Mandarin Chicken Pasta Salad

Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 10 min
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Description

This easy Mandarin chicken pasta salad recipe showcases bright and bold Asian flavors with mandarin oranges, fresh ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

Ingredients

1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 (8 ounce) package bow tie (farfalle) pasta
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 (11 ounce) can mandarin orange segments, drained
2 diced Roma tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) bag fresh spinach
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 cucumber - scored, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

1 Whisk vinegar, orange juice, vegetable oil, soup mix, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic together in a bowl until well blended; cover vinaigrette and refrigerate.
2 Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bow tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Transfer to large bowl.
3 Toss chicken, mandarin oranges, tomatoes, spinach, carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and almonds with pasta. Add vinaigrette: toss to coat.