This Easy Ramen Noodle Salad is sweet, tangy, crunchy, colorful, quick to make, and so delicious that everyone will be asking for seconds (and maybe even thirds)!
I can’t believe that it’s Labor Day Weekend already! We’re going to be grilling and eating outside all weekend long trying to soak up every last bit of summer that we can – and this awesome side dish salad is on the menu!
And let me tell you…if you haven’t heard of or never tried ramen noodle salad, you’re definitely in for a real treat!
I’m not sure exactly where it originated, but this classic salad has been making the rounds in community cookbooks and food blogs for quite a long time now – and for good reason. It’s AMAZING!
I got my first taste of it at a cook-out several years ago. Honestly, at first, it actually sounded kind of weird to me – but one bite, and I was instantly hooked (and so was everyone else, because that darn bowl was empty when I went back for seconds)!
Well, I definitely wanted more, so I searched around and tried several recipes trying to duplicate that awesome salad. This one – a mishmash of my favorite things about each of them – was the winner, and I’ve been making it ever since!
I love this Easy Ramen Noodle Salad not only because of the cute and curly ramen noodles, but also because it has a lot of fresh vegetables in it – cabbage, carrots, snow peas, radishes and green onions – plus sunflower seeds and sliced almonds for some extra crunch!
Then there’s the sweet-and-sour dressing – just vegetable oil, seasoned rice vinegar and sugar – so simple and yet so delicious (and no mayonnaise!).
All that, and this salad is super easy to make! About 15 minutes of prep time is all you need. Then you just let it chill in the fridge for a few hours to let the noodles soak up some of that dressing and soften up a bit while all those yummy flavors blend together!
Ingredients you need:
- Ramen noodles
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Snow peas
- Radishes
- Green onions
- Sliced almonds
- Sunflower kernels
- Vegetable oil
- Seasoned rice vinegar
- Sugar
- Salt and pepper
Here’s a look at how to make Easy Ramen Noodle Salad:
Tips & Tidbits:
- You could use one 14-ounce bag of pre-shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix and ½ cup pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store to save yourself a few minutes of prep time.
- Don’t throw the seasoning packet from the ramen noodles away. Save it to use another time.
- This salad is very versatile! The basics are the ramen noodles, the cabbage, and the dressing. After that, you can add whatever veggies, nuts, seeds, or even fruit that you want (I’ve seen some recipes that add mandarin oranges or even dried cranberries).
- Want to make it a meal? Add some cooked chicken, steak, shrimp or even tofu, and you’ve got yourself an awesome dinner or lunch!
- I prefer my ramen noodle salad with softer noodles, and I also think the salad benefits from chilling in the fridge for a few hours to let all those flavors blend.
- If you’d rather crunchy noodles, you could either serve the salad immediately after adding the dressing, or you could toss everything together but the noodles, let that sit in the fridge for 2 hours, and then add the noodles right before serving.
- You can serve this salad cold or at room temperature.
- This salad is at its best when served the day you make it. Leftovers are still very good, but the noodles and veggies will soften up the longer it sits.
- You can easily halve this recipe if you don’t need such a big batch.
Give your old pasta salad recipe a break and make this noodle salad for a change. Not only is it perfect for picnics and potlucks, it’s a great side dish any day of the year!
I hope you try this recipe for Easy Ramen Noodle Salad and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
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Easy Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 (3-ounce) packages ramen noodles (any flavor), broken into small pieces (we're not using the flavor packet, so save it for another use)
- 7 cups shredded cabbage
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup sliced fresh snow peas
- ½ cup thinly sliced radishes
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup sunflower kernels
- salt and pepper, to taste
For the Dressing:
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup seasoned rice vinegar
- ½ cup sugar
Instructions
- Place all of the salad ingredients (ramen noodles, cabbage, carrots, snow peas, radishes, green onions, almonds, and sunflower kernels) in a large bowl.
- In a large measuring cup or a bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients (vegetable oil, rice vinegar, and sugar) until well-combined.
- Add the dressing to the salad; toss until everything is well-coated.
- Cover the bowl, place it in the refrigerator, and chill for at least 2 hours before serving, giving it a quick stir every now and then. This will allow the flavors to blend and the dressing to soak into the noodles and soften them up a bit.
- Taste the salad and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Notes
- You could use one (14-ounce) bag of pre-shredded cabbage/coleslaw mix and ½ cup of pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store to save yourself a few minutes of prep time.
- If you prefer your noodles crunchy, you could either serve the salad immediately after adding the dressing, or you could toss everything together but the noodles, let that sit in the fridge for 2 hours, and then add the noodles right before serving.
- This salad is at its best when served the day you make it. Leftovers are still very good, but the noodles and veggies will soften up the longer it sits.
- You can easily halve this recipe if you don’t need such a big batch.
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