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This Asian Ramen Salad recipe is a crunchy cold salad with a sweet and tangy homemade dressing, loads of crunchy Ramen noodles, almonds, green onion, and more! Made in just 10 minutes! It’s an easy recipe that is always the first to go at potlucks.
There was a period of my life where this Ramen Noodle Salad made an appearance at every potluck, summer BBQ, and holiday dinner I attended.
Sometimes I was the one bringing it along, sometimes it was another party-goer. But, you could be sure that every Midwestern event you attended from the years of 2000-2010 were going to feature this crispy, crunchy, delightfully sweet and tangy salad!
Not sure where this salad went, but I realized the other day that I hadn’t made it or seen it in years and it took about 4 seconds for me to hop up, head to the store, and grab the ingredients.
Ramen salad is still always and forever a favorite around here. So many flavors and those crunchy ramen noodles are just *chef’s kiss.*
This is perfect for your next cook out, along with my turkey burger recipe or animal style burgers. Our orzo pasta salad and cornbread salad are other fun sides for a potluck.
Ingredient Notes:
Ramen Noodles – You’ll need two packets of dry noodles. We won’t use the seasoning packet, so discard that or save it for something else.
Coleslaw Mix – Pick up a package of coleslaw mix from the store. It’s quick and easy, just like the ramen noodles!
Mix-Ins – We’re stirring in slivered almonds, sesame seeds, and lots of green onion.
Dressing – You’ll prepare a homemade dressing from olive oil, sesame oil, vinegar, and sugar. The ramen noodles will soak up some of the dressing and soften them a bit the longer the salad sits.
What We Love About This Recipe:
- No cooking involved! This recipe is ready in just a few minutes with some simple mixing.
- Sesame oil is a popular Asian ingredient that works perfectly in the homemade dressing for this ramen noodle salad recipe!
- This salad is sweet and tangy, crispy and crunchy, and just an all around crowd-pleaser.
How to Make Ramen Salad:
Ramen: Crumble the dry ramen noodles into your mixing bowl. Do not cook them first.
Mix: Add in the coleslaw mix, almonds, sesame seeds, and green onions, and give it a stir.
Dressing: Whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, vinegar, and sugar.
Serve: When you’re ready to serve pour the dressing over the salad mix and stir it up until all the ingredients are well coated in the dressing. This Asian salad is best served right away if you want the ramen noodles to stay nice and crunchy.
Helpful Tip!
The dressing will soften the ramen noodles the longer the salad sits. If you want it to be as crunchy as possible wait to add the dressing until just before serving! Or prepare it with the dressing and add the ramen noodles before serving.
Is Asian Ramen Salad actually an Asian dish?
While there is a Ramen Salad that is a local specialty of Hokkaido, this version is not it. While I don’t know the origins of this version of Ramen salad, my guess is that it is not an authentic Asian dish, but I could be wrong!
FAQs:
This salad will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, but the noodles will soften up as they soak up the dressing. We prefer this salad freshly made, but if you don’t mind the soft noodles then go ahead and enjoy it!
While you probably could add cooked noodles to this salad, you would really be missing the texture and crunch of the ramen. The crunchy noodles are what make the dish!
MORE EASY COLD SALAD RECIPES!
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
- Amish Macaroni Salad
- Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Tomato Cucumber Salad
Asian Ramen Salad
Ingredients
- 2 packages Ramen noodles 3 ounces each, any flavor
- 16 ounces coleslaw mix
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup white distilled vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Open the ramen packets and set aside the seasoning packets for another use. They won’t be used in this recipe. Crumble the ramen into small chunks into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the coleslaw mix, almonds, sesame seeds, and green onions and toss.
- Add the olive oil, sugar, vinegar, and sesame oil to a small bowl and whisk well to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to coat.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 6 hours. Best served fresh.
Marjorie Agee says
This recipe is delicious ?
Karly Campbell says
Thanks Marjorie!
Farmersdaughter says
This is one of my favorite salads. I even love it the next day!
Connie Baker says
Amazing salad. I even add dried cranberries. Yumm.
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious with dried cranberries!
Ms. Kako says
I love this recipe, need to use low sodium , what is the serving size for the nutrition facts.
Karly Campbell says
Hello! We didn’t measure the serving size by volume, just divided into 10 equal portions.
Shirley Madrigal says
I can’t wait to try this. It looks so good!
Karly Campbell says
Hope you love it, Shirley!
Dee Michtich says
Very good and easy
Angela Adams says
Toasted ramen noodles are so much better!
Kristen Barron says
I toast the ramen too (along with the almonds and sesame seeds). I agree, so much better than raw.
Brenda Lewis says
First time making it. My family love this recipe.
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad to hear that!
Trista says
So good! Made it with broccoli coleslaw mix and no green onions it was amazing my sister and I both loved it. It was good the next day even with the noodles not crunchy will make it again. 😀
Aldona says
I tweaked the dressing a bit because it seemed too oily and missing some kick. I added some minced garlic, soy sauce, a dash more vinegar, cayenne and subbed marmalade for sugar. Dressing tastes sooo good now. I also added mandarin oranges to the salad. I have yet to taste the finished product (currently chilling in fridge) but it smells AMAZING! If it’s not tasty I’ll be very shocked.
Clarrissa says
I make this almost exactly as written. My only change is to brown the ramen noodles & almonds on butter & sugar for some nutty sweet crunch. Just let it cool prior to adding to rest of salad. This is always a big hit at holiday dinners.
Karly says
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Aldona says
Ooooh I’ll have to try that!
Lisa says
“I tweaked the recipe…dressing tastes sooo good now”
Dosent realize how insulting that is.
Karly Campbell says
There are lots of rude ways to tell someone you made changes to a recipe, but I didn’t see that here. I love hearing about other people’s tweaks…sometimes I think they sound strange, but sometimes they’re brilliant! 🙂
Renee Hodgin says
I just make a few changes! I buy the blue Soy Ramen noodles, take the seasoning packets and some olive oil and sauté the almonds in it. It adds a nice flavor to the salad!!
Karly says
Sounds amazing!
Debbie Frey says
I loved the salad had seconds so good!!
Valerie Beauban says
I made my own variation. Less than 1/4 cup Sugar. Rice Vinegar. Ocean Spray dried cranberries. Cut up cooked Chicken Breast Meat. I might try mandarin oranges next time I make this salad.
Irene says
My version of the recipe calls for chicken breast and rice vinegar too, it’s really good.
D.M. says
I make this recipe but use broccoli slaw and toast almonds and ramen.. leftovers stay crunchier
Karly says
Sounds delicious!