Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
by Chungah
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This quick ramen noodle stir fry is so easy and budget-friendly using ramen noodles, ground beef and the most flavor-packed stir fry sauce!
Why you’ll love this quick ramen noodle stir fry
- Perfect for busy weeknights. Stir-fries are simply quick cooking meals. And this is the ultimate ultra-fast, weeknight-friendly dinner that requires no more than 30 minutes start to finish by using ground beef and instant ramen noodles.
- Highly customizable. This recipe can easily be adapted to mix in what you have on hand. For example, you can swap in ground turkey for the ground beef or use rice noodles in place of the ramen noodles to make it gluten-free. The possibilities are simply endless.
- Budget-friendly. You can essentially use up anything and everything in your fridge, transforming random veggies and proteins into the best clean-out-the-fridge meal.
How to make ramen noodle stir fry
- Cook the noodles. Cook the ramen noodles until al dente, rinsing with cold water to halt the cooking process.
- Prep the stir fry sauce. Combine the beef stock, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha.
- Brown the meat. Crumble the ground beef with the onion in a large skillet over medium heat, draining off any excess fat and grease.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Deglaze the pan. Add the stir fry sauce, lifting up the browned bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the noodles. Stir in the al dente ramen noodles, tossing until evenly coated.
- Serve. Sprinkle with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve warm.
Variations and substitutions
- Ramen noodles: substitute fresh lo mein, chow mein, Yaki-Soba or udon noodles
- Beef stock: substitute unsalted chicken stock
- Sriracha: omit for milder flavors
- Ground beef: substitute ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork
Tools For This Recipe
Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Cook the ramen noodles just until al dente, then rinse with cold water to prevent the noodles from clumping and becoming gummy.
The seasoning packet included with the ramen noodles should be discarded as the recipe builds a more balanced, authentic stir-fry sauce with a few pantry staples.
Yes! You can substitute ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork. You can also try this recipe instead using boneless, skinless chicken.
Add quick-cooking vegetables such as broccoli, bell pepper, carrots, mushrooms and snap peas.
Always add the sauce towards the end of cooking time, allowing the sauce to thicken and create a glossy coat.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Quick Ramen Noodle Stir Fry
Video
Ingredients
- 2 (3.5-ounce) packages instant ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded
- ⅓ cup beef stock
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced sweet onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook ramen noodles until tender, about 3-4 minutes; rinse with cold water and drain well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together beef stock, oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha.
- Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and onion, and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in beef stock mixture, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Stir in ramen noodles until heated through and evenly coated in sauce, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Prep beforehand. This stir fry recipe comes together quickly. Have all the ingredients and sauce ready to go prior to cooking.
- Cook until al dente. Cook the ramen noodles just until al dente as they will continue to cook when stir-fried.
- Rinse noodles with cold water. This will stop the cooking process to tighten the starches and keep the noodles from clumping.
- Use lean ground beef. Opt for 90% or higher, preventing the dish from being overly greasy or oily.
- Make it mild. Omit the Sriracha for milder flavors, perfect for little ones and toddlers.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
WOW! What an easy recipe to follow especially if it’s your first time pulling together an Asian dish. Prep time was a little longer than I’d planned for, but that’s to be expected with a new/untried recipe. Doubled the amount of Sriracha sauce since I like my food extra spicy. The ‘hint of Ginger’ took this recipe over the top!! I’ll definitely be making this a regular dish going forward.
Fabulous, Easy, Filling, Quick….. My husband is super super picky about what he eats. He went back for seconds. This will be on our weekly rotation. I think the next time I might a just a bit of sliced carrots and celery to get a bit more veggies in.
Thank you for this recipe
Very tasty and easy! I used different noodles because I had extra in the fridge, worked just fine.
Super easy and tasty. Definitely will make it again.
Here’s what I did, sauteed mushrooms, red pepper,onion and added to the ground beef. Also simply softened the ramin with the beef flavour packet in a large measuring cup and did not rinse also added a splash (glug) of hoisin. M’mmmmm
I made it vegan and used Beyond ground meat, vegetable broth, miso and added broccoli with an extra noodle packet… amazing!
This is my first recipe review. I thought it was strange to have ground beef in this dish, so my expectations were “Meh, we’ll try it.” I’m so glad we did. It was outstanding. My teenager and husband enjoyed it as well. I served it with steamed broccoli. No leftovers! Awesomely easy without skipping on taste!
I doubled this recipe, served it with plain steamed broccoli on the side and it was a hit w/the whole family. Doubling the recipe comfortably served 4 of us (2 adults, 1 hungry teen, and a 10 yr old).
Can I use a wok vs a skillet?
Will do. Thanks much!
My family absolutely loved this and it wasn’t enough for a family of 4. Next time, I think I will try 3 noodle packets and adding chopped broccoli and baby corn. The sauce is so, so good. Can’t wait to try making it again next week!
Can I freeze this?
No, noodles don’t freeze well.
What substitutions do you recommend to make the sauce vegetarian?
Vegetable stock, genius.
ouch! @Mona ):
DeeDee: I don’t think Mona was putting you down, she was saying vegetable stock is a genius idea! <3
My family is obsessed with this. There are very few dishes that I can make that all three kids love (plus one of them is lactose-intolerant), but this one hit all the right notes, AND it’s so quick that I can throw it together before or after soccer/dance/rehearsals/basketball/horseback riding/all-the-activities. I even threw in chopped frozen broccoli a few times to feel better about myself as a parent and THEY STILL ATE IT. Once I served this to one of my kid’s friends, and the friend told his mom to ask me for the recipe (she did).
I have used this twice, it is quick and easy and can also be done with cut pieces of chicken thighs. I always add more ginger to bring out the flavor.
Fairly quick, but not as flavorful as I would have hoped. Mostly tasted like ground meat and noodles. Was okay with a little hoisin sauce and soy sauce added when serving. I probably would not make it again. Definitely not as good as some other recipes from this site.
Very good considering I had to substitute for the clam sauce (used soy sauce, worchestershire and a little sugar), rice wine vinegar (used white wine vinegar and a little sugar) and powdered ginger for the fresh ginger. I’m sure if I purchase the correct ingredients it will be “Damndelicious”. I also used 3 pkts of ramen because mine were 3.0 oz not 3.5oz.
This recipe is great for a more traditional spin on cheap ramen! Been looking for a new staple ramen recipe and THIS IS IT!
Made this last night for dinner – another hit! My kids loved it – especially the texture of the curly ramen. We served it with rice (my husband’s Filipino) and roasted broccoli, but I could see adding more veg to the stir fry even. Love all your recipes – easy to follow, easy ingredients we already have in the pantry and quick to come together. Keep ’em coming!
Another picky eater bites the dust on this one (granddaughter). We just finished dinner, and as I write this, I am craving just one more bite (maybe because I portioned it out into 6 servings instead of 4). Will go into regular rotation around here, though I think I’ll try it with chicken breasts & chicken stock next time, to be a little more WW friendly. (This was 9 freestyle points, per 1/6 recipe.) I was a little worried that there was no thickener for the sauce, but the Ramen noodles sucked it up nicely. I did throw in some carrots, sliced diagonally, & broccoli florets, and hubby said he thought some red bell peppers would have been good, too. (I also subbed chili-garlic sauce for the Sriracha, because it’s what I had, and it is so wicked good.) Very satisfying! Thanks for another darn-delicious recipe!
I now make this with shaved beef and it is even better. I wonder how a vegetarian version would be?
Delish! But it didn’t look like yours
My family loved this. I will make it again soon, but will only use 1/2 lb of ground beef next time and will add some veggies, possibly carrots and broccoli. Thank you for another wonderful recipe that I can actually make and that my whole family enjoys!
I still make this often, but now we use shaved steak (1/2 pound) and serve with steamed or roasted broccoli. It is one of the best weeknight meals – Thank you!