Do you remember living on Ramen Noodles in college???

Really…deny it all you want, but we all did!

 

To be honest, I don’t really like coleslaw, but when I tried this in Florida a few weeks ago, I knew I needed the recipe! And so did everyone else at the party. We all went home with a copy, and I was excited to have a reason to try it out this weekend.  Which is why I was back in the soup aisle buying a package of ramen having flashbacks to my freshman dorm room.

 

I was surprised to see how simple this recipe is, and it is definitely something that you can make a day ahead, which is always great when you are hosting a BBQ and your boyfriend decides to serve ribs : )

 

This coleslaw has a nice little crunch to it with the roasted ramen noodles and nuts.  It calls for slivered almonds, but I didn’t want to slice the nuts, so I toasted them whole, which worked out just fine.

 

 

This was the only bag of ‘coleslaw’ that I saw at the grocery store and it worked out well for this recipe.  I have never bought coleslaw before and thought maybe there would be more varieties to choose from.  Either way, the bagged version is much better than slicing your own.

 

 

Combine your slaw and roasted nuts in a big bowl.  This you can do a day in advance if you want.

 

 

 

You can add your dressing the day before or just before serving depending on how crispy you want your salad to be.  Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge.  I did everything a few hours before the BBQ, so the flavors had time to set, but there was still a little crunch.

 

 

The dressing is almost the same as this Sweet and Crispy Salad dressing, so I just made one batch to use for both this weekend.

 

 

Because it is so easy, compliments any dish, and tastes amazing (I am super excited for leftovers), this is my new favorite BBQ side dish.  The ingredients are healthy and you can go easy on the dressing to lighten it up.

 

 

After tasting this recipe, you might actually start liking coleslaw.  And the ramen aisle is always a fun walk down memory lane!

 

 

Ramen Coleslaw

Recipe passed down from friend to friend

 

Dressing

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup sugar (can sub in Turbinado or Brown Rice Syrup if you want)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

 

Whisk all ingredients together until sugar dissolves.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  You can make this several hours ahead or overnight.  Whisk again before using.

 

Salad

1 (3 ounce) oriental flavor Ramen Noodle Soup (I used chicken and it still tasted great)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower kernels

1 (10 ounce) bag of angel hair coleslaw (a bigger cabbage mix is fine)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Break up dry noodles into small pieces in a 9×13 baking dish covered with foil.  Sprinkle with the packet o seasoning from the soup mix.  Bake about 6 minutes or until beginning to brown.  Stir well, scraping any of the dry mix from the bottom of the pan.  Add in almonds and sunflower kernels; stir well and mix.  Bake for another 6 minutes, or until almonds begin to brown.  Cool completely.  If making in advance, store in airtight container.

 

Toss together the cabbage and noodle mixtures.  Drizzle with dressing and toss well.

Refrigerate before serving.