Need dinner on the table fast without serving the same tired chicken salad again? This Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad keeps it simple with crisp lettuce, tender chicken, sweet mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, crunchy nuts, and a quick drizzle of raspberry walnut vinaigrette. It makes two hearty dinner salads in about 15 minutes, which is exactly the kind of math I like.
Makes 2 dinner size salads
Time: 15 min
Ingredients for Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
You will need:
- 1 package any flavor Ramen Noodles
- 1 head of your favorite lettuce (Romaine is a great budget choice, spring mix if you have a little extra this week!)
- 1 cup diced chicken
- (frozen Bourbon chicken nuggets heated and cut up or left over cooked chicken tossed with some duck sauce)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries like plain or orange flavored Craisins
- 1 small can mandarin orange segments
- Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (I like Ken’s Lite)
- Nuts, for sprinkling over the salad
If you want a little extra crunch, walnuts fit the dressing nicely, but pecans work too. No need to overthink it. You’re making dinner, not negotiating a treaty.
How to Make Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
What you do:
- Cook Ramen Noodles according to package directions without the seasoning packet. Save it to make soup another day! Let noodles cool off.
- Warm your chicken and dice it into bite size pieces.
- Chop up your lettuce.
- Plate your lettuce on 2 dinner plates.
- Put Ramen noodles on top of the lettuce in a nice mound.
- Top noodles with cooled, diced chicken.
- Sprinkle dried cranberries and nuts over the salad.
- Place mandarin orange segments randomly over the salad.
- Dress with Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette and enjoy!
For the best texture, cool the noodles before you pile them onto the lettuce. Warm noodles wilt the greens too fast, and then you’re eating a sad slippery heap instead of a crisp dinner salad.
Easy Tips for the Best Ramen Salad
- Skip the seasoning packet in the salad. The dressing brings enough flavor, and the noodle packet can be saved for soup later.
- Use cooked chicken that’s already on hand. Leftover chicken makes this even faster, and a little duck sauce gives plain cooked chicken a sweeter takeout-style flavor.
- Drain the oranges well. Extra liquid waters down the dressing in a hurry.
- Dress right before serving. That keeps the lettuce crisp and the noodles pleasantly chewy instead of soggy.
- Keep everything cold except the chicken. Slightly warm chicken over cool greens gives the salad a nice contrast without turning the whole plate limp.
If you like ramen salads, you might also want to try Citrus Ramen Summer Salad or Chicken, Ramen Noodle and Peanut Salad for another easy dinner idea.
Serving Suggestions for Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
Serve this as two full dinner salads, just as written, or split it into smaller lunch portions if you’re pairing it with fruit, soup, or a simple roll. Because the dressing is sweet-tart and the salad already includes fruit, it pairs especially well with plain grilled chicken, iced tea, or a light side like fresh melon.
If you want a little more color on the plate, a handful of sliced green onions or shredded carrots fits in nicely without changing the basic idea of the salad.
Storage for Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
This salad is best eaten right after you dress it. Once the vinaigrette hits the lettuce and noodles, the texture starts going downhill fast.
If you want to make it ahead, store the lettuce, cooked noodles, chicken, cranberries, nuts, oranges, and dressing in separate containers and assemble just before serving. For safety, keep the chicken refrigerated at 40 degrees F or below and use it within 3 to 4 days. The USDA also recommends refrigerating cut or prepared produce promptly, and that same cold-storage rule is why prepped salad components hold best when chilled right away in covered containers. See the USDA leftovers and food safety guidance for the full recommendation.
Estimated storage guide: assembled salad, up to 1 day in the refrigerator for best quality; undressed cooked noodles, up to 3 to 4 days refrigerated; cooked chicken, 3 to 4 days refrigerated; chopped lettuce, up to 3 to 5 days refrigerated if kept dry; opened mandarin oranges, about 3 to 4 days refrigerated in a covered container. These are practical home-kitchen estimates for quality and safety, not lab-tested shelf-life claims.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- Ramen Noodles, 3 oz
- Romaine Lettuce Hearts, 3 count
- Chicken Breast Strips, 25 oz
- Frozen Chicken Breast Strips, 25 oz
- Dried Cranberries, 6 oz
- Mandarin Oranges, 15 oz
- Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette, 16 fl oz
- Chopped Walnuts, 8 oz
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
You can prep it ahead, but don’t dress it until you’re ready to eat. Keep the lettuce, noodles, chicken, fruit, nuts, and dressing separate, then assemble at the last minute so the greens stay crisp and the noodles don’t turn soft.
Any fully cooked chicken works fine here, as long as it’s tender and easy to dice. Leftover roasted chicken, rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken strips, or the bourbon chicken nugget idea in the recipe all do the job without making dinner harder than it needs to be.
For this version, yes, because the directions are built around cooked and cooled noodles. If you skip that step and use the noodles dry, the texture changes completely and you’ll get more crunch than a noodle-salad bite.
Absolutely. A light raspberry vinaigrette, poppy seed dressing, or even a mild sweet-tart balsamic dressing will keep the same general sweet-fruity balance. Just avoid anything too heavy or creamy, because it buries the oranges and cranberries.
Walnuts are the natural match because they echo the walnut vinaigrette, but pecans work nicely too. If you’re using salted nuts, go easy on any extra salty toppings so the sweet fruit still comes through.
Dry it well after washing, and drain the mandarin oranges thoroughly before they go on the plate. A soggy salad usually starts with wet greens or fruit packed with extra liquid, not bad luck.
Yes, dried cherries or raisins are the easiest substitutes if that’s what you have in the pantry. Cranberries keep the salad a little tangier, while raisins make it sweeter, so choose based on how sweet your dressing already is.
Keep it under 2 hours at normal room temperature, or under 1 hour if you’re serving it outside in hot weather. Since it contains cooked chicken and cut produce, it’s not something to let linger on the table while everybody tells one more story.
Yes, and it scales easily because the salad is assembled by layering rather than cooked together. Double every ingredient, use a large platter or bowl, and keep the dressing on the side so the second helping isn’t limp by the time it gets there.
It already eats like a full light dinner for two, so you don’t need much. Fresh fruit, a cup of simple soup, or a crusty roll all work well if you want to stretch it into a slightly bigger meal without fighting the sweet-savory flavor.
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Did you make this recipe? Tell us how you built yours in the comments. Did you use leftover chicken, bourbon nuggets, walnuts, pecans, or a different dressing altogether?
🖨️ Print-Friendly Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
Ramen Cafe Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 1 package ramen noodles any flavor
- 1 head lettuce
- 1 cup diced chicken
- Frozen bourbon chicken nuggets heated and cut up, or leftover cooked chicken tossed with duck sauce
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 1 small can mandarin orange segments
- Raspberry walnut vinaigrette to taste
- Nuts for sprinkling
Equipment
Instructions
- Cook the ramen noodles according to the package directions without the seasoning packet.
- Drain the noodles and let them cool.
- Warm the chicken and dice it into bite-size pieces.
- Chop the lettuce.
- Divide the lettuce between 2 dinner plates.
- Mound the cooled noodles over the lettuce.
- Top with the diced chicken.
- Sprinkle dried cranberries and nuts over each salad.
- Arrange mandarin orange segments over the top.
- Dress with raspberry walnut vinaigrette and serve immediately.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Estimated cost uses current online retail pricing and the amount likely used: ramen $0.50, lettuce $2.06, chicken $2.20, dried cranberries $0.86, mandarin oranges $1.98, dressing $0.04 for about 3 tablespoons, walnuts $0.00? Estimated total adjusted to $7.64 including about 1/4 cup walnuts at roughly $1.00.
# For best texture, assemble just before serving.
Store prepared components separately when possible.
Cooked chicken should be used within 3 to 4 days refrigerated.
Assembled salad is best eaten the same day.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Submitted by Christina E. Mitchell
