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The easiest way to make instant ramen better is to treat that little seasoning packet as a starting point, not the whole recipe. A splash of milk, a spoonful of cream cheese or brie, a little curry, even a glug of Sprite (?!?!?!) can turn a plain pack of instant noodles into something you would happily order out for. These are the 13 instant ramen hacks I keep coming back to. Most of these instant ramen recipes start with Shin Ramyun, but they work with whatever ramen noodles you’ve got.
There will always be a special place in my heart for instant ramen (thanks, college), and while a pack of Shin Ramyun is great on its own, sometimes you want to spice things up. From curry to cheesy to Sprite, these are my favorite ramen hacks I have picked up over the years, and a jammy ramen egg on top never hurts. Hope you enjoy, and let me know on IG if you try any of them!
1. Curry Ramen Hack
The other day I was craving curry udon, but I was also feeling lazy, so I started experimenting with some extra cups of Shin Ramyun I had lying around to see if I could find an easy way to make something similar 👨🔬
I first tried mixing dashi, water, curry cube, and the ramen seasoning packet, but it turned out WAY too salty. So I kept removing things and trying again until I found that all you actually need is the water and curry cube for the perfect cup.
Let me repeat that… DO NOT USE THE RAMEN SEASONING PACKET 🤣 It’s way too salty, even for cup ramen standards.
You can season it with other things like chili powder or togarashi if you want to add a kick, and topping possibilities are also endless. I like chopping up some green onions and/or pickled ginger, and you can also cook some chicken to throw in if you want to get fancier. My goal was to just make something unbelievably easy and quick, so I left it pretty plain.
Get the full recipe here
2. Creamy Brie Ramen Hack
The best decision you’ll ever make is to put brie and milk into your @nongshimusa Shin Ramyun! 🍜
You get the creamiest instant ramen ever, and it’s become my new obsession. It’s rich, spicy, and cheesy in all the best ways, and I have a feeling I’m going to be making this on the regular going forward!
Get the full recipe here
3. Cheesy Rice Ramen Hack
This ramen hack is absolutely ridiculous in all the best ways 🤯
You get this mixture of noodles and rice with a creaminess from the milk, spiciness from the seasoning packet, and lots of delicious, gooey cheese. ‘Nuff said.
Get the full recipe here
4. Spicy Ramen Spring Rolls
Would you eat Spicy Ramen Spring Rolls? They’re so easy to make, and are packed with flavor!
I LOVE @buldak_global noodles, and you get the spicy flavor from them, plus the mozzarella is the perfect complimentary piece to counteract some of the spice.
I also threw in some Sour Cream & Onion Lays for some crunch, but you can also use French’s Crispy Fried Onions (comment “shop” and I’ll link you on Amazon).
Get the full recipe here
5. Garlic Olive Oil Ramen Hack
This garlic olive oil ramen hack is SO good! 🤯
You’re basically just mixing olive oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes into a @nongshimusa Shin Ramyun with a little less water than normal.
You get this rich, velvety smooth texture from the olive oil, and it’s loaded with flavor from the garlic and seasoning packet. I like it really garlicky, so 4 cloves is great for me, but simply use fewer if you want it less strong.
It feels more luxurious than an instant ramen should haha. I’m not sure I’d do this all the time, but occasionally it would be a delicious change of pace! 😋
Get the full recipe here
6. Sprite Ramen Hack
We recently stumbled across the viral Korean ramen hack, which basically uses Sprite and a few other ingredients to soak the noodles, and guess what…. it was ACTUALLY really good! 😋
I was seriously skeptical at first, but I’m glad I gave it a shot.
The combination of Sprite and Korean plum syrup gives the noodles this amazing citrus, sweet, and tart flavor, while the sesame oil adds a touch of nuttiness, and the seasoning packet provides a savory spiciness to round it all out. 🍜
These flavors are all surprisingly complimentary of each other!
The only thing that sucks is that it takes about 30 minutes for the noodles to soften when soaking in the Sprite, so it’s not exactly “instant” ramen, but if you don’t mind planning a little ahead, it’s totally worth it.
Get the full recipe here
7. Spicy Ramen Hack
This incredible spicy ramen is super quick, cheap to make, and is sure to warm you up this fall and winter!
I’ve been making and posting a lot of creamy ramens recently, which are amazing in their own way, but I wanted to try something different. This recipe uses more of a Korean flavor profile with the nuttiness of the sesame oil and the delicious spices from the gochugaru (red chili pepper flakes) 😋
You can use any ramen or udon noodles you have on hand, either instant or frozen, I used a pack of Shin Ramyun, and it turns out great.
Note: I’ve been fine-tuning this recipe after making the video, so if you noticed that I didn’t use sesame oil in the pan, or that I only used a tsp of sugar instead of a tbsp, you’ve got a good eye! But the linked recipe is my most current 😃
Get the full recipe here
8. Creamy Peanut Butter Ramen Hack
This Shin Ramyun hack is AMAZING, and it’s probably my second favorite next to the brie ramen hack I posted not too long ago 😋
If you like Thai peanut sauce, you’re going to love this hack! It’s the perfect combination of creamy, spicy, peanutty, and coconutty (I’m pretty sure those last two are not real words 😅).
I forgot to do this, but you should add in some crushed peanuts for texture, and even some cilantro.
It’s super quick and easy, and I definitely recommend you give it a try!
Get the full recipe here
9. Cream Cheese Shin Ramyun Hack
Would you put cream cheese in your Shin Ramyun?? 🤯
This hack is a super easy way to upgrade your ramen with just two extra ingredients, cream cheese and milk 😋
Cheese always goes well with spicy ramen, so combining the cream cheese with the milk to create a thick cream sauce, and then adding in the spicy seasoning packet from the Shin Ramyun makes for a rich, delicious bowl.
The recipe I used is linked below, but you may want to try adding a little more cream cheese and milk to make more sauce if you prefer it more saucy.
Get the full recipe here
10. Cheesy Ramen Fried Rice
Would you eat ramen fried rice COVERED in mozz?! 🤯
I saw this @nongshimusa Shin Ramyun hack floating around IG and thought I’d give it a try… and it’s super good!
It’s a lot of cheese, and you definitely don’t need that much if you were to make it at home, but it looks SO awesome when you lift the ramen cup and the melted cheese drips down over the fried rice.
The fried rice has bits of the crushed ramen noodles mixed in, and the seasoning packet + Sriracha give it some added spice and flavor.
Get the full recipe here
11. Spicy Buldak Omelette
I got the idea from a video I saw of a street vendor in Taipei selling scallion oil noodle omelettes using instant ramen, and thought a spicy version would be amazing. And it was!
I like pan frying the @buldak_global noodles with the 🍳 for a little longer so you get some of that char flavor from the sauce really cooking onto the noodles, but you can do it for a little shorter if you’d rather.
And the mozzarella on the inside takes it to another level. There’s just something about cheese with Korean flavors 😋
Get the full recipe here
12. Crispy Ramen Toast
I can’t be the only person who, back in college, used to crush up instant ramen in the bag, pour in the seasoning packet, shake it all up, and eat it like chips?! 😋
This is kind of like that, but taking it a step further with @kewpieusa Mayo and sugar!
It’s funny because when I was living in Japan, Japanese McDonalds had a menu item called shaka shaka chicken, which was basically like a big chicken nugget that you put in a paper bag with a seasoning packet and shook it to coat it. That’s what that ramen snack used to remind me of haha.
Get the full recipe here
13. Spicy Garlic Mayo Ramen
Auntie Rana’s gifted me a few of their pantry staples, and their Naga Garlic Mayo has instantly become one of my favorite ingredients! Not even exaggerating at ALL.
It goes well with almost everything: burgers, sandwiches, pizza, a dipping sauce for asparagus, broccoli, and other veggies, and even ramen! 🤯
It’s inspired by South Asian flavors, so it’s truly a unique experience. It’s a little spicy from the Naga chilis, which originate from India’s Seven Sisters region, and it’s packed with umami and a bit of tang to finish it off.
And Auntie Rana’s donates 5% of their profits to wildlife conservation, so they’re a brand I can really get behind for even more than just how delicious their pantry items are.
Get the full recipe here