Easy Ramen Bowl

Want an upgrade from instant ramen? These easy ramen bowls can be made in less than 20 minutes and have so much great flavor!

These easy homemade ramen bowls make for a delicious dinner for two (though you can absolutely double the recipe). I’ve included my favorites for the vegetables and garnishes, but feel free to customize your ramen noodle bowls! I’d love to hear how they turn out in the comments below.

Should I Use A Packet Of Ramen?

Packages of ramen noodles, the kind that comes with the seasoning packet, are so inexpensive that I like to keep them just for the noodles for nights when I need a super quick dinner.

The seasoning packets contain loads of sodium and additives, so I like to make my own seasoned broth instead.

Some grocery stores carry nice ramen noodles without the packet of seasoning, but I’ve found them to be pricier than the kind many of us ate in college. If you have an Asian market nearby, you will likely have more options.

The other thing that you can use for ramen is regular dry spaghetti pasta that you turn into ramen noodles using a simple baking soda technique. If you’re doing this, you’ll cook the pasta separately, not in the broth, and then add it to the broth for a few minutes so it can soak up the flavors.

Making Easy Ramen Broth

The easy seasoned broth is simply tamari sauce and toasted sesame oil mixed with chicken or vegetable stock. Together they make an incredibly savory but light broth that pairs well with so many ingredients. 

Tamari is very similar to soy sauce, but I like it so much better. Both are made from fermented soybeans, but tamari has a more complex, rounded, and almost teriyaki-like flavor that is less salty as compared to soy sauce, which is much more salt-forward and bold. 

Toasted sesame oil has so much rich, dark flavor. If you only have sesame oil, not toasted sesame oil, you can use it but it won’t have that flavor we’re after. I’d therefore consider toasting some sesame seeds and adding those as a garnish to your finished bowls to try to approximate that.

How To Make Ramen Bowls

To make this easy Ramen Bowl, add the broth, tamari, and toasted sesame oil to a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Add the ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet) and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally to separate the noodles.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the spinach, which will wilt from the heat of the broth.

Divide the broth and noodles evenly between two bowls, then top with your favorite vegetables. I like to use a combination of fresh cucumber, green bell pepper, and carrots along with sliced mushrooms. You can absolutely switch up the veggies with your favorites though.

Add a halved hard-boiled egg to each bowl, then top with green onion and sesame seeds.

Ramen Noodle Bowl Shortcuts

This ramen bowl recipe lends itself to lots of shortcuts, too!

Sometimes I’ll buy the bagged, shredded carrots found in the produce aisle and the hard-boiled eggs from the deli. I also sometimes will use a rotisserie chicken, shred the meat, and add it to the noodle bowl too. With those convenient ingredients, and the spinach leaves, dinner is ready in essentially the time it takes the noodles to cook. I love that! Enjoy! -Christine xo

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