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An easy favorite comfort food recipe – Ramen Noodle Bowls are a crazy tasty 15-minute dinner. Everyone can build their own bowl with their favorite mix-ins and toppings.
You know those days when everyone is tired and hungry, and the fridge is empty? Those are the days you need a quick meal that is delicious, nourishing, and easy enough to throw together in 15 minutes flat.
You need some ramen.
What Kind of Noodles Do You Use For Ramen?
Your choices are pretty endless; there are so many great options! Udon noodles are a thick and chewy noodle that will add extra hardiness to your soup. Soba noodles are made with buckwheat and will add a bit of nuttiness to your ramen noodle bowl.
You could also easily buy your favorite brand of ramen soup, ditch the flavoring packet, and just use the noodles. I buy the Lotus Foods brand from Costco because the price is fantastic (cheaper in person). They also happen to be gluten-free so if that is your jam, check them out.
How to Make Easy Ramen Broth
There are loads of homemade broth recipes that can make your ramen noodle bowls rival those of an authentic noodle house. But, if you’re like me and live in a wee little town with a #basicAF grocery store, many of those items can’t be purchased locally.
For these noodle bowls, we’re rocking:
- broth of your choice* (veggie, beef, pork, shrimp, or chicken (related: How to Make Chicken Bone Broth))
- soy sauce (use coconut aminos or tamari for gluten-free peeps)
- toasted sesame oil (heaven in a bottle)
- Miso paste (white, yellow, or red. Basically, whatever you can find)
- Minced garlic (meal prep hack: freeze your own garlic!)
How to Make Homemade Ramen Noodle Bowls
In a large pot, bring your broth to a boil. Add the soy sauce, garlic, miso, and sesame oil. Cook for two minutes to soften the garlic.
Add the noodles, and reduce to medium heat. Use a fork to start breaking them apart after 1 minute. Cook for 3 minutes for “al dente” noodles, or 4 minutes for a more thoroughly cooked noodle.
Transfer to bowls and add your favorite toppings! Slurp happy my friends.
Ramen Toppings & Variations
Gosh, there are so many things you can put in your noodle bowl! And that is why my kids love when this soup is on the menu because they can make it just how they want it.
Protein:
- Beef
- Chicken
- Pork
- Shrimp
- Tofu (related: Air Fryer Tofu)
- Eggs (most people prefer soft-boiled “jammy” eggs, but my kids are too picky so I do full-on Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs)
- Gyoza/ air fryer pot stickers
Veggies:
- Green onions (related: How to Freeze Green Onions) or Pickled Shallots
- Cabbage
- Shredded carrots (related: How to Freeze Carrots)
- Mushrooms
- Peppers
- Green beans (related: Freezing Green Beans)
- Snap peas (related: How to Freeze Peas)
- Cilantro
Misc.
- Chili oil
- Chili flakes
- Sriracha
- Curry paste
- Sesame seeds
- Bonita Flakes
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Don’t overcook the noodles unless you want a mushy cloudy broth. I’ll even turn the heat off after 2 minutes of cooking to keep the noodles super firm. The hot broth means your soup will continue to “cook” for a bit even off the heat.
- If you have kids and everyone wants to eat at the same time, adding a splash of cold broth or ice cubes to their bowls will help cool soup for the littles.
- Do yourself a favor and cut up the noodles for your kiddos to prevent an excessive mess. We use our kitchen shears which are used about 10 times a day in our household. These shears are a parent’s dream.
OTHER RECIPES You’ll Love
Homemade Ramen Noodle Bowls WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS
One serving of Homemade Ramen Noodle Bowls has 2 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Homemade Ramen Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 8 cups broth
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 noodle “cakes”
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring your broth to a boil. .8 cups broth
- Add the soy sauce, garlic, miso, and sesame oil. Cook for two minutes to soften the garlic2 tbsp miso paste, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the noodles, reduce to medium heat. Use a fork to start breaking them apart after 1 minute.4 noodle “cakes”
- Cook for 3 minutes for "al dente" noodles, or 4 minutes for a more thoroughly cooked noodle.
- Transfer to bowls and add your favorite toppings!2 green onions
Notes
- Don’t overcook the noodles unless you want a mushy cloudy broth. The hot broth means your soup will continue to “cook” for a bit even off the heat.
- If you have kids, adding a splash of cold broth or ice cubes to their bowls will help cool soup for the littles.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this last night and it was delicious! I didn’t have miso paste so I had to improvise a bit but it was SO good!
Awesome! Miso paste is a nice to have but not necessary kind of ingredient. Glad you were able to adapt to your needs and preferences.
Made this last night with smoked turkey stock and left over turkey. Delicious. Added some sriracha for spice and chopped ginger and turmeric for health. I forgot about the jammy eggs but did them afterwards for leftovers. For your readers, the most foolproof way for my jammy eggs is a steamer basket over boiling water. Put the eggs in, covered, for 7 minutes. Take them out and immediately put into ice water. Peel like a dream and enjoy.
That sounds awesome Lesley and I LOVE the addition of smoked turkey stock!!
How did the whole traveling and cooking thing work out this year?
It went okay but we were too stuffed to eat at my in-laws other than samples of everything. I picked my baked turkey before we left and threw it in the crock pot for stock. That went into a gumbo the next day. Then I just loaded up the smoked turkey carcass and made another batch for the ramen. Earlier that day, we had gotten into a “discussion” on how I need to do more things for myself (you know, other than running the house and taking care of the kids while he’s out of town except for weekends for the entire holiday season). As he was making his gravy, he told me he miscalculated how much flour he needed. I saw him grab a cup of flour but I figured he had it because you know, he does everything for himself. Of course I had to rescue him by adding more fat then taking out part of the roux.
And I used shirataki noodles in place of beloved ramen.
Yum!!
Just made a vegetarian version in about 20 min.  I used Trader Joe’s Miso Ginger broth and added more white miso. Deeeeeee-lish!  Thank you!
I have never seen that broth before Monica; I’ll definitely have to track it down! So glad you enjoyed it.
Your photos are looking so freaking amazing! I just ate lunch and the photo with the pot stickers and eggs made me super hungry for soup!!
Another option for super lazy people (ahem, me) is to keep bullion cubes on hand. There are some decent lower sodium options out there that actually taste good. I’ve been relying on them a lot lately.
I need to print this one out and keep it handy. Thanks for doing all the hard work so I can just make good food!
Awwww thanks Tina! Troy helped by being my hand model.
I use Better than Bouillon (organic, Costco) for when I just need a little bit of broth and don’t want to open a whole jar of broth!
I’M IN! FEWER THAN 400 mg of salt, with a whole lot of flavor and whatever veggies and protein I want? YAY!! I am doing the turkey tomorrow, so soup won’t be far behind and this.sounds.great.
It should be even lower if you use reduced sodium soy sauce and a low/no sodium stock!
Hey there. I’m a college student who is teaching himself how to cook all his favorite foods to save money. First off, thanks for posting this and giving me the inspriation to finally try it, but this recipe was a little harder than it’s made out to be.
The reason why is because there is no measurment for how much broth should be used in the pot, and no estimate of how much noodles should be used in comparison to the broth. So I ended up with no soup and all noodles. The broth had “dried up” when I was done with the cooking.
You should add a distinct measurement for how much broth should be used as well as how many noodles.
Hey! I don’t have the measurements on there because everyone is so different. If you had four packages of ready made ramen, and four people, you’d see four very different bowls produced. I used to eat mine almost dry, whereas someone I went to school with loves hers with enough broth to kill and elephant.
The best part about cooking is learning what YOU like, and how you like it. It might take a bit more experimenting, but personalizing something for your tastes is a reward in and of itself!
I see. Thanks for the speedy reply. I’m definitely in the “enough broth to kill a small dog” category. Next time I think I’ll try a full box of broth and half a pack of noodles, rather than the other way around (lol). Back to the drawing board.
You inspired me to make ramen for dinner last night! I added a spoonful of miso paste to the chicken broth, some bonito flakes, spinach, mushrooms, onions and cracked an egg in at the last minute to poach it. Pretty tasty.
Oh, I just love miso! But I don’t buy it, because I wouldn’t use it quickly enough before it went bad.
ROFLMAO!!!!!!!!! I have had my “deep down belly laugh for the day, thank you very much. I almost spit my coffee out when I read the “title”. I had people down my hall at work asking “What’s so doggone funny?!!?!?! This will be a giggle day for sure! Thanks Sarah!
Thank you for coming through for me! I often forget that while the Internet is a great thing and has opened a lot of doors for me, it can also be an absolutely terrible place. And today was one of those days, so I thought, “Maybe Sarah has something useful and/or hilarious written up today.” Turns out, I was right. When I saw “Mangina” in the title, I immediately started laughing.
Thank you.
PS I also really do like the recipe, but I think the comfort came from the post, not from the soup for me today.
Well I’m glad to be able to help! ;-D You can always count on me for mangina references. I hope your day gets better!
My husband spent TWO DAYS curled up in the recliner moaning under a pile of blankets with his “Terrible sickness”. Didnt.move.a.muscle.
I handled the house, both kids (2 and a newborn), errands, etc., plus babied him the entire time. 2 days later, I came down with the same bug. Puked once, had a heartache, felt kind of sore, and still managed to do all of the above.
Bunch of babies, these men!
Troy threw his back out 8 days after Jack was born. I had to take him, by myself to get circumcised, and then rush back to to take care of a screaming baby. And Jack too! ;-D
Not to mention, I had a busted up britney, was wearing a pad the size of a sleep number bed in my underwear, and couldn’t quite figure out how my boobs worked.
Good times.
Hahahahaha! I am so sorry you are sick, and that Troy is, too!–But I just had to laugh at your description. Right after I gave birth, there was a big thing on the news about an infant who had an umbilical cord infection and needed one of those pressurized oxygen rooms they use for people who have “the bends” to heal it, and I was calling the doctor’s office, worried, because, indeed, my child’s umbilical cord wasn’t looking so hot even though I had religiously swabbed it with alcohol. When they FINALLY told me to come in, the nurse took one look and said, “Ohhhhh! That IS red!!” We moved six weeks after I had a c-section, and I was exhausted. That awful baby poo leaked out all over me and my ONLY clean outfit. I sat down, called my mother and wept, “There are TOO MANY ORIFICES!!! And they ALL need something IN THEM or cleaned OFF THEM!!”Adding to that, my wee one had closed tear ducts which led to infections. Sheesh. By my count, the baby had six orifices, I had four and my husband had one, so that made 11 attention seeking orifices. Wearing discs the size of coasters over my nipples did nothing to make me feel any better than the sleep number bed you describe, either (I was sporting a different brand).
Oh my gosh, what an ordeal! Sounds like your husband was a real “trooper”. LOL
Bennett had closed tear ducts too. So much gross goop all the time!
Laughing so hard right now! You slay me.
-Ohio Girl