Asian Ramen Chicken Chopped Salad
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 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 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.
- Whisk together dressing ingredients.
- Add the vegetables and cooked chicken to a large mixing bowl, along with the almonds, ramen noodles and sesame seeds.
- Drizzle dressing over top and toss to coat.
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.
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love:
- Potato Salad (The Best!)
- Mexican Chopped Salad with Greek Yogurt Cilantro Lime Ranch
- Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
- Pasta Salad
- Thai Slaw with Peanut Dressing
Follow Cooking Classy
Asian Ramen Chicken Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts , cooked and shredded or chopped
- 2 (3 oz) pkgs. dry ramen , seasoning packet discarded
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds
- 5 cups shredded green cabbage (12 oz, chop into thin shreds)*
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage (5 oz, chop into thin shreds)
- 1 large carrot peeled and chopped into matchsticks (3/4 cup)
- 4 green onions , sliced (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Dressing
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (not low-sodium)
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried ginger
- Salt to taste
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.