Back in my college days, I loved Ramen and I still do! I’m not a ramen gatekeeper and so while I do love fancier versions, I also love the tried-and-true basic (cheap) ramen. I thought it would be fun to write about FOUR easy and wonderful variations that you can use to jazz up your normal ramen noodle bowls!
Not only are these ramen variations incredibly cheap but they are an easy way to clean out the pantry.
Even though I’ve been out of college for literal decades now, I still like to revisit my old friend Ramen every once in a while (at least once a week).
Of course, there is nothing wrong with the standard ramen, but if you are feeling bored, these are worth the (slight) extra work!
What kinds of ramen do I buy for my home?
In short, I’m not a purist when it comes to ramen. I’ll take any and all and usually have a few different varieties in my pantry. I really love the Shin variety of ramen and have recently been testing some other brands on TikTok.
But, no matter what, I probably have a few bags of old-school Maruchan chicken ramen in my pantry.
Tips for making an excellent home ramen
Generally, I find it helpful to “amend” the spice pack that comes with most ramens with a little extra fat which I think is lacking in store-bought ramen packs. This could be a a knob of butter, a drizzle of oil, or even a small spoonful of coconut oil.
Other than that, just make sure you keep your liquid level at the right ratio for what you are doing. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a soupier ramen so I’ll leave more liquid in and sometimes I’ll strain off almost all the liquid in the pot for a creamier noodle version.
When it comes to the spice packets in most ramen, I find them to be pretty salty (which is the idea) but you may not want to add ALL the flavor packet to your bowl. Start with half or 2/3 of it and then taste and adjust.
Let’s dive into the variations!
Ramen Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 package ramen noodles, plus spice packet
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup broccoli florets
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1 cup spinach
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon hoisin sauce
- Sesame seeds, garnish
Instructions
- Cook ramen according to instructions in boiling water.
- In a medium skillet over medium heat, add olive oil. Once hot, add broccoli florets and cook until bright green and still slightly crisp. Add scallion and spinach and toss to cook.
- When ramen is done, use tongs to pull noodles from water into the skillet along with any water hanging on. Toss to combine along with soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Add half of the ramen spice packet to start.
- If ramen seems too thick, add a little more cooking water to thin it.
- Serve immediately garnished with sesame seeds.
Nutrition
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This Vegetable Ramen Stir Fry is fantastic way to clean out the pantry a bit as you can use pretty much any veggies that you have.
For this version I used 1/4 of a red onion, a few broccoli florets, and a handful of spinach. I started by sauteeing the onions and broccoli in 2 Tablespoons (about) of olive oil.
Once they started to get soft, I added my Ramen spice pack to the veggies. Once the veggies are cooked but still have a bit of a bite to them, drain your cooked Ramen and add it to your veggies. Stir everything together and add a little hoisin sauce and soy sauce to make a sauce.
If you wanted something creamier, you could try:
Ramen Carbonara
Ingredients
- 2 strips bacon, chopped
- 1 large egg yolk
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 packet ramen noodles, plus spice pack
- Fresh Parsley, garnish
Instructions
- Cook ramen according to instructions.
- Add chopped bacon to a small or medium skillet over medium heat. Cook, rendering out the bacon fat, until bacon is crispy.
- Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolk, parmesan cheese, black pepper, and half of the ramen spice packet.
- When bacon is crispy and ramen is cooked, use tongs to move the noodles to the skillet with the bacon. Turn heat down to low and toss to combine.
- Add ¼ of ramen cooking water to the egg mixture, whisking quickly, to temper the eggs. Then remove the bacon and noodles from the heat and stir in the egg mixture. Toss to combine.
- Continue to toss to thicken the noodles and and sauce. Taste and adjust for your preference. You can add a little more of the spice packet if you want it saltier.
- Serve while warm with fresh parsley.
Nutrition
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Again, this one is pretty simple. I chopped up about 2 strips of bacon and rendered it in a pan. You shouldn’t need to add any oil as the bacon fat will render out. Meanwhile, I make a quick carbonara mixture with egg yolk, some parmesan cheese, black pepper, and half of the seasoning ramen packet (you can use more if you like).
When the ramen is done cooking, add it to the bacon in the skillet along with a little cooking water. Remove it from the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture. If it’s too thick, add a little more water to thin it out.
The third way I like to make Ramen is similar stracciatella recipe!
Ramen Stracciatella
Ingredients
- 1 package ramen, plus spice packet
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup spinach
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook ramen according to instructions. When done, drain off some water, leaving about 2 cups of water for a soupy ramen. Add spice packet to the soup.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together egg with parmesan cheese.
- Turn heat down to low on ramen and when it is at barely a simmer, whisk in egg in a slow stream.
- Finally, stir in spinach and stir until it is wilted.
- Transfer ramen soup to a bowl and serve warm.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
The key to this recipe is to use a bit more water than you normally would to cook Ramen. This should be pretty soupy. Get one egg and lightly whisk it with 1 Tablespoon of grated Parmesan. Also, I like to add a handful of spinach leaves.
When you Ramen is done, add your spice packet and make sure it is mixed in well, then add your egg mixture and finally the spinach. Stir it together and the egg should form little strands. It is a very good noodle soup.
For yet another twist on ramen, you can make my viral Peanut Butter Jar scrap variation even if you don’t have the tail end of a peanut butter jar!
Jar Scraps Peanut Butter Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 near-empty Peanut Butter Jar, About 2 tablespoons PB
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- ½ inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon chili crisp, optional
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ packet ramen seasoning
- 1 packet ramen noodles
- Scallions, garnish
- Sesame seeds, garnish
Instructions
- Cook ramen noodles according to package by simmering in water. Reserve 1/3 cup of the cooking water.
- In a near-empty jar of peanut butter (or add 2 tablespoons peanut butter to a bowl or jar), add soy sauce, chili crisp, sesame oil, honey, grated ginger and garlic, and 1/3 cup of hot water from ramen. Put on lid and shake well. Use a spoon to scrape off any PB from the side of the jar.
- Drain ramen noodles and then pour in Peanut butter sauce from jar into the hot pot with the ramen. Stir to coat and toss well. If sauce seems too thin, continue to stir off the heat for 1 minute and it will thicken up.
- Transfer noodles to a bowl and top with scallions and sesame seeds.
Nutrition
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This was originally a recipe I came up with for my jar scraps series on Instagram, but you can adapt it to make a great ramen variation even if you don’t have the tail end of a peanut butter jar!
Check out the full Jar Scraps Peanut Butter Noodles Post here.
I used all chicken-flavored Ramen for this post but any flavor variation should work just fine.
Do you have any interesting ways to spice up Ramen? Share them in a comment!
- BONUS Ramen idea! Use ramen as a base for a delicious steak salad with ramen noodles!
Robin
My husband would love this post. That is his staple whenever I can't get home to make dinner. I can't even stand the smell of it, but these actually look pretty good. Maybe I will surprise him one day.
your stupid
wow, do I hate you and your stupid ways
ROBIN >:(
Al blank
You are a rude little punk. If she can’t stand the smell that’s okay.
Niki
I love ramen!! And actually one of my favorite ways to eat it is dry and crunched up like chips. I love using it in other recipes and will have to try some of these.
Geoff
That's a blast from the past. I definitely ate some Ramen Au Naturale in my day. Once I got older than 12 or so, I almost never used the spice (salt) packet though!
Miriam
My husband's only dish is a mixture of ramen, cooked frozen vegetables, and a can of chicken. Most of the time he just eats it raw.
I have to say this post makes it look much more appealing than either of those actually is.
Karolinka27
Nick! You've left off my favorite–Ramen Noodle Coleslaw. Basically it's a standard coleslaw tossed with an oil and vinegar dressing. You use the ramen spice packet to flavor the dressing and then you break up the ramen into bite size pieces and mix with the coleslaw salad before serving to add a little crunch and excitement to the salad. Um it's amazing.
Too bad ramen is on the expensive side here in Bulgaria… a whole loaf of fresh made bread is less than a packet of ramen.
Jedidiah
Then toast up the bread.
Andrew
I used to know this fat guy that always kept dry ramen and a jar of peanut butter by his bed. A fat HAPPY guy.
Nick
Thanks for the comments and different options everyone! I figured I was leaving some out. I guess I'm not the only one who eats ramen dry. Good to know…
JohnD
Nick – I, too, used to eat raw ramen in college. Many were disgusted, others just confused. But you, good sir, have validated it as an official means to ramen consumption. All you doubters can suck it! Thanks buddy.
Jamie
Ramen is a really good topper to a regular salad. It gives it a good crunch! I also love the raw noodles with a little seasoning.
Kelly
About the uncooked ramen… I used to live in Malaysia when I was a kid, and I definitely remember a brand of ramen noodles that were meant to be eaten straight out of the package! They were a bit crispier than regular uncooked ramen, and the seasonings were already loose in the bag; all you had to do was crunch it up a bit, open the bag, and eat! It was one of the most popular snacks at my school at the time. This post definitely brings me back!
dre
Mamee was the brand! It was so good
The Hungry Mouse
Totally creative! I love it! (Perfect ideas for these penny-pinching times we live in.) :D
+Jessie
Healthy Delicious- L
my husband loves stir fry with ramen. he calls it "beef wang chung" lol
Mama Taney
Sorry for the late reply to this one. We don't eat Ramen often anymore, but how can you resist sometimes?? One way we DO eat it though is this one:
We get the Oriental Ramen, make up 3 bags worth (I never make it as a soup, I boil the noodles, drain, and then add the seasoning & butter to the noodles) and then mix in some shrimp and a bag of frozen peas & corn. I tend to add some extra teriyaki sauce to it all, just for more flavor, letting it all sit on the pot for a few minutes warming and blending. It is super quick "cooking", very easy, and actually quite yummy.
I know you could use fresher ingredients, rather than a bag of frozen veggies, but this is just a super-quick and convenient way to make it.
Natalie
Wow. I sort of forgot about ramen…i use to eat so much of it- and i guess i really thought i was like, too good, for all that sodium now- but, i gotta say, all of these look really, really good.
Recession cooking:
Ur doin it rite.
Thanks Nick. I'm definitely going to try these out.
plm
This was such a good post, thanks! My favorite way to spice up ramen is by mixing the flavoring packet with some peanut butter, garlic, chili powder and a little white vinegar in some of the pasta water. I'll usually toss in some stirfry veggies, too. kind of like a spicy-peanut dish.
ps, I was ridiculed my freshman year of college for eating ramen like a candy bar.
Lydia
Raw ramen was *the* in thing to eat in the 5th grade at Fremont Older Elementary.
Brady
Try this one:
Oriental ramen cooked with a little extra water to make it soupy. add a table spoon creamy peanut butter and a teaspoon of asian garlic chili paste (not sarachi).
Beloved
About five years ago, during a period of desperation since I was a newly-wed and we weren't rich by any means, I longed to find a new way to make ramen noodles. First, its a shame this wasn't around then. Haha. Second, however, my husband decided to share with me a secret, the secondary way the Japanese eat ramen noodles. Apparently they get just as bored with the concept sometimes too. He made me up a bowl of beef flavored ramen boiled in milk. It's iiiincredibly creamy and delicious albeit pretty rich so eating a whole bowl can be too much depending on your tastes. Later on, I added french fried onions to it, the crunchiness along with the noodles and the creaminess is just incredible. I hiiiighly recommend that. Bravo for these recipes, I'll have to try them too!
IFortuna
This sounds great and creamy. I would not have known to do it this way. Thanks or the tip!
Brittany
My family never had any money growing up, so we used to make beef flavored ramen noodles with some ground beef and sour cream. Its a delicious spin on beef stroganoff!
A friend of mine uses oriental flavored ramen noodles, ground beef, shredded carrots and cabbage, its also delicious!
Ani
OMG so this is, like, 4 years late, and you’ll never read this comment, but I swear to God I never thought I’d find someone else who made stroganoff with ramen. It is one of the hideous things my mom used to make when we were kids, and it has a special place amongst those hideous things — being that it is the only one I still eat. It freaks people out, so I eat it secretly.
Nick
Ha! Thanks for the comment Ani. I can see how ramen stroganoff could work. :)
Jenny Loveridge
Hot and Sour Ramen is my favorite. I make a mix of 1 part vinegar (white or rice wine), 1 part soy sauce (or teryaki sauce), 1/4 part Srirachi and 1/4 part sesame oil. I keep a squeeze bottle of this in my fridge at all times. A couple of squirts and some veggies makes some delicious soup.
Nick
Good idea!
Tania
Hi Nick, I only found this post today and could not resist commenting, my kids love to eat what we call "2 minute noodles" on a Saturday and actually think its a big treat. depending on the brand we buy, they will either use the spices or not. Usually they just toss it with some really great locally produced virgin olive oil and some freshly ground salt and pepper. I cannot get myself to even try it, but I have to say after reading your post today I might just attempt it ;-)
pS. my son also eats the uncooked noodles while waiting for the kettle to boil
Anna
I Absolutely love these recipies, and as a college student, though I AM taking a Culinary Arts 2yr Diploma Prgram XD!!!!!!……… This I agree, could come in very handy, and keep you sustained as well as being at least marginally nutritional^^. Granted, yes, there are Ramen Noodle snack made for kids these days.. but those are already fully cooked. My only concern that I wold like to mention to you is that, eating raw Ramen noodles, like chips, uncooked, can possibly cause worms. Word to the wise, I have actually been told this by my family doctor because i used to eat them like mad as a kid in elementary school>.< I loved the taste of them, but was warned that it is a concern if they are overly consumed raw. Now, a little bit of it raw i okay every once in a while, and wont hurt. Theres an actual recipie that my Aunt uses that is quite good. It a type of "asian" coleslaw.^^
Asian Coleslaw:
-one bag of premade store bought colslaw ( or you could make your own)
-one package of any flavour Ramen noodles
– 5TBSP soya sauce
-3TBSP canola oil
-2 TBSP regular or cider vinegar ( the cider vinegar gives a ver distinct taste, I recommend^^)
-3 TBSP sugar
1. Crush Ramne noodles up in bag. Remove spice packet.
2. Mix together spice packet with last four ingredients( either whisk or shake in a container until thoroughly mixed)
3. Sprinkle crushed noodles over coleslaw and drizzle with dressing.
4. Serve and enjoy.^^
Fran
I have a question…and I feel bad that it’s sort of “off topic” but I’m sure readers would like to know about this. How can ramen “give you worms” if it doesn’t have any worms in it? I mean if eating a little bit is okay–like a little bit of worms are fine?–then you can eat a lot of it, when it comes to whether you’ll get a parasite from it–I’d imagine there’d be an epidemic of parasites and the CDC would get involved and it’d be a big mess. But if, by “worms” you simply mean food poisoning, that would only occur if the ramen were mishandled in some way, and then there would be an “outbreak” of a huge number of people getting sick, and once again, the authorities would get involved…At which point the offending ramen company would have to recall all its ramen. I don’t remember any “ramen food scare” but if there was one I apologize. I just thought people would like to know that you might have gotten some “misinformaton” or be mistaken or whatever, I’d hate to see people stop eating ramen because of an unsubstantiated rumor of contamination…
I don’t want to offend anyone, I just thought this needed to be said.
Fran (former government chemist working on food contamination issues)
jack
As far as I’m aware, most ramen is deep fried during manufacture to keep it solid in the packets, so the threat of worms is highly unlikely (granted there are some un fried ramen, but that’s nowhere near as common)
whitneycarter
Awesome ideas! As one confined to eating a lot of ramen by that evil thing called a budget, I say thanks!
meowmeow
I love uncooked ramen. <3
Michael
I love them for the same reasons as others here. I get creative when it comes to cooking ramen noodles. I love to add cheese to them along with stuff like cut up hot dogs, or other meats, or scrambled eggs, or fried eggs with the runny yolks. Also like throwing cut up onions in a frying pan and adding ground beef and other ingredients, like someone else mentioned like a stir fry. The possibilities are endless when it comes to ramen noodles. Not much into the seasoning packets that come with them, instead I like adding my own seasonings and sauces. They are also great to make with almost any soups, stews, etc.
jewels
heres how i eat them everytime. (they are my fav food) i cook them an put the seasoning in then i put some worcestershire sause init. start off with a lil then keep adding till u like it. it gives it more flavor an spices it up. ITS YUMMY!
bria
try adding basil and thyme to the water before you heat it then heat the water it makes a diffrence that everybody notices
Dennis
Ramen noodles rule! I used to eat them dry with the seasoning too.
Sue Tyler
I had surgery a few years ago and had trouble standing up long enough to actually cook much of anything. I am not a fan of raimen or canned pasta. I am a make it yourself kind a gal. I was about to starve to death when I found a package of homemade meat marinara sauce in my freezer. [My neighbors brought me the Raimen] I made Great spaghetti in short order. A bit different taste but I stll make it occassionally when in a hurry. Canned sauce works too…and anything you want to add like oysters, mushrooms, any veggies, chicken in place of beef, I use pork sometimes too and make a chili verde dish. Works pretty much for anything you desire. I have even been known to add a can of chili to it. I do not eat it raw but my grandchildren do. Great with sprinkling of powered cheese or sprinkled on a cookie sheet and covered with grated cheese according to them. They make their own spice packages too…Mexican, Italian, German, I mean, these girls even eat peanut butter sandwiches with mustard…lol
Hi
Roman noodles burritos- you need Roman noodles, shredded cheese, salsa and flour tortillas. Cook the noodles, drain the water, mix in cheese and salsa. Heat up tortillas, add Roman noodles mix and enjoy
Darla
i brought raw ramen noodles for snack in 6th grade . everybody thought i was wierd until they tried it . at the end of 6th grade , almost everyone in my class where the teacher allowed snack brought ramen noodles . we were only allowed to bring snacks because in 6th grade , our lunch period was at like , 1:00 p.m. im a freshman now and i always keep a plastic bag of it in my book bag
monica
Wow… the stracciatella sounds really good! I’m definitely going to try that. :) Also, the last one made me laugh. I used to do that as a kid too… (and actually, still do sometimes… *shhhhhh*) I saw at the asian market little packages called “Noodle Snack” and it was basically ramen noodles with the flavour packet already mixed in. Total marketing gimmick and a way for the company to charge twice the price for half the portion. But I can see how it would work as it gives people “permission” to eat ramen as a dry snack (weird) but since it is labelled as a “snack” people won’t feel as odd about it. LOL. These are the snacks: http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Mamee-Monster-BBQ-Noodle-Snack-p/cmameebbqzez.htm
doug
try wetting the noodles shake off the excess water , then brek into pieces. srinkle the spice pack onto the pieces evenly. then microwave for 1 minute. take em out and shake em. microwave for another 20 seconds and then shake them up again, repeat 2 or 3 times untill they are to your liking. they will turn into crispy and delicious little chips.
Chris
All of these recipes would probably taste so much better if they used the rapid ramen cooker! I got mine online and it works great you should get one to its Amazing!
Sherry
Those are some good ideas! It’s been a while since I had a ramen diet. I might have to do a little reminiscing!! I’ve got a couple ramen hacks. Boil the noodles with some corn, do not drain, and then top off with the flavor packed (chicken) and some salsa. The other is a quick tuna casserole. Boil and drain the noodles, and in another pan warm up a can of tuna with cream of celery soup and some peas, and then combine. Both got me through plenty of lunches and dinners.
DeLinda
A recipe I made for my kiddos:
fry: onions, ground beef, chopped red pepper 1/2 ramen beef flavor packet
boil: ramen noodles & drain, add rest of flavor packet
chop ice berg lettuce (like taco style) and tomatoes
shredded Xtra sharp cheese & sour cream & guacomole
stack dish: lettuce, noodles, ground beef mixture, tomatoes, cheese,guaco, sour cream
Ramen Taco…yummmm
Allison
Made the creamy ramen noodles for my boyfriend and he loved it! :-)
Gay
I just love your recipes. And these using Ramen Noodles are great. I had some leftover Ramen the other day and decided to make them into a pizza crust. I drained them, mixed with some garlic powder. I have an AirFryer and it has a little container with sides to cook in about a 4″ square. I put the Ramen in the container and cooked for about 10 minutes. I should have cooked them longer to get them harder but they were sticking together good. I had a little pizza sauce and cheese left from my grand-daughter’s Lunchable so put them on the Ramen. Then I added some pepperoni, chopped onion, chopped jalapeno and fresh grated Parmesan. I cooked this for about 10 minutes or till the top was brown. OMG it was so good. I may try it again soon and add some Parmesan to the Ramen and cook in the oven. I think the Ramen would be sticky enough to hold a shape for the first cooking. MMMM so good!
Keyla
Interesting! Never thought to do this. Very creative and might have to try it!
Sandra
My husband used to make a big pot of soup with ramen. He would boil a big pot of water and add cut up meat , (beef, chicken or pork) whatever we had leftover in the fridge, add the flavoring packets, then add 4-6 ramen packages. Everyone filled their bowls with the soup. He had an assortment of add-ins. He had cut up green onions, mushrooms, then there was bean sprouts and sliced hard boiled eggs. Top with soy sauce or teriyaki sauce and the kids loved it.
Keyla Morris
So I make ramen (soup) different ways. We like tiny pieces of steak on ours. I always cook bowls of peas & carrots, mushroom & onions, corn, sometimes Brussels sprouts and occasionally dice up some potatoes and garlic. I fry them all up and put them in separate bowls for people to add to their soup as they choose. Also, always hard boiled eggs and red pepper flakes and seasonings to to choose as well. It is a hit at my house (which has picky eaters!) But everyone loves being able to “choose” what they like in theirs.