Slow Cooker Chicken Ramen features flavorful rich broth, tender ramen noodles, snappy vegetables, savory chicken and a jammy egg for amazing filling comfort food. Mix it up with your favorite additions for a delicious meal!
True to the stereotype, back in my college days, my version of a fancy meal was drizzling lime juice (from a fresh lime, mind you) over my store bought ramen noodle soup.
The whole meal cost me roughly $0.53, but brought me a priceless amount of joy and comfort.
Regardless of a food’s reputation, what counts is your relationship to it, and I can confidently say, my relationship to ramen has been a lifetime of strength and security.
In honor of my long-standing love for ramen, I’m here with my own homemade version. Is it authentic? No. Is it my own rendition that I find so cozy and tasty. It is also simple to prepare and versatile!
I have included both slow cooker and stove top instructions so that you can pick your preferred cooking method.
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients to make ramen!
Ingredients for Ramen Soup:
Chicken Broth: Pick your absolute favorite broth, because it is going to be the star of the show. I use chicken bone broth, but any kind of chicken stock, beef stock, or vegetable stock works too.
Fresh Onion, Garlic, and Ginger: These aromatics infuse the broth with fresh flavor for extra good vibes. You can adjust the amounts as you see fit!
Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos: Soy sauce or coconut aminos bring umami flavor to give the broth an indescribable flavor.
Miso Paste (optional): If you’re into it, add it! If you couldn’t care less about miso, skip it. For my fellow gluten-free people, skip it or find a gluten-free version as classic miso is not gluten-free.
Ramen Noodles: Here’s the fun part! I bought gluten-free ramen noodles online because I just had to partake in the curly swirly goodness. You can definitely use regular store-bought noodles instead.
If your local grocery store doesn’t carry fresh ramen noodles, you can find fresh noodles at an Asian market, or use the store-bought packages with the seasoning packet.
Ingredients for the Chicken:
Toasted Sesame Oil or Avocado Oil: Every great marinade starts with a fat! I like using sesame oil or avocado oil in this application.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: To complete our meal, we need a high protein ingredient! I choose chicken thighs because it is easy to keep them nice and tender and flavorful without much fuss. Chicken breasts work too.
Coconut Aminos: In case you aren’t familiar, coconut aminos is a coconut-derived sweet and savory nectar that is often used to take the place of soy sauce. I use it in marinades for a sweet and savory flavor.
Rice Vinegar: Adds tangy flavor to the marinade.
Fresh Garlic: A fresh zing is brought to us by garlic!
Optional Customizations or Additions:
- Toss in any of your favorite fresh vegetables an hour before you’re ready to serve. Bok choy, bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, zucchini, and spring onions are all good options.
- Swap the marinated chicken for thinly sliced pork, steak, or shrimp to change up the protein selection. Simply add it in with the broth to cook.
- Some people like adding a dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc or mirin to ramen recipe. Feel free to add ¼ to ½ cup if you’d like.
- Substitute soba noodles or rice noodles for the ramen noodles if you prefer.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s make ramen!
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Ramen:
Prepare the Ramen Broth:
Transfer all of the broth ingredients to your slow cooker, except for the ramen noodles.
Secure the lid of the crock pot and cook on high heat for 3.4 to 4 hours or low heat for 6 to 8 hours.
Add the ramen noodles to the slow cooker, cover, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the noodles have reached your desired level of doneness.
Serve ramen in large bowls with sliced chicken and 6-minute eggs on top with a sprinkle of green onions, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes.
Make the Chicken:
While the broth is slow cooking, prepare the chicken. Add the raw chicken thighs to a large zip lock bag or sealable container along with all of the marinade ingredients. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, ideally 1 hour or longer.
When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the chicken, including the marinade to a baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon the juices over the chicken.
Broil under the high broil setting for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and crispy on top. Baste the chicken again with the pan juices and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Slice chicken into thin slices to serve on top of the ramen.
Prepare the Soft-Boiled Eggs
Bring a pot of water to a full boil on the stove top and use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the eggs to the boiling water. Set your timer for 6 minutes.
While the eggs are cooking, prepare a bowl of ice water by adding plenty of ice to a large bowl, then fill it most of the way up with cold water.
Once the timer goes off, use your slotted spoon to carefully move the eggs to the ice water bath.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator until the eggs are thoroughly chilled, at least 15 minutes, ideally 1 hour or longer. This cold water bath makes the egg shell much easier to peel.
Peel the eggs, slice them in half, and add the egg halves to your hot bowl of ramen.
Recipe Tips:
- If you’re adding vegetables, hold off on adding them to the slow cooker until there is about 1 to 1.5 hours left of cooking time. This ensures the vegetables have time to soften but don’t become overly mushy.
- Stove top instructions: Follow all of the same instructions, but make the both in a large pot (such as a Dutch oven) on the stove top. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 hour or longer.
- Flavor to taste: If you love the flavor of miso paste, add 1 to 3 tablespoons for an even more flavorful broth.
- Storage Instructions: Store leftover ramen in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
And that’s it! The next time your ramen craving strikes, make it homemade! Let me know your favorite ramen additions in the comments below.
If you love making homemade soups, also try out some of my other favorite soup recipes.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
- Mediterranean Chicken Soup
- Black Eyed Pea Soup
- Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Chicken Cabbage and White Bean Soup
- Easy Elk Chili
Enjoy your homemade ramen!
Chicken Ramen Recipe
Ingredients
Broth Ingredients:
- 1 cup yellow onion sliced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 2-inch nub ginger, peeled and sliced
- 64 ounces chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 to 2 tablespoons miso paste optional*
- 2 3-oz packages ramen noodles
Chicken Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
For Serving:
- 2 to 4 soft boiled eggs
- green onions chopped
- red pepper flakes
- sesame seeds
Optional Additions:
- 2 baby bok choy chopped
- 1 to 2 large carrots chopped
- 1 to 2 zucchini squash
- 5 ounces baby spinach
Instructions
Prepare the Ramen Broth
- Transfer all of the broth ingredients to your slow cooker, except for the ramen noodles. Secure the lid of the crock pot and cook on high heat for 3.4 to 4 hours or low heat for 6 to 8 hours.
- Add the ramen noodles to the slow cooker, cover, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the noodles have reached your desired level of doneness.
- Serve ramen in large bowls with sliced chicken and 6-minute eggs on top with a sprinkle of green onions, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes.
Make the Chicken
- While the broth is slow cooking, prepare the chicken. Add the raw chicken thighs to a large zip lock bag or sealable container along with all of the marinade ingredients. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, ideally 1 hour or longer.
- When you’re ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the chicken, including the marinade to a baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon the juices over the chicken. Broil under the high broil setting for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and crispy on top. Baste the chicken again with the pan juices and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Slice chicken into thin slices to serve on top of the ramen.
Prepare the Soft-Boiled Eggs
- Bring a pot of water to a full boil on the stove top and use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the eggs to the boiling water. Set your timer for 6 minutes. While the eggs are cooking, prepare a bowl of ice water by adding plenty of ice to a large bowl, then fill it most of the way up with cold water.
- Once the timer goes off, use your slotted spoon to carefully move the eggs to the ice water bath.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator until the eggs are thoroughly chilled, at least 15 minutes, ideally 1 hour or longer. This cold water bath makes the egg shell much easier to peel.
- Peel the eggs, slice them in half, and add the egg halves to your hot bowl of ramen.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions:
Because ramen gets much of its flavor from the broth, cooking the broth for a long period of time ensures we end up with the best results. The longer the broth cooks, the richer the flavor. That said, whether you make ramen in a slow cooker or on the stove top is entirely up to your preference, as the stove top works great too.
Yes. If you don’t want to go through the process of cooking the chicken separately, simply chop it and add it to the slow cooker when it has 2 hours of cooking time left.
Fresh lime?? What a rebel!
I remember, when I was in college, I could get 10 packages for $1 on sale. I partook.