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Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
5 min
05/01/2026
With instant noodles, it’s possible to create a full range of dishes by creating stir-fried noodles, making a refreshing salad, cooking up some creamy Laksa, or even making a baked ramen lasagna. All of these ideas are budget-friendly and give you a new way to think about using your noodle and meal-prepping versus going out to get food.
This article will take you through some creative ways to use packaged noodles — from a stir-fried wok-style fried rice, a cold noodles salad, to a fusion-style ramen lasagna and creamy curry! By combining instant ramen noodles with things like eggs, peanut butter, and veggies, you can create meals that will seem like an upgrade from your regular fare. All of these examples come from viral TikTok trends, food blogs, and places where people share delicious recipes in their home kitchens. Instant Ramen is a very versatile and easy pantry item to make use of, therefore providing an unlimited number of opportunities for fun and nutritious meals.
By turning instant noodles into fried rice, you can transform your instant noodles into another delicious and flavourful dish with very little work! Simply cook your noodles, drain them, and chop them into small pieces. Stir fry your choice of protein (such as chicken or tofu) along with your favourite vegetable(s) in a hot wok or frying pan, then add back in the chopped noodle pieces along with soy sauce and sesame oil — use the same flavour profiles as you would when making fried rice, but use the springy noodle texture and add whatever flavourings you enjoy.
If you're feeling adventurous, the recipe for a laksa-style noodle should be your pick! Take two packets of instant noodles (say, one chicken flavour and one shrimp) and add in laksa paste, coconut milk, a pinch of sugar, and water. Simmer until the broth is thick and fragrant, then top with chopped cilantro, scallions, and lime juice.
If you're short on time but want something delicious, the TikTok viral Korean ramen recipe is for you! You start with cooked instant noodles and mix with soy sauce, brown sugar, chilli flakes, sesame seeds, and one egg. This sweet, spicy, and savoury sauce will turn instant ramen into a delicious representation of Korean street food!
This hack creates a creamy, rich broth with the texture of tonkotsu by mixing tahini, miso, soy sauce, and grated garlic with hot noodle water. Simply add your cooked noodles to enjoy a silky, savoury bowl made with common pantry ingredients.
Instant noodles work very well as salad ingredients when used cold. Take cooked and cooled noodles; cut or crush them into smaller pieces and mix them with vegetables and herbs, and dress with an exciting vinaigrette made of olive oil, rice vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, and just a sprinkle of sesame oil to give it a unique flavour. This makes for a crunchy and refreshing salad that's perfect for Summer. Redditors also recommend that after you have drained the noodle packets and they have cooled, you can bake the dry bits of noodle to create crunchy 'croutons,' to sprinkle on top of the salad.
Another amazing and innovative idea suggested by Reddit is to cook the noodles al dente, rinse, and whisk them into a bowl of beaten egg mixture that has been flavoured with the flavouring packet. Then pour the mixture into a hot pan and cook slowly until the eggs are set, resulting in a fluffy omelette that is also chewy from the noodles.
You can get creative with some of the ingredients by turning your standard pasta dish into an Asian-style dish using ramen noodles instead of regular pasta dough. Instead of layering the lasagna sheets, you would layer cooked ramen noodles with a variety of sauces (tomato), cheeses (ricotta, cream) and meats/fish/veg, then bake until bubbly. You can get inspiration from a TikTok video where someone took their pantry staples and created an Italian-style baked casserole out of them.
There are many variations of this concept on Reddit, including making a pizza with a "ramen crust". Similar to creating your own pasta crust, instead of layering on top of the crust, you would bake the ramen noodles pressed into a pizza shape with an egg mixture, before topping it with cheese, sauce, and your own favourite pizzas.
Another idea for turning ramen noodles into something fancy is through this ramen noodle recipe. It consists of making pork belly, mushrooms, tamarind sauce, and soy sauce (known as " no pad thai") to enhance a ramen noodle dish and create a restaurant-style meal. Although this ramen recipe requires a bit more time and effort to create, its depth of flavour makes this one much better than your usual instant noodles.
These recipes are fun because you can change a plain pantry item into something much more colourful and creative! You can get a crunchy texture from stir-fry dishes, creamy flavour from using nut butter or miso-based sauces, and refreshing flavour from cold salads. They also provide a sense of comfort through foods like casseroles. The best part is that this collection embraces the "use what you already have" mentality; therefore, nothing is wasted, and you don't need to purchase any special or hard-to-find ingredients.
In fact, many of these meals came about because of the demands of Generation Z and budget-conscious chefs who are looking for quick, easy-to-make meals that are still elevated! Rather than spending money on expensive takeaways or purchasing gourmet items, they are utilising what they have right in their own kitchens to create delicious dishes. These hacks are trending on social media because when you use them, they feel both familiar to us and yet provide an innovative idea.
