Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe

If you have fond memories of ramen packets from college days, you are sure to love this recipe. Those famous noodles which can be eaten raw or cooked, have been around for decades and can be used so many ways. Needless to say, they do a good job of making a meal budget friendly. While the classic way of enjoying ramen is in a soup-like form, there are plenty of ways to switch things up, like transforming it into a salad. It may sound a bit odd, but if you've never had a crunchy ramen salad, you are in for a treat!

Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe for crunchy ramen noodle salad and says, "You can toss the seasoning packets from the noodles as we will be using a fresh dressing instead." The toasted noodles and almonds add such great texture to the vegetables. As for serving, Hahn says, "I usually serve this with a big pot of soup for a weeknight dinner or bring this to an outdoor barbecue because the hearty cabbage will hold up better than a more delicate salad." Read on to learn how easy this salad is to throw together.

To make this recipe, we'll need a few items from the produce department. Grab some green cabbage, purple cabbage, shredded carrots, scallions, garlic, and ginger. "If you want to save some time, you can opt for buying a premade coleslaw bag. Just make sure it will be equal in size to about 8-9 cups of the cabbage mix," Hahn remarks. Grab 2 packs of ramen and some sliced or slivered almonds. "You can choose any flavor of ramen since we won't be using the flavoring packet," Hahn explains. Then we'll need some shelled edamame beans. "I usually find these frozen and they are simple to thaw out by just running under hot water," Hahn shares. For the dressing pick up some olive oil, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Hahn says, "If you want to make this recipe vegan, just use maple syrup instead of the honey."

Start by preheating the oven to 400 F. Break down the ramen noodles by crumbling them with your hands over a bowl. Then just add the almonds to the bowl and mix. Spread this out on a baking sheet in an even layer. Put them in the oven for about 5 minutes, tossing halfway through cook time. They should be golden brown. "You'll want to watch these pretty close, so they don't burn," Hahn warns.

Grab a large cutting board and slice the green and purple cabbage. You want them sliced nice and thin. "You can use a mandolin if you want, for extra precision, but cutting by hand is fine," Hahn share. Then chop up the scallions. Put the chopped vegetables into a large serving bowl with lots of room to toss. 

Making the dressing for this salad is quick and easy. Pull out a small bowl and add the olive oil, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Whisk to combine. Then toss over the salad ingredients and begin enjoying the crunchy goodness.

We think this salad pairs well with wonton soup or something hot off the grill. The salad will last for a couple of days in a sealed container in the fridge, but the noodles will lose some of their crunchiness. If making the salad ahead of time, just add the crunchy noodles and almonds right before serving.