How do you make healthy ramen noodles?
Do you like the instant ramen and the convenience they bring? But not so sure about all that sodium and MSG in its spice packet of soup stock? In that case, the answer is simple!
It’s time to make your own stir fry sauce! Because this ramen noodle recipe tastes better than anything in a packet! Besides it comes together as quickly as if you were using the ramen packets. So perfect for quick mid-week meal!
- First things first, you will need 2 packages of noodles to make the ramen noodle recipe. I used two 3 ounce packages in total.
- You will start by boiling the noodles. Only 2 minutes!
- While they are cooking, we will make the stir fry!
- Simply heat your vegetable oil in a medium skillet and sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and broccoli. Only enough to make them soft. I did it very quickly, about two minutes.
- Then, I removed the vegetables from the pan and added my ground beef.
- Once you cooked the beef, drain all its liquid and add back the vegetables.
- Now, prepare the sauce by adding soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and garlic.
- Finally, drain cooked ramen noodles and toss them in the beef with sauce!
- Top the noodles stir fry with chopped green onions or sesame seeds!
I added sauce and noodles at the same time.
What if I don’t like soy sauce?
COCONUT AMINOS. If you are not a fan of soy, you can easily replace it with coconut aminos. If you never cooked with coconut aminos, they are dark in color. Just like soy sauce. But unlike soy sauce, they contain far less sodium. Yet, they still have that salty, umami flavor of soy.
TAMARI. What about Tamari sauce? You will find it stronger in flavor than coconut aminos, but also less salty than regular soy sauce. If you are gluten free, you can use Tamari instead of soy. I used Tamari sauce in this Easy Chicken Stir Fry as well. Give it a try!
What kind of skillet do I need?
I like using a solid stainless steel pan, such as this 12 inch pan with a lid.
So next time you are reaching for something quick to eat, you know there is a healthier alternative! You can now make this healthy ramen noodles recipe for lunch. Or, dinner.
And, you can even add more spice. If so, add a bit more sriracha until desired heat is reached. Or, use less. You can also use sesame oil here, but I find its taste a bit strong. Therefore go slow on it. Start with ½ teaspoon only. So much better than instant Ramen packets! And so healthy!
I also encourage you to try 10 Best Pasta Recipes for more “noodle” ideas.
More delicious Asian recipes
Chicken Chow Mein Restaurant Style
Easy Thai Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Low Sodium Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Healthy Beef Ramen Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ head broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 6 oz ramen noodles, (2 packets with seasoning packets discarded)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Sauce
- ¼ c. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp. sriracha
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 scallion, (chopped)
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions, peppers, and broccoli and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Remove from the pan.
- Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink, 5 minutes more. Drain fat and return vegetables back to the skillet
- Make sauce: Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Sriracha, and garlic.
- In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add ramen noodles and cook until tender, 2 minutes. Drain.
- Add cooked ramen noodles to skillet and pour over sauce. Toss until completely combined. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Then garnish with scallions and serve.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Lily says
I have a recipe a lot like this so I thoroughly enjoyed this if so good but I changed it into vegan cause I’m vegan thank you so much!!
Debbie Carmichael says
I have made this several times with ground beef and we love it. How could you use chicken? What would you change? chicken broth and what spices? I frequently have leftover chicken that we have BBQ over the weekend.
Olga says
I would probably use skinless and boneless chicken thighs and cut them up thinly. But if you have leftover BBQ chicken, probably shred it and add more liquid (more broth).
Cheri says
The flavors are all off on this one. Need to change a lot.
Crissy says
This was delicious! I used 10 oz of ramen noodles, doubled the sauce, green onion instead of white and added carrots. I followed another reviewer’s suggestion and used sirloin steak instead of ground beef. Great recipe!
Olga says
Thank you Crissy, sirloin steak is such a good idea!
Émie says
Delicious!
Amy says
My family loved the flavor of this, but we all decided we’d want it with chicken or steak next time instead of the ground beef. Super easy to make and I will be adding this recipe to use again in the future. Thank you so much for sharing.
Olga says
Thank you Amy. Steak does sound pretty good.
BArbara says
I used the ramen noodles the first time I made this but I am ona low salt diet so am making it this time with rotini noodles……. hope it tastes as good….. wish me luck
Olga says
I’m sure it will taste great with rotini!
Loren says
How large is the serving size? Is the 394 calories for the whole meal, or per serving? Made this and absolutely love it!
Olga says
It’s per serving. I’m so glad you liked it!
Nancy Sugden says
Made this and will be making this more often.
Olga says
Thank you Nancy!
Tina says
My kids love ramen noodles! I will make this version for lunch today.