17 Best Ramen Recipes With Interesting Ingredients To Add To Instant Noodles
Upgrade your noodles.
getty Whether it was a favorite post-night out food or a go-to cheap dinner for rent week, ramen holds a special place in all our hearts. But finding the best easy ramen recipes and instant ramen recipes are difficult to do. How do you turn your ramen into a slam dunk with fresh ingredients?
With a couple of simple things to add to ramen, you can make a brick of instant ramen into a downright fancy meal. Here are 17 easy ramen noodle recipes for a slurp-worthy supper.
It would be rude to talk about ramen add-ins if we didn't start with the mother of them all: the soft-boiled egg. Boil for just six and a half minutes to give your ramen a creamy, dreamy boost.
You need just 4 ingredients — the soft-boiled eggs, soy sauce, mirin, and water.
Spike your ramen with Sriracha for a spicy pick-me-up.
This version is done in 20 minutes and also adds scallions for color.
3. 5-Ingredient Ramen With An Egg
This is a good beginner foray into ramen-doctoring. All you need are some frozen veggies, butter, Parmesan cheese and an egg, and it takes about the same amount of time as just making the ramen alone.
If you haven't tried miso paste yet, it's time. It's a salty soy bean mixture that adds umami flavor to your food, not to mention a ton of health benefits.
5. David Chang's Ramen Cacio e Pepe
This genius little recipe comes from David Chang, the famed chef of Momofuku Noodle Bar fame.
You melt cheese in simmering water and then drop the ramen brick in.
The ramen will absorb the cheese-water mixture and cook into an al dente cacio e pepe pasta dish in about three minutes.
6. Chrissy Teigen's Dump and Done Ramen Salad
Yes, celebs can't get enough of ramen noodle recipes either! Chrissy Teigen first had this crunchy salad at her sister's baby shower in Iowa, and calls it a "magical delight." And it really is as easy as dumping a bunch of stuff in a salad bowl.
Ingredients:
3 packs Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles
1 (12 oz) package of broccoli slaw
1 cup of frozen peas
3/4 cup canned corn kernels, drained
1 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup roasted sunflower seeds
7. One Pot Chicken Veggie Ramen
No matter how busy you are, no matter how lazy you are, I promise you can make this stir-fry.
You throw the ramen noodles in a pot with some chicken, veggies, spices, and water, and wait 20 minutes.
That's it. And it's delicious.
8. Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles
Can you get Chinese takeout in under 10 minutes? Probably not, but 10 minutes is all it takes to make this version of sesame noodles.
Ingredients:
6 oz. of ramen noodles without the flavor packet
2 tbsp. pure sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp. peanut butter
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
½ tsp. grated fresh ginger root
It might seem like we're getting awfully ornate here, but this tangy version is ready in half an hour and costs under $3 a serving.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb frozen peeled & deveined shrimp (51/70 size)
2 packs (3 oz. each) ramen noodles
2 Tbsp sriracha
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 lime
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions
Handful fresh cilantro
10. Spicy Ramen Noodle Mac and Cheese
Two classic comfort foods together! It's so genius, it's kinda shocking you haven't made ramen mac and cheese already. What are you waiting for?
4 (3 oz.) packages of instant ramen noodles (noodles only)
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. flour
1½ cups milk
1 (8 oz.) package (2 cups) Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
2 tsps. Siracha sauce
½ tsp. salt
11. Skillet Beef & Broccoli Ramen
Another quick stir-fry. If you're the type to order lo mein instead of fried rice, this 20-minute easy ramen recipe is right up your alley.
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil separated
3 tsps minced garlic separated
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce separated
1 Tbsp. Italian flat leaf parsley
3/4 lb flank steak
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup oyster sauce
4 cups broccoli florets
2 packages (3 ounces each) ramen noodles
Salt and pepper
12. Ramen Pad Thai
This isn't exactly authentic pad Thai, but here’s the thing: authentic pad Thai is hard to make. This will satisfy your craving, and you probably already have all the ingredients you need.
Ingredients for the sauce
1/3 cup chicken or vegetable stock (or water would even work in a pinch)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce (if you don’t have this, just use 2 tablespoons of soy and omit the fish sauce)
3 Tbsps brown sugar
3 Tbsps natural style peanut butter
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (if you don’t have this use white vinegar or 2 Tbsps lime juice and omit rice wine vinegar)
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp Sriracha or thai chili sauce (depending on your spice tolerance)
1 tsp minced or grated fresh ginger (you can omit or use 1/2 tsp of ground ginger if you don’t have this)
1 tsp minced garlic
Ingredients for the Pad Thai
4 ounces of noodles, cooked to package directions and rinsed
1 tsp olive oil
1 large egg, beaten
1 chicken breast, cubed
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut in half
1/2 cup bean sprouts
13. Ramen Noodle General Tso's Chicken
Okay so this recipe is actually a little extra. It involves dredging and frying chicken, but come on. How good would ramen noodles be in a spicy-sweet General Tso's sauce? You gotta go there.
Sauce Ingredients
Cornstarch
Garlic
Sugar
Soy Sauce
White Vinegar
White Wine
Chicken Broth
Chicken Coating Ingredients
Soy Sauce
Egg
Cornstarch
Other Ingredients
Chicken
Green Onions
Vegetable Oil
Peanut Oil
Broccoli
Ramen Noodles
Salt/Pepper
For those dedicated to that set-it-and-forget-it life, there's a ramen for you. Get the slow cooker working on your chicken and broth, throw in the ramen noodles for the last five minutes, et voila!
Chicken breasts
Yellow onion
Garlic
Chicken broth
Soy sauce
Seasoned rice vinegar
Unsweetened soy milk
Sliced mushrooms
Noodles
Ginger
Black Pepper
And of course, no cooking trend piece is complete without mentioning instant pot ramen recipes! This is restaurant-quality ramen made in 20 minutes. You're welcome.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. of sesame oil
1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
3 cloves of garlic minced
8 oz fresh mushrooms sliced
1 whole 3-4 pound chicken giblets removed and discarded
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
8 cups of water
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 oz of dried ramen noodles
1 large carrot peeled and grated
1 cup of thinly sliced baby spinach
16. Breakfast Ramen
Ramen for breakfast! This is basically bacon, egg and cheese, made into a noodle dish. What's not to like?
Ingredients
2 ramen packs (noodles only
4 slices bacon, chopped into 1/2-in pieces
2 large eggs
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
2 scallions, sliced
Sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)
1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
And for the truly ramen-obsessed, here's a ramen dessert. Add the raw noodles to a traditional apple crisp recipe for a little extra crunch.