Using up leftover chicken in a cold noodle salad is a quick, healthy lunch that transforms fridge bits and pieces into a tasty meal – perfect for a packed lunch too.
This might feel like a long ingredient list, and yes, there’s a lot of chopping. The carrot takes longest – but it’s very straightforward. Even making this leftover chicken noodle salad from scratch, I had lunch served up in around twenty minutes.
Using leftover chicken from the Sunday roast
Later in the week is when we usually pick at the last pieces of roast chicken leftovers. My husband is well trained to strip the carcass of the last offerings and I boil the bones for stock before buying a new chicken at the butcher over the weekend.
Making this leftover chicken noodle salad felt virtuous too. It was a nutritious meal from sad looking fridge odds and ends that was tasty and healthy. Nor did I need any expensive ingredients.
During lockdown, our local butcher, Mick of East London Sausage Company, was where we went to avoid long queues at the supermarket. Update 2026 – Sadly he has since left Orford Road and his Walthamstow Village shop is much missed.
As you can imagine by the name, Mick was famous for his in-house sausages but we would buy a chicken there most weekends.
Other Cold Leftover Chicken Noodle Recipes
Here are several more noodle dishes that don’t use cold chicken but would work by switching the protein ingredients:
- chopped salad with rice noodles and salsa verde is tasty and would work beautifully if adding leftover chicken as a protein boost.
Should you prefer soup with your noodles, take a look at:
Both of these recipes can be made by swapping cold leftover chicken for the Quorn or prawns.
Quick Meals Using Cold Leftover Chicken
More quick dishes perfect for using leftover chicken would be:
- Rainbow burritos with spicy chicken for lunch – using tortilla wraps
- Mini chicken and leek pies for dinner – in ramekin pots topped with puff pastry.
Leftover Chicken Noodle Salad with Sesame Seeds
Equipment
- saucepan medium
Ingredients
- 4 nests dried egg noodles fine or medium
- 1 tbsp Hoi Sin sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce light
- 300 g cooked chicken pieces from leftover roast are perfect
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) handful, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot finely chopped
- 6 spring onions (scallions) finely sliced
- 1 quarter cucumber cut into small chunks
- 1 whole tomato cut into small chunks (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the dried noodles in a saucepan filled with water for several minutes until they go soft.
- Drain and refresh with cold water a couple of times until the noodles are nearly cold. Leave them sitting in the water whilst you do everything else
- (NOTE - IF NOT USING THE NOODLES NOW) Drain them at once and toss in the sesame and sunflower oils to help reduce strands sticking together.
- In a small bowl, stir together the dressing ingredients; hoi sin sauce, vinegar, mirin, oils, soy sauce.
- Add the chopped ingredients and stir through; chicken, sesame seeds, coriander, carrot, spring onion, cucumber, tomato.
- Finally drain the cold water from the cooked noodles and toss them with the other ingredients until well coated and combined.
- Serve immediately or you could equally box it up for a packed lunch!
Notes
Nutrition
A quick note about my Japanese-style crockery
I bought this Japanese-style crockery in Waitrose a few years ago, although similar styles are sold elsewhere. I’ve always said I impulse buy crockery the way other women do shoes. I always enjoy using these cheerful dishes for Asian inspired rice or noodle-y things.
I used these dishes to serve my shiitake and Quorn chicken noodle miso soup.
Using different dishes for different types of food can make meals more interesting – and that was a way to add variety to mealtimes in lockdown.
I avoid bothering with full crockery sets but am a sucker for hoovering up sale pieces in twos or threes where they match plates we already have. Think of it like a wardrobe for your dinner!
Pin this cold leftover chicken noodle salad for a quick, healthy and thrifty weekday lunch.
Hahaha impulse buying crockery like other women buy shoes – I love it. I impulse buy BOTH ? Agree on pretty crockery being one way to relieve lockdown tedium and this sounds like a quick and tasty lunch option!
Noodles in a salad is something new to me, but you make it sound such a good idea, I’ll be having a go at this
Noodle salads are great for lunchboxes. Hope you enjoy!