I’m all about quick stir fry dinners because they’re easy, you can work a LOT of vegetables into them, and they’re just plain delicious. My newest creation, Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry, is kind of a new twist on an old favorite Beef and Cabbage Stir fry. This time we’re using chicken instead of beef, using the same light and easy sauce, tons of shredded cabbage and carrots for inexpensive bulk, and some crushed up ramen noodles for crunch. Oh, and I added a drizzle of creamy sriracha mayo because I was feeling a bit #extra. ;)
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Can I Skip the Ramen?
Sure! If you’re not the ramen type, this is still a really killer (although slightly less crunchy) stir fry recipe! No hard feelings. You do you. We also have a classic chicken stir fry recipe you might want to try!
Same goes for the sriracha mayo topping. While *I* love the contrast of the creamy spicy with the fresh crunch, you don’t have to add it to your stir fry if you’re not into it.
How to Store Your Stir Fry
If you plan to eat some of your stir fry as leftovers, make sure to keep the crunchy crushed ramen noodles separate from the stir fry and just stir them in after the stir fry has been reheated. Same goes for the sriracha mayo topping. Add that after reheating. The cabbage and carrots do get slightly softer after refrigeration and reheating, but I still find it to be quite delicious.
Other Vegetables You Can Add:
The other awesome thing about stir fries is that you can add just about any vegetable that you might have leftover in your fridge. Some other good options would be spinach, broccoli, bell pepper, mushrooms, snow peas. Keep in mind that if you increase the amount of vegetables, you may also want to increase the sauce.
Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
Servings 4 About 1.25 cups eachIngredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.12)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.30)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
Sriracha Mayo Drizzle (optional)
- 1 Tbsp mayonnaise ($0.09)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha ($0.11)
Stir Fry
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2/3 lb.) ($4.08)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 14oz. bag coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) ($1.49)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 3 green onions ($0.30)
- 1 3oz. block ramen noodles (seasoning packet discarded) ($0.25)
Instructions
- Prepare the sauces first so they're ready to use when needed. In a small bowl stir together the ingredients for the stir fry sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar). In a separate small bowl stir together the sriracha and mayonnaise.
- Mince 2 cloves of garlic, grate about one teaspoon of fresh ginger, and slice three green onions.
- Without opening the package of ramen, use a rolling pin or mallet to crush the noodles into small pieces. Once crushed, open the package and discard the seasoning packet.
- Chop the chicken into small 1/2-inch pieces.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until they're cooked through (3-5 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger to the skillet about half way through cooking the chicken.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add the coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots). Continue to sauté for about 2 minutes more, or just until the cabbage begins to soften slightly (do not overcook at this step).
- Add the stir fry sauce to the skillet and continue to sauté for 1-2 minutes more, or until the cabbage has softened to your liking (I prefer mine still slightly firm).
- Finally, turn off the heat, stir in the crushed ramen, and top with sliced green onions and a drizzle of sriracha mayo.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Color Cutting Boards
- Rolling Pin
- Garlic Press
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Crunchy Chicken Ramen Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
This stir fry cooks SUPER fast, so it’s best to prepare all of the components before you begin cooking. Start with the stir fry sauce: stir together 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and ½ Tbsp brown sugar. The brown sugar might not dissolve all the way, but that’s okay.
For the sriracha mayo, simply stir together 1 Tbsp sriracha and 1 Tbsp mayonnaise.
Mince two cloves of garlic, grate about 1 tsp fresh ginger (I keep mine in the freezer for easier grating and longer storage), and slice three green onions.
Without opening the package of ramen, use a rolling pin or a mallet to crush the noodles into small pieces. After crushing the noodles you can open it and discard the seasoning packet (or use it for something else).
Chop one boneless, skinless chicken breast (about ⅔ lb.) into small 1/2-inch pieces.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the skillet. Add the chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, adding the garlic and ginger about half way through cooking. Because the chicken pieces are so small and the pan is so hot, it should only take a few minutes for the chicken to cook through.
Add one 14oz. bag of coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) to the skillet. Continue to sauté for only 2 minutes, or just until the cabbage begins to soften.
Add the prepared stir fry sauce, making sure to scrape any sugar that has settled to the bottom into the skillet. Continue to sauté for a couple minutes more, or until the cabbage is to your desired softness. I like mine still a bit firm, so I only sauté for about 2 minutes more.
Pour the crushed ramen into the skillet. Turn the heat off, and stir the crunchy noodles into the stir fry.
Sprinkle the sliced green onions on top and then drizzle the sriracha mayo over everything.
I’m intrigued by the frozen ginger idea. Do you peel it first and then freeze?
It’s really just your preference! As long as you wash the ginger, you can grate it from frozen with the skin on.
Five stars and then some! We’ve been making this just about every week for months and have yet to get tired of it.
Could i use frozen ramen instead of the crunchy packet ramen ?
Hi, Jan! I am unfamiliar with that product so I can’t be 100& sure that it will work in the recipe as it is written. However, I’m sure with some tweaking it will! I would just consult the package directions for a suggested cooking time and adjust our recipe instructions as needed to make sure they cook properly alongside the rest of the ingredients. ~Marion :)
I made this recipe once the last holiday season and have been doing it ever since, and every time it’s always so delicious and such a people pleaser. So happy this recipe exists!!!
This is one of the best recipes on this site! It is so easy yet delicious. I keep coming back to this one over and over and over again.
You had me at crunchy. This was very yummy, fast, and easy, which I am looking for after a long day of work.
I couldn’t find just a bag of coleslaw mix, only the kind with the dressing and I didn’t want to waste that, so I used broccoli slaw. I was in the check-out line when I realized I forgot to grab the fresh ginger and my feet were killing me so I thought oh well no ginger. But then when I got home I remembered that I had the little frozen ginger squares from Trader Joes so I was in luck. Then boom bam things went together so fast that I had dinner within half an hour. This worked great and was so good. I highly recommend.
Love this recipe! Sometimes I’ll sub a bag of frozen veggies for the cabbage. The ramen crunch and sauce on top are must-haves.
My family really enjoys your ground beef and cabbage recipe (although, we use ground turkey). I’m confident this one will be great and I can use my gluten free ramen noodles! So excited to try this! Thanks!
Have made this recipe several times and love it. I make extra sauce and use packaged slaw cabbage and shred carrots at home for color and flavor. Brown basmati rice for the carb. Future iterations will include red bell and finely sliced sweet onion.
So good! The recipe was very simple and easy to follow and it didn’t take long to prepare this meal. Even my picky husband loved it!
Really enjoyed this, easy to throw together and it’s tasty but still leaves room for other hot sauces if you desire. Ended up using a califlower-based coleslaw that my grocery store had in stock and really enjoyed it, my chicken was on the watery side so I just made sure to drain a bit of the liquid that cooked out once I was done to keep the dish crispy.
Yum!
This recipe is great as written if you are on a budget and can be easily modified to suit different tastes, dietary needs, or leftovers in the fridge depending on whether you can expand your budget. I personally like to up the meat ratio and add frozen peas and any slightly wilted veggies I need to use up. If I’m feeling fancy, sesame seeds in place of the ramen is also delicious and holds its crunch much better. My boyfriend eats it up happily and he isn’t a big veggie guy. I’ve added this to my recipe routine.
Awesome recipe! Wicked easy and fast. We have made this multiple times and always add some scrambled egg!
Not a good recipe. The noodles were soggy and overall, the dish does not go well together.
Are you sure that this wasn’t a cooking issue rather than a recipe issue?
This was really delicious! I made it exactly as written and it’s wonderful. I found that it wasn’t quite enough for a main dish for 3 people (one a preteen boy lol) so I served it with eggrolls.