Homemade Ramen – Super Healthy Kids

Homemade ramen is so quick, easy, and cheap! We prepare ours with a flavorful broth, fresh vegetables and a soft-boiled egg. It’s a delicious, healthy, and filling dinner that comes together in under 30 minutes!

Why we love this homemade ramen

There’s something about the salty, totally nutrient-free, packaged ramen noodles that just drive kids (and the occasional adult…) crazy. My kids love them, but they don’t appear often in our house.

This homemade ramen is a game changer. Incredibly tasty and fast and fully customizable with lots of appeal for kids.

Ingredients for homemade ramen

• Ramen Noodles– We received a large pack from a local Asian market. You can also use the individual packs that are widely available in grocery stores. They only use the noodles, not the spice packet.
• Kale– Kale adds great texture, color and nutrition to our homemade ramen bowls! You can substitute spinach if you really don’t like it, but we liked the kale that much better here.
• Mushrooms– We used dried shiitake mushrooms. The flavor is a bit more concentrated and they have a great texture when rehydrated. But fresh would work here too!
• carrots– We grated our carrots, but matchstick carrots would work great.
• Green Onions– We love the mild onion flavor and add the spring onions.
• chicken soup– You get a lot of flavor out of the chicken broth, so make sure you use a brand you love!
• Fresh Garlic & Ginger– Classic flavor enhancers.
• sesame oil– Sesame oil adds a rich flavor consistent with traditional cooking. A little goes a long way. If you don’t like the taste of sesame oil, olive or avocado oil is also great.
• eggs– The eggs add fullness and protein. For little eaters, you might want to hard boil and dice the eggs before adding them to the ramen bowls.

How to Make Homemade Ramen:

1. heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Grate garlic and ginger. Add to pan and sauté for 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden and fragrant.
2. Add to add the chicken broth and water to the pan. Bring to a simmer and then add the mushrooms. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender and your broth is nice and flavorful.
3. Add to Add your instant ramen noodles to the hot broth.

Tips for making homemade ramen:

Don’t overcook your pasta! You want a bit of chew with your pasta, not a bowl full of porridge. They will continue to cook once you remove them from the heat as well.

Use quality ingredients. Flavor comes from the fresh ingredients and broth you choose, so make sure you use the ones you love. You’ll also get a lot of flavor from the mushrooms, so if you omit those, you might want to use all of the broth and omit the water.

Don’t be afraid to get creative! Feel free to add more spices, toppings, or veggies. Some other options include peanut butter, miso, soy sauce, dried seaweed, spinach, peas, shredded cabbage, or fried chicken.

How to make soft boiled eggs: Bring a small pot of water to a gentle boil. Carefully lower your eggs into the water. Cook for 6 minutes, then drain and hold under cold water. When cool enough to touch, peel and serve.

What should I serve with homemade ramen? This recipe stands on its own, but sometimes we like to serve it with chicken and vegetable spring rolls, fresh fruit spring rolls, cucumber rolls, or grilled teriyaki chicken.

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