The Ramen Noodle Salad from Pioneer Woman is without a doubt the finest salad that has ever been created. Made with two kinds of cabbage, thinly sliced almonds, crisp carrots, toasted ramen noodles, and a tangy, sweet dressing.
Are Ramen Noodles Healthy For You?
Ramen noodles are not the best choice when it comes to food. Most of the time, they are fried in oil, and the seasoning packets have a lot of salt in them. But they give salads that are full of flavor a great crunch. Even though the ramen noodles are hard right out of the package, they will soften a bit when you mix them with the sauce.
Ingredients That You’ll Need:
- Dry Ramen: Remember, you will not need the seasoning packet. You can save it for another use or discard it. Keep in mind that not all dry ramen is the same. I’ve tried organic brands that were too thin, dry, and hard (they made great soup, but they didn’t quite have the right texture here).
- Fisher sliced almonds: If you are toasting almonds, be careful not to burn them, just watch for a very light golden brown color, or a slight color change.
- Green and red cabbage: Shredded (sliced thin) is my preferred texture, but you can chop it too
- Matchstick carrots: It is possible to make these yourself instead of buying them pre-cut. Just peel and slice a large carrot into thin slices, then cut into short sticks from there.
- Green onions: If you want a milder flavor, use just the green portion; if you want a stronger flavor, include the white and light portions.
Dressing Ingredients:
- Light olive oil: If you want to use regular olive oil, it will work great too, just add a bit more flavor.
- Rice vinegar: Most grocery stores carry this in the Asian food section, or sometimes it can be found near the other vinegars (down the condiment aisle).
- Honey: I’ve found 1/4 cup to be just right for me. It’s not too sweet nor too subtle.
- Ginger: I usually use fresh ginger, but dry could work in a pinch. I’d start with about half a teaspoon.
- Garlic: A single clove is not overpowering, but if you want a bit of a stronger garlic flavor, add two cloves.
- Sesame oil: It is the toasted type that is darker in color, but it won’t necessarily be labeled as such. You’ll find it in the Asian section of most grocery stores.
- Salt and pepper: black or white pepper works fine.
Can I Make Ramen Noodle Salad In Advance?
The ingredients for Ramen Noodle Salad and the dressing can be made a day in advance; just combine the dressing and salad ingredients immediately before serving. You shouldn’t create a salad too far in advance because the dressing begins to degrade the salad once it’s added.
Is Ramen Noodle Salad good as leftovers?
The noodles in Ramen Noodle Salad become too soggy if you save any for the next day, so this salad is best served fresh. You can get around this by putting the noodles on the side, mixing them in with the salad for each individual serving, and then storing the two components separately.
How To Make Pioneer Woman Ramen Noodle Salad?
For the dressing:
- Whisk together light olive oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. In a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the dressing in the fridge while preparing the salad ingredients.
For the salad:
- Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Next, you want to spread both almonds and ramen onto a rimmed 18 by 13-inch baking sheet.
- Toast in the preheated oven for about 3 minutes. Once it’s done, remove it from the oven and toss the mixture, then spread it out evenly.
- Place back in the oven for another 3–4 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.
- In a large salad bowl, add green cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, green onions, and ramen almond mixture.
- Pour the dressing over your Ramen Noodle Salad, then toss well.
What Can I Add Into Ramen Noodle Salad?
- Meat: Add grilled chicken, salmon, shrimp, or tofu to make this a main dish.
- Fruit: A little fruit, such as Mandarin oranges, chopped pineapple, or mango, can add a nice touch.
- Vegetables: You can add any other vegetables you think would go well with this. Edamame, mushrooms, zucchini, snow peas, and chopped peppers would all be great additions.
- Garnish: The addition of cilantro adds an extra bit of freshness to the dish.
Recipe Tips
- Almonds and ramen can be toasted together to add a nutty, toasted flavor to an otherwise boring bowl of noodle soup.
- Although the seasoning packet is called for in some recipes, I find that it contains too many unhealthy ingredients (including a lot of sodium) to be worth using.
- Instead, we’ll be whipping up our own seasoning blend with ingredients like ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Instead of regular sugar, you can use honey.
- There’s a great flavor to it that pairs well with this, and it’s also healthier than the alternative. Olive oil can stand in for the vegetable oil if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily make a full dinner out of almost any dish. Because salads typically feature a large quantity of veggies, they are ideal for this purpose. It’s easy to turn this Ramen Noodle Salad into a major dish by adding grilled chicken, shrimp, or even cubes of tofu.
Yes. When making your Ramen Noodle Salad, you may also use a milder vinegar like apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
If you want a milder crunch, Napa cabbage is a great substitute for the romaine in this Ramen Noodle Salad. If you choose to take the shredded cabbage route, 8 cups (approximately 1 pound) of Napa cabbage will do the trick.
Unfortunately, the widely consumed Asian ramen noodles are not vegan. Though the noodles itself are OK for vegetarians, the flavor packets are not.
The next day is ideal for eating leftover Ramen Noodle Salad. Do not dress the entire salad if you plan on saving some for later. Noodles and almonds will become mushy as a result. Refrigerate the salad and dressing separately and combine right before serving. The salad can be stored for up to 4 days, and the dressing for up to 2 weeks.
Avoid using the ramen noodle seasoning packet in this salad. Sodium-rich package will change the salad’s taste.
For your first attempt at Noodle Salad, I suggest following the directions exactly as printed. The salad would benefit from the addition of fresh herbs or sliced bell peppers, but I find that I enjoy it just the way it is.
Toasted noodles not only have a more robust flavor, but they also stay firmer for longer because of the added crunch.
You can make a batch of noodle salad and take it to a potluck with you, because it will keep for at least an hour before the noodles turn mushy.
Yes! In place of honey, I would recommend using soy sauce and gluten-free ramen.
Pioneer Woman Ramen Noodle Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 (3 ounce) package dry ramen broken into small pieces, seasoning packet discarded
- 1 cup fisher sliced almonds
- 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
- 6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
- 2 cups matchstick carrots
- ⅔ cup chopped green onions
Dressing Ingredients:
- ½ cup light olive oil
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the dressing:
- Whisk together light olive oil, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil In a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the dressing in the fridge while preparing salad ingredients.
For the salad:
- Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Next, you want to spread both almonds and ramen onto a rimmed 18×13-inch baking sheet.
- Toast in the preheated oven for about 3 minutes. Then remove from oven and toss mixture and then spread out evenly.
- Place back in the oven for another 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool.
- In a large salad bowl, add green cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, green onions, and ramen almond mixture.
- Pour dressing over your Ramen Noodle Salad, and toss well.
Luna
Monday 9th of December 2024
This was super fresh and great for a light lunch.