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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. I have a hard time finding foods my “meat and potatoes” guy will like and I was so pleased when he eagerly ate 2 helpings of this salad! It’s moist and crunchy and a great side dish for most any meal. Plus I can make it ahead of time.






  2. I would like to know if you have the nutritional break down of your crunchy asian ramen noodle salad

    • Hi Addie! We’re sorry but we are unsure 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!

  3. You are ALWAYS killing it over here. I mean, how in the heck do you make a salad look this good? It’s like magic!

  4. I’m wondering how this salad stands up over time. As in, mix and serve immediately? Mix, chill for a few hours and serve? Make a day ahead? Do the noodles get soft and mushy after a few hours/next day? Looks delish and I am going to make both versions of this but I need to know ahead of time of the best serving style for flavor and texture.

    Thanks

    • Hey there! If you mix the dressing in all at once, the salad won’t hold up as well (it will also make the noodles soggy, and the avocado doesn’t hold up well several hours later). If this is something you’d like to eat on all week, we’d recommend adding the dressing, noodles, and avocado fresh, each time you’re ready to serve/eat. We hope this helps!

  5. Loved this salad!!






  6. Do you know the nutrition information per serving? A calorie count per serving would suffice.

    • Hi Kris! We’re sorry, but we don’t. 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!

  7. I love this salad and have made it a few times for dinner but also to take to family gatherings. To make it ahead of time, I toast the almonds and noodles but put them in a separate container and I also leave out the avocado. Right before I’m going to serve it, I toss in the noodles and freshly diced avocado. This way, nothing loses their crunch and the avo is nice and green! :)






  8. looks yummy, wish I could print it out, but it doesn’t work

    • Hi Gloria! Have you tried clicking the “print” icon located within the recipe box?

  9. Have brought this to several pot lucks and it is always a hit!!! Tip on bringing the noodles and dressing separate, and mixing just prior to serving is spot on! Makes for a nice crunchy salad. Thanks Hayley, we love it!

  10. Hi, Ali. I have a question about the dressing. I would like to make it today to take for a BBQ on the Fourth. I saw in a previous post it’s good for a week or two…but does it need to be refrigerated until I use it? All of the ingredients except for the soy sauce are kept at room temperature so I’m not sure. It’s always a hit and I can’t wait to share it. Many thanks!!

    • Hi Jenn! We’re sorry we didn’t get to your comment in time. No, you don’t need to refrigerate the dressing. We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe!

  11. Perfect summer salad and my family loved it!

  12. I loved this salad! And, I’ve now started toasting ramen noodles to eat as a snack on their own– they’re amazingly good!






  13. Any ideas for a substitute for edamame? I have to avoid soy.

    • Hi Matilda! You could use peas instead of the edamame, we think those would be a good substitute! :)

  14. Made the recipe. Served it with grilled salmon. DELICIOUS!!!!! Whole family enjoyed it. Thanks for the recipe. Definitely going into my personal recipe collection!






  15. I’ve been meaning to try a crunchy ramen noodle salad, so glad I found this one! It’s super delicious and I’ve been eating it for three days now (: I kept the toasted noodles and almonds separate and just mixed them in with my serving size so I still get the crunch days later!






  16. This is amazing! I’ve made it many times and it is always a hit!






  17. This is such an awesome looking recipe. I can’t tell you how much I excited to try it as soon as possible. I just loved it. Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe with us.

  18. Has anyone added shredded chicken to it? Seems like it would be good. Or grilled shrimp?

    • We haven’t tried those, but we think either one would be awesome in this! :)

  19. I made this salad for a family potluck. Got several requests for the recipe and went home with no leftovers. I used the bagged salad mixes that come with dressing but made the dressing in this recipe, also added almost 2 cups of chicken. Yum! Will make this again.






  20. Do you cook the noodles from ramen package or use them hard, uncooked?

  21. Wow, Its looking delicious. I love noodle salad . I would try it for sure. Thanks for sharing.






  22. Awesome recipe. I like that it has variations, and IF I have any left overs it’s great for lunch the next day!






  23. My new favorite summer salad! Wonderful flavors and the entire family loved it!






  24. I don’t think I’ve ever left a comment on a recipe, but holy freakin’ wow. This has become one of my and my family’s favorite recipes. It drives me nuts when people essentially change the entire recipe and then rate it poorly, so I make it exactly as written, and it is so delicious that my mouth waters even thinking about it.






  25. Used Trader Joe’s cruciferous crunch bagged salad mix of kale, shaved brussel sprouts, cabbage , shredded broccoli. Came out perfectly! The dressing is everything! My new potluck go to.






  26. Made this today. I added shredded chicken which was made using your brine recipe. I substituted Chinese five spice instead of paprika on the chicken. Delicious!






  27. Our grocery store only carried a kale slaw mix, but it didn’t matter. Everything about this salad is awesome! Thank you!






  28. I admit I was a bit skeptical about whether the roasted unboiled ramen noodles would even be edible, but this recipe was a huge hit with our family, vegan and non-vegans alike. We all found it delicious, refreshing, and filling. It is also nutritionally outstanding.






  29. thanks for this classic. I’ve fallen in love with it!

  30. Wow! One of the best salads I’ve made in a very long time!






  31. Great Recipe, Ali. I made this last night for my GF and she loved it! -Joe






  32. I made this salad with a few additions: I grated about 1 tsp of fresh ginger and 1 clove of garlic into the dressing and I added a bunch of fresh cilantro and mint to the salad and I used snap peas instead of endamame. It was a big hit at the family party! I thought it was a big salad but there wasn’s a morsel left in the bowl and some were asking for more!






  33. So so so good! I just made this for supper tonight to go along side some grilled chicken and it is amazing! Definitely a keeper!






  34. I am going to make this for my family this weekend it looks delicious!






  35. I loved this salad! My sister in law and I made it, and we couldn’t get enough. There was a little left over the next day and it was even better the second day. I will be making it often.






  36. I am totally pinning this! I have been eating/making the 90s versions all through the 2000s lol. I love this and always wished i was inventive enough to make it better for me and a little more original. Thank you for being more inventive than me :)

  37. Thank you! I love this salad, but was looking for a healthier dressing. I also love the addition of edamame and sesame oil. Delish!






  38. I’m so excited to find this recipe! I’ve been making something like your original version, minus the mandarin oranges and using the ramen seasoning packet in the dressing, but have been looking for a healthier, flavorful alternative to the ramen noodle seasoning. Can’t wait to try this version with the mango and avocado – yum!

  39. This is sooo good I couldn’t stop eating it. It’s healthy with veg & fruit. The dressing is right amount.






  40. I tried this recipe today and it had a nice balance of flavors. I really liked the salad I made the dressing with the avocado oil I think that it took over the flavor it did say you can use other oils. I will try it another time with another oil. What is the dressing suppose to taste like. Is it suppose have a tang to it mine didn’t. I know everyone loved the dressing. I’m not sure what the dressing is supposed to taste like it was okay I did like it but something was missing.






  41. This was wonderful! My family absolutely loved it!






  42. Haven’t made it but have had it. Awesome!!






    • I made 1/2 the recipe for my son and I.
      It was delicious! Great for a hot Summer night.
      I served it with cold Shrimp and corn on the cob.






  43. Made it a few minutes ago and eating it as I write. Soooooooooo delicious!






  44. This is the best ramen salad recipe!! I love it and it was the best that I have tried. I made it last summer for a dinner party and it was so tasty! I will be making it again today.






    • Made this today for the first time! Absolutely delicious! I substituted agave nectar for the honey to make it vegan friendly. Everyone devoured it! My new fave party dish! Thank you for a great recipe!






  45. I made this for dinner tonight. It’s only 1:00 and I am having a bowl right now! So good!






  46. Can you make this salad ahead of time? We are planning to go camping and wondering if I can make ahead to bring with.

    Thanks

  47. Oh my goodness. This is amazing! So fresh and
    crunchy!

  48. Delicious!! Loved it the first night and the leftovers were just as good. I let the dressing soften the ramen noodles just a bit before eating.






  49. Fellow midwesterner with a mom that still rocks the classic recipe at gatherings.
    I tried the healthier updates and loved it more than ever.
    I think I’ll be the one to volunteer to bring the salad to the next event.
    The mango and avocado really helped step up the savory and sweet, and provided a fuller texture. I also used salad blend shred instead of coleslaw (kale, broccoli, beets…) and it stayed crunchy after the noodles softened up. Great recipe.






  50. Yum! Perfectly!