Easy Homemade Chicken Ramen

Chopsticks lift up a portion of ramen noodles from the chicken ramen.

I’ve been known to crave hot soup on sweltering days, and this ramen is no exception. My easy homemade chicken ramen uses up leftover rotisserie chicken and adds a few spices to regular low-sodium chicken broth for a truly craveable bowl of ramen.

A quick note: This chicken ramen recipe is designed to be quick and easy—not a traditional simmer-for-an-entire-day ramen. (Come on; we’re using canned chicken broth.) I make no claims that this is “authentic” ramen: This is a satisfying and tasty substitute that I like to make when my favorite ramen shop is closed or I don’t feel like going out.

A pair of chopsticks is taking out a bunch of noodles and chicken from a bowl of ramen topped with jalapenos and an egg.
This ramen makes the perfect lunch or dinner on a busy day!

Ingredients for Easy Homemade Chicken Ramen

Most of these ingredients live in everyone’s pantries. The only two ingredients you may need to stock up on are hot chili oil and umami seasoning. You can usually find both of those at your local grocery store. If not, Trader Joe’s makes a great umami seasoning, and your local Asian grocer will have a variety of hot chili oil and ramen noodles on hand.

  • Ramen noodles
  • Low-sodium chicken broth
  • Garlic powder
  • Ground ginger
  • Umami seasoning
  • Hot chili oil
  • Shredded rotisserie chicken
  • Hard-cooked egg
  • Green onions
  • Jalapeno (optional)
  • Sesame seeds (optional but highly recommended)
The ingredients for chicken ramen on a white quartz counter.
All the ingredients you need to make a tasty ramen soup at home!

Quick Tips for Prepping Easy Homemade Chicken Ramen

Typically, I make this recipe with just the hard-cooked eggs, as we don’t usually have rotisserie chicken hanging out in the fridge! When we do have rotisserie chicken, however, I try to make this ramen because it’s a great way to use up any leftovers.

The hot chili oil isn’t terribly spicy in this quantity, so you should be fine using it even if you always order “mild” at restaurants.

If you like your ramen spicy, add a little extra hot chili oil, sprinkle on some red pepper flakes, or stack on the jalapeno slices. My husband likes to use a combination of red pepper flakes and jalapeno slices to get to his preferred spice level.

Can I Make Easy Homemade Chicken Ramen Gluten-Free?

Yes, this ramen can easily be made gluten-free! Only the soy sauce and noodles contain gluten, so if you swap those out, you’ll be good to go.

For gluten-free ramen noodles, I like Lotus Foods’ Millet & Brown Rice Ramen. Then substitute a gluten-free soy sauce or alternative (liquid aminos, coconut aminos, tamari—whatever your preference!) to have a gluten-free ramen bowl.

A fork holds up cooked ramen noodles above a pot of boiling water.
Cooking the noodles separately reduces the starch in the final bowl of ramen, and it’s easier to tell when they’re done.

Why Don’t You Cook the Ramen Noodles in the Broth?

I cook, drain, and rinse my noodles and then place them into the soup bowls. It’s an extra step, but it reduces the amount of starch in the final bowl of soup, and it’s the way ramen shops do it (albeit with fresh noodles).

The best ramen is made with fresh noodles cooked in an alkaline solution, which are then added to the bowl with the broth and various toppings. This recipe calls for dried ramen noodles, so there’s a little wiggle room for variations.

  • To make your ramen noodles a bit springier and chewier, add a tablespoon of baking soda to the boiling water.
  • For noodles that absorb more of the broth flavor, cook the noodles directly in the broth right before serving.

Do I Have to Use Low-Sodium Chicken Broth and Soy Sauce?

No, use whatever type of chicken broth and soy sauce you prefer or have on hand!

I like to control the amount of salt in my recipes, so I always use low-sodium chicken broth and soy sauce. I find that it’s much easier to add a sprinkle of salt than figure out a way to make something less salty.

Where Can I Find Ramen Noodles?

You can find Chinese yam noodles, or ramen noodles, at your local Asian grocery store. I always have a hard time picking which ramen I want because they have so many different kinds!

My favorite ramen noodles come in relatively inexpensive packs of 16, and they’ll last you through a lot of meals.

If you don’t have an Asian market near you, you can use the noodles from a Top Ramen packet instead.

What Soup Bowls and Chopsticks Do You Have?

The bowls used in these photos are 48-oz melamine soup bowls. They no longer sell the exact bowl set online, but this set is similar and comes with matching spoons. The extra-large size of these bowls holds a hearty bowl of soup.

My favorite set of chopsticks is made of twisted bamboo, and I think they are beautiful. The twist gives the chopsticks a good grip, which is especially helpful if you struggle to hold onto the flat and coated chopsticks.

Broth being poured over ramen noodles.
Pour the broth over the noodles, taking care to divide the chicken and broth evenly.

Dish Cleanup: Not Too Bad

I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.

This easy homemade chicken ramen recipe is a 2. As you can see, I really didn’t have many dishes. Ramen typically comes apart easily with a few pokes of a fork, which you can use to lightly stir in the seasonings later. Chopping up the green onions and jalapeños dirtied a cutting board and knife, which don’t take long to clean.

A collection of kitchen tools and items used to make the ramen.
This recipe comes together with few dishes, leaving you more time to enjoy your life away from the sink.
Yield: 2 bowls

Easy Homemade Chicken Ramen

Two bowls of chicken ramen, topped with green onion, jalapenos, and half of a hard-cooked egg.

Chicken broth, shredded rotisserie chicken, and a handful of spices make for a tasty homemade ramen that's ready in about 30 minutes!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 bundles ramen noodles
  • 2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth (29-oz total)
  • 2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon umami seasoning blend
  • 2 teaspoons hot chili oil
  • 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken breast (226g)
  • 1 hard-cooked egg
  • 1 stalk green onion
  • 1 jalapeno (optional)
  • ½ teaspoon sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Bring a few cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook ramen noodles according to the directions. When cooked, rinse in cold water and drain before dividing the noodles evenly into two soup bowls. Set aside.
  2. In the same saucepan over medium heat, add chicken broth and stir in the soy sauce, spices, and hot chili oil. While the broth is warming up, chop up the green onion and jalapeno (if using). Peel the hard-cooked egg and slice in half lengthwise.
  3. Add the shredded chicken and just the whites of the green onion to the broth. Heat until boiling.
  4. Pour the soup evenly into the noodle bowls, and place half of the egg in each. Top as desired with remaining green onion, sesame seeds, and jalapeno.

Notes

I use low-sodium chicken broth and soy sauce, but use whatever you have on hand!

If you don't have rotisserie chicken on hand, this recipe can be made without the chicken—simply add another three hard-cooked eggs to the recipe for additional protein.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1 bowl

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 614Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 8.5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 188mgSodium: 2880mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 3gSugar: 1gProtein: 43g

The nutrition facts are estimated and may vary based on specific ingredients used.

Thanks for trying out this easy homemade chicken ramen! I’d love to see how yours turns out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me.

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Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Looking for a dinner that isn’t a soup? My hoisin turkey and brown rice bowls make for a great dinner with lots of vegetables—and it’s fun because you won’t even know they’re there!

You can find all of my dinner recipes check out some of my other dinners. (I’m adding recipes every month!)

Happy cooking!

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