Asian Ramen Chicken Chopped Salad

Published October 30, 2014. Updated May 13, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

This is the Asian Ramen Chicken Chopped Salad you’ve eaten countless times at potlucks! I added chicken to the salad to make it into a main dish, but this is also a great side salad. You’ll go crazy for the crunchy cabbage and ramen noodles, and don’t even get me started on the tangy dressing!

Asian Ramen Salad in wooden bowl with salad spoons

Asian Ramen Salad with Chicken

Here’s that famous crunchy Asian ramen salad that you’ve had at potlucks. You know, the one everyone loves?

I’ve turned the classic ramen salad recipe into a dinner entree so you don’t have to wait for a party to make it. I love salads, but I don’t have a lot of time to make this loaded salad as a dinner side, especially during weeknights, so instead I usually just make the salad the main dish by adding a protein like chicken.

It has been so long since I’ve had this kind of salad, and after trying this one who knows why I waited that long. This Asian ramen noodle salad is amazing!

You get a serious abundance of crunch, the perfect light toasty flavor (from toasting the ramen and almonds in the oven, I nixed toasting them in butter because ramen is already fried in oil so why add more?), and you get the perfect balance 0f sweet and sour from the vinegar and sugar in the dressing.

Who knew a cheap, plain package of ramen noodles could do so much good? I still remember asking all the time when I was younger if I could eat mine uncooked because I loved that delicious crunch.

Add this one to your menu this week, you won’t regret it!

Asian Ramen Salad on plate with chopsticks

Asian Ramen Chicken Salad Ingredients

For the chopped chicken salad, you’ll need:

  • Chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
  • Dry ramen
  • Sliced almonds
  • Green and purple cabbage
  • Carrot
  • Green onions
  • Sesame seeds

And for the tangy Asian dressing, you’ll need:

  • Canola oil
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Granulated sugar
  • Soy sauce
  • Dried garlic, onion powder and ginger
  • Salt and pepper

How to Make Asian Ramen Chicken Salad

  • Toast ramen noodles and almonds in the oven. Set aside to cool.

ramen noodles and slivered almonds on baking tray

  • Whisk together dressing ingredients.

asian dressing for ramen salad

  • Add the vegetables and cooked chicken to a large mixing bowl, along with the almonds, ramen noodles and sesame seeds.

asian salad ingredients in large wooden bowl

  • Drizzle dressing over top and toss to coat.

pouring dressing onto Asian Ramen Salad

Can I Prep This Salad in Advance?

This Asian salad is best enjoyed right away, as the noodles and cabbage lose their crunch the longer they sit in the dressing.

Can I Season the Dressing with the Flavor Packet in the Noodles?

I know a lot of Asian ramen salad recipes say to use the seasoning packet that comes with the ramen noodles in the salad dressing. I personally don’t like using the seasoning packet since it contains MSG.

However, you can add it instead of the dried spices I’ve called for. Just note that you might need to scale back the amount of soy sauce in the dressing, or adjust other ingredients as needed.

Tips

  • If you want a little more depth of flavor, you could add just a bit of sesame oil to the dressing. I loved it as is but we all have different tastes, so make it how you’d like. The joy of cooking, right?
  • You can also use a pre-made 16-oz. coleslaw mix for this recipe, but I prefer shredding the cabbage myself.
  • Serve this salad right away while everything is still crunchy.

Asian Ramen Salad in wooden salad bowl

More Salad Recipes You’ll Love:

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

5 from 6 votes

Asian Ramen Chicken Chopped Salad

Such a satisfying, crunchy salad recipe that's perfect for a dinner or potlucks! It's loaded with freshness and finished with a perfectly seasoned dressing. 
Servings: 6
Prep30 minutes
Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Dressing

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Crumble ramen into small pieces and place on baking sheet along with almonds, spread into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven until golden, tossing once halfway through baking, about 6 - 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • In a mixing bowl whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until well blended while seasoning with salt to taste, set aside.
  • To a large bowl add green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots, green onions, chicken, toasted ramen and almonds and sesame seeds. Drizzle dressing over top and toss to evenly coat. Serve right away for crunchiest results.

Notes

  • *If desired, you can also use a 16 oz coleslaw mix in place of the cabbages and carrot. I just prefer the freshly chopped for this recipe, plus the mixes are skimpy on the purple cabbage.
  • If you want a little more depth of flavor, you could add just a bit of sesame oil to the dressing.
Nutrition Facts
Asian Ramen Chicken Chopped Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 570 Calories from Fat 297
% Daily Value*
Fat 33g51%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 48mg16%
Sodium 945mg41%
Potassium 684mg20%
Carbohydrates 46g15%
Fiber 5g21%
Sugar 21g23%
Protein 24g48%
Vitamin A 2189IU44%
Vitamin C 41mg50%
Calcium 119mg12%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

42 Comments

  • patricia moss

    I make this a lot and love it but prefer it refrigerated and softened just a bit to give the flavors a chance to marry…I add the purple cabbage before serving so that I don’t end up with a pink salad lol

  • Deb

    This sounds like a great salad, but certainly not healthy as is with 33 grams of fat, that’s up there with a Big Mac. I am going to try avocado oil in place of highly processed canola oil. The 21 grams of sugar per serving is also way too high for a lot of people watching their sugar intake. Hopefully a sugar substitute like Stevia or Monkfruit will work. Most of the other ingredients are good for you, but I have to think of my health. The bagged greens/slaw mix are a convenient option, but usually have a lot of preservatives for longer shelf life. I’m like you & prefer to chop up the cabbage myself. Thanks for sharing.

  • Kim

    This recipe is awesome. Fresh vegetables, crunchy ramen noodles with an Asian style dressing. What’s not to love? It’s so simple to put together. You can toast some ramen noodles and sesame seeds on a cookie sheet (350 degree for 2 min) in advance. You can also prepare the veggies (I use a bag of pre-shredded cabbage/carrots found in the produce section) and dressing at this time. Then, when ready to serve, shred the chicken (I use rotisserie). Toss it all together in a bowl – you will have a delicious main course, that stands alone.

  • Sienna Pascarella

    This salad is THE BOMB!!!! It’s everything you could ever ask for in an Asian chicken salad. It has such depth of flavor, and it’s fresh, crunchy, healthy, tasty, and completely satisfying. Thank you for this WONDERFUL salad!! Tonight is the second time this week we’re making it for dinner. LOOOOOOVE!!!!!

  • Valerie

    Super easy. Cooked the chicken in the air fryer. Used broccoli cabbage slaw to save time. The dressing was easy to make. Served cold along with some fresh asparagus.

  • Lisa Gayle Bennett

    I made this today. I like sesame flavor so I would decrease the canola oil by about 1/3rd and substitute sesame oil. I also really like the tang of apple cider vinegar and increased the proportion of that.
    I don’t measure many things so I don’t have the actual amount I ended up with. I think I also increased the soy sauce. I like spicy/aromatic/tangy.

  • Dee

    I did as suggested and used about 1/8th cup sesame oil -using that much less of canola oil. I add sesame seeds and we do not premix the noodles and nuts but put them on individually so if there are leftovers they don’t sog. I used 2/2 of a rotisserie chicken, 2 cans mandarin oranges, one green onion diced and Costco’s Mediterranean salad mix (without their mix-in’s). So delish!! Easy peasy dinner!