Pink glass noodle salad
Vietnamese food just always hits the spot. Whether it’s a quick lunch at the office, at uni, or at home—Vietnamese cuisine is and remains one of our all-time favorites. And sure, if you live in Berlin, you’ve got it good: the next Vietnamese restaurant is never far. But with today’s recipe, you can bring those restaurant vibes straight to your home. No matter where you are.
Because let’s be honest—so many of the dishes we’re always ordering can actually be suuuper easy to make at home. The best part? You can tweak the recipe exactly to your own taste. Just like with a glass noodle salad. For us, it’s an absolute go-to and ready in under 20 minutes. Perfect for your next lunch break. Just grab whatever’s in your fridge, mix up a fresh dressing, and your bowl is ready to go.
Our little meal prep tip: If you’re making your glass noodle salad the day before, pack the dressing separately and add it just before eating—that way everything stays nice and crisp.
And the pink glass noodles? Yep, a little bit of a gimmick—but honestly, just really pretty! Especially in summer and perfect for putting leftover beet juice to good use. It naturally turns the noodles pink and adds a little wow factor to your lunchbox. If you’re opening a whole pack just for this: slice the beet into thin strips and toss it into the salad. Or make a quick beet gazpacho or beet mango tacos the next day. Bottled beet juice works just as well, by the way!
And psst: This recipe is already a real classic—but we gave it a little summer 2025 makeover. Don’t worry, we barely touched the original recipe.
Glass noodle salad can be done in less than 20 minutes, and you can use all kinds of salads and vegetables from your kitchen to combine with a fresh dressing. If you prep this dish for the next day, we recommend to store the dressing separately and only add it right before serving to keep the salad as fresh as possible. The pink glass noodles are just a fun gimmick on top: maybe you sometimes use pre-cooked beetroots from a jar and usually drain the liquid directly, but you can use that to natural dye your glass noodles and impress your colleagues, friends or buddies from the university!
Pink glass noodle salad
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) glass noodles
- 1 package or jar precooked beetroots
- 1 small mango
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 cucumber
- 20 g cilantro
- 1 small yellow bell pepper
- 100 g fresh spinach
- 1 small red chili
- 10 g (0.33 oz) ginger
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp rice syrup (or agave nectar)
- 2 tbsp water
- white and black sesame for serving
Instructions
- Soak glass noodles in hot water for approx. 3 - 5 minutes, then drain and add to a bowl. Toss with 1 tsp sesame oil until coated.
- Open the package or jar full of beetroot and save the juice in a cup. Add juice to the cooked glass noodles and stir until the noodles change color and turn pink.
- Slice mango and avocado. Cut cucumber, bell pepper, and fresh spinach into stripes. Pluck cilantro leaves from the sprig and finely chop them.
- For the vinaigrette, finely chop chili and ginger and add to a bowl along with lime juice, remaining sesame oil, rice vinegar, water, soy sauce, and rice syrup. Stir to combine and season to taste.
- Serve pink glass noodles and vegetables in a bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette on top and sprinkle with cilantro, white, and black sesame.
