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.
Tanya C. says
I have three kids, and it’s often difficult to please all three at meal time. THIS recipe is one of their favorites – all three of them! I have made this several times now. We use three pkgs of Ramen noodles because they love noodles so much, and I usually use the veggies you suggest, or just throw in what we have in the fridge. It’s delicious every time! Thank you for the recipe!
Olya says
That’s amazing, Tanya! I am so impressed!
Linda says
Omg so good. Did shrimp instead. Also added red pepper flakes and more sirachi sauce and another red sauce to make it hot for my son and I. We like it hot. Also doubled the sauce.
Olga says
Sounds like you nailed it, Linda!
Callie says
I know there is a racha in this so ofc it is at least a little bit spicy but on a scalp of 10-10 how spicy is it 10 being suuuuupef spicy
Olga says
No, not at all. I would say it’s almost a 5 on the spicy scale:) of up to 10 being the most spicy.
Sherry says
If I use frozen veggies, would I thaw them first or could I steam them? How would you recommend cooking this using frozen bag of veggies?
Olga says
Do not thaw them, Sherry. Frozen veggies aren’t as firm as fresh, so they will cook much faster.
Carolyn says
I used Rice noodles because that’s what I had on hand. I also substituted the beef for ground turkey and added kale and it was amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe – it was very adaptable with items I had on hand.
Olga says
Ground turkey is perfect! very good idea.
Suzanne says
Made this tonight. Super simple and tasty! I made extra sauce and added a couple bags of frozen stir fry veggies – that’s what we had on hand. Will most definitely make his again! Thanks for sharing!
Donna says
Thank you for this recipe. We loved it!!
Olga says
Thank you Donna!
CLE says
I tried this last night and it’s pretty tasty. I think 2 packs of noodles is a lot for 1 pound of meat. So next time I’ll use one 3oz packet. And try an alternative to the soy sauce. Otherwise it was simple and quick to make.
Amelia says
Are you cooking the sauce or just whisking it in a bowl?
Olga says
Just whisking!
Dionne says
Made it without the scallions and sriracha. Put the veggies in the food processor because my kids don’t like most vegetables. Was a big hit!
Olga says
I knew it would be great even without sriracha!
Rachel says
Needed something different to make with ground beef tonight and this was a hit! Nice to have an easy to follow recipe using ingredients we typically have in the house. Only change I made was doubling the sauce and noodles, and we didn’t have any broccoli so I threw in some edamame! Thank you!!
Olga says
I liked how you threw in some edamame there!