Here’s a Ramen Noodle Salad with Mandarin Oranges with crispy chicken. This recipe is so simple to make, and it’s such a crowd-pleaser salad.
This yummy chicken salad recipe is our family’s favorite dish. So whenever I want to make a quick and light salad, I make this recipe.
My mom found this recipe many years ago in her golf club cookbook. You know that kind of printed cookbook that is a collection of recipes from all her golfing friends. So, this Ramen noodle salad is from Rosanne Speers, and I’m sure she was a golfing friend of my mom.
I love these old recipe books and all the tried and true recipes in them. And I enjoy sharing them with you over here on the blog.
Here are some recipes that are from some old cookbooks:
Ramen Noodle Salad with Mandarin Oranges
How to Make this Salad
Step 1 – Prep Lettuce
Wash, dry, and chop lettuce and place in a large bowl. Drain the cans of mandarin oranges and add to the lettuce.
Step 2 – Prep Chicken
Season and slice raw chicken and cook in skillet with oil. Set aside on a plate to cool. I cheat and use the pre-cooked crispy chicken and heat it in the oven.
Step 3 – Make Crunchies
Pound the ramen noodle packages with a rolling pin to reduce the size of the noodles. Next, open up the ramen packages and remove the seasoning packets. You can toss the seasoning packet away or use it for another recipe. Melt butter in a skillet over medium to low heat. Add ramen noodles, sesame seeds, almonds, and wonton strips to the butter. Stir constantly the crunchy mixture until they are crispy and golden. Remove from stove and let cool.
Step 4 – Make Salad Dressing
In a large pyrex measuring bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, sugar, oil, and soy sauce. Mix the dressing thoroughly. The sugar takes a while to dissolve, and I found if I let it sit and stir it later, I have better results.
Step 5 – Mix Salad
Add crunchies, cooked chicken to the lettuce, and mix. Add dressing or have each person add it to their salads.
Ramen Noodle Salad with Mandarin Oranges Recipe
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 cups chicken breast or thighs Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. You can use frozen pre-cooked crispy chicken
- 4 heads Romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 cans Mandarin oranges drained
Crunchies
- 2 packages ramen noodles each package of ramen is 3 ounces
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 cup slivered almonds can use sliced instead
- ¼ cup butter
- 3.5 ounce crispy wonton strips
Dressing
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
Salad
- Wash, dry, and chop lettuce and place in a large bowl.
- Drain the cans of mandarin oranges and add to the lettuce.
- Season and slice raw chicken and cook in skillet with oil. Set aside on a plate to cool. I cheat and use the pre-cooked crispy chicken and heat it in the oven.
Crunchies
- Pound the ramen noodle packages with a rolling pin to reduce the size of the noodles. Next, open up the ramen packages and remove the seasoning packets. You can toss the seasoning packet away or use it for another recipe.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium to low heat.
- Add ramen noodles, sesame seeds, almonds, and wonton strips to the butter.
- Stir constantly the crunchy mixture until they are crispy and golden.
- Remove from stove and let cool.
- Add the crunchies and chicken to the rest of the salad and toss.
Dressing
- In a large pyrex measuring bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, sugar, oil, and soy sauce. Mix thoroughly until sugar is somewhat dissolved.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad or allow everyone to add the dressing to their own salads.
Nutrition
Here are some answers to some questions you may have about this chicken noodle salad recipe with ramen noodles!
Can I Use Coleslaw Packets Instead of Romaine Lettuce?
Yes! I use coleslaw sometimes when making this salad. If you want to add a little crunch, chop up red cabbage and add it to the salad. But, if you’re going to buy the pre-packaged cabbage, that will work too. I would say you can purchase either a 16-ounce package of coleslaw or maybe two packages.
Can I Add More Vegetables to this Salad?
Of course, you can add more ingredients, and I say the more, the merrier. For my photoshoot, I forgot to add sliced green onions. If you want to make a larger salad, enter your amount in the servings part of the recipe card, and it will adjust the ingredients accordingly. I like more mandarins in our salad, so I add more than I wrote in the recipe. This recipe is super flexible!
Can I Make this Salad Ahead of Time?
Yes! The only thing about making this noodle salad ahead of time in the Ramen crunchies might get soggy. So, add them right before serving the salad if it is a warm day and make it way in advance, cover, and refrigerate.
Do I use the Ramen Season Packet?
You will discard the packet. We won’t be using it for this recipe.
Can I Make this Salad Without the Chicken?
Yes! I make mine without chicken all the time. Sometimes, I top mine with crispy calamari. It is an excellent alternative to the chicken. I will be posting a new calamari salad tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Well, I hope you can make this easy and delicious Ramen noodle salad with mandarin oranges. It is a refreshing salad that you can make at home. I always like to have all the ingredients on hand, so I can make it in a pinch without having to go to the grocery store.
Thanks for stopping by for this week’s week of salad recipes!
Cheers,
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