Recipes

Trader Joe’s Hack: Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad.

A few months back I took a poll about new content you guys wanted to see here, and I got a big response to one of my ideas: Trader Joe’s hacks. I shared my first one (sheet pan cauliflower gnocchi!) and was amazed by the response — holy moly did people love it! It was one of my most shared posts ever (in 10 years of blogging!), so I’m back today with another recipe that makes use of some tasty Trader Joe’s ingredients for a quick-fix dinner. My idea for this recipe actually came from a reader, who I met at a book signing event and was sharing some of her favorite Trader Joe’s products with me. We started talking about some of their dressings, and it got my wheels turning after I picked up this Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette. I used the vinaigrette to dress three components of this dish: 1) to marinate chicken breast that I sautéed in a pan, 2) to toss with some capellini pasta for a spicy peanut noodle, and 3) to dress the crunchy greens mix that I served everything over. Those elements combined with some scallions, ribboned carrots, and chopped peanuts for a  super tasty and filling salad! It took under 30 minutes to make and is a big hit at our house for dinner; scroll down to get the full  recipe:

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Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Noodle Salad.
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2-3 Servings
 
Ingredients
  • Trader Joe’s Asian-Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette
  • 2 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1” pieces
  • ½ lb. of Capellini pasta (or Soba Noodles)
  • 1 bag of Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch Salad Mix
  • ¼ Cup of Scallions, chopped
  • ¼ Cup of Shredded Carrots
  • 2 Tbsp. of Unsalted Peanuts
Instructions
  1. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the chicken breast pieces and about ¼ cup of the Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette. Sauté until the chicken is cooked through, stirring often. Set aside to let cool.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles as directed to al dente. Toss the noodles in about ¼ cup of the Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette and half of the scallions.
  3. In a large bowl combine the salad greens with the spicy peanut noodles and the cooled cooked chicken. Add the remaining scallions, the shredded carrots and peanuts to the bowl, toss to combine and dress lightly with extra Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette if desired.