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. &mdash;Carolee Ewell, Santaquin, Utah

Special Sesame Chicken Salad

(16 ounces) bow tie pasta

canola oil

white wine vinegar

teriyaki sauce

sugar

pepper

chicken

peanuts

(9 ounces) fresh spinach, torn

cranberries

green onions, chopped

parsley

sesame seeds, toasted

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.

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.

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

Im thinking about making this salad for a get together- it sounds delicious, however I think I will do 1/2 c sesame oil and 1/2 canola oil.  I am also trying to think of something crunchy, besides peanuts, to add to the salad.  Any suggestions?

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.

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.

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!

Wonderful salad! Next time I think I'll use extra virgin olive oil for a lighter dressing otherwise it was great and loved by all.

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:)

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.

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!

special sesame chicken salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

Servings: 22

Cost: $2.30 /serving

Author : Taste of Home

Ingredients

Instructions

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