

The Best Ramen Toppings & Upgrades To Transform Your Instant Noodles
Let’s face it, instant noodles and ramen are a student diet staple (especially if you’re food shopping on a budget), but everyone knows the key to perfect instant noodles is upgrading them yourself. With a few ramen toppings, you can easily turn your dry noodles into a gourmet meal, on a strict student budget.
So, if you’re looking for toppings for ramen or need a bit of inspo to get you feeling inspired we’ve put together a list of our favourite ramen toppings and how you can level up your noodles with minimal effort, cost or cooking experience.
In this article:
- Simple ramen toppings to try out
- How to make ramen better: step-by-step
- Best instant ramen recipes for students
Simple ramen toppings to try out

If you’re wondering what to add to ramen to level it up, add some of these things to your shopping list as essentials to keep in your fridge or the back of your cupboards. All of these ramen toppings are super affordable or can be frozen, so you’ll always be able to grab something to take your noodles to the next level.
Protein
As delicious as they are, ramen and instant noodles typically aren’t the most nutritious and will probably leave you feeling hungry within a few hours. Start with adding some protein to not only make you feel fuller for longer but also give you some much-needed nutritional value and an energy boost to fuel you through a busy day of uni.
Oh, and if you’re vegetarian or vegan, don’t worry because protein doesn’t always mean chicken— you can get plenty of protein from tofu, lentils or eggs.
Some ramen toppings to add protein could include:
- Chicken
- Prawns
- Tofu
- Salmon
- Roast beef
- Boiled eggs
- Black lentils
Vegetables
If you struggle to get your 5 a day, your ramen could be a good place to start. You can garnish your instant noodles with fresh or frozen veggies and most vegetables will pair well with noodles, so if you have anything in the back of your fridge that’s quickly approaching the best before date you can chuck it in for some additional flavour.
You could try any of the following veggies as a ramen topping:
- Broccoli
- Edamame
- Spring onion
- Carrots
- Spinach
- Onion
- Bean sprouts
- Mushrooms
- Pak choi
- Bamboo shoots
- Bell pepper
- Sweetcorn
Sauces
Once you’ve added some protein and veggies the next thing to add to your ramen is some form of sauce. Again, anything goes with this and you’ll probably have something lying around in your cupboard that will do the job but make your ramen taste 10/10.
Try adding some of these sauces to your ramen:
- Peanut butter
- Chilli sauce
- Siracha or hot sauce
- Sesame oil
- Satay sauce
- Soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Fish sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Coconut milk
Aromatics
If you feel like your instant noodles are still lacking a bit of flavour, you can try adding some aromatics to enhance the flavour. Again, you’re likely to have spices in your cupboard so this is a really cost-effective way to improve the taste and flavour of your ramen
Try some of these aromatic ramen toppings:
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Scallions
Final ramen toppings
Once you’ve added your protein, veggies, seasoning and sauce sometimes your ramen might need one final addition to give it a bit of pizazz.
Here are some finishing toppings for ramen to try out:
- Crushed peanuts
- Basil
- Sesame seeds
- Crispy fried onions
- Fresh spring onion
- Chili flakes
How to make ramen better: Step-by-step
So, if you want to upgrade your next dinner here’s what to add to ramen to take it to the next level.
- Choose your noodles— are you going for fresh egg noodles or wheat noodles? Or are you choosing the 50p instant noodles that taste delicious but need a bit of tweaking to make them perfect? If you want to switch things up, try experimenting with a different noodle base each time you make your instant ramen.
- Choose your broth— you could make your own broth, but if you’re limited on resources you can also buy meat or veggie broth to speed things up.
- Add your aromatic ramen toppings—this is where you can really boost the flavour by strring in garlic or ginger to enhance your noodles.
- Add your sauce—next decide what sauce or combination of sauces you want to use and stir them into your noodles.
- Add your vegetables— remember anything goes with this and most vegetables will pair well with ramen.
- Add your protein– finally add your protein to bulk out your noodles.
- Finish with your final ramen toppings— garnish with a topping such as crushed peanuts or sesame seeds
Best instant ramen recipe ideas for students

If you’re looking for some easy noodle recipes with only a few ingredients, look no further as we’ve got some yummy instant ramen recipes to upgrade your standard packet noodles with no kitchen experience required.
Pad Thai— you can make pad Thai by adding fish sauce, peanuts and a lime wedge to your noodles. You can opt for chicken or tofu as the protein to make a tasty and simple pad Thai.
Satay noodles—simply add satay sauce, chicken, spring onion and chopped peanuts to your noodles.
Pesto ramen—pesto pasta is a staple of many students’ diets, and it tastes pretty good with ramen, too! For a tasty twist, you can add some frozen vegetables, basil, and sun-dried tomato.
Sesame ramen— for an extra kick add sesame sauce, a soft-boiled egg, tender stem broccoli, spring onions, and chilli sauce.
Breakfast noodles– who said noodles are for dinner only? If you want a hearty breakfast meal you can simply add bacon, egg and cheese to your noodles for a tasty and easy breakfast.
For more recipe inspo don’t forget to check out some of our easy student meals for one & our favourite cheese toastie fillings.