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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.
Great way to use ramen packs that get hidden away in the pantry. Miso should be added last after broth is finished; boiling miso will cause it to lose its probiotic benefits and some flavour as well. Happy cooking 🧑🍳
Kristen, my family loves this meal. I was wondering if you l, or anyone, has tried to do some of the steps in the Instant pot.
Hi Stephanie! I am so happy to hear your family enjoys this recipe! It is a bit harder to make this recipe in the Instant Pot and have the vegetables turn out with the same consistency, but it can be done. Add the broth, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, miso, vinegar, mushrooms, and red peppers and cook on high for 5 minutes with a natural pressure release, and then add the noodles and greens to the hot liquid, place the lid on the inner pot and let the greens wilt and noodles soften.
Thank you Kristen for responding. Everyone is under the weather and am trying the instant pot recipe you mentioned right now.
I hope you all feel better soon!
Absolutely delicious, and I loved that it wasn’t so salty.
I love that too! Thanks for sharing, Emily!
I was trying to taste of ingredients. I don't have ginger root and shitake mushrooms. I use ingredients instead of the original ginger powder 2 tablespoons. I did taste ramen it too much ginger powder. I don't want to use ginger 2 tablespoons again.
Hi David. The recipe specifically indicates to not replace the gingerroot with ginger powder, as the flavor is overwhelming. I am sorry you missed that, but it would explain the off-putting taste.
Delicious! I will make this again!
My family is all sick with a stomach virus right now, and when we’re sick, we look for water based soup and teas to stay hydrated and keep something in our tummies. This fit the bill. We left out all toppings just because vomiting anything more than noodles and broth would feel awful. My husband made the broth to your specifications and included some sesame oil for that extra flavor. I had a box of Ocean’s Halo Organic ramen noodles specifically to make ramen bowls on our meal plan this week before this virus took over our family. The flavors are amazing! Being in the Chicago suburbs, I have a lot of trendy restaurants and pop-ups serving really good ramen among other things. So I think I can safely say this is on par with those establishments. Thanks for a great recipe. And when we are all feeling better, I will make this again with toppings! Can’t wait!
What a huge compliment for this ramen recipe to be compared to Chicago ramen restaurants. Thank you! That said, feel better soon!
This was perfect and delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. I feel much better giving this to my son than the packaged kind. I was so worried about finding a great broth recipe, but my son (and all of us) loved the broth! It was easy, and when I made some for my husband, it only took me 10-15 minutes once I knew what I was doing.
I am so glad you enjoyed---gotta love a fast, yet healthier recipe!