These Thai Chicken Soba Noodle Salad Jars are a delicious summer meal prep idea and a fun twist on a cold noodle salad.
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How to make this recipe
- Cook soba noodles.
- Whisk the ingredients for the satay sauce and add to the bottom of a mason jar.
- Layer cooked chicken or leftover chicken over the sauce.
- After you add chicken, add broccoli slaw, red pepper and soba noodles.
- Top each jar with green onions and peanuts.
- When ready to serve, shake jars before serving to distribute sauce, then pour into a large, deep bowl and enjoy!
- Optional: garnish with fresh herbs like cilantro or basil.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breast – use freshly cooked chicken breasts or any leftover chicken for this recipe.
- Soba noodles – Korean buckwheat noodles and whole wheat vermicelli will replace the soba noodles identically. Ramen noodles can also work for this recipe.
- Broccoli slaw – kale slaw, cabbage slaw or anything along the lines of julienned cabbage and veggies will work well for this recipe.
- Red pepper – any fresh bell pepper will work for this recipe.
- Green onions (optional garnish)
- Peanuts (optional garnish)
- Cilantro (optional garnish)
Satay Sauce
- Coconut milk – use full fat coconut milk from the can for the best results.
- Peanut butter – any nut or seed butter will work.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos and tamari are great substitutions for soy sauce.
- Rice vinegar – use white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of rice vinegar.
- Sesame oil – use a neutral oil to replace sesame oil.
- Dried ginger – use fresh ginger or ginger powder as an alternative.
Storing the salad jars for later
Once prepared these chicken noodle salad jars will last four to five days in the refrigerator. Yes, that's right – this is the perfect weekly meal prep lunch! The key to keeping the salad fresh is to layer the mason jar in a way that keeps the ingredients fresh. Layer the salad with the satay dressing, chicken, veggies and then the noodles & garnishes on top.
Once you're ready to enjoy your salad, shake up the mason jar to envelop all the ingredients with the dressing and enjoy! If possible, it's best to pour the mason jar contents into a bowl before eating.
Freezing leftover chicken
Whether you're using leftover chicken or cooking chicken fresh for this recipe, you can freeze any leftovers for a future meal or for a salad jar! To freeze, transfer chicken to a freezer bag or airtight container. The chicken will keep in the freezer for up to three months. Once you're ready to use the chicken, move it to the fridge the night before to allow it to thaw. From there, microwave the chicken if you prefer to eat it warm or put it directly in the jar.
More mason jar recipes
Meal prep tools
- These are the mason jars I recommend.
- This is the brand of tamari I like, and I love this low-sodium soy sauce.
- And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box!
Thai Chicken Soba Noodle Salad Jars
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover chicken (can be rotisserie)
- 1/2 (363 g) package soba noodles
- 2 cups broccoli slaw
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup roasted salted peanut halves
- Fresh chopped cilantro or basil (optional, to serve)
Satay Sauce
- 1/2 can full fat coconut milk (about 3/4 cup)
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp dried ginger
Instructions
- Cook soba noodles according to package directions (usually 2 min in boiling water) and whisk together the ingredients for the satay sauce. Add sauce to bottom of a 950mL mason jar, followed by leftover chicken.
- If you need to cook the chicken fresh instead of using leftover chicken, saute four medium-sized chicken cutlets (or cut two medium-sized chicken breasts in half) in a skillet with a bit of olive oil over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes per side, then cut up into bite-sized pieces. Otherwise, continue on with the following steps below.
- After you add chicken, add broccoli slaw, red pepper and soba noodles. Top each jar with green onions and peanuts. Shake jars before serving to distribute sauce, then pour into a large, deep bowl and enjoy! Bonus: if you'd like, garnish with fresh herbs like cilantro or basil.
Video
Nutrition
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sylvia says
Another great recipe!
I would like to suggest using ‘Wide Mouth’ One Quart Mason jars for this recipe. In US mason jars are referred to as Wide mouth jars or Small mouth. Popular Mason Jar brands in US are Ball or Kerr mason jars. They come in different ounce sizes. Wide Mouth, One Quart 16 Oz, or Half Quart 8 Oz. jars are best for meals in a mason jars.