Easy Spicy Garlic Ramen Noodles
These easy spicy garlic ramen noodles make a super simple weeknight meal! Packed with flavor, they can be yours in 30 minutes or less.
It’s time to take every day ramen noodles to a whole new level! This winner of a recipe is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner (and the leftovers are fabulous!).
Simple Sauce with Loads of Flavor
The sauce for this recipe boasts a huge flavor punch with only a few key ingredients.
- soy sauce
- rice vinegar
- sesame oil
- chili garlic sauce
- tiny bit of brown sugar
You can dial the amount of chili garlic sauce up or down to make it more or less spicy, depending on how you like it. Even if you want a mild flavor profile, don’t omit the chili garlic sauce completely! It’s needed for flavor, so even a small dab’ll do you some favors.
Ramen Noodles: What Kind to Use
Every day ramen noodles – you know, the kind in plastic packages with powdered seasoning packets stored in plentiful rows at the grocery store – work great in this recipe. Just toss the seasoning packets and boil the noodles according to package directions.
Other types of dry ramen will also work great. I’ve made this recipe with rice ramen (the Lotus Foods brand, found at Costco), and it is delicious!
If using dry ramen noodles that come in a bulk-style package, use two “bricks” of ramen about the same size as the packages of ramen from the grocery store, or weigh out the equivalent (you’ll need 6 ounces dry ramen total).
Optional Ingredients
The frozen peas and ground chicken (or turkey) called for in the recipe add a hearty and fresh dimension to the recipe, but both of those ingredients can be left out, if you just want a simple, flavorful noodle dish.
However, don’t omit the flavor-enhancers: ginger, garlic, green onions…or the delectable sauce. Doing so will make you, me, and these noodles very, very sad.
The noodles need all those amazing flavors to transform from plain ol’ ramen into something totally slurpably delicious!
The finished dish is simple and so tasty. Toss chopped green onions and cashews on at the end for a pretty pop of color and tasty toasty crunch.
There’s a lot to love about this recipe – not the least of which is that it comes together quickly and calls for a lot of pantry-friendly and inexpensive ingredients.
Another reason to wax poetic about these noodles is because the leftovers are absolutely amazing. And although we may have to differ on how to eat them (me: always straight from the fridge – never risking a microwave reheat when cold leftovers are so ridiculously good), rest assured that you are definitely going to want to find a way to hide the leftovers so you can eat them however you want all by yourself.
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Easy Spicy Garlic Ramen Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 packages ramen noodles (3-ounces each), seasoning packets discarded (see note)
- ⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (see note)
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken or ground turkey
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (or ginger paste or cubes – see note)
- 4 to 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 4 to 6 green onions white and green parts, chopped
- Coarsely chopped cashews or peanuts
Instructions
- In a medium pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the ramen noodles until al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cool water, and drain again. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, vinegar, chili garlic sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil. Set aside.
- In a 12-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat and add the ground chicken or turkey. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook for a minute or so, breaking the meat into small pieces as it cooks.
- Add the ginger, garlic, and the white parts of the green onions, and continue to cook, until the meat is no longer pink. Drain excess grease, if needed.
- Add the drained noodles to the skillet.
- Whisk the sauce to recombine. Add it to the skillet with the frozen peas. Toss and stir, cooking over medium heat, until the peas are heated through.
- Sprinkle with green onions and cashews. Serve immediately.
Notes
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Recipe Source: inspired by a recipe in Cuisine at Home 2023
Is there a substitution for the chili garlic sauce? It is nowhere to be found here in Norway..!
Hi Carolin, you could use sriracha sauce + several cloves of fresh garlic, finely minced.
I made this for a quick lunch for my daughter and I. Left out the meat but then remembered I had some leftover grilled chicken in the fridge so added that. It was really fast and easy and I’ll totally make it again!
Our family does not like super spicy foods, so initially I was nervous to make this recipe. How could I not though?! It’s Mel’s recipe! I took Mel’s advice from the blog and still put in the Chili garlic sauce, but only put in a 1/4 of a teaspoon. It added so much flavor with even that small amount!! I’m impressed with anyone who can put in the 2 teaspoons!! Maybe we can bravely try a 1/2 teaspoon next time! Definitely worth making!!
This recipe was amazing! We substituted the chicken for tofu and added shredded carrots and edamame. Enjoy!
Love the adaptations!
This will be going into the dinner rotation, it had so much good flavor and was super simple to throw together. Made regular ramen (using clean Monday meals ramen seasoning) for the picky eaters and the rest of us enjoyed this deliciousness. I didn’t have the chili garlic sauce so I used red pepper flakes instead.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Jessica – thanks for letting me know!
Made this tonight and I should have doubled it because my family scarfed it up and wondered why there wasn’t more! I used cubed rotisserie chicken in place of the ground chicken and the whole meal came together in no time. Loaded with flavor and so appealing to my whole family! Next time I might try chopped bell peppers in place of the peas since my youngest isn’t a fan of peas and picked all his out of the noodles. But this recipe is definitely a winner at our house! Thank you!
Great idea using cooked chicken, Holly! I’ll definitely try that! Bell peppers sound yummy, too.
This is just the type of recipe I’m looking for at this stage in my life, quick easy, cheap, and pretty healthy! Seven Out of seven family members liked it! I doubled it for our family.
Love hearing that, Janeil! Thank you!
Made and loved this ! For fun I subbed edamame for the peas – because we love edamame with anything with an Asian flare !! Highly recommend! Thanks for another less than 30 min dinner winner with things from my pantry I had on hand !!
Great idea on the edamame, Helen!
Hi Mel! Making this now… when do I add the noodles?
Sorry about that, Tami! The noodles go into the skillet right before the sauce.
I’m not a fan of peas, at all. Have you tried this recipe with anything else worth substituting? I know I can just leave them out, but it may lose a necessary textural element I’ll miss out on. Any suggestions
I actually think I’d probably just leave them out. I think it would be delicious without! You could throw in some bell peppers to saute with the ground meat, if you’d like another veggie crunch.
What about edamame?
Great idea!
I have never heard of chili garlic sauce. Do you buy it at the grocery store because I couldn’t find it at mine.
Thanks, Paula
Hi Paula! It’s usually in the Asian-foods aisle by the soy sauce, etc. I’ve seen it at Walmart, Target and my grocery store, but if you can’t find it locally, it’s available on Amazon!
Hey, Paula! Most regular grocery stores have been increasing their asian merchandise; check in the asian aisle of your grocery store. Otherwise, you’ll totally find it in a asian store or def online. Just remember: a little goes a long way, unless you like it really spicy like me!
Hope this helps!
I have been looking for more recipes to use Costco’s Lotus ramen noodles in. Can’t wait to try this! Thank you for all your incredible recipes!
Thanks, Kristin! Those lotus noodles work great here.
It looks delicious to me! Can’t wait to try another recipe, Mel! I haven’t commented for sometime, but your recipes are the mainstay of my cooking and I get SO MANY complements when I share food I’ve made with others that came from my “Mel Repertoire (90 percent of my meals:)). Thank you so very much for the blessing you have been in our lives!
Thank you so much, Laurie! Seriously, that means a lot to me.
Sorry, this doesn’t have a visual appeal. I would try it with beef, red peppers, sugar snap peas or asparagus or other green veggie, and beef broth.
Feel free to change it up to your liking! 🙂
I think this looks delicious, but if you don’t, maybe…move on?? Not every recipe has to be Pinterest worthy and perfectly gorgeous. Everyday recipes are the best. Good luck making it more appealing…I think it looks great just the way it is.