This Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad is a healthier remake of the classic potluck favorite! It’s made with a sweet and tangy dressing, a crunchy brown rice ramen noodle topping, and tons of crisp veggies. Perfect as a side dish for your next bbq or add your favorite protein to make this a main meal.
The first time I had Ramen Noodle Salad was at a brunch held at my father-in-laws house and omg – I fell in love at first bite and could not stop eating it. The sweet Asian dressing fresh cabbages, green onions, and a crunchy ramen topping, I was hooked.
And when a member of my online Facebook group asked me to create more Ramen Noodle recipes, I knew a healthier version of ramen noodle salad needed to happen.
Love ramen? Check out my Healthy Ramen Noodles and my Ramen Noodle Stir Fry Recipes!
Why You Will Love this Easy Ramen Noodle Coleslaw Recipe
- So Simple – yes, you can wash and chop your own green cabbage and red cabbage for this recipe, but you can also just open a bag of coleslaw mix and it will be just as delicious. I love keeping my prep work to a minimum!
- Healthy + Fresh – ditch the ramen seasoning packet, sugar, and canola oil for a fresher, healthier Asian ramen salad recipe made with brown rice ramen noodles instead of the typical
- Perfect salad for Meal Prep – cabbage holds up so well, making this a delicious meal prep recipe if stored properly. I like to hold off on dressing the salad and add the crispy ramen right before serving, so plan accordingly.
- Great Side Dish or Make it a Meal – add some rotisserie chicken to make this a main dish, or serve it as a side with your favorite protein for dinner or your next family gathering. I love it with my Asian Chicken Thighs or my Honey Glazed Salmon.
Ingredients
Dressing ingredients:
- olive or avocado oil
- sesame oil
- rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- coconut aminos or sub low sodium soy sauce – you can also sub tamari. Note – soy sauce is not gluten free unless specifically marked that way
- honey or maple syrup
- salt
- fresh ginger
Salad ingredients:
- 2 brown rice ramen noodle blocks (uncooked ramen noodles), crumbled (should equal 1 cup or 200 calories) – I use this brand – they are gluten free and made with brown rice and millet!
- 16 ounce coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage) – I like sing a mix of green and purple cabbage
- sliced almonds
- shelled frozen edamame beans, thawed
- shredded matchstick carrots
- scallions
- mandarin oranges – canned or fresh work great
Substitutions + Additions
- Easily add shredded chicken, shrimp, or salmon to make this a complete dinner. In fact, you can cook chicken in the oven with your ramen noodles at the same time! Just be sure to allow the chicken to fully get to 165 degrees before removing from the oven.
- Swap almonds for sunflower seeds or add both for extra crunch. You could also top with some sesame seeds.
- Instead of mandarin oranges, use fresh mango.
- Swap some or all of the coleslaw mix for broccoli slaw or add in broccoli florets or red bell peppers for more veggies.
Step by Step Instructions
For full instructions, be sure to check out the full recipe card below.
- Preheat to 425 degrees. Make the crunchy noodles. Place the crumbled ramen noodles on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Spray lightly with avocado oil spray or olive oil spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven and let cool. (Tip – you can also toast your almond with the ramen if you want!)
- Mix ingredients for dressing together and whisk well or shake it up in a small mason jar.
- Toss coleslaw mix into a large bowl and add almonds, edamame, carrots, and scallions. Then gently fold in the mandarins.
- Pour dressing over top of the salad and toss to combine. **If you are making this ahead of time, I would add the dressing close to the serving time…but it should keep in the fridge for a few days even after mixing.
- Top with toasted ramen noodles before serving!
- If you have extra blue, try it topped with some avocado! YUM! Have fun with it!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! I like prepping everything for the salad – the dressing, the veggies, and the noodles, then storing them all separately until it’s time to serve the salad.
If I am prepping this for lunches, I would divide the cabbage mixture amongst containers, then divide dressing and noodle topping into separate containers.
I actually don’t mind eating the salad as leftovers, but the a lot of the crunch will be gone due to the dressing. The cabbage and ramen noodles soak it all up. For me, I will keep the salad in the fridge for 1-2 days and enjoy the leftovers despite the texture change.
If you want to retain the crunch, be sure to add the dressing before serving.
This yummy salad is perfect for your family potluck dinner, or as a side to many Confessions favorite dinners like my Sticky Air Fryer Salmon Bites, Asian Chicken Meatballs, or Instant Pot Asian Pork Tenderloin.
So. Much. Yum. If you make this deliciousness, don’t forget to tag me or #confessionsofafitfoodie on social. I LOVE seeing your healthy creations!
Check out some of these other crowd pleasing potluck salad ideas!
Easy Gluten-free Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup olive or avocado oil
- 3/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar or sub apple cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut aminos or sub low sodium soy sauce
- Sprinkle salt
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger optional, but highly recommended
For the salad
- 2 brown rice ramen noodle cakes crumbled (should equal 1 cup or 200 calories)
- 16 ounce coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage)
- 2/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1 cup shelled frozen edamame thawed
- 1 cup shredded matchstick carrots
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 cup canned mandarin orange segments rinsed and drained (or sub diced mandarins or mangos)
Instructions
- Mix ingredients for dressing together and whisk well or shake it up in a small mason jar.
- Toss coleslaw mix into a large salad bowl and add almonds, edamame, carrots, and scallions. Then gently fold in the mandarins.
- Pour dressing over top of the salad and toss to combine. **If you are making this ahead of time, I would add the dressing close to the serving time…but it should keep in the fridge for a few days even after mixing.
- Top with toasted ramen noodles before serving!
- If you have extra blue, try it topped with some avocado! YUM! Have fun with it!
Stefanie says
This looks delicious! If I omit edamame, how does that effect the container count? Removes the blue?
Thanks,
Stefanie
Nancylynn says
It is very yummy! Edamame is a yellow so omitting it it would reduce the yellow count by half!
Stefanie says
Awesome, thanks so much! Can’t wait to try!
Tracy says
What size mason jars would you use to make this for work lunches?
Nancylynn says
The tall ones!
Kara C says
I am not a fan of fruit in my salads–what do you suggest to substitute instead of the fruit but that won’t change the container counts?
Nancylynn says
I would just omit the fruit and omit the purple.
Sarah Bennett says
Hey there! I am making this for the 1/6/20 weekly meal plan and was curious if it could be stored in mason jars for the week or not? And if so, what would you recommend for the layering? Obviously dressing on bottom and then probably chicken since the meal plan has chicken added to this recipe, but I wasn’t sure about the rest since the slaw needs to stay away from the liquidy stuff as much as possible! Thanks in advance for your help! Love your full weekly meal plans 🙂
Nancylynn says
I totally wanted to make a mason jar version of this, so I love your thinking here!
I would layer (from the bottom)
1. dressing
2. carrots
3. endamame
3. chicken
4. manderines
4. slaw
5. green onion
7. almonds
8. ramen noodles
Let me know how it goes!
Sarah Bennett says
Awesome, thanks so much! I will totally let you know how it goes. Making it on Sunday for next week, so I’ll let you know at the end of the week how well it kept in the jars with that layering 🙂
Sarah Bennett says
The layering in the mason jars worked great! By the end of the week, the noodles weren’t quite as crunchy, but overall it was awesome and very yummy! Thanks so much!
Christie says
I LOVE THIS SALAD! It is very tasty and even my pickiest eater enjoys it! I did have a quick question about the noodles: mine are extremely crunchy, almost to the point of “I may break my teeth!” instead of the beautiful “crisp” that yours look to be. Am I doing something incorrectly or are they supposed to be very crunchy?
Nancylynn says
Hi Christine! I am so happy you love the salad! But, yes – your noodles sound like they are getting too crispy. What brand are you using? Mine are crunchy, but definitely not easy to chew. In fact, my kids love crunching on them!
Heather says
Oh my goodness! I just reread the post and realized you meant it is now a full ORANGE, as in container! So silly of me! But, I am still curious about the ginger. Sorry for my confusion!
Nancylynn says
Hi there! I am SO sorry for the confusion! But, yes – I LOVE using fresh ginger! You can sub dry, but it’s not the same :). Hope you love this one like we do!
Heather says
Hi, Nancylynn!
I have tried and loved many of your recipes. I am looking forward to bringing this to some picnics very soon. I had two quick questions about this recipe. In your commentary, you noted that after talking to your mom, you added more dressing and that now it requires a full orange, but I did not see an orange on the list of ingredients for the dressing? I want to be sure to get it right. Also, the grated ginger that you called for, is that freshly grated ginger or the dried ‘spice’ version?
Thanks so much for all of your wonderful kitchen inspiration!
Elaine says
where do you find the brown rice ramen noodles
Nancylynn says
I linked to one that I get on Amazon, but I have also seen them in the gluten free section of my grocery store!
Stephanie says
Absolutely love your recipes! I have been making them almost every day for the past two weeks and every recipe is a hit! For this recipe I could only find brown rice stir-fry noodles. Would I boil them in water first, and then bake them on a baking sheet?
Nancylynn says
That’s awesome, Stephanie!!!! Hmm…I wonder if they would just crisp up without boiling them? I might try that first!