This bacon broccoli salad with ramen marries the delicious taste of bacon with broccoli and romaine lettuce making this salad a definite crowd pleaser. The crunch of the ramen offsets the sweet dressing for a perfect combination. This dish is one that is constantly requested and simple to prepare!

My mom always enjoyed making different kinds of salads. I watched her in the kitchen and tried to imagine how she came up with all of her combinations. We are big broccoli and bacon eaters in our house, so throwing these two main ingredients together was a no-brainer.

When trying this dressing out, I experimented with how to make it a few different ways. One of the main things I did was continuously change up the amount of sugar used. Some recipes call for more than what I use, but I find that the excess sugar never fully blends when mixing. Towards the end of it’s shelf life, the bottom of the bottle is pure sugar! Plus – I find that it doesn’t alter the taste at all to take some of it out!

Ingredients for Bacon Broccoli Salad with Ramen

• 1 Lg. head of Romaine
• 1 Lg. head of Broccoli
• 1LB bacon, cooked
• 2 Packages Ramen Noodles
• 4 TBS of butter, melted

Dressing

• 1 cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1.5 TBS Soy Sauc

Where to Start

The first thing you need to do is cook the bacon- it is the most time consuming part. I lay all my raw bacon on a baking sheet and place it into a cold oven. Then set the oven to 350 degrees. (This is also the temperature you will need to brown the ramen pieces.) Next, set your timer for 15 minutes. There are times I have kept the bacon in as long as 22 minutes before – it just depends on your desired crunchiness. This specific recipe calls for crunchy bacon! Once the bacon is done cooking, pull it out and place it on paper towels to cool and drain the grease.

The next step is to break apart all the ramen. Once broken, pour the ramen into a bowl with the melted 1/2 stick of butter. When both ingredients are in the bowl, stir until fully combined and all the ramen is coated. Next, spread evenly on a new baking sheet and pop into the oven. The ramen should get a nice light brown toasting on it. Turn on a timer for 10 minutes. When the time is up, pull out the baking sheet and give the noodles a good stir. Leave them on the baking sheet to cool.

The Salad Dressing

While the ramen is cooking, I put all of the ingredients for the salad dressing into a big bowl. Whisk, use an immersion blender, or hand blend to completely combine all the ingredients. When that is completed, put the dressing in a container that has a lid. The reason for this is because when the dressing sits, the ingredients like to separate and it will need a good shake to reincorporate before pouring into a serving dish or over the salad.

What is an immersion blender?

An immersion blender is a kitchen tool used for blending soups, sauces, and other liquids. It is basically a stick with blender blades at the end of it. The reason I like to use it on this dressing is because it makes the dressing a little creamier – it makes the liquid a littler more frothy than just hand-mixing. It is purely personnel preference! The one we use to cook is this one.

Preparing the Final Product

Now that the baking portion is done, chop the romaine and broccoli into bite-size pieces. Add these two ingredients to a big bowl and stir to combine. Next, chop the bacon in small pieces. Finally, add the bacon and ramen and stir.

The best thing to do is put the dressing on JUST before serving. When having a gathering, put the dressing in a little serving dish so that your guests can add it themselves when they get their salad. If you pour it over a salad that is not eaten right away, it makes the ramen soggy and it wilts the romaine a lot quicker.

This salad is a favorite in our house. When I put bacon on anything, my kids go for it. I make it, put it in a Ziploc bag and it saves for up to three days in the refrigerator. It’s a delicious salad that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

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