Ramen noodles are versatile. Uncooked, they add crunch to salads and munchy mixes, and they go well with dips. Cooked, the noodles combine with cheeses, beans or sauces for a satisfying warm snack. Experiment with uncooked ramen noodles in place of snack foods such as chips and popcorn, or combine them with crunchy cereal and spices to make a snack mix. However you try them, ramen noodles are quick to cook and even quicker to use raw.
Noodles and Dips
Dip crunchy, uncooked ramen noodles into salsa. The everyday, plain salsa from a jar is fine, but try adding a spoonful of chunky peanut butter and a sprinkling of minced onions. Serve it cold, or heat it in the microwave for a few seconds. Experiment with other dips such as ranch dressing, prepared cheese dip, or sour cream combined with green onion or dill dip mix.
Noodles and Salads
Make a salad with chopped lettuce, shredded carrots and crumbled uncooked ramen noodles. Top it with ranch salad dressing. Make a broccoli-ramen slaw by grating raw broccoli and carrots. Crumble crunchy ramen noodles over the veggies, and toss with a creamy balsamic and herb dressing. Use the noodles with a Caesar salad kit. Break the noodles into small chunks, drizzle them with melted butter and sprinkle them with garlic powder and dry dressing mix. Broil the noodles in a conventional oven or toaster oven until light brown, and add them to the lettuce. Toss the lettuce and noodle bits with Caesar salad dressing and croutons, and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese.
Ramen Noodle Munchies
Break up uncooked ramen noodles. Add any combination of raisins, dried cranberries, banana chips, almonds, dried pineapple and mango chunks, peanuts and dried apricots to make trail mix. Spray small chunks of raw noodles with a butter-flavored popcorn spray and sprinkle them with popcorn salt, cheese-flavored popcorn topping or dry ranch dressing mix. Add rice or wheat cereal squares, pretzels and peanuts to uncooked ramen noodles. Spray them with butter-flavored popcorn spray and season the mixture with mild chili powder or ranch dressing mix.
Cooked Ramen Noodles
Cook ramen noodles without the included seasoning. Combine the cooked noodles with prepared three-bean salad and add Italian dressing. Toss the hot noodles with Caesar salad dressing and sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese. Mix pesto sauce with cooked ramen noodles. Top a bowl of cooked noodles with prepared chili that you've heated in the microwave. Drizzle cooked noodles with melted butter, then mix in shredded cheddar cheese and milk. Pop the dish into the microwave, and heat it until the cheese melts.