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Sweet, tangy, crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad is a great side dish for summer potlucks, barbecues, or to serve with your dinner any day of the week.
Ramen Noodle Salad
If you’ve been hanging out here with me for long, you’ve probably noticed that there aren’t very many recipes that I claim might be the best you’ll ever taste. I tend to save the word “best” for the things that are beyond any shadow of a doubt the best I’ve ever had or hope to have again.
This Ramen Noodle Salad? It IS the best. Keep reading, and I will tell you why!
What makes this salad special?
First, there’s no seasoning packet of spices used in this recipe. The dressing is made quite simply with oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. It is perfect that way.
Second, the noodles are not broken raw directly into the salad. They’re browned in butter along with slivered almonds and sesame seeds. Those hot buttery moments in the skillet make all the difference!
Asian Salad with Ramen Noodles
My Aunt Judy served this salad one afternoon when we were visiting, and I could not stop eating it. (I think I had three servings!) I had Ramen Noodle Salad plenty of times in the past. But let me stop and tell you now that those salads are nothing like this one.
We weren’t even up from the dinner table when I asked Aunt Judy for the recipe for this Napa Cabbage Salad. I couldn’t even believe how fantastic it was. The recipe was given to her by a friend who got it from a friend – you know how it goes – and I’m thrilled to be the next in line to pass this recipe on to all of you. As you know, there aren’t many things I like more than trying and sharing a great recipe.
There aren’t many things that can beat a recipe from my Aunt Judy. Without fail, her recipes are instant favorites with everyone. (If you haven’t yet tried her Almond Bars, you are missing out!) And everyone’s favorite Creamy Pasta Salad was also inspired by a memorable meal at her table.
Ramen Cabbage Salad
This is a sweet and tangy Asian dressing over fresh cabbage and green onions, with all the crunch you could want from buttery crisp almonds, noodles, and sesame seeds. And I am willing to bet that you will love this salad every single bit as much as I do.
I served this salad to my own family this past Easter along with Balsamic Dijon Glazed Ham, Rosemary Potatoes, and Garlic Butter Carrots. The whole meal was a huge hit.
Dressing for Ramen Noodle Salad
The original directions for this salad involved boiling the dressing to melt the sugar. I’ve found that simply shaking the dressing ingredients in a jar accomplishes the same thing in less time and with no waiting time to allow the dressing to cool later.
I will happily eat any leftovers, but the noodles will be softer, and for what it’s worth, it isn’t quite as lovely as when freshly made. (See the directions below for tips when making this in advance!)
Ramen Noodle Salad Recipe
The steps here are pretty simple. Shake together the dressing. Toast the noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds. Combine the cabbage and onions in a large bowl and then top with the toasted ingredients from the skillet.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately. If you know you won’t be consuming the entire salad in one meal, it works beautifully to keep the toasted nuts and noodles separate from the salad and simply toss them together when ready to eat the salad.
Asian Salad Recipe
This Asian Pasta Salad has TEN different vegetables in it and it’s one of those dishes that I eat multiple times a day until it’s gone whenever we have it in the house. Lunch and dinner, this salad is all mine.
Remember the Oriental Chicken Salad from Applebees? This copycat Asian Chicken Salad is every bit as good and the fact you can make it at home makes it even better. This Asian Marinated Cucumber Salad by The Food Charlatan and this Asian Tuna Salad by Foolproof Living are both on my need-to-try-it-soon list.
Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 ounce package ramen noodles, seasoning packet removed
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 lbs Napa cabbage, about 8-10 cups shredded
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced thin, about 1/2 cup
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light flavored olive oil
- 1/4 cup plain white vinegar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- To make the dressing: Combine the oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in a jar and shake until the sugar has dissolved.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. While the butter is melting, crush the ramen noodles while still inside the package. Remove the seasoning packet and throw away (or set aside for later use). Add the noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds to the melted butter in the skillet.
- Saute while stirring frequently, until the noodle mixture is golden brown. Remove to a plate and let cool.
- Shred the cabbage and combine the cabbage and onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the noodle mixture. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. Sprinkle with green onions and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 4/22/19 – recipe notes and photos updated 6/24/21}
So good!
I’m glad that you like the salad, Laura.
Omg. This IS the best ramen noodle salad. Hands down! Something about those toasted sesame seeds. And that sauce?? On pointe!!
So happy to hear that you like it, Jana!
🙌🏻 I had this recipe in the 1990’s, received from a friend who got it from her sister who used to live in Bel Air, CA who said she got it straight from Wolfgang Puck himself as he served it at a dinner party she was at. I served this at countless bridal showers, baby showers, get togethers, brought it as a potluck item and was every time accosted for the recipe. I lost this recipe when an old computer I’d stored it on blew up and was unrecoverable and everyone I’d given it to id lost track of. I feel like I hit the jackpot finding this, only mine was with chicken breasts and had the dressing made with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, oil and a teaspoon of Sesame oil. It’s the ratio of sugar to vinegar that does it and I could never quite replicate it as I had forgotten just how much sugar this calls for. You can’t really do it with less. It won’t make the syrupy dressing that is the key to this amazing salad. It doesn’t stay syrupy, once you mix it with the salad ingredients it just … dissolves into an absolute dream of a dressing. I’m so happy to have found this! Thank you, and I can’t wait to make this again!
I am thrilled that you love it so much, Kay!
Carrots!
Are you saying that you add carrots? That could be interesting too.
We love this salad in my house & love that you call for Napa cabbage. It gives it a more authentic flavor than bagged slaw mix that other recipes call for. I used rice wine vinegar only because we cook a lot of Asian dishes in our home & it’s just a preference. Adding shredded chicken & making a meal of this salad is a go to for warmer days! Thank you for this great recipe!
I’m glad you love it too, Kathy!
Opening this account took more time than my bank’s or the Dmv’s. I already forgot my password.
The recipe for ramen salad sounds good though.
Do you really take off your shoes to cook?
I hope you enjoy the salad, Joan.
Haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make it!
Let me know how it goes, Heather.
This salad has become my guilty pleasure. I make it just for myself sometimes, especially now that birthday parties and gatherings are so infrequent . And I double the ramen, almonds, and sesame seeds because why not? It doesn’t need more dressing should you choose to make it my way. 😉
Such a slam dunk, thank you!!!
You are welcome, Gabrielle. Thanks for the tip.
This is by far the best of any salad. I have been making it just like this for the past 25 years. Everyone loves it.
I’m so happy to hear that, Mary!
Haven’t made it yet as I am recovering my surgery and was just browsing when I spied this. I haven’t had Ramen Noodle Salad since I left Hawaii in 1993 and often thought about it. Can’t wait to make it and try to “butter” the noodles. Thank you for sharing!
I hope that you will love it as much as we do, Annette.
I have eaten a different version of Asian salad, and I must say this is the best one I have ever eaten.
I’m so glad that you like the salad, Marje.
I just made this recipe for a family BBQ and everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. There were no leftovers. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
I’m so glad that you like the salad, Tina.
Delicious, easy to prepare recipe!
I’m so glad that you like it, Margi.
This looks amazing! I would like to make it for a camping trip. Could I brown the noodles, almonds and sesame seeds a day or two ahead of time and mix it up when I am ready to serve?
You bet, Kathy. It will work great that way.
Ty lovely ramen noodle salad
I’m glad you like the salad, Mary.
I am making the salad for the first time. What is the best way to clean and shred the Napa Cabbage? I cut off the bottom and I am now regretting that. My leaves are flying all over the place. LOL. I am so excited to try this recipe. I will post the final rating at the end.
It sounds like you already stumbled on the best advice, Lora. Next time you will want to slice from the tip to the root, so that the whole cabbage doesn’t fall apart.
I’ve been making a version of this salad since college in the seventies, if you want a real wow factor to this dish, do not use olive oil but any light vegetable oil , safflower, peanut, etc. For the real spark, add 1-2 teaspoons of sesame oil to your dressing. I also like to replace have half of the vinegar with orange juice and a teaspoon or so of orange zest. Just my personal taste. Enjoy !
I’m glad you like the salad too, Cynthia!
I just started to make this. But my dressing is cooling and the oil is sitting on top of sauce…is that normal or do I need to boil it longer?
It’s perfectly normal. Just shake it in a jar or whisk it together. It will still coat the salad nicely, Susan.
This is a great recipe. I had to use green cabbage because the store wasn’t carrying Napa, but no big deal. I will add chopped red pepper next time but it was really delicious. Easy too. Made it with pork tenderloin… great pairing.
I’m so happy to hear that you like it, Charlotte!
It’s delicious! I noticed that at one time you had the dressing on the stove – what’s the difference in the dressing when you make on the stove vs shaking it?
I couldn’t tell a difference in the final result and I definitely appreciated the ease of just shaking it together. That’s my go-to method now, Mel.