Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad

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This Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad has become a classic in our family over the years because it’s so incredibly good! It’s packed with fresh produce, and the perfect thing to make during the hottest days of summer.

Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad | Get Inspired Everyday!

I’ve been making variations of this Vietnamese Noodle Salad for over a decade now. We never get tired of these vibrant flavors, and it doesn’t hurt it’s so easy to make as well. It features some of the best early summer produce, and you’ll find it on our table most weeks.

This salad is packed with produce, so it really is best to make during the summer when things are plentiful. I usually make it a day or so after my weekly visit to the farmers market. I always have loads of produce right after market, so these noodles are a natural choice!

Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad | Get Inspired Everyday!

Let’s talk variations and substitutions:

  • The ground turkey or chicken can be swapped out for ground pork or even beef, although that’s my least favorite. You can also grill chicken thighs and cut them into bite sized pieces. Or the other thing we do is to keep the meat out of the noodles, and then serve it a a salad/side to something grilled.
  • For the mixed greens I just buy whatever they have at farmers market. So you can really use any type of lettuce, or mix of greens you’d like here.
  • The recipe calls for basil, cilantro, and mint which I’ll admit is a lot. However if you have an herb garden or access to affordable herbs in the summer, definitely use all 3 when you can. Whenever I make this outside the peak season, I just choose 1 herb. I usually go with cilantro because it’s the most affordable from the grocery store.

Ok… now let’s jump in and make this Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad!

Fresh veggies prepped for the Vietnamese Rice Noodles!

First up I like to prep all my veggies and other ingredients before cooking the meat and noodles.

Sautéed ground turkey for Vietnamese noodles!

Next cook the meat and let it cool slightly.

Tossing the Vietnamese rice noodle salad together!

For the noodles, they cook quickly and can go from done to mush so keep and eye on them. The vermicelli noodles I use say to add them to boiling water, turn the heat off, then let them sit for 3 minutes.

You stir them a couple of times, and then drain. My key step for a good rice noodle salad is to rinse the noodles with cold water. This cools them down and stops the cooking process so they don’t turn to mush in your salad.

Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad | Get Inspired Everyday!

From there all you need to do is toss it all together and eat!

Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad | Get Inspired Everyday!

If you’re lucky enough to have some leftovers, they’re pretty good for lunch the next day. Depending on the type of greens you use, they might be a little wilted. But I can say that’s never slowed me down because these are just seriously tasty!

So I hope you’ll enjoy this salad as much as we have! If you do make it, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. And I always love hearing from you here. Or over on Instagram where you can tag me at #getinspiredeveryday with your photos.

And for more Asian inspired noodles, try my Creamy Avocado Rice Noodles with Salmon.

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Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad | Get Inspired Everyday!

Easy Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad


  • Author: Kari
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This super easy to make salad is loaded with fresh produce, and it’s the perfect combination of light and refreshing, but still filling for hot summer days!


Ingredients

Scale

Salad Veggies:

4 cups mixed greens, roughly chopped

2 cups grated carrots, 1/2 pound, 3 or 4

1 cucumber, quartered and thinly sliced, 8 ounces

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, green part

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup chopped basil

1/4 cup chopped mint

Sauce:

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup coconut aminos

2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, or rice vinegar

Meat and Noodles:

12 Teaspoons avocado oil

1/2 pound ground turkey, chicken, or pork

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 Tablespoon fish sauce

2 Tablespoons coconut aminos

18.8 ounce package rice vermicelli noodles, cooked according to package instructions


Instructions

Prep all the veggies, then place them in a large serving bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce, then set it aside.

Place a large 9″ cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add 1 teaspoon of the avocado oil, (add more if needed) along with the ground turkey. You won’t need the oil if you use ground pork.

Sauté the meat breaking it up into small bits. When it’s almost cooked, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the fish sauce and coconut aminos, stir to combine then turn off the heat. Let the meat cool while you cook the noodles.

Bring a large pot of water to boil, then add the vermicelli rice noodles. Stir, turn off the heat and let the noodles sit for 3 minutes.

Stir a couple of times while the noodles cook. When they’re just tender, drain them and rinse under cold water until chilled to stop the cooking process. 

Add the drained noodles to the salad ingredients, along with the cooked meat and sauce. Toss to combine, then serve immediately.

  • Prep Time: 25
  • Cook Time: 5
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keywords: Vietnamese Noodle Salad, Vietnamese Vermicelli Noodle Salad, Vietnamese Noodle Salad Recipe

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