Craving a saucy and tasty ramen noodle stir fry? Try our recipe with carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, snap peas, and homemade stir fry sauce!
The short answer: boil the ramen briefly, drain it, then stir fry with vegetables and a homemade sauce. Throw the seasoning packet away and use soy, sesame and a little sugar instead. Thirty minutes.
Upgrade your boring ramen packets!
Like stir fries? Try our teriyaki Chicken and Broccoli or Ham Fried Rice next time.
Jump To
- 🛒 Ingredients To Make Ramen Stir Fry
- 🥘 How To Make Ramen Stir Fry
- How to make ramen in the microwave
- Making Ramen Less Spicy
- 📋 Pro Tips
- How to Use Chopsticks for Ramen
- Healthy Ramen Noodle Substitution
- Freezing and Storing Leftovers
- Add Your Favorite Protein
- What To Serve With Ramen Stir Fry?
- Hungry for More Noodle Dishes?
- Easy Stir Fry Recipes
- Did You Try This Recipe?
- 📖Recipe
- Before You Go
- Ramen Stir Fry Frequently Asked Questions
- You'll Also Like
- 💬 Comments
🛒 Ingredients To Make Ramen Stir Fry
- Instant Ramen noodles. Use fresh or curly ramen noodles. We like Maruchan, as these are the best-tasting, "cheap" ramen, in my opinion. Just follow the package instructions on how to cook them before adding them to the vegetable stir fry. You can switch them out with rice noodles, egg noodles, lo mein noodles, spaghetti noodles, or even zucchini noodles.
- Shimeji or shiitake mushrooms. Rinse and dry the mushrooms with a paper towel. You can cook them whole or sliced. Substitute idea: sliced baby bella or button mushrooms.
- Cabbage - Use Bok choy, baby bok choy, or Napa cabbage - all of these are popular ingredients for ramen stir fry.
- Cooking oil. I prefer toasted sesame oil.
- Bell peppers. Use red peppers, green or yellow bell peppers, or a mix!
- Garlic. Fresh, minced, or for a quick fix, use garlic paste.
- Snow peas or edamame. Fresh or frozen.
- Carrots - Cut into matchsticks or buy pre-cut.
- Garnish - We'll need green onions or scallions, sesame seeds, black pepper.
- Stir fry sauce - Use tamari or coconut aminosfor gluten free option. Note: Oyster sauce is not vegan/vegetarian; if this is important, look for alternatives online or in your local Asian grocery stores.
👩🍳 You'll find the complete list of ingredients below the recipe card.
🥘 How To Make Ramen Stir Fry
- Mix sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Cook the noodles as per package instructions.
- Drain, leaving some ramen cooking water aside for later.
- Cook the mushrooms until they release water. Add in the veggies, garlic and ginger.
- Pour in sauce, then add noodles.
- Serve with toppings.
Ta'da! Your easy and delicious ramen stir fry is ready!
How to make ramen in the microwave
- Pour 4 cups of water into a large microwave-safe bowl. Place ramen noodles into the bowl.
- We don’t need the seasoning packet in this recipe.
- Cover with a lid and microwave for 2-3 minutes until noodles are soft.
- Continue with the stir-fry instructions.
Making Ramen Less Spicy
Simply reduce or omit the chili flakes and ginger for a mildly-spicy ramen stir fry. Ramen does not have to be spicy at all.
📋 Pro Tips
- You don’t need extra salt or pepper since the sauce is salty.
- Cut your veggies into similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- I love adding miso paste gives extra flavor; use 1-2 teaspoons if you have it.
- Try rice flour ramen, soba (buckwheat), or kelp noodles for gluten-free ramen noodles. You can also find gluten-free ramen noodles in stores but double-check the ingredients to be sure.
- Try adding these veggies and extras: bean sprouts, water chestnuts, cashews, broccoli florets, green beans, and baby corn. You can also add protein: ground beef, pork, chicken, tofu, or almonds.
- Heat your pan or wok on high heat before adding oil. This stops veggies from steaming and helps stir-fry them instead.
PRO TIP: If in a pinch use frozen stir fry veggies!
How to Use Chopsticks for Ramen
Eating ramen with chopsticks might seem tricky because of the long, slippery noodles, but you can get the hang of it with a little practice.
Here are some tips on how to use chopsticks:
- Hold one chopstick like a pencil with your thumb and index finger near the top.
- Hold the other chopstick between your thumb, index, and middle fingers, with the tip resting on your thumb's base.
- Use your dominant hand's chopstick to pick up noodles and the other one to guide them into your mouth.
- Keep the bowl close to your mouth and slurp noodles gently to cool them and prevent them from getting too long.
Healthy Ramen Noodle Substitution
Low Carb Substitute: A healthy swap for regular ramen noodles is using zucchini noodles, which are also called "zoodles."
You can make them by spiralizing zucchini and using them instead of wheat noodles.
Other options are kelp noodles, shirataki noodles, and glass noodles made from mung bean or sweet potato starch.
Freezing and Storing Leftovers
- 🍱To Store: Keep leftover ramen stir fry in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- 🥶Freezing: You can freeze cooked stir fry for 3-4 months. Plain-cooked noodles can be frozen too, but since they cook fast, it's better to avoid freeze them.
- 🔥To Reheat: Reheat noodles in a skillet or microwave, but microwaving might make the veggies less crispy.
- For Meal Prep: Cook veggies and make sauce ahead, storing them in the fridge for 2-3 days. Then, on the day you eat, cook noodles and add everything together.
Add Your Favorite Protein
This ramen is satisfying on its own! But feel free to add your favorite protein if you like.
I like boiled or fried eggs, cooked salmon, tofu, ground chicken, or pork.
What To Serve With Ramen Stir Fry?
Ramen noodles are traditionally served in soups but since a long time ago they've become a popular stir-fry ingredient in countries like Japan, China, Indonesia, and Asia.
Ramen is served with vegetables and different condiments:
Toppings
To jazz up your ramen game, serve this stir fry with:
- green onions
- sesame seeds
- peanut sauce
- toasted nuts
- Sichuan pepper
- chili oil, red pepper flakes,
- condiments, especially fermented vegetables (Pickled Radishes, Kimchi, Taco Slaw, or Corn Relish).
Side Dishes
- Spring Rolls
- Satay
- Cabbage slaw
Hungry for More Noodle Dishes?
Try these readers' favorite Thai Drunken Noodles and Yaki Udon Noodles Stir Fry.
Easy Stir Fry Recipes
Ramen Stir Fry Recipe
📖Recipe
30 Minute Ramen Stir Fry (So EASY!)
Equipment
Ingredients
Stir Fry
- 2 packages of instant ramen noodles
- 1 cup shimeji, enoki or shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and dried with a paper towel
- 1 cup bok choy cabbage
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil, or sesame oil
- 1 cup bell peppers, sliced medium thin
- 1 heaping teaspoon of fresh garlic, minced or paste
- 1 cup snow peas or edamame
- 1 cup carrot, matchsticks
- ½ teaspoon ginger root, grated
For Serving
- green onion or scallions
- sesame seeds
- black pepper, optional
For Sauce
- ¼ cup oyster sauce, thick kind
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce, any
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or cajun seasoning
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients until they're all combined. It might look a bit separated because of the sesame oil, but that's okay. Just keep whisking until most of it comes together. Then, set it aside.1 teaspoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or cajun seasoning, ¼ cup oyster sauce
- In a medium or large pot, heat up about 4 cups of cold water until it starts to simmer. Once it's simmering, add the ramen noodles. Remove the seasoning packet. You can also cook ramen noodles in the microwave if you prefer.2 packages of instant ramen noodles
- When the noodles are done, take them off the heat and let them sit in the hot water for about 2 minutes to soften up. Then, drain them, but keep about 1 cup of the noodle water for later.
- While the noodles are softening, heat up some cooking oil in a big frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is really hot and sizzling, toss in the mushrooms and cook them for 2 minutes. After that, add in the rest of the veggies and cook for another 2 minutes. Then, add the garlic and ginger and cook until they start to smell really good.1 cup shimeji, enoki or shiitake mushrooms, 1 cup bell peppers, 1 heaping teaspoon of fresh garlic, 1 cup snow peas or edamame, 1 cup carrot, ½ teaspoon ginger root, 1 cup bok choy cabbage
- Turn down the heat and pour in the sauce. Stir everything together until the veggies are coated and the sauce gets a little thicker.
- Mix in the noodles and stir it all up. If it seems too dry, you can add a bit more.
- Serve your ramen stir fry right away in bowls with some fresh scallions, sesame seeds, and extra red chili flakes on top.
- Instead of chopping the veggies, you can also use a pre-cut coleslaw mix or frozen veggies.
Notes
- For a gluten-free version, try ramen made with rice flour, soba (buckwheat) noodles, or kelp noodles. You can also find gluten-free ramen noodles in stores, but check the ingredients to be sure.
- You don’t need to add salt or pepper to the ingredients except when cooking mushrooms because the sauce is already salty.
- Can you freeze ramen noodles? Yes! Cooked noodles can be frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw them in the fridge or under warm water when you want to use them. Reheat them in a pan with oil or in a stir-fry. Thawed noodles might become soft.
- Can you microwave ramen? Yes, you can cook ramen noodles in a microwave-safe bowl with water and seasoning for 2-3 minutes. But it might taste different from boiling.
Nutrition
Before You Go
If this recipe made its way to your dinner table, I'd love to hear what you thought! Leaving a ★★★★★ rating and review below helps other readers and supports the work I do here at Cookrita. Thank you so much for being here. ❤️
Ramen Stir Fry Frequently Asked Questions
It's mild as written. The heat comes from the chili flakes and ginger, so reduce or leave those out for a milder version, or add more if you like it spicier.
Yes. Frozen stir fry vegetables work well here and are a great shortcut when you're short on time, just cook them a minute or two longer to cook off the extra moisture.
Rice noodles, lo mein noodles, egg noodles, or spaghetti all work as substitutes. For a low carb option, try zucchini noodles, kelp noodles, or shirataki noodles.
You'll Also Like
Rita
Easy 30-minute stir fry ramen with vegetables.
Laila
Easy and quick ramen with vegetables! We like to add pork!
Rita
thank you Laila!