Keto Ramen Seasoning Recipe: A Comprehensive Guide

For those following a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, or keto lifestyle, the craving for ramen can be a challenge. Traditional ramen is often off-limits due to its high carbohydrate content and potential gluten contamination. However, with a few clever ingredient swaps and a homemade seasoning blend, you can enjoy a comforting bowl of ramen that aligns with your dietary needs. This article will explore various options for creating keto-friendly ramen, focusing on both the noodles and the flavorful broth.

Gluten-Free Ramen Seasoning: A Homemade Solution

Many families are now gluten-free, this includes children. This can make it hard to find a good ramen seasoning option, but with a few simple ingredients, you can make your own at home.

Why Make Your Own Ramen Seasoning?

Ramen seasoning packets often contain high levels of sodium, preservatives, and gluten. Crafting your own seasoning blend allows you to control the ingredients, reduce sodium intake, and eliminate unwanted additives. It's a budget-friendly and simple way to enjoy ramen without compromising your health goals. Plus, this seasoning is very budget-friendly.

Simple Gluten-Free Ramen Seasoning Recipe

This recipe requires only six ingredients and five minutes to make.

Ingredients:

• Nutritional yeast
• Garlic powder (or granulated garlic)

Instructions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, stirring to combine.
2. Store in a sealed container (like a small mason jar) in the pantry for up to 3 months.

Nutritional yeast offers a cheesy, dairy-free flavor. It is not the same as baker’s yeast. Though it’s derived from baker’s yeast, it’s been deactivated and cannot make things rise. Instead, it’s a commonly used for a cheesy dairy-free flavor.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

How to Use Your Homemade Seasoning

1. Place 1 ramen brick in a glass bowl.
2. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon ramen seasoning.
3. Cover with 1 cup chicken broth (or beef or vegetable broth, or bone broth).
4. Microwave in 1 minute intervals, flipping the ramen noodles every minute, until desired softness, about 4-5 minutes.

To make gluten-free ramen, use Lotus Foods gluten-free ramen noodles. They can be found at Costco or on Amazon.

Beyond Soup: Creative Uses for Ramen Seasoning

This ramen spice mix is versatile. Use ramen spices on snack mixes, as a rub on meat, or to top roasted vegetables. Consider using it on spiced nuts, roasted chickpeas, chicken, carrots, or Brussels sprouts. If you like your ramen on the spicier side, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cayenne to this blend.

Keto Ramen: Recreating a Classic

Most ramen recipes are not keto, low carb, paleo, or gluten free due to the noodles. However, this recipe substitutes ramen noodles for shirataki noodles, which are a great keto, low carb, and gluten free substitute.

The Importance of Broth

Full of warm, comforting, umami flavor, keto ramen is REALLY all about the broth. The broth is the heart of keto ramen, delivering the rich and savory flavors that make ramen so satisfying. To achieve this, specialty ingredients are needed to get its complex flavor just right.

Keto-Friendly Noodle Options

• Shirataki Noodles: Incredibly low in calories and carbs, these noodles can be found in the refrigerator section of most grocery stores. They have hardly any taste and a rice noodle-like texture. The trick to actually enjoying these noodles is to use them in select dishes only-I find they’re a great stir-fry noodle swap, but I never use them as an Italian pasta substitute. Also, the dry fry technique (read more about it here) helps to absorb excess liquid, which improves their flavor and texture.
• Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles): If you’re making keto ramen zoodles, be sure to add them in with the bok choy, otherwise, they’ll soften too much.
• Edamame Noodles: Edamame noodles are my go-to for most other dishes.
• Butternut Squash: Butternut squash will add a mildly sweet and delicious flavor. These are a bit higher in carbs than other vegetables, so check to make sure they work with your goals.
• Spaghetti Squash: Spaghetti squash is a great option, however, it requires a few extra steps.
• Kelp Noodles: Made from seaweed, these noodles are gluten free and low in carbs (3 g net carbs per serving).
• Immi Noodles: This is the only brand that I have found that is close in appearance, texture and taste to actual instant ramen noodles that come in a package. These noodles are plant based but they are not gluten free. One package of ramen is 6 g net carbs.

Enhancing the Broth's Flavor

Fish sauce gives our keto ramen more umami flavor. Increase/decrease the amount of sriracha added, depending on how spicy you like your low carb ramen broth.

Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide

A Basic Keto Ramen Recipe

This keto ramen recipe pairs low carb ramen noodles with a delicate broth and various toppings. It’s filling, comforting, and takes only 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs boneless + skinless
• 1 tablespoon mild tasting oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Soup:

• 6 large eggs
• 2, 8 ounce packages shirataki noodles spaghetti shaped
• 2 tablespoons mild tasting oil I use avocado oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced
• 1/4 cup nori (roasted seaweed, salted) sliced into thin strips. LOOSELY packed - about 3, 3" square sheets
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
• 2 baby bok choy chopped
• 3 green onions sliced, pale green + white parts only

Instructions:

1. Cook the chicken: Preheat the oven to 425 F. Toss chicken (4) with salt (1 teaspoon), pepper (1/2 teaspoon), and olive oil (1 tablespoon), until evenly coated. Place in a 9x13 baking dish and cook in preheated oven until the center reaches an internal temp of 165 F, about 35 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, slice into bite-sized pieces.
2. Soft boil the eggs. Bring a medium bowl of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the eggs (6), and cover with a lid. Cook this way for 6-7 minutes. Once finished cooking, place eggs in an ice bath (a large bowl of cold water and ice). Once cool enough to handle, peel and set aside, slice just before you add them to the ramen.
3. Noodles. Rinse shirataki noodles (2, 8 ounce packages) thoroughly, then place them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic (4 cloves) and ginger (1 tablespoon), and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add drained noodles and toss to coat in oil. Cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Simmer. Add the chicken broth (6 cups), mushrooms (4 ounces), nori (1/4 cup), soy sauce (1/4 cup), fish sauce (1 teaspoon), sriracha (1/2 teaspoon), and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until the mushrooms have softened-should be about 10 minutes.
6. Stir in the bok choy (2) and green onions (3), and cook until the bok choy starts to wilt-about 2 minutes. Stir in sliced chicken.
7. Assemble + Serve. Ladle ramen into bowls. Garnished with halved eggs, sesame seeds, green onions and cilantro. Enjoy!

Customizing Your Keto Ramen

As you know, there are so many ways to whip up a bowl of ramen. Make yours unique by swapping the noodles, and protein, or adjusting the broth to taste.

• Protein: Swap the chicken with whatever protein you prefer-pork, chicken breast, beef (ala keto beef stew), or keto shrimp ramen are all great options. Or, skip the protein for vegetarian ramen.
• Broth: Swap the broth. Make it gluten-free. Use coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari instead of soy sauce.
• Noodles: Use different noodles.
• Flavor: Change the flavor. Chicken, beef, shrimp, and even cheddar cheese are all popular additions to change up the protein and the flavor of the ramen.

Additional Keto Ramen Variations

• Butter Ramen: It’s a simple ramen recipe using instant ramen noodles. It combines butter, garlic, brown sugar, everything bagel seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and soy sauce.
  1. Add seasonings - garlic, red pepper flakes, brown sugar free sweetener and Everything Bagel Seasoning.
  2. Discard the spice packet that comes with the keto ramen noodles.
  3. Add noodles to a medium saucepan filled with water and bring to a boil.
  4. Boil for 3-4 minutes or until noodles have softened.
  5. Strain noodles to remove the water. Set aside.
  6. To a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant.
  7. Stir in brown sugar sweetener, everything bagel seasoning and soy sauce (if using).
  8. Add the cooked ramen noodles to the skillet and stir to evenly coat sauce on the noodles.
  9. Consider adding other add-in ingredients like egg, sliced green onion or sesame seeds.
• Using Bouillon Cubes: You'll need some bouillon cubes for this recipe. You can use whatever kind you'd like, but BOU Bouillon is quite good, and if you are vegetarian you can use these Not-Beef and Not-Chicken cubes. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl or jar and mix them together. Crumble the bouillon cubes with your fingers if necessary.
• Spicy Keto Ramen: Add the Togoshari or chili flakes. * Or any zero calorie noodles. Shirataki noodles can be found in the Asian food aisle or health food aisle of the grocery store. ** Togoshari is a Japanese mild chili powder.

Toppings for Keto Ramen

This is a basic keto ramen recipe but consider adding this other toppings to finish the dish.

• Eggs - Top it off with a soft boiled egg.
• Lime wedge - If you feel like the ramen needs a hint of acid to balance the flavors, serve with a lime wedge.
• Pork - If you have left over pulled pork or pork roast, this is a great way to use it up for a quick keto lunch.

Storage Information

Leftover ramen can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

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