This Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad recipe is quick and easy to make, tossed with a simple sesame vinaigrette, and perfect for picnics and potlucks!
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):
- avocado
- fresh mango (instead of the mandarin oranges with added sugar)
- edamame
- …and then I like to use these healthier organic ramen noodles or these gluten-free ramen noodles
Plus, my yummy go-to vinaigrette for this salad now uses:
- avocado oil (or any mild-flavored oil you’d like)
- rice vinegar
- honey (or your desired sweetener)
- soy sauce
- toasted sesame oil
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!
Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingredients
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
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (or vegetable oil, or any cooking oil)
- 1/4 cup honey (or your desired sweetener)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
To Make The Salad:
- 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.
- Add ingredients (including the vinaigrette) together in a large bowl, and toss until combined.
- 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:
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
This sounds good.
Never again. I tend not to stray from food network, epicurious and the kitchn. This blunder is exactly why. This is an allrecipes.com type that you can’t figure out why it gets good reviews. Gross. Happily tossed the barely eaten bowl. Doubled the recipe as I was sure my family of 8 would like it. I hate wasting money, but I hate having to make a backup dinner when my starving crew just pushes it around their plates. Thankful for frozen producers and another bag of edamame on hand.
It was so bad that I came back just to do my first review of a recipe in 8 years.
We appreciate your feedback, and we’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this one, May. In order to be more constructive though, it would be helpful if we knew what it was about the recipe that you didn’t like?
Hey! I just made this salad for book club tonight. I used 1/3 less oil, and thought the dressing is a bit sweet. It will sit for a couple of hours before serving so I think the sweetness will tamp down somewhat as the salty ingredients marinate (I’ve had this happen with ramen salads before). Next time I think I will use less honey and maybe a bit more soy and sesame oil (I’m a fool for sesame oil but have to be careful because not everyone is :-) All that said, it is beautiful and delicious! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing with us, Pam — we’re glad you enjoyed it, and definitely feel free to adjust the ingredient amounts in the dressing to your liking! :)
Ali… I love your Mom, and her “Real” food remarks, lol. I’ve never had this salad before, but it looks soooo good that I know we will love it here at home. will try it soon. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Marcia — we hope you love it! :)
I make the salad dressing with agave, instead of sugar or honey, and skip the oil, except for a couple teaspoons of sesame oil. Sure don’t miss it.
So my husband and I have tried many Asian type salads and have never liked the homemade dressing or some of the ingredients. With this salad I took a gamble because I do not like mango and my husband doesn’t like soy sauce at all. I will state that when I prepared the salad, I put the coleslaw green onions and beans an mixed them all together. I kept the mango, avocados, dressing and ramen noodles all separate and let my husband and I put what we wanted on the salad. This was really good, all of it together. Its just two adults eating and a toddler picking at what she likes and we had leftovers. So I was glad I kept it all separate. I placed the rest of it separate in the fridge and I am eating it for lunch. The dressing adds a sweet element but not to sweet which is nice. I highly recommend this salad. Its light and refreshing with a lot of good flavor.
Thanks for sharing, Shanel — we’re’ glad you both enjoyed this!
Hi. It looks delicious . So the noodles are uncooked anyway? Not at all cooked previously in the water?
Hi Claudine! Yes, the noodles are uncooked. You toast them in the oven. We hope you enjoy!
This is interesting but what about the wax on the noodles? Isn’t that’s the reason to boil the noodles and rinse it before eating the noodles?
Hi Eilla! We hadn’t heard anything about there being a wax coating on the instant ramen noodles. We looked it up on the Internet and weren’t able to find anything to verify that this is true. It appears this was a hoax that was circulating on social media.
I forgot to mention the candied ginger! Just a touch… added with just a few dried wasabi peas and cilantro gave it just the right bite + sweet +sourwith the red wine and seasoned rice vinegar
Oooh, we think all of that sounds wonderful!
Hi Ali,
I thought it was wonderful; although I had to switch a few things out due to what I had available! I didn’t have enough almonds and soI used 1/2 almonds and some wonton strips, sesame seeds, and some sweet and savory mixed nuts toasted. I forgot all about the soy sauce. Instead of Edamame pods, I used garbanzo beans. I also added some regular frozen peas and some wasabi peas. I added red onion and some of the green onion because I didn’t have enough, and I used seasoned rice vinegar+ red cooking wine. I didn’t have regular vegetable oil so I substituted avocado oil and olive oil.
I really loved the mango and avocado but probably doubled the mango.
I didn’t read the last part and added everything together, I have quite a bit, but I think my husband will probably finish it. I loved it! he added a little soy sauce to his, since I forgot it! Thanks it was a memorable dish and I will be keeping this recipe!!! Mendy Loveall
Thanks for sharing with us, Mendy — we’re so happy you enjoyed this and made it your own! :)