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!
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.