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.
Veronica says
This was easy and delicious! I added some chopped tomatoes just before serving added some flavour contrast. Will be adding this to meal rotation.
Olya says
Thank you Veronica! I love your flavor contrast!
Debby says
Made this tonight and we all loved and and they kept saying you can make this again!! I’m going to try what some of the other comments said! Like water chestnuts, diced carrots and maybe some diced celery!! It was a wonderful recipe!!
Olya says
Thank you Debby! Definitely try it with variations – variety is key!
Cammie says
My kids love this and request it often. Also, it’s so versatile so I add whatever veggies I have on hand. Thanks for sharing!
Vwilliams says
I made this tonight, turned out very good, used steak instead of ground beef, delicious! Next time I’ll add baby corn, cause i love those and i think mushrooms would be good. Thanks for the recipe. First time making Asian food and it went well!
Olya says
I love skirt steak with this as well!
Carol says
Second time making this. I use frozen stir fry veggies. It comes out great. It has snow peas ,broccolli, baby corn. Mushrooms peppers and carrots. We love this recipe! It’s so easy and delicious
Olya says
Thank you Carol! Easy is important!
Brenda says
I made this, but I used chicken instead with chicken Ramen noodles, it was delicious, for a little zing I put a little sweet and sour sauce on mine right before eating my serving.my husband loved it.
Olya says
Sounds delicious Brenda!
Krystal Edwards says
I have been making this for awhile now, my best friend always asks me to make this dish when we get together. It is such a tasty and easy recipe. <3 Thank you for sharing.
Olya says
Thank you Krystal! I love that your best friends asks for what is best:)!
Kirs says
What noodles did you use ??
Olya says
I used regular packet ramen noodles – curly ones.
Harlee says
Can you make this without the Siracha and vinegar?
Olya says
You can use lemon juice (or squeeze 1/2 of fresh lemon) instead of the vinegar. As far as making it without sriracha – crush 2 cloves of garlic and add some spiciness of your choice (can be chili sauce, red pepper flakes, fresh hot pepper, etc.).
Jacklyn Evans says
Could you do the same thing with chicken instead of beef?
Olya says
Yes! Absolutely!
Rita says
Added fresh peas at the end and was terrific. We are huge fresh veggie folks and peas are our favorite. Thank you for sharing. Absolutely a quick,easy and healthy recipe.
Olya says
Love fresh peas addition to this recipe!