Rainbow Asian Noodle Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing (2024)

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With ramen noodles, a rainbow of fresh veggies and a fabulous Ginger Peanut dressing, you'll find yourself craving this Asian Noodle Salad again and again!

This is THE salad you'll want to bring to every picnic, potluck, party and/or get-together you get invited to. In fact, go ahead and tell your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers that you have dibs on "salad" for any events coming up. But, I promise, you won't have to do that for very long... once they try the first bite of this delicious Asian Noodle Salad, they'll be begging you to make it for every picnic, potluck, party and/or get-together...

A rainbow

Do you see why I was compelled to add the word "rainbow" to the title of this Asian Noodle Salad recipe? With purple and pale green cabbage, multi-hued bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, snap peas and a plethora of fresh herbs, this salad truly glows with vibrant color and fabulous flavor. A feast for the eyes as well as the palate!

Super versatile

I love that this Asian Noodle Salad can be adapted to whatever you have in the veggie drawer or whatever looks freshest at the market. I used savoy cabbage in my salad but if you can't find savoy, regular green cabbage will also be delicious. !f you don't want to buy two types of cabbage, just use all purple, or all green, or even a bag of pre-shredded cabbage or broccoli slaw.

I used pre-shredded carrots but feel free to cut regular carrots into matchstick pieces. Snow peas could be subbed for the sugar snap peas and English cucumbers for the mini cukes. If you don't have one of the called-for veggies, just skip it! Edamame would be a delicious addition and I've also added diced mango for a touch of sweetness.

The same is true with the fresh herbs; cilantro, basil and mint. If you don't like one of them or can't find one at your local market, no worries! The salad will still be delicious. However, if your herb garden is overflowing, definitely use all three as the flavor combination is fantastic.

If you don't have peanuts, cashews would be wonderful as would toasted, sliced almonds.

Another thing that makes this Asian Noodle Salad so versatile is that it can be paired with any protein for a wonderful full meal. The salad contains lots of veggies plus Ramen noodles so when you add a protein... voila! Your dinner is complete. We have enjoyed it with shrimp (pictured below) and with steak. It would also be fabulous with grilled chicken or pan-seared salmon. It seems to go well with everything!

Make Ahead

Because there is no wilting lettuce in this Asian Noodle Salad, it works well as a make-ahead salad and is also wonderful for leftovers. We ate it for lunch one day with shrimp and then enjoyed it with steak the next evening for dinner.

As mentioned above, this is a perfect salad to take to a picnic, potluck or party. I'm always delighted when I'm at an event and there's a healthy, beautiful, veggie-laden option to choose from. But just a little warning... don't plan to bring home any leftovers. You might not even have to wash the bowl!

Crazy delicious

Although I love all the crisp, fresh veggies and the whimsical ramen noodles, the Ginger Peanut Dressing is the grand "ta-da" of this Asian Noodle Salad.

With the cast of characters including a generous scoop of peanut butter, fresh ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and garlic, the dressing is sweet, salty and tangy all at the same time. If you've ever heard of "a salad dressing so delicious you could drink it", this is THE ONE!

A scatter of salty, crunchy peanuts adds a great texture element and enhances the peanut butter in the dressing. We love to use honey-roasted peanuts for a salty-sweet crunch but regular salted peanuts also work well.

The big handful of fresh herbs? Let's just call that the crowning glory!

Put it all together and you have a salad that EXPLODES with fabulous flavor in every bite!

Are you ready? Have some fun in the produce section next time you shop as you pick up the beautiful ingredients for this Asian Noodle Salad. Then put it on your menu plan for this coming week... or maybe even tonight!

Cafe Tips for making this Rainbow Asian Noodle Salad

• This Asian Noodle Salad recipe will serve a crowd (8-10 people) so make sure to use a large serving bowl (as you can see in the pictures, my bowl was filled to the brim).
• We love the dressing for this salad so I usually make a double batch. It's great on any kind of greens or veggies.
• This recipe calls for 6 ounces of ramen noodles. 2 of the small 3-ounces packages you can find at most grocery stores. I look for organic ramen noodles as they don't have preservatives or artificial ingredients. The seasoning packet that comes with the ramen noodles is not used in this recipe.
• I'm always looking for an easier way to do things as long as it doesn't compromise quality and flavor. I use packaged shredded carrots in this recipe with good success. If you're using store-bought shredded carrots look for bright orange color and carrots that don't look dry or washed out.
• This recipe calls for savoy cabbage which is a pale green Asian cabbage with ruffly leaves. It is similar to the common green cabbage but has a sweeter, milder flavor. If you can't find savoy, feel free to use a regular green cabbage.
• Be sure to use low-sodium soy sauce for the salad dressing otherwise, it will end up too salty
• This recipe calls for fresh ginger. You can purchase a knob of ginger at most everyday grocery stores and grate it yourself. For this dressing, there's no need to peel the ginger. Just wash it well and use a microplane grater. The skin is not only edible it hasanti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.
• You can also use ginger paste which is available in the produce section of many larger grocery stores including Super Walmart and Super Target. I always keep a tube of ginger paste in my refrigerator and a few stashed away in the freezer.
• Chili garlic sauce is one of the ingredients in this Asian Noodle Salad recipe. Chili garlic sauce is a delicious condiment made from, as the name suggests, chili peppers and garlic. It's spicy and tangy but, when used in moderation, not super spicy. It adds a delicious savory layer of flavor. There was a shortage of chili garlic sauce a while back but it seems to be readily available at most larger grocery stores and online. Sriracha sauce is a good sub if you don't have chili garlic sauce.
• I like to use black and white sesame seeds as one of the garnishes for this salad. You can purchase a combination of black and white sesame seeds in the Asian section of many larger grocery stores. The combination is often called Tuxedo Sesame Seeds.

Thought for the day:

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in His Word, I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-7

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Wait For You

If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.