Consider this a PSA rather than a recipe, because this idea is certainly not new. But if you don’t know about adding peanut butter to your instant ramen noodles, I’m here to tell you that it’s something you definitely need to try. I love to upgrade ramen noodles and these Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles might be my favorite so far! They’re super quick, filling, and can be customized a hundred ways. So let me show you the basics and then you can make it your own!
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I’m not sure who to credit for this brilliant idea, but adding a dollop of peanut butter to instant ramen is likely a simplified version of Dan Dan Noodles, a spicy Chinese noodle dish that combines Sichuan chiles, sesame paste, and peanuts. The chile-peanut flavor combo has been around for ages, and for good reason! It’s absolutely addictive. You can check out a couple of authentic Dan Dan Noodle recipes here: Omnivores Cookbook or The Woks of Life.
What Kind of Peanut Butter to Use
I highly suggest using natural-style peanut butter, which means it’s just ground-up peanuts and maybe a little salt, no sugar, and no added oils. The peanut flavor is much stronger with this type of peanut butter than it is with the more processed and heavily sugared varieties.
If you don’t have natural-style peanut butter available, you may need to reduce the brown sugar listed in the recipe below to make up for the sugar that is already in the peanut butter.
Can I Make it Not Spicy?
The chili garlic sauce doesn’t just add heat, it also adds garlic and acidity, which round out the sauce. So, to make a non-spicy version of this recipe you can add those ingredients individually, by making something similar to this Peanut Lime Dressing instead.
What Else Can I Add to my Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles?
You can add all sorts of proteins or vegetables to your Spicy Peanut butter Ramen Noodles to make it new and interesting every time. Here are some ideas:
- Cooked Chicken
- Shrimp
- Red bell pepper
- Spinach
- Lime
- Baked tofu
- Red onion
- Shredded carrot
- Snow peas
- Edamame
- Sesame seeds
Do I Need the Ramen Seasoning Packet?
The recipe below is designed to be made without the seasoning packet that comes with the ramen. If you prefer to use the seasoning packet, you will want to skip the soy sauce, which adds salt to the ramen noodles instead of the seasoning packet.
Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles
Servings 1Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp natural-style peanut butter ($0.25)
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce* ($0.13)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.06)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.04)
- 1 3oz. packet instant ramen (seasoning discarded) ($0.25)
- 1 green onion, sliced ($0.10)
Instructions
- Combine the peanut butter, chili garlic sauce, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a bowl until it forms a smooth paste.
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, take ¼ cup of the water and stir it into the peanut-chili paste until it forms a smooth, pourable sauce.
- Add the ramen noodles (without seasoning packet) to the boiling water and boil for 2-3 minutes, or just until the noodles are tender.
- Drain the noodles, then return them to the pot with the heat turned off. Pour the peanut sauce over top and stir to combine. Top with sliced green onions and serve immediately.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles – Step by Step Photos
Begin by stirring together 2 Tbsp natural-style peanut butter, 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce (or sriracha), 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp brown sugar until it forms a smooth paste.
This is what the chili garlic sauce bottle looks like, if you want to look for it in the store. You can find this in most major grocery stores, in the international aisle. If you can’t find this, you can use sriracha.
Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat for the ramen. Once it starts boiling, take ¼ cup of the boiling water and stir it into the peanut-chili paste, until it forms a smooth, pourable sauce.
Then add the instant ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet) to the boiling water and boil for 2-3 minutes or just until tender.
Drain the cooked noodles, then return them to the pot with the heat turned off. Pour the peanut sauce over the noodles and stir to combine.
These noodles are definitely best when served immediately, so don’t let them sit around! Top with a sliced green onion and enjoy!
What are ramen noodles and can y buy them in Australia
Ramen noodles can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores!
I love this recipe, especially on those days when I just can’t. I try to meal prep bowl components on Sundays so I can easily add tofu cubes, edamame, grated carrots, & shredded cabbage, and scallions to any meal during the week. I’ve added all or just some of those items to this recipe and it works really well.
I’ve also, occasionally, add Thai red curry paste to the sauce which adds another dimension. Can’t forget the lime!
best recipe ever
I don’t have garlic chill sauce, but I do have minced garlic, red chili flakes, and olive oil. When I make my own sauce I usually use 2 Tbsp oil, 1T garlic, 1T chili flakes, and 1T ginger paste.
For this recipe I cooked the noodles, reserved a 1/4c water, drained them, set them aside, and then made my garlic chili sauce in the pot over medium heat after giving it a good wiping out. Once the sauce was fragrant I added 1T soy and let it thicken. Once the soy had thickened some I killed the heat and added the reserved water and peanut butter and stirred.
Once I peed the whole thing over my noodles, and started viewing down my wife was super jealous. One word of warning, my proportions of garlic chili sauce come out fairly spicy for just one packet of ramen.
This was pretty good
Really filling with the peanut butter- I might of used too much
Quick, easy, and tasty. If you don’t like it sweet, add less brown sugar. I jazzed it up with sautéed onions, garlic, and carrots. Finished it with sesame seeds and peanuts with a squeeze of lime juice… delicious.
Too sweet. Definitely going to use less peanutbutter next time.
Try without the sugar. I didn’t use any sugar, and it turned out great. But I also make my own garlic chili sauce out of minced garlic, chili flakes, olive oil, and ginger paste.
This recipe is great, and even better with a few tweaks. I like to sauté some vegetables first – today asparagus, carrots, and red pepper – and add them back in at the end. I add a little ginger paste and sesame oil to the sauce, throw in some leftover cooked chicken, and some cilantro on top. So delicious.
I also like ginger paste! But I put it in my garlic chili sauce when I make it. 1:1:1:2::minced garlic:ginger paste: chili flakes:oil
This recipe is great, and even better with a few tweaks. I like to sauté some vegetables first – today asparagus, carrots, and red pepper – and add them back in at the end. I add a little ginger paste and sesame oil to the sauce, throw in some leftover cooked chicken, and some cilantro on top. So delicious.
I love all things Budget bytes and these were delicious BUT soupy! Odd. I wish I’d used 2 packs of ramen. Next time I will.
Thanks for another great recipe!
I’ve made this countless times, it’s such a delicious, quick, cheap meal. I use about half the brown sugar and JIF peanut butter (don’t judge lol) and it’s great. Especially if you’re a peanut butter lover, give this a shot!
My family and I LOVE this recipe! I have used your website as a cooking/recipe source for years, I do have a request. . . could you add a “cooking mode” feature? I’ve starting seeing it be a part of other sites and find it incredibly useful. Thank you for considering this addition.
There is a cooking mode…it’s in the recipe card part.
Made this as a quick, easy lunch while I’m sick. Added more spice to it because it’s helping ease the congestion. This is such a great comfort food and simple to make.
Super tasty! I had some ramen from the co-op that was definitely smaller than the standard grocery store ramen, and my noodles were extra saucy. I am going to buy a stash of ramen from the dollar store to keep on hand so I can make these often. I added a dash of rice vinegar for acid, they were excellent!
I do something similar with soba noodles a lot. If I have an egg or leftover protein of some kind, I add that, too, but it’s just as yummy without.
Soooo yummy! I used a tbsp of curry paste as sub for sriracha. Thanks again!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Didn’t have any nuts or veggies on hand but wanted to make this right away! I used chili siracha as a sub for the chili garlic, only had skippy peanut butter so I used wayyy less brown sugar, added some sesame oil, some furikake(or everything bagel seasoning) anddd voila! Easy, yummy lunch. Probably not the most filling unless you add an egg or some type of meat but you can’t beat how flexible this recipe is!
This recipe is 🔥. I followed the recipe then added chopped cashews (only because I didn’t have peanuts) and fresh cilantro. This is definitely going into the rotation.
My kid and I loved it! Thank you for making it so easy to prep and enjoy. Also, I loved they way you laid you the recepie.
I used to make this as a kid – but basically I made chicken ramen and put in peanut butter. Everyone always thought I was gross. Then as an older person, I started tweaking it, adding spiciness with chili sauce, curry etc. It’s so good and comforting!
We have made this a gazillion times. My teenage son loves this when he’s sick, after he’s done a shift lifeguarding, as a lazy weekend lunch. It’s so simple but big on flavor. We throw in some cooked chicken occasionally too to make it a bigger meal. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Quick, easy, and delicious. I used gochujang so I skipped the brown sugar. I think the next time I make this I’ll cut the PB and chili sauce in half. Mine was VERY saucy, and while it was delicious, I just prefer less sauce. Easy to modify though!
The first time I made this I did it exactly as the recipe was written and felt there was too much pb yet not enough other flavors. So I reduced the peanut butter to one heaping Tbsp, used the seasoning packet as well as the soy sauce, and kept about half of the liquid since I like soupier ramen. This is a good recipe, super filling, and I love how quick and easy it is to make. Now to try the coconut curry ramen!
I hope this doesn’t come across too weirdly, because I mean it as a compliment: this recipe is always on heavy rotation when I am depressed and broke. It’s cheap, easy to make, requires very little clean-up, and gives me a little dopamine boost that always comes with a delicious home-cooked meal. It’s so easy to customize, too. Sometimes I’ll add gochugaru instead of chili sauce, or a little splash of dark soy sauce, chopped peanuts, green onions, maybe even an egg or crispy tofu if I’m feeling *fancy*. This recipe has gotten me through some seriously dark times, and I’m so glad I found it 🥰
That doesn’t come across as weird, it actually makes me very happy to hear. I’m glad this simple recipe can bring you joy when you’re feeling down. :)
Had a really bad mental health week so hadn’t been able to make it to the grocery store. Thinking of what pantry staples I had made me even more depressed, to the point I was thinking I just wouldn’t eat. But I’ve been following Budget Bytes for a decade and know there are great, simple peanut sauces here. I’ve tried most of them, but not this, one of the simplest. I mixed the sauce in the bowl I was going to eat out of and just used a pair of tongs to pull the noodles from the pot to the bowl. No energy for extra dishes. No condiments, no lime. Just the sauce and a brick of ramen. This was SO good – better than take out, IMO. What was going to be a sad, pathetic, lonely bowl of apathy, somehow became mood medicine! I love to cook and I love food on my better days, so food as emotional uplift is already a part of me. I write this for anyone reading that is prone to depression: you may want to add this recipe to your list of What Can I Eat When I Can Barely Function. I was able to make this while so depressed I could barely lift my arms. Looking through blank eyes. Just note – if you transfer the noodles straight from the pot, decrease the water in the sauce instruction. Thank you, Beth and BB team. : )
Thank you so much, Flynn! It makes me so happy to know that this simple meal helped make a hard day at least a little bit better. <3
Seconded. Most days I don’t have any appetite or motivation to cook, and this recipe has saved me multiple times.
I only had “traditional” PB so I reduced the sugar a tish and that worked great! I also didn’t have any green onions, but we steamed some broccoli and stirred it in and my family loved it. Thank you!
Best ramen I’ve ever had, definitely my new go-to for quick noodles!
While the recipe sounds good, I do wish people would realize that ramen noodles do not equal ramen. Without a soup or dipping broth, it isn’t ramen. Ramen is the meal, the noodles are just one component of said meal. This should be titled “Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen *Noodles*.”
Excellent point, thank you for bringing that up! I’m going to update it now. :)
Actually I am Japanese and the “men” in ramen means noodles and the ra is pulled 😅so it wasn’t wrong. So now it says pulled noodles noodles. Beth you had it right the first time. 😜
I bet you’re fun at parties. 🙄 Lighten up, Francis.
To be honest, I was a bit skeptical but it was so good! Made exactly as directed, just topped with a piece of fried chicken from the corner store.
I made this recipe exactly as written & it was absolutely delicious. It’s now my favorite go-to for lunch in a hurry.
This is awesome! It’s adaptable and easy to eyeball, too. No chili garlic sauce in the house, so brown some garlic and add lemon and a lot of black pepper. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, and a little of the ramen cooking water, and it’s ready. It was so good yesterday that I made it again today.
I make this quick, cheap, simple, homey dish at least once a week, every week. I even get cravings for it! Thanks Beth!!!!!
So much better than regular ramen
Because I had a package of penne I was trying to finish off I used that instead of ramen. And I substituted a mixture of sriracha and chili-onion crisp for the garlic-chili sauce. And I used a regular sugar-free peanut butter. Didn’t have green onions.
Even with all the substitutions, it was delicious and very easy to make.
Will definitely make again-with green onions and maybe with some shredded chicken
This was SOOOOOOO delicious!!! I questioned the ratios at first, but glad I followed through with them as written because it was ABSOLUTELY DIVINE! I paired some kimchi along side, and next time, I may add an egg on top for some extra protein. But it’s GREAT as is. So mouth watering!
Just finished eating it. It was so good! Yummy! Added ground ginger. Thank you.
I’ve made this recipe twice already and love it! I used 1 tbsp of crunchy peanut butter because 2 tbsp felt too much and omitted the brown sugar as I used Skippy. Went with sriracha + minced garlic with a little bit of fish sauce and sesame seeds. Not sure if I can go back to basic instant ramen now!
A million dollar sauce. Will go well with any noodles.
This is my go-to no time, no energy meal. It’s super quick, can add garnish with whatever is in my fridge or none at all, and gives me something warm to eat that’s interesting if I don’t have the energy to *really* cook or just haven’t gone grocery shopping. I’ve even made it in a larger batch adding chicken and frozen veggies for some guests for a super last minute dinner party. It’s a big hit for a small amount of effort, time, and money. I’ll keep making it over and over again.
I have been making some version of this since my broke freelance days. Still make it often, but with better ingredients. Example: poached shredded chicken breast instead of canned. Super thinly sliced radishes. Sliced hard-boiled (but softer yolks) eggs. Last time, I also had a good handful of broccoli slaw left in the bag. Try dry roasted peanuts as a topper. I prefer gochujang, but that is just me. This is a winner in both the budget category and in the clean-out-kitchen column as well. Whoever came up with this back in the day deserves high praise, and a free case of ramen. And thanks for passing it on!
So much yum! Added some frozen veggies in with the noodles but other than that, made it as is. I would add 2 tsps instead of 2 tbsp next time as it was a little too I’m eating peanut butter and noodles rather than peanuty noodles.
Will definitely make again!
Really didn’t enjoy, just a personal taste. I’m sure it’s great if this is your taste
So good and really easy. I didn’t have chili sauce, but used red hot and red pepper flakes. I also added a little ground ginger. Will definitely be a staple in our house!
This looks very good please send me the website thank you
This is my go-to comfort food recipe for when I’m lazy, tired, or just don’t want to cook. I’ve made it more times than I can count. I cut the chili garlic sauce to 3/4 tbsp because a full tablespoon was a bit much for my taste buds. I also add a tiny splash of lime juice and it’s fantastic. My usual toppings are green onions, sesame seeds, and a handful of chopped peanuts. Tonight I tried it with zucchini noodles instead of ramen and it was just as tasty!
I also add lime juice and agree it just adds a little extra zip of brightness!
I made this for lunch today. Used gluten-free (rice) ramen noodles because I am celiac. I also added fish sauce and sesame oil to the sauce and increased the chilli because I like spice.
I added some frozen mixed veg while cooking the noodles. And topped the whole thing with the green onions, but I also added sesame seeds. Then I squeezed a little lime juice over.
It was absolutely delicious!
This is SOOOOOOOOOO YUMMY. I’ve made it many, many times for a quick lunch or dinner. I make steamed vegetables to add to it, and try (key word try) to cut back on the amount of Ramen just so it’s a bit healthier.
A little acidity from a squeeze of lemon/lime/dash of vinegar takes this to the next level and balances out the sweetness!
Delicious!
I love this recipe! I usually make the ramen with the chicken broth and then add the peanut butter mixture to the broth (mix a bit of the broth into the peanut mixture first so that it’s smooth and can pour out, otherwise it’ll be lumpy).
Wow! Best ramen I’ve ever tried. I didn’t have garlic chili so I just added a little siracha and minced garlic and it’s so so delicious. I also added some peanuts on top for crunch. Amazing!
I love that you name check Woks of Life and Omnivore’s Cookbook, bc they make up my Big 3, along with Budget Bytes! :)
I absolutely love this recipe! Not only is it ridiculously cheap, it is so soo delicious and super quick!
Only six ingredients and insanely delicious? Yes please! Love adding steamed veggies and tofu/chicken to use up whatever I have in the fridge or freezer.
OMG – I am a sucker for peanut butter and love Ramen . Made this today for lunch and I fell in love immediately with this dish. Took only a few minutes for the sauce – adding it to the Ramen made a dish that was even better than I’ve had in Chinese or Thai restaurants. Thank you.
Super tasty, and easy :)
I might try this again with half the peanut butter. That flavor completely overtook everything else, even the garlic chili. It wasn’t very pleasant as is.
So good and literally so easy! Love throwing in some rotisserie chicken for extra protein.
I made this for lunch today and it was amazing! I added a few roasted peanuts for crunch and juice from half a lime. I will definitely be making this again.
I’ve been making this for my husband for lunch and adding cooked chicken. He LOVES it!! So good.
Delicious and so flavorful! I didn’t have the chili garlic sauce but had some momofuku chili crunch and it was very spicy but so yummy!
This is really good, are usually don’t like stuff like this but it was amazing, I added some cheddar cheese and some shichimi togarashi, and it was literally amazing, i highly recommend this recipe :)))
What a simple recipe and so flavorful! I can’t take extreme heat, so I used 1/2 Sriracha, 1/2 sweet chili sauce (both Trader Joe’s brands) and then didn’t add the brown sugar. I will make this often and store in a jar and put on all sorts of things. Thanks for the tip!
I loved this recipe 💯!! I originally saw it on Instagram. So when I made it I thought there was only 1 tablespoon of peanut butter because that’s all I saw in the video, so mine was watery. Also, I did not have chili garlic sauce 😑 so I had to improvise with sriracha, crispy chili flakes and a splash of rice vinegar for the sour effect. Definitely use the lime because it tames the heat. Next time I make this I’m adding scrambled egg, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, and fried tofu. Just a personal preference to spruce this up but I really love how versatile this recipe is. Thank you mucho for sharing!!
This is so delicious. If you’re craving pad Thai I would say this will cure that craving for sure! Next time I want to add some steamed veggies and tofu to this. My mouth is so happy!!
Yum! I keep some ramen packets as part of my “storm food” (food I can cook quickly on a butane stove in case of a power outage). It was getting old an needed to be used. I found this delicious recipe and it was so good. I didn’t add any extras, but I will next time – now that ramen packets are being upgraded to the regular pantry!
This was so quick, easy and delicious! I made exactly as written and can’t wait to add chicken or tofu next time. Thank you for the great recipe!
The chili garlic sauce is way too hot for me so I substitute sweet chili sauce and a squeeze of sriracha. My daughter (3) and I eat this for lunch all the time. We love it. I like to roast whatever veggies I have available (broccoli, carrots, whatever) and throw that on top. Delish.
Used conventional peanut butter, added maybe a tsp of brown sugar only… then siracha bc I didn’t have any chili garlic sauce
Yum!!
If you’re looking for you’re sign to make these, HERE IT IS!! I’m a sucker for big flavor little effort recipes so this fit the bill. Hot DAMN these noodles are good! I added a touch of sesame oil and a grated clove of garlic – I also chickened out and did a *little* less chili sauce but it was still way spicy and WAY good 😁 They’re so rich and filling, your cravings will immediately be satisfied.
when would you add the fresh spinach?
Spinach wilts really quickly, so I’d just stir it in at the end. :)
Delicious. I’ve also made this as a soup by pouring the peanut sauce into the soup when it’s ready and I think I like it even better (I reduce the soy sauce).
I have made this over 5 times now, and it SO hits the spot. I had some bean sprouts on hand, so I threw those in and were a great addition.
Yum Yum Yum
(forgot to rate!)
I like this dish’s flexibility. I had no shrirasha on hand or chili garlic sauce. But I had chili sauce and garlic. Delicious! I served over kale for a quick lunch.
Really easy and tasty, thank you! I added steamed broccoli and red bell pepper.
So easy and packs a lot of flavor!
Take out taste, from the pantry! Very good and so easy.
Love this recipe. I make it with gluten free ramen. Yummy.
Delicious! I only had sriracha in my fridge so I used 1/2 Tbsp of that because I know my spice tolerance. This hit the spot! I was really craving peanut noodles but every recipe I found online called for fresh ginger, which I don’t have. This is definitely going into my rotation of quick and easy meals for when I’m on the go!
Oh my gosh, I’m so addicted to these spicy peanut noodles that I’ve gone through almost a whole jar of peanut butter in the last 2 weeks! The first time I had them I made them as instructed and I used up the last of our soy sauce (and our brown sugar). So, the next time I just made the ramen as directed with the seasoning packet. I mixed the peanut butter, chili sauce and 1T of honey in my bowl, drained off all but about 3T of the soup base and mixed it like that. To my very unsophisticated palate it was just as good although I do prefer the honey flavor a little more (and this way I’m not tossing the seasoning packet either). I also use Smucker’s Natural Chunky because I love the little crunchy peanut bits!
WOW! I had never thought to have ramen this way, it’s going into regular rotation. I omitted the brown sugar as my peanut butter already had added sugar, and added sriracha to taste directly into my serving instead of the sauce after reading comments about a too much heat. Served with roasted veggies and tofu, yum!
Absolutely perfect!!! This is a game changer, we are making it for the second time in less than a week and already considering the possibilities for add-ins. We only have sriracha and it’s superb!! Today I’m adding some leftover grilled chicken, some frozen broccoli that I put in the boiling water for a few minutes before the noodles, and some peanuts I shelled by hand while waiting. An excellent way to use up leftover tidbits and tired veggies. Add the lime if you have it as well!! WE LOVE THIS!!!!
Thank you so much for making my tight-budget meal taste so much better tonight! I only had sriracha on hand so I’m excited to try with the chili sauce next time! And maybe some sautéed veggies. :)
Forgot to drain the noodles so I ate it as soup. Still good.
Hi Beth! If you change the # of servings, should you also change how much water you add to the paste? TY!
Yes, you’ll probably need to double that as well. I just learned how to make it so ingredient amounts in the directions section also adjust, so let me fix that. :)
This recipe couldn’t be easier or tastier! It takes only 5 minutes to make, and I’ve made it twice now. I doubled the recipe and added chicken and broccoli. So so good!
I didn’t have natural peanut butter, so I think a full tablespoon of brown sugar made it a little too sweet for me. Other than that, this recipe is so delicious and so easy! Next time I want to try it with some shredded rotisserie chicken. Perfect quick lunch!
Forgot to actually rate the recipe in my first comment! Oops!
Why is this so GOOD!? Delish. I could eat this every day.
I really do like the recipe and it is really creamy although I will add less peanut butter bc in my opinion it over powers the other elements in the noodles. I gave some to my brother and he hates peanut butter but really liked this recipe and we both are really happy we tried this out and plan to use it in the future.
I’m late to the peanut butter ramen game but I’m so glad I finally showed up! Hits all the right notes, sweet, savory, spicy carbs! I added some leftover chicken to mine but it’s a great base for lots of different toppings.
Excellent. I used peanut butter powder in place of creamy peanut butter to make it better suit my dietary needs. We loved it, will make again and again. Next time I’ll top with something crunchy like crushed peanuts or sesame seeds, and serve with veggies and tofu. Great base recipe.
I generally like spicy foods, but this was unbearably spicy. I threw it away. Don’t think I’ll try again as reducing the chili sauce to reduce heat will also remove much of the flavor.
Why would you discard the seasoning and just use picante chicken ramen?
That’s certainly an option. :) Check the paragraph titled, “Do I Need the Ramen Seasoning Packet?” above the recipe for more details on how to adjust the recipe if you want to use the packet.
Very good! I doubled the recipe, but next time I will just do the sauce 1 1/2 times the recipe to 6 ounces of ramen noodles. Served sliced avocado with it. Delicious!
I missed the step about adding the water the first 3 times I made this. LOL can you add it to the actual instructions maybe? It’s a lot better this way.
oops thats on me I managed to miss it 3 times!!
I’ve made this four or five times since I first tried it about a week ago. I prefer to use just 1 tbsp of PB, adding some peanuts for crunchiness and a squeeze of lime, but the original recipe is fantastic too.
Thanks for the recipe!
My new fave quick meal. I made it first with siracha but had the foresight to half the amount – I can handle some spice but a full tablespoon would’ve been waaaay too much! Finally today I got my hands on the proper chilli garlic sauce and it’s perfect!
I throw in a whole small sliced bell pepper and green onion and it’s a fantastic quick supper or lunch.
This is one of my favorites EVER. I used a different, sweeter, less spicy chili sauce and added too much water… but even with that, it was exceptional. Next time I might make it for myself and not my family. So simple, so good.
Absolutely delicious! :)
Quick, easy & so delicious! I was skeptical but the peanut butter and chili garlic sauce really went well together. Made it as written but next time (and there will definitely be a next time!) might add some veggies and maybe some chicken to jazz it up a little more. Thanks for a great recipe!
It’s a 10! I sauteed red pepper, onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms. Had a little left over chicken I threw in too. Amazing
Could you substitute with any nut butter? Or do you need the viscosity of the PB to really make the sauce work?
I don’t think viscosity would be an issue. :) You can always increase or decrease the amount of the hot water added (or drained from the noodles) to adjust the viscosity of the final sauce.
Similarly, could sunflower butter be a substitute, for those with a nut allergy
Absolutely!
Absolutely delicious! I would recommend cutting back about 1/2 – 1 T of PB….it was a bit too buttery. Overall, it was very good, and I honestly might wake up in the middle of the night to make this ramen!
Oh my…so good. This was a revelation to my 11-yr-old grandson, who didn’t know you could do anything with ramen besides just boil it with the seasoning packet. He’s a fan of yours now!
I made this. Missed the step about mixing water with the sauce. Oh well. I had to cut back on the chili garlic paste because it was just too hot for me. Drizzling on some lemon or lime juice brightens the thing up marvelously.
SO yum and perfectly spicy! I omitted the water and splurged on fresh ramen. I’m hooked!!
Absolutely delicious!! I can’t believe how much you just transformed a packet of ramen for me.
This was so good! I added a half a tablespoon of extra soy sauce, leftover coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots uncooked), and edamame out of their pods. I squeezed half a lime over that, mixed it up and sprinkled with some green onions. Delish!
This is now competing with Dragon Noodles for “Everything Sucks and I Just Want Food Except I Want It Immediately And It Has To Be Delicious And Don’t You Dare Charge Me Money For It” mood food. An absolute winner.
Excellent! Makes enough sauce for 2 packets of ramen noodles.
Stupidly easy which is exactly what I was looking for after 11 months of lockdown cooking. Amazingly comforting and yet, different. Thank you.
This is shockingly fabulous. I had retired ramen noodles to my “back in college” memories, but this has made me rethink. Quick, easy, inexpensive and delicious.
This is my new favorite go-to 5-minute lunch! I added carrot and red onion sliced with my mandolin and shelled edamame and a chopped up baby cucumber. Since I like heat, I also added a few shakes of ghost pepper flakes. This is a GREAT quick snack or lunch recipe!
This was so delicious and easy to make!! Had dinner on the table in 30min. Added chicken on the side and pan fried tofu.
This is almost exactly how I do my ramen. I will sometimes use some milk, cream, or coconut milk in the sauce if I have any. Can recommend topping with chicken and shredded carrot. I also like cilantro on mine if I have some around.
Great, quick meal especially when you’re burnt out on the usual go-to’s. I made as directed, but with Nongshim Shin ramen noodles (sold at my local Kroger!) and topped with a fried egg. I will definitely be making it again!
So delicious, easy, and satisfying! Love that I have the ingredients on hand all the time. Great meal between grocery trips.
This is so delicious! I was out of chili garlic sauce so I used some gochujang, which seems to be a great substitute. Will probably be making this again in future. :)
I share my fridge with three other people so I only have enough room for one nut butter in my life, and it’s almond. You can still make this with almond butter to similar effect, and it will still taste great.
You don’t have to store it in the fridge
This so so good! I can’t thank you enough Beth for publishing these recipes that are so very simple and easy that it’s hard for you to call a recipe. My all time favorite BB recipe is Dragon Noodles (which I printed out on 5/7/13) and I can say this will either be #2 or tie with Dragon Noodles for #1. To have delicious food that is cheap, easy, quick, and made with ingredients I always have on hand is a true gift. My mom always said to make a recipe exactly as written the first time, so that’s what I always do, but I can’t wait to make this again with veggies added.
Super quick And easy which is great! I used regular peanut butter and out came out slightly too peanut buttery for me So I’ll add less next time. Aside from that it was great!! Thank you
As soon as I saw this recipe pop up I had to try it. And it did not disappoint. I’ve never had peanut butter in ramen before and that plus the spice from the garlic chili sauce was fire.
I saw this recipe and a list of dairy free low budget meals. As someone who has a dairy allergy, it was interesting to me. The Ramen noodles that my boyfriend uses has dairy in both the packet and in the noodles. So please use caution to make sure your noodle packet doesn’t have dairy. I may use instant phõ noodles.
I saw this recipe for the first time this morning and absolutely had to have it, so I made it for breakfast. I did add a generous tsp of powdered ginger to the sauce and reduce the sugar a bit, but no other tweaks. It was OUTSTANDING and I’ll be making it every chance I get!
Just returning because I made the sauce again today, but this time I used it as a dip for potstickers. OUTSTANDING. I think I’m like 98% potsticker at the moment. I’m clearly going to be using this sauce on everything from now on!
Such a great idea!
Really good! Only thing is I have Jif, not natural peanut butter so next I’m gonna reduce the brown sugar or leave it out.
Is there a reason my comment mentioning that Greek yogurt works in this recipe was deleted?
Huh, that’s REALLY weird. On the back end the comment shows up just fine, but when I go to the page I do not see it. I’ve never seen that happen before. I’ll check with my WordPress tech support to see if they know why it’s not showing up.
Oh, I figured it out. These comments are on two different blog posts. You left the Greek yogurt comment on the Yogurt Marinated Chicken recipe page, and you left the comment about it being deleted on the Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen page.
Wow – super-tasty and dead simple even in its cheapest iteration! Definitely will be kicked up a notch by adding some more vegetables (snow peas, shredded carrots sound good) next go round. My first outing with PB and ramen, but it’s yet another hit!!
Any thoughts on using Harisa sauce as a substitute for the garlic sauce?
I’ve never had harissa with peanut butter before, so I’m not sure, but you could try mixing a small amount of the two together first to see if you like the combo before committing to a whole bowl. :)
Really flavorful! Made with spaghetti noodles instead because that’s what I had on hand. Added sautéed kale and an over easy egg on top – super delicious! Would be great with a squeeze of lime next time.
Just made this for the first time – super easy and delicious! You nailed it, it’s better than the restaurants and much cheaper! Will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
Thanks, Beth, for another winner! I’ve passed this along to my 22 yr old grandson who nearly lives on ramen noodles and seems allergic to vegetables. Personally, I’ve found those inexpensive packages of precooked noodles–minus the seasoning envelopes–to be wonderfully versatile. I use them frequently, usually with lots of stir-fried veggies and scrambled egg strips or leftover meat, and have several fave seasoning combos. The spicy peanut butter version, however, is a standard southeast Asian dish, often served cold, and we love it. Although I prefer chili garlic sauce used here, any hot sauce will do. I add a dab of minced ginger, more minced garlic, and a dash of toasted sesame oil to my peanut sauce–essentially the same as this recipe–plus cilantro and lime as garnishes to the final dish, which we like best cold. As I said, GS will like this one better than any of my variations!
For the gluten free eaters…I would recommend Hearts of Palm linguini from Trader Joe’s.
I LOVE peanut butter ramen and I actually often make it ahead of time and chill it like a cold peanut noodle salad. So, I do agree that if you want it hot, eat it right away, but it is good cold too. Probably not best at a warmish or room temp.
I made this with regular peanut butter, half the amount of brown sugar, and a added a wedge of lime juice. It was great and I had all the ingredients on hand already! I only like a moderate amount of heat and thought the recipe was great as written. Thanks for an easy recipe I can make when I don’t have much on hand or don’t have much time!
This is such a nice twist to making ramen noodles. Will definitely give it a try!
I’m gonna use gochujang in this. Any reason to think that this will be a mistake?
You might reduce the soy sauce a bit, since gochujang is a bit salty (IMHO). But I think it would make a great combo!!
I have been looking for a recipe for this for SO LONG and have attempted to make them by augmenting recipes designed for larger portions to no success. Thank you thank you thank you for posting this! I am so happy!
OMG! I need to make this right away!!! But do you think it will have enough flavor without the sriracha sauce? Anything I can sub for flavor (but without spice/heat)?
Thank you for all your great recipes and ideas! So many of your recipes are on repeat at my house!!
Margaret:
Beth pointed us to another of her peanut sauce recipes but really you can vary it in a lot of ways and it is still delicious.
If you don’t want to use her other recipe and just want to substitute for the chili garlic sauce in this one, personally I would suggest adding 1-3 cloves minced garlic (to taste) and a tablespoon (or a bit less or more, to taste… I personally like a bit more) of vinegar (preferably rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar though I use ume plum vinegar sometimes… lime juice also works but it tastes sweeter to me so I reduce the sugar if using limes).
Depending on how opposed to any heat you are (ie. do you just want to reduce it or totally eliminate it) you can add a scant dash of cayenne pepper or paprika (the normal kind, I have never tried adding the smoked kind to peanut sauce) for a bit of flavor. Other things I have seen added are cilantro (which tastes like dirty, soapy grass to me so I don’t use it) and/or grated ginger (which I do like in it and will add sometimes depending on mood).
Another thing to add flavor is to add veggies to the pasta. Diced red bell pepper adds a lot of flavor and color without any heat. It is a great way to use up broccoli stalks (peeled, of course, and sliced and lightly steamed or, if feeling lazy, tossed in to cook with the noodles). Other things I throw in depending on what produce I have on hand and mood are shredded cabbage and/or shredded carrots.
Peanut sauce is an incredibly flexible recipe. I first came across Mollie Katzen’s recipe for it in her Moosewood Cookbook back in the 80s (I think) and have been making variations of it ever since depending on mood and what I have on hand.
Lately (ie. the past decade or so 😂) I most often make it with the same chili garlic sauce Beth showed in the picture since it is the “hot sauce” I tend to have open in the fridge (for what it is worth, my very favorite variation uses a vegan red Thai pepper paste but I don’t often have that on hand and it would be a pain to make just enough to add to some peanut sauce). But I always add extra minced garlic and vinegar and usually either use it as a veggie dip or toss it with soba noodles and broccoli , green onions and red bell pepper. Soooo good!
Thank you Denise!! I’ve also been making various iterations of peanut sauce noodles (or on rice with tofu) for years. Like you, I add vegetables, either cooking them in the boiling water with the noodles, or adding them cold on top of the hot noodles. And in this case, I used your suggestion of adding rice vinegar to Beth’s recipe instead of the sriracha (to add acidic balance), and also added a drizzle of sesame oil. It was perfect. Thank you again for your wonderfully thorough and comprehensive response!!
Oh, and one ore thing on the flexibility of this dish… I am with Beth on preferring brown sugar for the sweetness to balance the acid but you can sub in other sweeteners if you find you are out of brown sugar or don’t keep it on hand. The original Moosewood recipe just called for sugar, so I used normal white sugar initially. I have also used agave nectar or stevia (which was both sweet and a bit herbal) in my periodic vegan stretches. I have even omitted a separate sweetener at times if I picked up “seasoned” rice vinegar by mistake (it has sugar added to it already) or the limes were especially sweet and I was adding ginger (which also tastes a bit sweet to me)… but then, I personally like it a bit more acidic than the norm.
Another thing that can be varied is what adds the salty component. Soy sauce is typical in recipes I have seen but I tend to use tamari or miso. And, in a pinch, a bit of the flavor packet that comes with the ramen could be used (if I get inexpensive ramen, it tends to be the Nissan top ramen original/soy flavor since it is vegetarian and I often have some unused flavor packets from that on hand and can confirm that it works as a substitute in peanut sauce if you have run out of tamari/soy sauce and your grocer also out of stock of most staples due to a pandemic inspired run and distribution issues….)
Longest comment I EVER seen lol
Thank you for this detailed response! I love learning from someone who has played with concepts enough times to have some opinions about them. The template for a peanut sauce is a great one, but adjusting it to one’s specific taste will really be the thing that gives it staying power in the recipe repertoire!