!
NOT ALL TERIYAKI SAUCE IS MADE EQUAL…
Growing up, my mom used to make her own teriyaki sauce by combining soy sauce, a little rice vinegar (found in the Asia section), freshly grated ginger, and some sugar or honey. In all my years of cooking, I didn’t find a prepared teriyaki sauce that I love until I discovered Soy Vay’s “Veri Veri Teriyaki.”
It’s available almost everywhere, from Costco to Walmart. Or of course at Amazon. I linked the sauce, but it’s a lot cheaper in the supermarket! Trader Joe’s also carries a similar version of the soy vay sauce called “soyaki”.
It’s the perfect sauce for marinating the chicken and beef in this recipe, and is also used in the dressing. Most teriyaki sauces can be used undiluted, but this brand is extra concentrated. I have used other brands when in need. If you can’t find that brand when making the dressing, you can make your own teriyaki sauce or buy another brand.
Eat salad, will travel!
This recipe is the ultimate make-ahead and travel salad. It can be made up to 3 days in advance and is ready the day you serve. The key to keeping everything fresh is to bag all the prepared ingredients separately, being careful to squeeze all the air out of the bags (without smashing the contents). See below for detailed instructions!
This salad fits nicely in a few gallon-size sandwich and ziplock bags and is easy to arrange on a platter or bowl when ready to serve. I love salads that you can make ahead of time when I have a busy schedule! One tip for serving a pretty salad… save some veggies and chicken to place on top of the salad for a colorful presentation!
Instructions for making teriyaki pasta salad ahead of time:
- Cook noodles, tossing with teriyaki sauce as directed. Leave to cool, then pack in a ziplock bag with all air squeezed out.
- Marinate chicken, cook, cool, shred and bag.
- Chop and puree the carrots. The same with the cucumbers.
- Leave the grape tomatoes on the counter, tomatoes do best when not refrigerated. Whip up the dressing.
- It’s important to pack all ingredients separately to keep them fresh. When ready to serve, mix all ingredients together, gradually add chopped lettuce (bagged is fine), grape tomatoes and well-shaken dressing. I often don’t use all the dressing.
- Sprinkle generously with toasted sesame seeds.
- You can prepare the salad and put it in a bowl to serve and put it in the fridge a few hours before serving.
If you make the salad ahead of time, use prepared (washed and dried) bagged spinach or romaine that will last a few hours in a bowl of dressing. Bagged lettuce is dried until the moisture is removed from the leaves, which is good for lettuce that can sit for a while.
Marinated Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Noodle Salad
ingredients
-
2 to 4
chicken breast halves
boneless, skinless -
1
Cup
soy sauce -
1-2
tablespoon
sugar
Optional -
1
lb
Noodles – any shape
I use Gemelli -
1
large head of romaine lettuce, red or green leaf lettuce -
4
medium carrots
Matchsticks or 1 bag of pre-cut matchstick carrots -
3-4
cups
Tomatoes (I like grape tomatoes) -
1
Seed and chopped cucumber or zucchini
about 1 1/2 cups -
1/2
Bunch of spring onions chopped
Optional -
1/2
lb
snow peas
cut into thin slices (optional) - Toasted Sesame Seeds
-
1/3
Cup
*Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce
made by Soy Vay -
1/4-1/2
Cup
oil
(I prefer light olives or rapeseed) -
1-2
tablespoon
water, possibly
instructions
-
Chicken and Marinade: Marinate chicken in soy sauce and sugar (optional) for at least ½ hour. I like to use a gallon size ziplock bag. Discard sauce after marinating. Once marinated, cook under the grill for about 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts. Once cool, cut the chicken into thin strips.
-
Noodles: Boil the noodles, drain. Put noodles in a bowl. Pour about 1/4 cup of the teriyaki sauce directly onto the noodles. Throw. If you want your noodles to be a lighter color, skip tossing the teriyaki with the noodles.
-
Vegetables: Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Pour into a large bowl. Add the rest of the vegetables. Grind the pepper generously over the vegetables.
-
Dressing: Shake Veri Veri Teriyaki well. Mix about 1/3 cup sauce with the oil. Whisk together, season to taste once the oil, water, and teriyaki sauce are mixed together. Dilute with water if necessary.
-
Preparation: Put all the pasta, vegetables and chicken together in a large bowl. Mix the dressing into the salad in portions, sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and pepper again.
recipe notes
- This is a great lunch salad. It can be made with or without chicken. If you’re making the salad and it’s not going to be eaten right away, I recommend using romaine lettuce instead of leaves.
Originally posted in 2008, Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetable Pasta Salad was updated in 2021 with new photos and content.