This easy, under-30-minute Vietnamese noodle salad is light, refreshing, and served cold, making it perfect for the warm summer months. This Asian noodle salad features vermicelli noodles, carrots, cucumbers, bean sprouts, and herbs that are tossed together with nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce). The vermicelli noodles are made from rice flour, so this Vietnamese salad is naturally gluten-free.

The best part about this Vietnamese noodle salad recipe is that you can easily customize it with whichever protein, vegetable, or spice level you’d like!

Ingredients

You can find all of the ingredients for this Vietnamese noodle salad at your local Asian or Vietnamese grocery market. Full measurements and links to the ingredients I used are listed in the recipe card below.

• Vermicelli Noodles: are thin, delicate rice noodles that are the base of the Vietnamese noodle salad. See my detailed post on how to cook vermicelli noodles for an in-depth instructional guide.
• Bean sprouts: add a mild, earthy flavor with a crisp and refreshing texture.
• Cucumbers: for the best flavor and no peel time, use Persian cucumbers for the more refreshing bite.
• Carrots: add another textural contrast, color, and sweetness to the Vietnamese salad.
• Green Onion: adds a mild onion flavor with subtle hints of garlic.
• Cilantro: adds a bright, citrusy, complex herbal flavor to the vermicelli salad.
• Mint: adds a fresh, aromatic, peppery and refreshing herbal flavor.
• Thai Birds Eye Chili (optional): if you love a little extra heat, add one or two Thai birds eye chili.
• Fried Shallots: Adds textural contrast and savory umami flavor. You can buy them premade or fry them fresh at home.
• Vietnamese dipping sauce, also known as nuoc cham. This dipping sauce pairs well with almost everything in Vietnamese cuisine. You can find my recipe for nuoc cham here.

Substitutions and Additions

You can play mix and match by adding or substituting ingredients in your Vietnamese salad with the following suggestions:

• Vegetables and Herbs: lettuce, tia to (Vietnamese perilla), Thai Basil, culantro, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), kinh gioi (Vietnamese lemon mint)
• Do chua: or Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon add an extra tangy crunch.
• Peanuts: for more textural contrast.
• Sambal: Add a teaspoon or tablespoon of sambal oelek for extra heat.

How to Make Vietnamese Noodle Salad

Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make this Vietnamese noodle salad recipe.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the vermicelli noodles and cook for the time on the package. Strain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Set aside to cool.
2. Chop up the cucumbers, carrots, green onion, cilantro, and bird’s eye chili. And prepare the Vietnamese dipping sauce.
3. Place the noodles, bean sprouts, cucumbers, carrots, green onion, cilantro, mint, bird’s eye chili, fried shallots, and Vietnamese dipping sauce in a large mixing bowl and combine.

4. Serve the Vietnamese noodle salad immediately and enjoy!

Storage Instructions

Vietnamese noodle salad is best enjoyed immediately. However, you can store any leftover noodle salad in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Ideally, it would be best to store the vegetables, noodles, and Vietnamese dipping sauce in separate containers.

Reheat: The vermicelli noodles may dry out and harden in the refrigerator over time. Microwave covered with a few drops of water sprinkled over the noodles until warm, and then let it cool to the right texture and consistency.

FAQ

What type of noodles do you use?

For this Vietnamese noodle salad recipe, use thin rice vermicelli noodles (bun). They are made from rice flour and water, which makes them naturally gluten-free. You can find them in the dried noodle aisle at any Asian grocery market.

Do I serve this noodle salad hot or cold?

Cold. The vermicelli noodles need to be rinsed with cold water until cold, and then combined with fresh vegetables and herbs for a refreshing salad.

What kind of sauce do I serve with it?

Nuoc cham, or Vietnamese dipping sauce, is the go-to dressing to accompany this Vietnamese noodle salad. It is made with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic, water, and sambal.

What proteins can I add to it?

You can pair this Vietnamese vermicelli noodle bowl with any protein dish such as bun thit nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork noodles), Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, Vietnamese egg rolls (cha gio), or Vietnamese pork chops (suon nuong).

Vietnamese Noodle Salad Recipe