INGREDIENT NOTES: You don’t need to use chicken here if you don’t want to – or swap it for baked or hot smoked salmon, grilled shrimp or steak or you can leave it out and add more vegetables. Use a good-quality, natural peanut butter for the best flavor (peanut butter that lists only peanuts and sometimes salt in the ingredients). Any instant ramen noodles will do, just discard the flavor sachets (or keep them for another purpose). I’m using two packets (approximately 100g/3.5oz each).

SUBSTITUTIONS: Play around with the salad ingredients here as you see fit. Podded edamame beans or garden peas would be lovely, as would chopped asparagus or broccolini. Bell peppers are also lovely. It’s a great way to use up any odds and ends you might have hanging around in your vegetable drawer. Use another nut butter in the dressing if you like (almond and cashew butter are great too), or swap it for sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version.

PREP AHEAD: I recommend only adding the crispy ramen noodles and tossing everything with the dressing when you want to serve the salad. That’s because the ramen will soften as it sits in the dressing, so if you want that crispy crunch, you’ll need to keep the crispy ramen and the salad itself separate until you serve. The rest of the salad can be mixed a day ahead of time if you like. Any leftovers are still delicious, but you do lose the crispy factor so just keep that in mind, especially if you’re entertaining. 

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: This makes a lot of the dressing because I like to have extra for serving alongside the salad, so if you end up with leftovers, it keeps well for at least a week stored in the fridge and is LOVELY served with so many things – or just on toast! The salad will keep well for 4 days in the fridge, so it’s a great one for meal prep (though just remember the crispy noodles will lose their crispiness as they sit in the dressing).