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Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad

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This Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad recipe is quick and easy to make, tossed with a simple sesame vinaigrette, and perfect for picnics and potlucks!

This Crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad is easy to make, tossed with fresh mango, avocado, edamame, cole slaw, almonds, and a sesame honey vinaigrette...and SO delicious! Perfect for potlucks, picnics, or as a simple salad or side dish. | gimmesomeoven.com

Alright, show of hands.

Who else grew up eating ramen noodle salad?

Chances are that if you grew up in the Midwest, this salad crossed your path at least a time or two. My mom used to make it regularly when we were kids, and brought it along to every potluck, picnic, and church function imaginable. And we always, always came home with an empty bowl.

What can I say — people love this salad!

That said, the original version that we made back in the 90s was a little more full of processed ingredients and sugar than I like to eat nowadays. So a few years ago, I gave my mom’s recipe a few modern updates and shared it on blog. But even in the years since then, I’ve actually made a few more updates — including making it with healthier ramen noodles (and even gluten-free ramen noodles, if needed), and adding in some extra veggies. So since we’re entering the prime of potluck and picnic season, I thought I’d share it with you once more. Because no matter the decade, I’ve found that people go absolutely nuts for this salad. And it’s downright delicious.

Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe | 1-Minute Video

 

Back in the day, this salad used to simply be made with:

  • cole slaw mix
  • sliced almonds
  • sliced green onions
  • a vegetable oil / white vinegar / white sugar vinaigrette
  • canned mandarin oranges
  • …and the noodles from those classic $0.29 ramen noodle packets

Nowadays, I still stick with the cole slaw mix (organic), green onions and almonds. But I also like using (affiliate links included):

Plus, my yummy go-to vinaigrette for this salad now uses:

To make the salad, I recommend spreading the ramen noodles and almonds out on a baking sheet and toasting them for about 10 minutes until lightly golden. (<– Tip from my mom!)  Then add all of your ingredients to a large mixing bowl, drizzle on the vinaigrette, give everything a good toss…

And in no time, this delicious salad will be yours to share and enjoy!

It’s still just as perfect as ever for picnics, potlucks, or church basement functions…or anytime you need a good salad in your life. ;)

Enjoy, everyone!

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Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 43 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 0 About 8 servings 1x

Description

This delicious Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad recipe is tossed with a simple sesame vinaigrette…and tastes absolutely delicious!


Ingredients

Scale

Salad Ingredients:

  • 1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
  • 2 (3-ounce) packages of ramen noodles*, crumbled (you will not use the seasoning packet)
  • 1 cup shelled and cooked edamame
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
  • 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and julienned (or diced)
  • 1/2 cup thinly-sliced almonds
  • 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions (scallions)
  • Sesame honey vinaigrette (see ingredients below)

Sesame Honey Vinaigrette


Instructions

To Make The Salad:

  1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spread the crumbled ramen noodles and sliced almonds out on a baking sheet, and stir a bit to combine. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the almonds and noodles are slightly toasted and golden. Remove baking sheet, and give the mixture a good stir to toss. Then return it to the oven and toast for an additional 3 minutes. Keep a very close eye on the mixture so that it does not burn. Remove and set aside.
  2. Add ingredients (including the vinaigrette) together in a large bowl, and toss until combined.
  3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. (This salad is much better eaten the first day, as the noodles lose their “crunch” the longer it sits, and the avocado may brown a bit. Still, it’s perfectly edible and enjoyable even after a few days!)

To Make The Vinaigrette:

  1. Whisk all ingredients together until combined.

Notes

*You can use any kind of packaged ramen noodles for this recipe.  If you’d like organic (and less-processed) alternatives to the classic $0.30 packets at the grocery store, I recommend these organic classic ramen noodles or organic brown rice ramen noodles.

**I also like sprinkling mine with some toasted sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds in the photo), but that’s totally optional.

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385 comments on “Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad”

  1. Making this today…….Can Olive oil be substituted for the vegetable oil?

    • Awesome, Sherry! And yes, it sure can, it’s just not as neutral in flavor, but it should still work fine here. Hope you enjoy! : )

  2. Could broken triscuits be a good substitute for the ramen noodles?

    • ooooh, Fran, I love that idea!! That’s never occurred to me, so I haven’t tried it, but I imagine they would be an AWESOME substitute! : )

  3. Just made this tonight and I loveit! Especially like the additon of the mango, such a nice fresh flavor! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  4. I was looking for a healthy version of this salad…not using the flavor packet in the ramen. and I found it!!
    This salad is delicious, and I have to say, toasting the ramen and almonds(and I also added a half cup of sunflower seeds!), added a great flavor as well!!!

  5. Don’t forget to toast the almonds! I added the dressing in gradually, but definitely GO FOR IT! Add it ALL at once! The dressing is so delicious. I would say add a little more honey, however.

    This was the biggest hit at the potluck by far. I will be making it again for sure.

    • Thank you, Sarah! We’re so happy you liked it, and that it was a hit at your potluck!

  6. Love the updates, especially replacing the flavoring packet.  When I made this salad back in the day, I always threw in drained mandarin oranges, but I’ll be the mango is delicious.  I would also add a touch of the orange juice to the dressing.

  7. Can you give me some pointers on keeping the avocado green? I assume you made this at least a little in advance since it was for a potluck. Did the avocado brown by the time you arrived or did you wait to add it until just before serving? Thanks in advance! I can’t wait to bring this to our family 4th of July potluck!

    • Oooh, good question. If the avocado is going to be sitting out for awhile, I highly recommend tossing it with some lime or lemon juice before adding it to the salad. It will definitely help slow down the browning process. (Although even if the avocado gets a little brown, it’s still edible and tasty.) :)

  8. Just made the dressing to see how I would like it.  (had the ingred for dressing)   On my way to get the rest of the ingrediants to have something to put the dressing,  or I will just drink it, ha ha.

  9. Just made it for my family for tonight’s 4th of July celebration but it is so good not sure it is going to make it.  Good things I bought enough for a double recipes.  Thank you for the awesome quick and easy recipe.  Happy 4th

  10. So I live in the Caribbean, on a super small island the size of Austin Texas and the grocery store options for me are limited! Highly based on what is in season and when shipments come to the island soemtimes I don’t see ingredients for months (oh yougurt how I miss you!) But we do get ramen and right now we are in the tail end of avacado and mango season so there is a lot of those! All that aside I made this salad with limited ingredients (no slaw mix here so I used shredded lettuce and kale), no almonds but I bet it’s delicious with, I added julienned  cucumber, carrots, and yellow bell pepper along with mango, green onions and edamame. At the last minute I realized I didn’t have honey so I dissolved sugar in some water and added it to the dressing ingredients… A little goes along way but it worked! I love the smokey/toasty taste of the ramen. All in all the salad was delicious and I will make it again and again hopefully soon with the proper ingredients! 

    • Taylor, girl, we’re impressed with you making this work with what you can find! (And we’re a little jealous that we’re not living in the Caribbean.) ;) We’re happy you enjoyed the recipe — thanks for giving it a try! Cheers!

  11. Great recipe!! Do the Ramen Noodles need be cooked at all? xx

  12. I, too, have always made this with mandarin oranges.  My family also adds a few baked and shredded chicken breasts for a complete salad.

  13. Am I missing something? Are we not supposed to cook the ramen noodles?

    • Hi Tarrina! That’s right, you’re not supposed to cook them – leaving them uncooked is what gives the salad a nice crunch! We hope you enjoy! :)

  14. Hi! Super excited to make this tonight – any ideas as to how to make it a bit spicy? Maybe just a little cayanne in the dressing? I just remember growing up loving this but seem to remember it having a big of a kick!? Thanks so much can’t wait to enjoy this tonight!! 

    • Hi Ellie (love your name btw!) To make this spicy, we’d recommend adding some Sambal Oelek — it’s an awesome Asian chili sauce (if you’re not familiar with it, you should be able to find it in your grocery’s International aisle.) Sriracha would also be great in this. We hope you enjoy! :)

  15. i love your story! I am also in Germany. We live outside of Stuttgart now for close to 5 years. I am always trying to make some of the tastes from home to share with my German friends. Tomorrow is our block party and I will be bringing you salad. Thanks for the idea. 

  16. I made this for a party today and it’s fabulous. My kids are eating cabbage. Awesome! 

    • Yay, we’re so happy to hear that Mailee, and that’s awesome (and impressive) that your kiddos eat cabbage!

  17. I baked my noodles and almonds at 425 for 5 minutes and a lot of it was scorched!  I had more so I lowered the oven to 350.  The noodles did not get golden, but they are crunchy. 

    • Thanks for sharing Vicki, we’re sorry they got scorched the first time! Was your oven rack placed on the top of the oven? If so, that could have been the culprit.

  18. Love, love, loved this! First time I made this and took to a pot luck and everyone loved it as well.  Used Olive oil instead of Vegatable oil and used the Agave.  Was very Yummy!  Will Definitely make again!  Thanks!

  19. I can find rice vinegar & red wine vinegar, but am having a hard time finding rice wine vinegar. What do you suggest as a substitute? Different websites say completely different things. Thanks for your help!!

  20. Wondering if this salad would be even healthier — and still tasty — without the Ramen noodles. Would the almonds give it enough of the desired crunch? And do you think the amazing overall taste of the salad would significantly lessen?

    • Hi, it would totally be healthier and still tasty without the Ramen noodles. If you’d like more crunch (to make up for their absence), you could always add more almonds. We hope this helps!

  21. I love to add cilantro too!

  22. This is so good!
    I’ve been making it to take for lunch in wrap-form :) 

  23. Made this salad last week and fell in love!!!! Ate is in less than 5 days and already went back to the store for ingredients.

  24. Is agave sweeter than honey? Just bought all the tasty fresh ingredients.  I picked up a serrano chile to dice up and and add to dressing.  Excite Ali!  Please keep posting your  delicious recipes. 

    • It’s more concentrated than honey, so yes. However, you should be fine subbing the same amount here, or you could try using a tad less. We hope you enjoy!

  25. Finally! An easy version of this recipe. Making it for a potluck this week and adding chicken to the leftovers to send with my husband for his lunch. Thanks for all the great recipes!

    One note: you used shredded carrots too, right?

  26. I’ve just made this as it looked fantastic but just finding using so much of the dressing just drowns it all, will defiantly add less next time. Or just pour in it gradually to make it just right. 

    But other wise find it all works well.
    Will make it again for sure. 
    Delish xx 

    • Thanks for sharing with us Lisa! We’re glad you liked it, but are sorry it got a little drenched!

  27. Can you use instant stir fry noodles or does have to be ramen?

    • Hi Luise! We haven’t tried this with instant stir fry noodles, but we think they should work okay. We hope you enjoy the recipe!

  28. please tell me what is edamame, the green beans things, as in Australia we don’t have that by that name the salad looks wonderful , so I must try, regards Wendy

    • Hi Wendy, edamame is a soy bean that comes in little pea pods. You could definitely just use fresh or frozen, thawed peas in this, if you are unable to find edamame. We hope this helps, and that you enjoy the salad! :)

  29. I make this but add mandarin oranges and instead of vinegar I use some of the mandarin juice instead.  I love it still!!

  30. How did you cook your edamame and did you salt the water?  Making today and love the edamame idea!

    • I’d say to cook your edamame according to the package instructions, since some are frozen, some come shelled, etc. Enjoy!

  31. Your pictures are simply amazing! So appetizing and colorful! I can’t wait to try this recipe and I love the edamame and Avacado touches. Will be sure to share and hashtag?

    • Thank you Geeta, that’s such a nice compliment! :) And yes, please share with us, we hope you enjoy this!

  32. Made this for a potluck last night – it was a big hit.  Definitely toast the almonds and ramen.  I also threw in some toasted sesame seeds.  I found the dressing a bit sweet so would cut back the honey to 1/4 cup next time.  

  33. Looks yummy, Does anyone have a breakdown of calories, carbohydes etc?

  34. How many calories are in each serving? Would you recommend this recipe for someone who is losing weight? 

    • Hi Kyana! While we feel that this recipe is pretty healthy, we unfortunately aren’t sure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!

  35. The noodles go to the oven straight from the packet or do they have to be boiled? Some recipes boil them then fry them. Thanks

    • Hi Paula! They do not need to be boiled, but we do recommend toasting them if you have the time. We hope you enjoy! :)

  36. This is great.  I didn’t put the mango in and was still great.  I had raisins on the side for me cause not everyone wanted them.  I loved it with the raisins in it.  If you keep the dressing on the side and add it as you eat it, the salad lasts longer and doesn’t get soggy.

  37. I have made this probaby 6-7 times now and it’s a hit every time. Sometimes I will use a couple small cans of mandarin oranges if I can’t find mango. I’ve also varied it in other ways and never had a bad batch. Thanks!

  38. I’m throwing a going away party for a friend next month and this salad will definitely be on my menu!

  39. So, let’s just say I wanted to add the spice packet into the dressing, despite the added salt and MSG, would I just add it straight n?
    Or would I have to make other alterations to your recipe?

    Making this over the weekend. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks!

    • Hi Debbie! Hmm, we think you could probably just mix the packet in with the vinaigrette – you might want to leave out the soy sauce though, otherwise it might be too salty. We’d suggest tasting it without the soy sauce first, then you could add some if you like. We hope you enjoy!

  40. This salad is GREAT! I made it as the only side to go with an Asian inspired salmon recipe and it was very filling. My husband and I loved it.

  41. Just made this and it was really good! Only comment is that this temp was too high for the almonds and burned them. 

  42. Can’t wait to try this! About how many portions does this recipe yield?

  43. I made this salad last night for a family dinner.  There were 8 of us, including a 9 and 12 year old.  To a person this salad was a HUGE hit.  The entire salad was gone in one seating.  Thanks for creating and posting.  This will definitely take the place of my current Ramen Noodle salad.

  44. My daughter is allergic to sesame! I was going to make this tonight. Can you think of a substitute for sesame oil? Thanks!

    • Hi Brooke! You can totally just leave it out, unless you’d like to sub it with peanut oil. We hope you both enjoy this!

  45. I would love to pin this awesome recipe for future reference, but its not working.  Please help.  Thank you in advance.  

    • Hi Esme! That’s strange, it’s working fine for us! You should see a push pin button once you hover your clicker over the photos. Then you should be able to click and pin.

  46. Hi!! Love the idea of the recipe, but have some finicky eaters……think I can substitute apples and cranberries instead of edemame and mango?
    Thanks!

  47. I am allergic to avocado and mango what else would you suggest to substitute 

    • We think a little fresh pineapple or orange would be yummy in this, and you could also add little raw broccoli florets. We hope you enjoy! :)

  48. Hello, I have a question. Won’t the noodles not be cooked if you just toast them for 5 minutes? I am used to seeing them boiled. Could you please inform me as I’ve never tried that. Thanks in advance.

    • Hey there! Not cooking the noodles and toasting them instead just makes them nice and crunchy. You can totally boil them instead though if you prefer (either way would be yummy)! :)

  49. Thanks for sharing this recipie. It sounds & looks Delish. I don’t like Mangos what other fruit would be good for this salad. I also thought I would add some chicken chunks. 

    • Thanks Marsha — we hope you enjoy! You could use mandarin oranges or pineapple instead of mangos (we think either would be really yummy)! :)

  50. This is the first time I have ever made a comment on any post (I’m not very tech savy) however this salad deserves all the kodos it can get!  I took to our Easter picnic and it truly was the hit of the picnic.  Your family has improved the traditional very tasty Ramen salad and taken it to a higher more delicious level.  Thank you for sharing.