These healthy homemade instant noodles are an easy and delicious vegetarian lunch idea! Prep them in mason jars then just add water!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Miso paste – add in some extra soy sauce if you don’t have any miso paste.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best soy sauce substitutes.
- Chili garlic sauce – sriracha, Sambal Oelek or chili paste would all help add some spice.
- Shelled edamame – snap peas, green peas or fava beans would be good too.
- Carrot – try adding in some shredded cucumber or slices of celery instead.
- Red pepper – use any colour bell pepper of your choice.
- Red cabbage – napa cabbage or bok choy would also be yummy in these noodles.
- Green onions – scallions, diced red or white onion can be used instead.
- Cilantro – or another fresh herb like parsley or Thai basil.
- Vegetable bouillon cubes – chicken bouillon cubes would also work here.
- Ramen noodles – use an instant ramen pack from popular brands like Nissin Cup Noodles, Sapporo Ichiban or Nongshim Shin Ramyun. For even more flavor, try Tingly Chili Wavy Noodles.
How to make instant noodles
Step 1: Add seasonings and veggies to a mason jar.
Add miso paste, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce to the bottom of each mason jar, then add some edamame and divide the veggies evenly.
Step 2: Top with noodles.
Top with 1/2 a bouillon cube, then half of each ramen noodle packet.
Step 3: Add boiling water.
Store in the fridge up to 6 days. When ready to serve, add hot water overtop, filling almost to the top of the jar and let sit for 5 minutes until it has a soup consistency and the bouillon cube has turned into broth.
Step 4: Dump into a bowl and dig in!
Stir and toss everything together, then pour your ramen soup into a bowl and serve. If you'd like them a little hotter, microwave for 1-2 minutes after pouring in boiling water.
More flavour options
Ramen is a staple for college students, but with a few extra additions, you can make into a full delicious meal! Looking for more variations for your instant ramen noodles? You can mix and match with different seasonings and add-ins until you find a specific flavor combination you love. Here are some more ideas:
- Seasonings: Fresh garlic, minced ginger, sriracha, hoisin sauce or even a dash of teriyaki
- Veggies: Baby corn, snow peas, spinach, mushrooms (like button or shiitake mushrooms), broccoli florets, bok choy, sliced water chestnuts
- Protein: Shredded chicken, shrimp, extra-firm tofu, beef
- Toppings: Hard or soft-boiled egg, sesame seeds, lime or lemon wedge
Frequently Asked Questions
These instant noodles are a healthier version of your favourite ramen – and they taste so much better! They're an easy at-home snack or flavorful lunch you can quickly make without having to use the stovetop. Since you’re using fresh veggies and seasonings in place of the unhealthy seasoning packet that usually comes with ramen noodles, you’re also cutting down significantly on the amount of salt and preservatives.
These instant noodles can be made as spicy or as mild as you like. Just adjust the amount of chili garlic sauce depending on your spice comfort level. If you love spice, you can even add in some sriracha!
This instant noodles recipe has 354 calories per serving. The specific nutrient and calorie information will vary based on the kind of noodles you're using and the add-ins. To cut down on the calorie count, try using whole wheat or brown rice ramen noodles.
Storing and reheating
These instant noodles are perfect for meal prep. Assemble your mason jars ahead of time and store them in the fridge for up to 6 days. When you’re ready to enjoy, all you have to do is pull the jar out of the fridge, add in the boiling water, let it sit then dig in!
Freezing this recipe
If you want to freeze these instant noodles, I’d recommend freezing them along with the water. Make the noodles as you normally would by adding in the boiling water and letting the noodles sit. Once the noodles have cooled, pop the mason jar in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat your instant noodles, you can reheat the mason jar right from frozen for 6 to 7 minutes in the microwave, or let the noodles defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating for 2 to 3 minutes.
Meal Prep Tools
- These are the mason jars I use.
- This is the brand of tamari I like, and I love this low-sodium soy sauce!
- If you’re in need of a Y peeler, here’s the one that I use.
The Best DIY Instant Noodles
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp miso paste
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 2 cups shelled edamame
- 1 carrot shredded
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 1 cup red cabbage thinly sliced
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or other fresh herbs of choice
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes cut in half
- 2 (85 g) packages ramen noodles seasoning packets discarded
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp each miso paste and soy sauce along with 1/2 tbsp chili garlic sauce to the bottom of each 1 L mason jar, then add 1/2 cup edamame to each jar and divide veggies evenly among jars.
- Top with 1/2 a bouillon cube, then half of each ramen noodle packet.
- Store in the fridge up to 6 days. When ready to serve, add boiling water overtop, filling almost to the top of the jar and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir everything together, then pour into a bowl and serve and enjoy. If you'd like them a little hotter, microwave for 1-2 minutes after pouring in boiling water.
Comments & Reviews
Kim F says
Any suggestions on how to cut the sodium?
Katie Didow says
Hi Kim! I would look for low sodium soy sauce and low sodium bullion cubes.
Hazel Peters says
Close to a quart jar
Harlean says
Cooking for one is always a challenge and I find making mason jar meals quick and easy and there is no wasting of ingredients. I can also add the extra ingredients like guacamole etc as a topping .
Grace Frost says
These are fabulous for those days that you are not sure and don’t have a lot of time for. You can mix and put anything you like and we happen to love this idea. I can all summer so I always have jars, it’s great, healthy food for that quick meal.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy these are a favourite of yours!
Vesna says
This recipe is so delicious! I didn’t have 1L mason jars so I used 500 ml jars and halved the quantities in each jar. I found it the perfect amount of soup at this size for lunch. This will be one of my new go-to meal preps for my shift work (days and nights). Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you love it!
P says
Not sure if I’m just a spiciness wimp or if my chili garlic stuff was just really hot, but this was a bit too much for me. I stirred in a bit of coconut cream and some peanut butter and oh my!!! Amazing!