For those on a budget, food is one area where it’s easier to cut corners. One popular, cheap food option, especially among broke college students, is ramen noodles. Ask any kid that went away to college what they ate the most while away and the response is almost always ramen noodles. For just pennies a packet, ramen noodles are a simple food with a simple, salty flavor, so it’s no surprise that people are often looking for ways to add some depth and variety to the meal. Below are ten suggestions to give your ramen noodles some flair.
- Tex Mex Ramen: Brown a pound of ground beef and add a package of taco seasoning. Boil ramen noodles and mix with meat. You can garnish with your favorite taco toppings like cheese, lettuce, sour cream and nacho cheese chips.
- Spaghetti Ramen: Pour heated marinara sauce over boiled ramen noodles for a quick and cheap spaghetti dish.
- Tuna Ramen: Add one can of drained tuna and a can of cream of mushroom soup and some crushed potato chips to boiled ramen noodles.
- Greek Ramen Salad: Place one cup of each crumbled Feta, chopped onions, tomatoes, green olives, black olives, red bell pepper over boiled ramen noodles. Top with dressing made of one cup canola oil and one cup lemon juice.
- Antipasto Ramen: Add one cup each of pepperoni and black olives along with 1/8 cup of sliced onion to boiled ramen noodles. Add Italian dressing to taste.
- Caesar Ramen: Add two cooked chicken breasts, diced, to one cup each bacon, croutons and Caesar salad dressing to two packages of boiled ramen noodles.
- Dessert Ramen: Place three scoops of vanilla ice cream in a bowl and top with 1/3 cup fried ramen noodles and your favorite ice cream sauce.
- Trail Mix Ramen: Combine one cup each dried apricots, dried cranberries and sliced almonds with one package of fried ramen noodles.
- Breakfast Ramen: Break an egg into a pot while ramen noodles are boiling. Mix in seasoning packet as directed.
- Stir Fry Ramen: Stir fry one pound of beef strips with two cups of broccoli and one cup of onion and beef seasoning packet from beef flavored ramen. Add in 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Cook until vegetables reach desired tenderness and serve over boiled ramen noodles.
Give some of these quick ideas a try to spice up your ramen noodle meals. Did we miss your favorite? Leave your favorite recipe in the comments below!
