Crunchy Asian Ramen Noodle Salad
Cole slaw, mango, avocado, and edamame tossed with toasted ramen, almonds, and a sesame-honey vinaigrette.
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven
Ingredients
- 16 oz coleslaw mix (1 bag)
- 2 packages ramen noodles (3 oz each), crumbled — discard seasoning packets
- 1 cup shelled cooked edamame
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
- 1 mango, peeled, pitted, and julienned (or diced)
- 0.5 cup thinly sliced almonds (or roughly chopped raw cashews)
- 0.5 cup thinly sliced green onions (scallions)
- 0.5 cup avocado oil (or any mild oil) — for vinaigrette
- 0.25 cup honey — for vinaigrette
- 0.25 cup rice vinegar — for vinaigrette
- 2 tsp soy sauce — for vinaigrette
- 0.25 tsp toasted sesame oil — for vinaigrette (to taste)
- 1 pinch salt and black pepper — for vinaigrette (to taste)
Steps
- Heat oven to 425°F. Spread the crumbled ramen noodles and almonds (or chopped cashews) on a baking sheet and stir to combine. Bake about 5 minutes, until lightly golden. Pull, stir, and return to the oven for another 3 minutes — watch closely so nothing burns. Set aside to cool.
- Make the vinaigrette. Whisk the avocado oil, honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper together until combined.
- Toss. Combine the coleslaw mix, edamame, avocado, mango, green onions, toasted ramen+nuts, and vinaigrette in a large bowl. Toss until evenly coated.
- Serve immediately for maximum crunch. Leftovers keep covered in the fridge up to 3 days, but the noodles soften and the avocado browns a bit over time.
Notes
Toast everything — don’t skip it. The toasting step is what makes this salad. Raw ramen noodles are bland; toasted, they go nutty and crunchy.
Nut swap (cashews). Raw cashews, roughly chopped to roughly almond-sliver size, work great here — toast them right alongside the noodles. Don’t use pre-roasted cashews; they’ll burn at 425°F.
Optional add-ons (from comments and the post): toasted sesame seeds on top, red bell pepper for color and crunch, water chestnuts, fresh cilantro or basil, or shredded rotisserie chicken to make it a main.
Ramen. Any packaged ramen works — discard the seasoning packets. The post recommends organic or brown-rice ramen if you want a less-processed option; gluten-free ramen also works.
My Notes
(your own tweaks go here — sometimes sub raw cashews for the almonds)