36 Best Instant Noodles: Quick, Easy and Delicious
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Instant noodles aren’t just quick and easy to make at home. They’re also inexpensive and full of flavor. Discover three dozen of the best instant noodles that you’ll want to eat again and again.
We’re huge fans of the colorful array of instant noodle packages sold at our local Asian markets. Lately, we’ve been watching people eating different flavors all over social media. If you watch TikTok videos, then you already know that it’s not unusual for dudes in dorm rooms to throw down instant ramen ratings during gaming breaks.
It’s not like we’re new to the instant noodle game. Much like today’s TikTok’ing teens, we ate instant ramen during our college years. We even visited the CupNoodles Museum when we traveled to Osaka in 2016. But we only recently discovered the breadth and depth of instant noodles in terms of both quality and variety. Now that we’ve made that connection, there’s no going back. We’re officially fans for life with a kitchen drawer filled with colorful packages to fuel our new passion.
Fill your own drawer. You can buy instant noodles at your local Asian market or buy an instant noodle sampler pack from Amazon.
What Are Instant Noodles?
People have been eating noodles for millennia but the same can’t be said about instant noodles. They’re a 20th century invention attributed to Momofuku Ando, the founder of Japan’s Nissin Foods. While Ando gets major props for inventing Top Ramen and Cup Noodles, he died long before funky flavors like carbonara and lime habanero hit the market.
At their core and despite the introduction of those funky flavor combos, instant noodles are essentially pre-cooked noodles (pre-fried, in the case of instant ramen) that are dried in blocks and sold with flavor and sauce packets along with seasoning oils. And, while they’re not actually instantaneously ready to eat, they’re typically quick and easy to prepare at home – wherever that home may be located.
Produced in Asia and originally marketed to Asian customers, instant noodles are becoming increasingly popular with western diners thanks to bargain pricing and clever marketing. However, instant noodles are still most popular in Asian countries, especially South Korea where more than a few people slurp instant ramyeon every single day of the week.
You might think that instant noodles are a simple product since they’re so affordable. However, a walk through any Asian market proves otherwise. The library of flavors produced by South Korean and Japanese brands is comprehensive. Additionally, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai producers have brought new flavors and noodles to the party.
Discover more tasty Asian dishes.
Preparing Instant Noodles at Home
Do you want a bowl of pho for breakfast? Instant pho bo noodles are remarkably similar in flavor to much of the pho you’ll find in Vietnamese restaurants. Do you love Sichuan noodles? Instant Chinese noodles are delicate, easy to make and packaged with wonderful Sichuan ma-la sauces and oils that combine hot Chinese chilis with numbing Sichuan flower pepper.
You don’t need a culinary degree to make those and other instant noodles at home. You just need to read and follow directions. You also need a few tools, namely chopsticks, a measuring cup, a spoon and a 2-quart saucepan. We also recommend getting an electric kettle if you don’t already have one. And, if you’re hardcore, a kitchen scale is helpful since many brands recommend a precise volume of water to noodles ratio. We like to measure the water in grams with a scale since “a pint’s a pound the world around.”
That being said, you’ll miss out on half the fun of making and eating instant noodles at home if you strictly follow each package’s instructions. The better option is to get creative by adding meat, eggs and veggies to the mix. While these extra ingredients aren’t necessary, their addition transforms instant noodles from an elevated snack food into a satisfying meal. Plus, doctored instant noodles are especially photogenic should you choose to share your creations on social media.
Our Favorite Instant Ramen Flavors
Our deep dive into the deep sea of instant noodles flavors initially overwhelmed and excited us. It also required a plan. That plan, which we clandestinely dubbed Project Instant Ramen, involved buying, photographing and eating as many packages as we could handle over a couple of days, or so we thought. Even though we purposefully excluded mainstream Top Ramen and Cup Noodles flavors, the project morphed from days into weeks as we found new flavors that demanded our research attention.
To keep things fair, we didn’t add any accoutrements (i.e., proteins and veggies) to our bowls. Instead, we religiously followed each package’s instructions so we could taste the true flavors. However, to be clear, we didn’t just taste those flavors. Using spoons and chop sticks, we slurped all of the noodles until every bowl was empty.
Starting with the most popular brand (Shin), these are our picks for the most slurpable instant noodles:
1. Shin Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
More than 50 million people live in South Korea and they all love Shin Ramyun. Well, maybe ALL is an exaggeration but it’s no exaggeration to call this ramen solid. The broth has a pleasant spice level while the springy noodles have just the right amount of bounce.
2. Shin Black Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
Shin Black Ramyun costs twice as much as standard Shin Ramyun. Is it worth it? We say splurge and pay the extra dollar or two if you’re into premium extras like dehydrated shiitake mushrooms, anchovy and beefy bits. This ramen isn’t typical instant ramen. It’s a seafood mushroom umami feast.
3. Shin Toomba Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
After inspiring countless TikTokers, many of whom ramp up their noodles by adding ingredients like adding milk and cheese to create a creamy ramen, Shin has put the shoe on the other foot with its Toomba Ramyun flavor. But this flavor isn’t just creamy. It’s also flavorful thanks to ingredients like garlic, mushrooms and parsley.
4. Shin Jayfai Tom Yum Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Hot
Shin Jayfai Tom Yum Ramyun combines Shin’s traditional ramyun with Chef Jay Fai’s tangy tom yum recipe. Although the Michelin-starred Thai chef is most famous for her crab omelette, her tom yum is clearly a winner too based on the deliciousness that she brings to this spicy, herbaceous mashup.
5. Shin Green Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
Vegans rejoice! Shin Green is both plant-based and tasty thanks to an ingredient roster that includes fried tofu, rehydrated mushrooms, red pepper, onion and garlic. However, despite its name, the peppery broth isn’t green. It’s red. It’s also filled with lots of umami flavor.
6. Shin Spicy Chicken Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
Despite its name and red broth, Shin Spicy Chicken Ramyun is more comforting than spicy. It’s the kind of soup we’d be happy to slurp when we’re feeling under the weather or when we’re craving ramped up chicken soup with just a little bit of heat.
7. Shin Stir Fry Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Hot
Shin Stir Fry Ramyun surprised us for a couple of reasons. For starters, the broth-free ramen is spicier than we expected thanks to a heat that started in the back of our mouths and slowly moved forward. The bigger surprise involved miniature decorated fish cakes that added extra flavor and a pop of color.
8. Shin Kimchi Ramyun (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Mild
Sure, we could make kimchi from scratch with fermented cabbage and a bunch of other ingredients. We could also buy kimchi at a local Korean market and mix it into a bowl of chicken ramen. But why do either of those things when we can quickly whip up a bowl of Shin Kimchi Ramyun? Although its piquancy is relatively mild, the kimchi flavor is ever-present.
9. Jin Ramen – Mild (OTTOGI)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
Soupy, springy, savory, salty and satisfying are five adjectives that come to mind when we think about OTTOGI’s Jin Ramen Mild. Despite its name, it’s also a little bit spicy. If instant ramen had been this tasty when we were in college, we probably would have slurped a bowl every day.
10. Jin Ramen – Spicy (OTTOGI)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
OTTOGI’s Jin Ramen Spicy has the same springy noodles and beefy broth that we love in its slightly less spicy brother. It also has enough colorful bits to keep us engaged every time we slurp an entire bowl.
11. Chapagetti (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Mild
Chapagetti achieved global fame when it was hastily combined with Neoguri Ramen in the 2019 Oscar-winning movie Parasite. Made with steak, the fusion instant ramen dish is called Chapaguri in South Korea and Ram-Don in the US. Essentially spaghetti noodles with black bean sauce, a/k/a jjajang, Chapagetti has a beefy flavor that’s oddly mild and somewhat sweet. It also has meat flakes that double as the world’s tiniest meatballs.
12. Neoguri Ramen – Seafood & Spicy (Nongshim)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Hot
Ingredients like shrimp, cuttlefish and seaweed bring the ocean to Neoguri Ramen while spices bring the heat. Sure, there’s a mild version of this soupy ramen flavor, but where’s the fun in that? Plus, the spicy version is the one that’s combined with Chapagetti to make Chapaguri. See Chapagetti above.
13. Demae Ramen – Miso (Nissin)
Country of Origin: Japan
Spice Level: Mild
Produced by Nissin, the OG instant noodle company founded by Momofuku Ando, Demae Miso Ramen is more traditional than most of the instant noodles featured in this guide. It’s an ideal soup for people who appreciate comforting broth, deep umami-rich miso flavor and slurpable noodles. And, as a bonus, for those who don’t eat meat, it’s vegan.
14. Demae Ramen – Beef (Nissin)
Country of Origin: Japan
Spice Level: Mild
Altough Demae Beef Ramen doesn’t have actual slices of beef, the broth has a beefy flavor thanks to ingredients like beef extract and beef fat. However, if you’re missing the beef slices, there’s nothing that says you can’t add them yourself. The key advancement in this ramen, and what makes it different from traditional powder flavored ramens, is its oil pack which gives the soup an unctuous, puckering mouthfeel.
15. Demae Ramen – XO (Nissin)
Country of Origin: Japan
Spice Level: Medium
A staple in Chinese cuisine, XO sauce is made with rich ingredients like top-grade dried seafood, Jinhua ham and rehydrated mushrooms. Since we’re fans of XO sauce and its rich, dimensional flavors, we approve of Demae XO Ramen with deep umami flavors that taste of both the sea and the land.
16. Demae Black Garlic Oil Tonkotsu Flavor Ramen (Nissin)
Country of Origin: Japan
Spice Level: Mild
We developed a taste for tonkatsu ramen while slurping bowls of the Japanese food favorite in its home city of Fukuoka and around the world. While Nissin’s instant version isn’t restaurant caliber, its black garlic oil packet provides a lip-smacking mouthfeel that simulates a bowl of actual tonkatsu broth. It’s a porky noodle soup that’s both creamy and tasty.
17. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Very Hot
Samyang gets credit for creating a new category, buldak or ‘fire chicken’ ramen, when its über popular Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen debuted in 2012. Despite that popularity, the super spicy instant ramen is only appropriate for people who appreciate heat when they eat. Since we’re two of those people, we’re up for the OG Buldak’s ‘Korean fire noodle challenge’ and love its hot flavor and chewy noodles.
18. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – Carbonara (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Very Hot
Italy sort of meets South Korea in this creative ramen flavor that’s creamy like Italian carbonara but also soupy and spicy like South Korean ramyum. Its similarities to the Roman food favorite are questionable but there’s no debate that it tastes great. While TikTok influencers like to doctor up their carbonara ramen bowls with mayo and egg yolk, we’re happy to slurp ours without any extra ingredients. Call us old-school but we like this instant ramen’s thick, bouncy noodles as well as its Asian flavors.
19. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – Cheese (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Very Hot
Don’t expect to literally taste cheese when you eat Buldak’s cheese flavored instant ramen – its cheese powder acts more as a creamy binder than a flavor. The combination of bouncy noodles and hot red broth reminds us of spicy SpaghettiOs.
20. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – Curry (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Very Hot
Whoever thought of adding curry powder to ramen is a genius. The combination creates a spicy stir-fried ramen that’s a little Indian and a lot Korean. It’s also delicious. Plus, the artfully drawn maharaja chicken on the package is reason enough to buy this Buldak flavor.
21. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – Kimchi (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Hot
While Buldak’s kimchi instant ramen flavor isn’t mild, it’s less hot than the other Buldak flavors we tasted. It’s also the only Buldak instant ramen we tasted with dried kimchi flakes. Since we like kimchi, we like this flavor. However, we’d like it even more if the subtle kimchi flavor were stronger.
22. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – Habanero Lime (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Very Hot
Based on its name, it’s no surprise that Buldak Habanero Lime Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen brings the heat. In fact, we approached this ramen flavor with curious trepidation based on its name. Our fears were unfounded – our half dry bowl of ramen had a heat level that created more of a steady burn than a tidal wave of hurt. Phew!
23. Buldak Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen – Stew Style (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Hot
We were curious to taste Buldak’s ‘stew type’ hot chicken ramen since the culinary concepts of stew and ramen don’t typically go together. Color us surprised that this flavor turned out to be one of our favorites thanks to its soupy consistency and a muted heat level that started in the back of our throats and didn’t whack us in the face. Although we didn’t find this flavor to be as hot as other Buldak flavors, its capsaicin still made our lips tingle.
24. Buldak 2x Spicy Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Extremely Hot
We weren’t prepared when we first tried Buldak 2X Spicy Hot Chicken Ramen – the extreme capsaicin literally blew our taste buds into oblivion. Although we knew what to expect when we tried it again, it’s not a flavor that we’ll likely buy any time soon since we’re more into comfort than pain. We recommend this flavor for adventurous eaters with cast iron stomachs and tongues of steel.
25. Jjajang Ramen (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Mild
Unlike its Buldak line of hot and spicy ramen, Samyang’s Jjajang Ramen is notable for having a sweet soy bean sauce that doesn’t bring any heat to the party. However, to be clear, Jjajang Ramen isn’t a dessert – it’s a savory ramen, based on a famous Korean noodle dish, with hints of both sweetness and umami.
26. Potato Ramen (Samyang)
Country of Origin: South Korea
Spice Level: Medium
Samyang’s Potato Ramen gets its name from noodles made with both potato starch and wheat flour. We like those chewy noodles as well as its slightly spicy broth that’s salty without being bracing. Overall, Potato Ramen is a comforting noodle soup we’d happily slurp on a cold winter day.
27. Hot Spicy Halo Carbo Ramen Noodles (Paku Paku)
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Spice Level: Hot
We weren’t familiar with Paku Paku ramen until we spotted the pink ‘halo carbo’ package on the shelf at a local Asian market. It was a fortuitous find. This Korean-style instant ramen produced in Vietnam with four different powders (cheese, chili, garlic and onion) has a surprisingly cheesy texture and flavors that are hot without being too hot. It’s now part of our permanent instant ramen rotation.
28. Hot Spicy Chachajang Ramen Noodles (Paku Paku)
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Spice Level: Hot
Paku Paku’s Hot Spicy Chachajang Ramen Noodles isn’t the only instant ramen with black bean sauce. It’s not even the only hot instant ramen with black bean sauce. However, this Vietnamese take on South Korea’s jjajang may be the one with the most balanced flavors.
29. Hot Spicy Creamy Cheese Ramen Noodles (Paku Paku)
Country of Origin: Vietnam
Spice Level: Hot
There’s no debate that Paku Paku makes the best South Korean style instant ramen in Vietnam. Simultaneously creamy and spicy hot, its creamy cheese flavor tingles the tongue without causing a three alarm fire.
30. A-Kuan Broad Noodles – Spicy Hot Flavor (Baijia)
Country of Origin: China
Spice Level: Hot
A-Kuan describes its spicy hot broad noodles as restaurant quality, and we don’t disagree. These non-fried instant noodles rival noodles we’ve eaten at Chinese restaurants around the world. Despite being wheat noodles, their thinness provides a delicate, pleasing mouthfeel. And, thanks to ingredients like Sichuan peppercorn and dried chili, the spicy sauce has a tongue-tingling quality that we adore.
31. A-Kuan Chongqing Noodles – Spicy Hot Flavor (Baijia)
Country of Origin: China
Spice Level: Hot
With more than 32 million residents, China’s Chongqing is one of the most populous cities in the world. After slurping a bowl of A-Kuan Chongqing Noodles, we assume that many of those residents like hot, numbing and spicy flavors as much as we do. Perhaps that’s why we’re fans of this soupy instant noodle dish and its mound of long, thin noodles.
32. A-Kuan Chongqing Noodles – Hot & Sour Flavor (Baijia)
Country of Origin: China
Spice Level: Hot
A-Kuan’s Chongqing hot and sour noodles are not to be confused with the white pepper spiced hot and sour soup that’s served in the USA. This is a hot and numbing Sichuan soup. The broth’s flavor is surprisingly complex thanks to ingredients like rapeseed oil, chili, sesame, ginger, shallot, Sichuan peppercorn and spices like cinnamon, licorice, star anise, lemongrass and cumin. Long, thin noodles transform the flavorful soup from a starter to a meal.
33. Pad Thai Noodles – Stir Fry Flavor (MAMA)
Country of Origin: Thailand
Spice Level: Mild
Thailand’s iconic noodle dish is notable for its savory, savory and sweet sauce as well as for ingredients like rice noodles, crushed peanuts, tofu and shrimp. MAMA’s instant noodle version does a fairly good job of emulating the popular Thai dish with air-dried rice noodles and a range of powders made of shrimp, coconut cream, chili, tamarind and soy sauce. However, true pad Thai fans will want to doctor this dish with actual protein and peanuts to create a more satisfying noodle experience.
34. Phó Bò (MAMA)
Country of Origin: Thailand
Spice Level: Mild
Starting each morning with pho is a ritual that we embraced in Vietnamese cities like Hanoi and Hoi An. Thanks to MAMA’s Phó Bò line of instant noodles, we’re now incorporating the Vietnamese food favorite into our breakfast rotation even though we’re 6,500 miles from the Southeast Asian country. We’ve tried both Phó Bò (beef pho) and Phó Gà (chicken pho) flavors and consider the beef version to be more reminiscent of actual pho broth. That being said, we like the lighter chicken flavor too.
35. Tom Yum (MAMA)
Country of Origin: Thailand
Spice Level: Mild
Tom Yum is a classic Thai dish that ranks as one of the world’s best soups. We had just two words for MAMA’s instant noodle version when we took our first slurps and those words were tom yummy. The instant shrimp-flavored soup loaded with bouncy noodles took our mouths on a tuk tuk ride that we didn’t want to end.
36. Mi Goreng Hot & Spicy (Indo Mie)
Country of Origin: Indonesia
Spice Level: Mild
Mi goreng translates to fried noodles and that’s what we ate after we whipped up Indo Mie’s most popular instant noodle flavor. There was no broth in our bowl – just long, skinny curly noodles. Despite the ‘hot & spicy’ description, our bowl’s heat level was surprisingly mild. We still enjoyed the dry noodles’ funky flavor, the umami undertone powered by sweet kecap manis and, of course, the crispy bits.
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
Instant noodles are essentially pre-cooked noodles that are dried in blocks and sold with flavor packets and seasoning oils.
Momofuku Ando invented instant noodles in Japan.
The variety of instant noodles runs the gamut with a wide range of flavors and noodles sold around the world. You need to taste them all to find your personal favorite.
Nothing. People use ‘instant noodles’ and ‘instant ramen’ synonymously.
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