Ramen Noodle Asian Salad is an addictive side dish made with cabbage and other delicious veggies, coated in an Asian-inspired dressing, with ramen noodles added for a crunchy texture.
This is the perfect salad for your dinner table, with bright colors, crisp veggies, and crunchy pieces of ramen on top! This is my kids’ favorite summer salad because of its crispy and crunchy texture. So I love making it for dinner and bringing it along to cookouts.
This simple recipe takes just a few minutes to make, most of which is spent chopping up fresh veggies. Give this classic recipe a try!
Looking for a side dish for summer potlucks? Check out my Broccoli Crunch Salad and 7 Layer Salad recipes.
Key Ingredients
For exact amounts needed see the recipe card below
Napa cabbage – This is an East Asian cabbage with a delicate taste and a firm, crunchy texture. It blends beautifully with other vegetables. You can substitute green cabbage.
Ramen – The noodles add crunch texture. Discard the seasoning packets since they aren’t needed. Or buy plain ones that don’t contain the seasoning mix.
Radishes, carrots, bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro are the additional veggies added to the salad.
Rice wine vinegar, vegetable oil, lime juice, soy sauce, and honey are combined to make the dressing.
How to Make Ramen Salad
1. Wash and Chop the Veggies
Wash and chop all the vegetables needed for the salad. The cabbage can be thinly sliced or grated. The carrots should be grated. Use a food processor for shredding the vegetables if you like. Dice the radish, bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro into small, bite-size pieces.
Put all the chopped vegetables in a large salad bowl, including the noodles. Stir to mix.
2. Make the Dressing
Combine the rice vinegar, oil, lime juice, soy sauce, and honey in a small bowl. Whisk until it is mixed together.
3. Combine
Pour the dressing over slaw mixture. Let it rest for about 15 minutes so that the noodles can soften. If you aren’t serving the salad right away, see below for make-ahead directions.
Variations
- Substitute green cabbage or a bag of coleslaw mix for the Napa cabbage. You could also use a bag of broccoli slaw or shredded brussels sprouts for a different taste.
- Use white vinegar or cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar.
- Change up the veggies in the salad. Add in cucumbers, red cabbage, mushrooms, or snow peas.
- Replace 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in the dressing with sesame oil for a nutty flavor. Don’t use all sesame oil, though, because that would be too much!
- Garnish the salad with slivered almonds or sesame seeds.
- Toast the ramen in a frying pan until golden brown for added toasty flavor.
Serving Ideas
This ramen noodle cabbage salad is a perfect side dish for cookouts or barbecues. This light and refreshing salad complements many meals, like pulled pork, grilled steak kabobs, or salmon.
The addition of the crunchy ramen noodles makes this a kid-friendly salad! Because of the Asian flavors, it also pairs well with family dinners such as Korean Fried Chicken or Orange Chicken.
How to Store
The salad doesn’t store well once the crunchy noodles and dressing are added. The noodles get too soggy, and the cabbage doesn’t hold up well in the dressing. So if you expect to have leftovers keep the salad, dressing, and crushed noodles in separate bowls and mix only as much as you expect to eat.
The sliced vegetables will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. The dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.
Tips for Making the Best Asian Ramen Salad
Be sure to check out the step by step instructions
- Grate or slice the veggies thinly.
- Don’t add the dressing and crushed noodles to the salad until it is almost time to serve. You can get everything ready a day in advance.
FAQ
This can be made ahead, as long as you wait to combine it all in one bowl. Do not add the dressing or the ramen to the cabbage mixture. Store everything in separate containers. Then mix them all right before serving.
The ramen seasoning packet isn’t needed because the dressing has plenty of flavors. It is best to just throw the packet out.
Yes, uncooked ramen is fine to eat.
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Napa Cabbage and Ramen Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 head head napa cabbage halved and sliced thinly
- 1 cup radishes sliced
- 2 medium carrots grated
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 2 ramen noodle packages discard the ramen seasoning packet
- 3 green onions finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
Asian Dressing Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Wash and chop all the ingredients you need for the salad. Shred or thinly slice the cabbage and carrots. Dice the remaining veggies into bite-size pieces.1 head head napa cabbage, 1 cup radishes, 2 medium carrots, 1 yellow bell pepper, 3 green onions, 1/2 cup cilantro
- In a large bowl, add all the vegetables and mix them together.
- With your hands, crush the ramen into small pieces.2 ramen noodle packages
- In a small bowl, add all the dressing ingredients and whisk until well combined.4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons canola oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoons honey
- When you are ready to serve the salad add the ramen noodles. Then pour the dressing over top and toss until the vegetables are well coated.
- Let it rest for 15 minutes until the ramen has softened
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you want to keep the salad for a few days, add the dressing at the last minute.
- Garnish with slivered almonds or sesame seeds.
- Substitute green cabbage or a bag of coleslaw mix for the Napa cabbage. You could also try a bag of broccoli slaw or shredded brussels sprouts for a different taste.
- Use white vinegar or cider vinegar if you don’t have rice vinegar.
- Change up the veggies in the salad. Add in cucumbers, red cabbage, mushrooms, or snow peas.
- Replace 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in the dressing with sesame oil for a nutty flavor.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
