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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}
Made this for my family the other day and it was a huge hit! Loved how straightforward the recipe was, yet it was so tasty! I’ll definitely be making this one again. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I’m so happy that your family loves the salad, Sherry!
Yum, yum, yum. This is so good and so easy to make. My family loved it ! I will be making this frequently.
I’m so glad you like the salad, Carol!
Love this salad. Will try your recommendation for browning noodles, seeds and nuts. I’ve made it with peanuts in a pinch! My only recommendation would be if you make this salad often, purchase rice vinegar and sesame oil. Seems to add a wee bit more flavor.
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the salad! Thanks for the suggestions.
Would you use Seasoned Rice Vinegar? The kind with some sugar in the ingredients?
That should work fine, Ginger.
I made this for my husband’s birthday and he loved it. I could not find the Napa cabbage so just used precut slaw and it was delicious. I served it to my twin sister and she complimented me on it over and over and asked for the recipe!!! This is a winner.
That’s awesome, Marty! I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed the salad.
I make this salad and dressing all the time – it is so good! I went to make it again tonight and wondered if I used a dressing from something else, because the recipe did not look right. Thanks for adding a comment about the original dressing. I’m wondering if the original dressing had more soy sauce too?
I’m so glad that you like the salad, Terri!
Very good!
I’m glad you like the salad, Mary!
My family loved it!… thanks, nice to have something different💃
I added grilled lemon pepper chicken .. SHAZAM 👍
I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the salad. I bet it was delicious with the chicken too.
I haven’t tried this one, but years ago I found a recipe using Nissans Chili flavored ramen. The dressing was the same concept using oil, sugar and vinegar with the seasoning. I know you also added black beans, corn and possibly peppers? I cannot find it anywhere! Have you ever tried something similar? I remember it being slightly addictive!
I haven’t tried that, but it sounds great, Stacey!
I make this salad for all of my potlucks at work and it is always a hit!! I also add mandarin oranges 😀
I bet it’s delicious with the oranges too, Teresa.
Love love love this recipe. Everyone tweaks things, I modified the dressing for ingredients I had on hand. Maple syrup, sweet chili sauce, apple cider vinegar, hoisen sauce and a little Sriracha sauce.
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the salad, Mitzi!
My wife found this recipe and we made a double batch for a bunch of soldiers today and I had none to take home! Simple, easy, cheap, and last but defiantly not last, absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad it was a hit!
This recipe is super yummy! I love how the ramen & almonds taste after being toasted with butter. I’m a huge fan of ginger so I like to use my zester and grate about 1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh ginger to the dressing and it really adds to the flavor. Thank you for sharing.
mmmm, I bet the fresh ginger is awesome too, Kimberly.
Will be making this again, will try some chicken in it next time, thanks so much (yummy)
I’m glad you’re enjoying the salad, Yvonne!
Quite plain in my opinion. Only 2 veggies? I would suggest to add some carrot or maybe halve the amount of green cabbage and use red cabbage as well.
I found that toasting the almonds and noodle together, the noodle was barely cooking while the almonds were starting to burn.
For the sauce, I tried it both ways, shaking it together and cooking it over heat. Cooking it helps the sugar dissolve better into the sauce. It’s also thicker and sticks to the veggies better.
Still very bland in my opinion, but I get that not everyone has the same palate.
Hey Ashlie, feel free to add more vegetables. This is a classic recipe as written. Luckily, we can all tweak things to our tastes, right?
I love this salad, but I use mixed greens lettuce instead and add pecans to my noodles. Awesome this was as well. I just think it is coleslaw because of being served with the cabbage.
I’m so glad that you love it as well, Charlie!
I really like this salad too. I make with savoy cabbage.
I’m glad you are enjoying the salad, Gloria.
Do you think it would still be great If I chopped and prepped everything in advance and then just combined it all at serving time? Not sure how the noodles will hold up once they’ve been sauteed in butter and cooled.
The noodles are great made in advance. I’ve done that before. I just store them in a ziploc on the counter until I’m ready to combine the salad.
I LOVE this salad, thank you SO much for sharing it!!!
I put a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar in the dressing and also added the beef packet that came with the ramen noodles to the dressing.
❤️💕♥️❤️💕♥️❤️💕♥️❤️💕♥️❤️💕♥️♥️❤️💕♥️❤️💕♥️❤️💕❤️💕♥️♥️💕❤️
I’m thrilled you love the salad too, Lisa!
could I use a tri color colw slaw mix?
That will work fine, Summer.
We just loved this. The second time I made it I added some Mandarin oranges and because I was lazy and I had a bottle of Asian salad dressing in the refrigerator, I used that instead of making my own. It was wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so happy that it was a hit, Pat! I need to try it with oranges now. That sounds great!