Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad is a long time favourite. It’s a unique salad with a velvety smooth mayonnaise dressing that has a bit of heat from chile oil and a hint of citrus to liven it up. Substitute Tabasco sauce for the chile oil if you don’t have it and avoid chunky-style hot sauces since mayo is supposed to be smooth.

I made this salad for our Block Party every July for twenty years and people always asked for this recipe. The chives in my garden are the standard garnish since they are in full bloom at this time of year. They go in the salad and on the salad.

How To Use Fresh Chives

When chives are in full bloom the stems with a blossom are too hard to eat. These are the single stems I lay across a plate or bowl. For a little colour pluck the tiny purple petals and sprinkle them on a salad like I did here.

If you’re intrigued by edible flowers check out this post, How to use edible flowers in the kitchen to see my favourites and how I use them.

Best Salads To Take To A Summer Potluck

This is a large recipe, the kind of salad I refer to as a Big Bowl Salad and it’s perfect for any potluck.

I have a handful of these recipes. They’re too large to make for myself yet they’re so delicious I need to make them. So year after year I make a point of working my way through this list and I can’t wait to eat them myself.

• Summer Rice Salad
• California Roll Salad
• Grapefruit Avocado Salad with Tomato Cumin Dressing, perfect for winter.
• Asian Coleslaw with Peanut Dressing

Easy Homemade Mayo Recipe

Mayonnaise is a simple concoction of eggs and oil, easily whipped up in an immersion blender or food processor. Recipes vary but this basic mayonnaise recipe works for me every time:

In a food processor combine 1 whole egg plus 1 yolk, ¼ tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp salt and 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Process until smooth then with the motor running drizzle in 1 cup of olive oil in a slow steady stream.

Homemade mayo is rich and creamy and tastes nothing like artificial versions you might get at fast food joints (I’m thinking chipotle mayo). In my opinion every cook should make the basic recipe at least once. Just so you know what everyone is talking about.

I’m not an actual mayonnaise connoisseur but some of my friends are. Aside from spreading mayo on a sandwich here are the most common ways I use it:

• With Banderillas, a simple Spanish tapa that is elevated with straight up mayo.
• The variation with chipotle chiles is chipotle mayonnaise and it’s amazing on grilled vegetables or chicken, tacos, nacho salad, Mexican pizza, quesadillas, breakfast hash and so much more.

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More Ways To Use Sesame Mayonnaise

This mayonnaise is more than you need for the salad so here are some ideas to use up the leftovers.

• As a dip for raw or grilled vegetables.
• In an Asian chicken salad that you could invent with some leftover chicken.
• On some kind of Asian inspired wrap or bowl.
• Tuna or salmon salad, again with an Asian flare. Depending on your taste I typically make up these kind of dishes with some plain mayo out of the jar and the homemade mayo in an amount I think will taste great.

Tips For Cooking Gluten Free Pasta

The cooking of gluten free pasta is critical and there are many options out there. If you put in the effort and find something the whole family loves, your life in the kitchen will get a whole lot easier.

Here are my best tips for cooking gluten free pasta for a noodle salad.

• Focus on the time. Start by following the package directions and taste it. As little as 30 seconds too long (or not rinsing your pasta) can result in pasta that falls apart.
• Always rinse cooked pasta with lukewarm water for hot dishes and cold water for cold salads. Drain well.
• Try different kinds of pasta, lots of different kinds.

This recipe is adapted from one of my go-to resources when I was learning to cook, the Silver Palate cookbooks. 

Let me know in the comments below if you tried this Spicy Sesame Noodle Salad and what you thought.

Originally posted 2016, updated June 2022.

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More Summer Salads

Almost any recipe could be made as Big Bowl Salad but I also like to make smaller versions of some of these for myself throughout the year.

• Southwestern Quinoa Salad
• Apple Quinoa Salad with Feta
• Mom’s Easy Bean Salad
• Roundup of Summer Salads