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Healthier Ramen Noodle Soup

January 30, 2012

There weren't a lot of convenience foods like boxed muffin and pancake mix, cup of soup and frozen waffles in our house when I was growing up, but one item I absolutely loved whenever my mom made it for us was instant ramen noodles. She would boil water, toss in the brittle brick of tightly wound noodles, then dump in the contents of that naughty little seasoning pack, which contained among other not-so-good things, the notorious flavor enhancer, MSG. Popular in the 60's and 70's, we know now that MSG is something you and your kids should probably avoid consuming.

This recipe takes the idea of ramen noodle soup to a whole new level. You still get the delicious salty flavor that you're used to from the MSG in the instant variety, but I use nutritious miso to give it that incredible and irresistible umami flavor. Don't forget your seasoning -- a shake of garlic and onion powder adds a ton of added flavor to this dish — and don't be shy about the other ingredients you can add to this soup. Make it your own. I usually lay out a bunch of options, let everyone tell me which ones they want and personalize each person's bowl. I discovered just how much my kids crave seaweed and shiitake mushrooms when I started putting them in my soup and then watched as they shamelessly begged for bite after bite from my bowl.

That's OK. I know that when my kids are making this ramen noodle soup disappear it's filled only with the things they should be eating!

Healthier Ramen Noodle Soup  (Serves 4)

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 3 minutes,
  • Total Time: 8 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 32 oz box of chicken stock
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons white or yellow miso
  • 2 (3-ounce) packages packaged ramen noodles
  • 4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mirin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 cup scallions, green & white, sliced

Preparation

  1. 1. In a large saucepan add the chicken stock, water, miso and bring to a boil.
  2. 2. Add the remaining ingredients* and cook for 3 minutes or until the ramen noodles are soft.
  3. 3. Add the scallions and serve.

Accompaniments: Optional additional Ingredients: fresh spinach, nori, wakame, hijiki, arame, chicken, shrimp, cubed tofu

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Comments






  1. Emily

    November 3, 2012 at 5:45 pm

    This is the second recipe I have tried from your site, and it is delicious! I love the versatility that this recipe has. I have never cooked with miso but will be making variations of this soup to use it up. The soup was pretty salty, but maybe I can dilute it or use a little less miso next time? I appreciate all the comments about finding healthy noodles, as well as suggestions for what to put in the soup. Beyond the ingredient list, I added a little bit of seaweed and small cubes of firm tofu, plus a few drops of siracha. Next time I will try to add more greens or other veggies. Thanks for a great cooking resource!

  2. Karlaekz

    September 28, 2012 at 11:24 am

    This* aghh hate swype on my phone anyways everyone should make this!

  3. Karlaekz

    September 28, 2012 at 11:23 am

    Made thus with pho noodles instead and garlic cloves instead it was so yummy!

  4. Katie at Mom's Kitchen Handbook

    August 29, 2012 at 8:23 am

    Love this recipe…I’m going to try your broth with my kids who are nuts for ramen. Conventional brands are a no go, but I find if I buy the organic brands, it’s a guarantee that they are free of MSG and other mystery ingredients, and are usually air-dried instead of deep fried.

  5. Barbara

    August 26, 2012 at 9:02 pm

    I just tried this recipe and it is wonderful! I used 2 T of Minute Miso. I didn’t have mushrooms or scallions, but used a leftover leek, some bits of carrot and daikon radish, and shavings of dried beef. My husband and I both loved the flavor, and felt good knowing how much healthier it was than using the packet that came with the ramen. I’m looking forward to trying different variations. Thank you Catherine!

  6. bmaryry79

    August 23, 2012 at 9:29 pm

    I am so excited to try this recipe. I’ve been craving Ramen Noodles, but knowing there is MSG in them I’ve had to forgo them. Now I can make my own.

  7. Marie

    June 26, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    I’ve been to four Asian stores in our area and only two of them carried miso. However, all the miso I’ve seen so far have listed alcohol as one of the ingredients. Would love to try this recipe but worried about the alcohol content. It should be minimal since it was listed as the last ingredient. Do all miso have alcohol in them?

    • catherine

      June 27, 2012 at 12:11 pm

      Miso is fermented soybeans so there are trace amounts of alcohol as a result of the fermenting process. Some brands add a little alcohol to enhance the flavor, and there are some brands that do not list alcohol as an ingredient. The alcohol is a very small amount and cooks out when you cook with miso.

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  10. Suzanne

    May 8, 2012 at 5:53 am

    Just made this using a pint of leftover MSG free egg drop soup combined with homemade chicken stock and the organic brown rice ramen from Whole Foods. Excellent! Thank you!

  11. Monica

    April 12, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    As a recovering Top Ramen addict, and pregnant mom to be, any healthy change to my beloved noodles is welcome. I had never even considered making my own, so thank you for this great idea/recipe.

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  13. rachel

    March 11, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    i made this today with soba noodles and it was a hit! thanks!

  14. Kristin

    February 16, 2012 at 10:28 am

    I had a really Hard time finding the miso paste here in Louisville. Finally went to the Asian market and got it. My kids all love this meal. I looked at the label for the miso paste and found out it has MSG! Yikes. Is there a brand that makes miso paste without MSG?

  15. michelle

    February 9, 2012 at 11:39 pm

    A friend of mine just sent me this link which shows what happens inside your intestinal tract when you eat packaged ramen noodles. Just a teaser in my opinion. I wish they had more info. Enjoy.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/ramen-digestion_n_1263825.html?icid=maing-grid7|maing8|dl14|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D134120

  16. MamaJ

    February 7, 2012 at 3:16 pm

    Oh, and a tblsp of chili sauce (sirracha). Omg! Yum

  17. MamaJ

    February 7, 2012 at 3:14 pm

    Sadly, most of your recipes still don’t make it into my toddler but mommy and daddy LOVE them! I doubled the stock and seasoning and made this w a bag of chopped up Asian “slaw” mix and a bag of baby spinach, a little shredded rotisserie chicken and fresh lo mein noodles. Such a versitille idea!! Thank you!

  18. Kim

    February 3, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    Made this last night and we all loved it-even my super picky boys! We always scramble an egg into our ramen so did the same. Delish! Would love a way to cut the sodium still as I found it too salty for my taste. Thanks for your amazing meal ideas. LOVE your recipes!!

  19. Jadah

    February 2, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    We cooked ours with brown rice spaghetti noodles. Pre-packaged top ramen is definitely not healthy. I was addicted to that stuff from childhood through college. :-)

  20. Mary

    February 2, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Ok find the stuff and made it and then looked at the miso and it is 720mg of sodium per Tbl! Did I get the wrong stuff? I know this is healthier version and I am not being critical just wondering if I bought wrong stuff? It was like a paste? Boys love it though!

    • catherine

      February 2, 2012 at 8:45 pm

      Yes, miso is high in sodium, but a little goes a long way and it is a great source of Manganese, Vitamin K, Vitamin B-12, and Protein!

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  22. Aline

    February 1, 2012 at 8:06 pm

    I must confess I love Instant Ramen and this was almost as easy to prepare and so rich and delicious and comforting… Children were asleep, while hub and I devour it. I can’t wait to prepare for them as well. I used vegetable stock that I had at home and real onion and garlic (just browned a little in olive oil) since I did not had the powdered ones. It worked great. Thanks!

  23. Yvette

    February 1, 2012 at 12:22 pm

    Made this for dinner and the whole family loved it. My 10 month old ate it up and my hubby loved it too. My super picky 4 yr old didnt eat it but he’ll eat the soup with rice. Thank you for this healthier version of one of my faves! (Just added a tad more soy sauce and onion powder) I used organic udon noodles and diffferent veggies in it. Love this because I know the soup is so versatile- my son will especially like this w/ tofu and rice.

  24. Mary

    February 1, 2012 at 8:30 am

    I am so glad to find this. And so funny you just posted. We recently began giving my boys Ramen Noodles and they want them now for lunch. I was not happy knowing all the sodium and fat. I will make a batch of this and try.

    Question: Where do I find Mirin?

    • catherine

      February 1, 2012 at 12:59 pm

      Mirin is sweet rice wine and can be found in the Asian foods aisle of your local grocery!

  25. Melissa Herrmann@ Kids in the Sink

    January 31, 2012 at 9:10 am

    What a great idea! And I’m sure my homemade vegetable broth would work wonderfully in this! Mushrooms sounds like such an interesting flavor combo with this.