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Ditch the packets and make your own Homemade Ramen with this easy recipe. Featuring a deeply flavorful broth, crisp-tender veggies, and perfectly cooked noodles, this recipe is a serious upgrade to the packaged version many of us survived on through college.
Whether you are looking for a quick lunch, light dinner, or something to pair with fresh homemade spring rolls or baked vegetable egg rolls, this ramen fits the bill. With simple, better-for-you ingredients, it may not be ready in 2 minutes, but will still be on your table in in under 30 minutes with a lot less sodium and a whole lot more flavor!
Kristen's Keys for The Best Homemade Ramen
A few key tips keep this recipe fast enough for a weeknight, yet packed with deep rich flavor.
- Simmer the broth for at least 10 minutes. This short simmer gives the ingredients time to meld together so the broth tastes rich rather than flat.
- Use fresh ginger, not ground. Freshly grated ginger root adds brightness and punch that dried ginger just can't replicate.
- Toppings aren't just extra. They add contrast and texture, turning your homemade ramen into something that rivals an expensive ramen shop.
5-Star Reader REview
I have hesitated in making this dish. Do not wait! This is amazing Ramen! Kids devoured it like the sodium laden stuff in the store and asked for more. -Teresa
Notes on Ingredients for Homemade Ramen
- Broth: Mushroom, vegetable, or chicken broth are all suitable as the base for building the ramen broth. Mushroom broth will be incredibly flavorful, but is much harder to find and more expensive. I typically use homemade vegetable broth.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger is a must! Keep a peeled ginger root in a storage bag in your freezer to have on hand at all times (it grates from frozen beautifully).
- Garlic: Use refrigerated or freshly minced garlic or omit if you don't care for garlic.
- Soy Sauce + Miso Paste: Together they add rich, umami flavor to the ramen. Miso paste is found in the refrigerated produce section of most grocery stores, but can be omitted for simplicity. In that case, I would suggest adding a bit more soy sauce to compensate.
- Rice Wine Vinegar: Brightens up the ramen broth and makes the flavors pop in your mouth. Mirin is a good substitute.
- Ramen Noodles: Use any variety of packaged ramen noodles or refrigerated ramen noodles you like. Just go ahead and discard any flavor packets that may accompany the noodles.
- Vegetables: Adding vegetables to the ramen is optional. I personally like to add bok choy for texture, red bell peppers for sweetness and crunch, and mushrooms for additional earthy depth. Kale or napa cabbage make a good substitute for the bok choy.
- Toppings: Shredded carrots, diced green onions, a soft-boiled egg, Sriracha, pickled radishes, and/or dried seaweed are all great options.
How to Make Ramen at Home
Think of this section as me guiding you through the process, giving you a few expert tips along the way.
Step One: Simmer Ramen Broth
Combine the broth, soy sauce, miso, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger together in medium saucepan. Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low. cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, to develop a rich, nuanced broth.
Step Two: Add Vegetables
Add in sliced bok choy, mushrooms, and red peppers, and simmer until the greens are wilted, yet still retain a bit of bite and vibrant color, about 5-10 minutes depending on the greens used.
👉🏻Remember adding veggies to the broth is optional. You can skip this step if you have picky eaters on hand or you would like to have homemade ramen ready in under 15 minutes.
Step Three: Cook Ramen Noodles
Add the ramen noodles directly to the simmering broth and cook according to the package directions.
👉🏻Cooking time will vary. The cook time on ramen noodles vary widely, so it is best to refer to the package directions for perfectly cooked noodles.
Step Four: Serve with Toppings
Ladle the ramen into bowls and add your favorite toppings. I personally recommend something crunchy, something creamy, and something spicy for the ultimate texture and flavor.
Recipe Modifications
- Add Protein: Feel free to stir in cooked chicken, beef, or pork when you add the noodles, just long enough to warm through. If adding shrimp, add raw defrosted, deveined small shrimp with the noodles. They should cook perfectly in the time it takes to cook the ramen noodles.
- Lower Sodium: Use low-sodium broth and low-sodium soy sauce to better control salt levels.
- Prefer a ramen with more broth? Double the broth and seasonings to increase the broth-to-noodle ratio.
More Asian-American Favorites to Try
Easy Homemade Ramen
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups reduced-sodium broth, mushroom, chicken, or vegetable
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons peeled, grated fresh ginger root, grated
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or Tamari
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste, optional
- ½ cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons red pepper, minced
- 2 cups bok choy greens, thinly sliced
- 9 ounces ramen noodles, about 3 packages
- toppings of choice, soft boiled eggs, shredded carrots, green onions, Sriracha, dried seaweed, etc.
Instructions
- Combine 4 cups reduced-sodium broth, 3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons peeled, grated fresh ginger root, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, and 1 tablespoon white miso paste in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, just to let the flavors meld together.
- If desired, add ½ cup shiitake mushrooms, 2 tablespoons red pepper and 2 cups bok choy greens into the simmering broth, and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until greens are wilted, yet still vibrant.
- Add in packaged 9 ounces ramen noodles (discard seasoning pack) and cook according to package directions. Typically this is 2-3 minutes.
- Dish up cooked ramen into serving bowls and top ramen as desired.
Equipment
- Large Saucepan (this one lasts forever and heats evenly)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally shared in 2019 and updated in 2026.
This was super easy to make and delicious. All three of my children devoured it! We can’t do miso; however, I found a garbanzo bean miso that is soy free, and it worked magic! Thank you for a lovely scaffolding to follow for a recipe.
I love hearing your kids loved this so much. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
I might have been confused about what 2 tbs of peppers meant because I used crushed red pepper and it was almost inedible it was so spicey.
Oh goodness Lucia! That would be spicy! The recipe call for 2 tablespoons minced red pepper--which is fresh, sweet red bell pepper.
I'm guessing you take a French knife and half the soft boiled egg and spoon it out for the soup garnish?
I actually gently peel the egg and then cut in half 🙂
thanks for the recipe. i love ramen, so i'll try this recipe
I hope you enjoy!
It's good,really good.
Love hearing that Andrew! Thank you!
This came out perfect, so much flavor!
That's what I love to hear! Thanks Aimee!
It is pouring rain during this quarantine gloomy Thursday. But dang this soup make my day a whole lot better. Never made ramen before but figured I’d give it ago since I had the basic ingredients for this. This was sooo good and super easy. Omitted the pepper because I didn’t have any and added cabbage since that’s what I had on hand. This was out of this world. Next time I’ll go lighter on the sriracha because I didn’t know how spicy it would be. But still enjoyed it even with my mess up
I am so glad this soup made your day--hearing that made mine! Thank you so much!
This hot ramen would be perfect for a cold winter's day!