Quick & Easy Side Dish
Maybe you’ve tried and loved ramen noodle salad before, or maybe it sounds bizarre to you (I was very skeptical too!). Despite its unusual ingredients, this is one of the easiest and tastiest side dishes I’ve tried, and it’s quickly become one of my favorite potluck recipes. I know that ramen noodles–especially dry, uncooked ramen noodles–may seem like an unusual salad addition, but trust me! We’ll break them up into small pieces and toss them together with broccoli slaw, a few mix-ins, and an easy dressing. The final result is a crunchy, bright, and fresh salad full of texture and flavor! This is a unique side dish (similar to my broccoli salad!) that goes well with everything from seared chicken to instant pot pulled pork (with a side of deviled eggs!). Bring it your next cookout and be prepared to share the recipe–everyone will be asking for the recipe!
What You Need
You need less than 10 ingredients for this easy salad. Let’s discuss a few of the most important ones:
Broccoli slaw. This consists of shredded broccoli stems, cabbage, and carrots. It’s typically sold right next to bagged coleslaw and salads.Vinegar. I use a combination of rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar. If you can’t find rice vinegar (it’s usually in the asian food section of the grocery store!), you can substitute an equal amount of apple cider vinegar.Sunflower seeds. These add a nice salty crunch to the salad. Chopped peanuts or toasted slivered almonds would also work well here.Ramen noodles. I usually just break up my noodles by hand or smack them with a rolling pin. Chicken flavored ramen is my preference, but you could experiment with other flavors. Don’t forget to save the seasoning packets–we’ll use them for our dressing!Red pepper flakes. I add a pinch just for a little kick, but you can always omit this (or add more if you want a lot of kick!).
SAM’S TIP: While my recipe has always called for canola or vegetable oil, I’m now trying to move away from these oils as much as possible. An equal amount of light olive oil works just fine here. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make It
SAM’S TIP: Some people like to toast their ramen before adding it for extra flavor. If you’d like to do this too, you can follow the directions in my how to toast coconut tutorial (just sub the broken ramen for the coconut!). I hope you love this one as much as I do! Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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