Healthier Chicken Ramen is a delicious, healthy spin on a classic noodle dish. Chicken is simmered with stock, vegetables and miso paste to create the perfect broth. It is then spooned over brown rice ramen noodles and topped with roasted vegetables. Each bite is slurp-worthy!
How Do You Make Ramen Healthier?
Now, this may seem like a crazy question! Because, ramen has the bad rap of being high in salt, carbs and just overall not the healthiest option on the shelf. Although, it is always delicious!
Making ramen healthier is fairly simple: make it homemade! That way, you can truly control what goes in it.
For this recipe, you can use either a rotisserie chicken or a raw whole chicken. Simmering the chicken in the stock with onions, carrots, garlic and miso paste creates a deep, flavorful broth without having to add in a whole bunch of salt or gunk! The result is a broth of pure golden goodness. This is the first step in making ramen healthier – control the ingredients!
PS: I find my brown rice miso paste at Whole Foods!
What Type of Ramen Noodles to Use
When it comes to ramen, one of the most important ingredients is well, the noodles of course! I absolutely love these Millet & Brown Rice Ramen Noodles. They have great texture, taste and are perfect for slurping! I’ve been able to find them in smaller packages at Target or Whole Foods, and in a larger pack at Costco. We love them!
This day and age, there are probably several healthier ramen noodles out there. Use your favorite! I have just found that this brand is consistently good.
Let’s Talk Toppings
Let’s dive into the fun stuff – toppings! There are so many different directions you can go with topping this Healthier Chicken Ramen. My favorite is to do either roasted or grilled veggies. Not only does it add another layer of flavor, but helps you get extra veggies into your meal! Here are some other options:
- Roasted veggies – sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini, broccoli, corn or beets are all great options!
- Soft boiled eggs
- Seaweed or Kale chips
- Sliced green onion
- Pickled red onion
Roasted veggie tip: use frozen to help you save on time if need be! Just toss them all onto a sheet pan with a little seasoned salt and roast at 400 degrees until perfectly done!
This is one of those recipes that has easily found its way into our favorites. It is simple enough that I can whip it up quick for a weeknight meal, and fun enough to serve it as a weekend dinner option. How great would it be to have a build-your-own-ramen-bowl night?? Toppings all around!
Looking for other soup recipes? Look here!
Healthier Chicken Ramen
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Healthier Chicken Ramen is a delicious, healthy spin on a classic noodle dish. Chicken is simmered with stock, vegetables and miso paste to create the perfect broth. It is then spooned over brown rice ramen noodles and topped with roasted vegetables. Each bite is slurp-worthy!
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken
- 2 (24 oz) containers chicken stock
- 1 onion, peeled and quartered
- 2 large carrots, cut into 3 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons mellow miso paste
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 4 ramen noodle bricks
- Toppings – such as roasted vegetables (sweet potato, butternut squash, zucchini, broccoli, corn, beets), seaweed or kale chips, soft boiled eggs, pickled red onion, sliced green onion
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Pour in the chicken stock and add in the onion, carrot, miso paste and chopped garlic. Bring to a low boil over medium heat, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the broth and lightly pull apart and shred, discarding the skin and bones. Use a hand-held strainer to remove the onion, carrot and large garlic pieces from the pot to leave a nice, clear broth. Add pulled chicken back in.
- Cook the ramen noodles according to package instructions in a separate pan. Pour the chicken and broth over the individual servings of noodles in bowls and top with desired toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- A rotisserie chicken or a whole, raw chicken can be used for this recipe (even bone-in breasts can be used). If using raw chicken, up the cooking time to allow the chicken to cook all the way through.
- I often use frozen veggies and roast them on a sheet pan for toppings to help make my life a little easier!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
Share the love!
If you make this recipe and love it as much as I do, I’d love to hear from you! Comment below, rate the recipe, or share a picture tagging @kjandcompany or using #kjandcompany so that I can see your fun pictures 🙂
Thanks for following and cooking along with me!