Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
We love a fun retro recipe. This Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad was inspired by the classic salad that frequently made its rounds at children’s events when we were kids. It has tons of healthy and crunchy ingredients, and it also satisfies that inexplicable craving for dry, seasoned, uncooked instant ramen noodles that we’ve had since childhood (anyone else eat the uncooked noodles with some of the seasoning packets on them, or is that just us weirdos?).
Ingredients in the Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
This Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad may have been inspired by the retro dish, but we’ve made a few upgrades. It has cabbage, carrots, edamame, and scallions, and a topping made with toasted almonds, sesame seeds, instant ramen, and homemade seasoning. It’s all tossed with a simple soy sauce vinaigrette.
Soy Sauce Vinaigrette
- Neutral oil – grapeseed, avocado, or another neutral flavored oil works best in this recipe.
- Unseasoned rice vinegar – vinaigrettes need something tangy to mix with the oil, and rice vinegar works nicely here. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you could use apple cider vinegar but it’ll be a touch sweeter.
- Low sodium soy sauce or tamari – use tamari to keep this dressing gluten free.
- Sugar – adding sugar to the dressing helps to balance it out.
- Salt and pepper to taste – everyone has a different preference for salt and pepper, so use how much you want (start with a little and add more, as needed). If you only have regular soy sauce, you can skip the salt altogether or use only a little.
Crispy Ramen Topping
This crispy ramen topping tastes a lot like uncooked ramen noodles coated in the seasoning packet (IYKYK), only better. With almonds and sesame for added protein and crunch, and a good amount of poultry seasoning for herby flavor, this topping is great on this salad.
To make it, you’ll need:
- Instant ramen noodles – you only need the noodles, not the seasoning (save that to put it on potatoes or add it to soup later). Many instant ramen noodles are vegan if you don’t use the seasoning packet, so be sure to check if you want to keep this recipe plant-based.
- Sliced almonds – these add a nice nuttiness to the salad, but if you’re allergic, you can skip them or use unsalted sunflower seeds or pepitas instead.
- Sesame seeds – if you’re allergic, you can skip these or use different seeds.
- Butter – use vegan butter to keep this recipe plant-based, or regular, dairy butter, if preferred.
- Spices and seasonings – our seasoning blend includes onion powder, white pepper, poultry seasoning (which is a blend of powdered herbs), red pepper flakes, and salt. All of these combine to make the ramen topping taste like those instant ramen seasoning packets.
Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
For the salad, you’ll need:
- Shredded cabbage – we like to use a blend of green and purple cabbage in this salad for different textures and colors. If all you have is green cabbage, however, that’s fine. Overall, you’ll want about 7-8 cups of cabbage total.
- Shredded carrots – you can use pre-shredded carrots or shred them yourself. They add bright color and crunch.
- Shelled edamame (soybeans) – we love adding edamame to this salad for protein.
- Green onions – you can use both the white and green parts, or if you don’t like strong onion flavor, you can leave the white parts out as they tend to be hotter.
How to make the Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
To make the dressing, combine all of the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously. Set the dressing aside for later.
To make the crispy ramen topping, first heat the butter in a pan over medium heat. Once it’s melted, add the almonds, sesame seeds, instant ramen noodles, and all the seasonings and cook for a few minutes until the nuts, seeds, and noodles are lightly toasted. Set them aside to cool. They’ll get more crispy as they rest.
For the salad, add all of the cabbage, carrots, edamame, and green onions to a large salad bowl. Toss the salad with the prepared dressing and top with the cooled crispy ramen topping.
Can’t get enough salad?
If you can’t get enough salad, take a look at our other salad recipes for more delicious options!
Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
Soy Sauce Vinaigrette
- ½ cup neutral oil
- ¼ cup rice vinegar, unseasoned
- 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Crispy Ramen Topping
- 1 package instant ramen noodles, broken into pieces
- ½ cup sliced almonds, unsalted
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 3 tbsp vegan or regular butter
- ½ tsp poultry seasoning, or blend of sage, thyme, other herbs
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
- ½ green cabbage, shredded
- ¼ purple cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup edamame, shelled
- 8 green onions, diced
Instructions
Soy Sauce Vinaigrette
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously.½ cup neutral oil, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari, 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar, Salt and pepper to taste
- Set the dressing aside for later.
Crispy Ramen Topping
- Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.3 tbsp vegan or regular butter
- Add the almonds, sesame seeds, instant ramen noodles, and all the seasonings and cook for 3 to 5 few minutes until the nuts, seeds, and noodles are lightly toasted.1 package instant ramen noodles, ½ cup sliced almonds, 2 tbsp sesame seeds, ½ tsp poultry seasoning, ½ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp white pepper, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- Set them aside to cool. They’ll get more crispy as they rest.
Crispy Ramen Cabbage Salad
- Add all of the cabbage, carrots, edamame, and green onions to a large salad bowl.½ green cabbage, ¼ purple cabbage, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup edamame, 8 green onions
- Toss the salad with the prepared dressing and top with the cooled crispy ramen topping.
