Initially I was skeptical about this recipe from Delish. Crunchy chunks of ramen noodles that are toasted in the oven rather than boiled? Is that even edible? It sure is!! And it makes for a delicious and crunchy salad.
I adjusted the original recipe very slightly to make it vegan and to fit the ingredients I had in my pantry and fridge. It’s combination of the crunchy noodles, red cabbage, thin carrot ribbons, mandarin oranges, chopped almonds, and little bites of creamy avocado create an absolute texture heaven in each bite. And the salty sweet dressing is the perfect complement.
This easy salad is a wonderful and quick dinner idea for those hot summer nights when you cannot imagine standing over a stove. And it’s a bit different and fun – we really enjoyed the novelty of eating instant ramen noodles in this new way. Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 packets ramen noodles
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp maple syrup
salt
1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shaved into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 avocado, diced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break up ramen noodles into one inch pieces and add to a baking sheet with almonds. Toast until golden, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once. Let cool completely. Whisk together olive oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and maple syrup in a large bowl and season with salt. Add red cabbage, green onions, carrot, and sesame seeds to the bowl and toss in the sauce. Let sit at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours in the refrigerator, tossing occasionally. Just before serving, fold in Mandarin oranges, avocado, cooled noodles and almonds and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Serves 4
An Imperfect Vegan 