20-Minute Chicken Ramen Stir-Fry
Published Mar 17, 2020•Updated Jun 03, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Chicken Ramen Stir-Fry has tender, springy noodles with chicken and broccoli in a sweet and savory sauce. It tastes better than take-out, has less than 400 calories, and comes together in about 20 minutes. This recipe has 500+ positive reviews, so if you’re on the hunt for your next favorite chicken ramen recipe, keep reading.
Janna says: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A go-to in our house! My husband LOVES this recipe and asks for it all the time. So quick and easy with just a few ingredients! Thank you for the recipe!”
The secret to this fast and easy chicken ramen dinner? Quick cooking ramen noodles. Toss those sodium-packed flavor packets they come with and make a quick sweet and savory sauce. Instant Ramen’s got nothing on this fresh, real food version.
Ingredients for Chicken Ramen Stir Fry
- Dry Ramen Noodles– Those inexpensive packets of instant ramen noodles are a secret weapon for fast dinners. Toss out the flavor packets that come with them and what remains is a tender, curly, fast-cooking noodle that just needs to be soaked in hot water to serve.
- Cooking Oil– Any high heat oil will work here. I use avocado oil or grapeseed oil in most of my cooking. Vegetable, canola, or peanut oil would work too.
- Chicken Breast– Chicken thighs would work as well. Feel free to use thinly sliced pork or beef which should cook in about the same time as the chicken. Tofu is great for a vegetarian version.
- Broccoli– Look for those bagged, pre-chopped broccoli florets to save time. Any other vegetable you like would work too. This is great with sliced bell peppers, snow peas, or sliced green beans.
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Chicken Stock, and Cornstarch– These pantry staples are all you need to make a flavorful Asian-inspired sauce. I always test with low-sodium soy sauce, but you can add a bit of extra brown sugar to balance the salt flavor if using regular soy sauce.
- Green Onions and White Sesame Seeds– These are just for garnish and a little flavor and crunch. Feel free to skip them if you’re in a rush.
Pin this now to save it for later
Pin It Now
More Easy Ramen Recipes
Favorite Tools for Asian-Inspired Recipes
Pin this now to save it for later
Pin It Now
20-Minute Chicken Ramen Stir-Fry
Equipment
- Small Mixing Bowl
- Microwave Safe Bowl or Saucepan
- Wok or Large Skillet
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1/3 cup Low-Sodium Chicken Stock (substitute water)
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
Stir-Fry:
- 6 ounces Ramen Noodles (Instant Ramen works best, but discard flavor packets)
- 2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil, divided
- 1 pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, chopped
- 8 ounces Broccoli Florets, fresh or frozen
- 2 Green Onions, chopped (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon White Sesame Seeds (optional)
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and cornstarch until no lumps remain. Add chicken stock, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and garlic and whisk until evenly combined.
- Heat a pot or bowl of water in the microwave or on the stove until steaming. Add noodles and set let them soak until just tender. (Check the package instructions for the recommended timing, but reduce by one minute since noodles will continue to cook slightly more when added to the stir-fry.) When the noodles are tender, drain.
- While noodles soak, toss chicken with some salt and pepper.
- Heat a wok or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon oil and then chicken. Saute until chicken is cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Set chicken aside.
- Return wok to medium-high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon oil and then broccoli. Saute broccoli until it turns bright green and then continue cooking until broccoli is tender (if using frozen broccoli, just saute it until it's heated through and the excess water cooks off).
- Add sauce to the pan and toss to coat broccoli. Continue cooking until sauce reduces slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add chicken and noodles to the pan and toss everything to coat in sauce.
- Remove from heat and add green onions and sesame seeds, if using. Serve immediately!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you have any tips on how to ensure the ramen noodles don’t get mushy when you add them to the stir fry? I made a modified version of this recipe and in the process of stirring the noodles in the wok I overlooked the noodles and it became a mushy mess. FYI I cooked the noodles first then added to wok.
Hi Tara. That’s definitely the only part of this recipe that’s a bit finicky. I’d do it exactly the way you mention – cook the noodles first then add to the wok.
The two keys are that the noodles need to be just barely cooked and need to spend very little time in the hot wok. You can even run them under cool water when you drain them to stop the cooking process when they are first cooked. With ramen noodles, this is tricky because they cook so fast, so err on the side of undercooking them. Even if they’re still chewy, you’ll have time to cook them a bit more with the sauce. Then when you add them to the sauce, cook them as little as possible.
Now that you’ve had them get overcooked (<-PS it just autocorrected mine to overlooked too!) once, I bet you'll get the timing perfect next time.
If I wanted to use shrimp instead of chicken, would I still need the chicken broth?
Hi Aubrey – shrimp is a great idea. I’d just use water instead of the chicken broth.
Thank you. This went together quickly and easily. I like the noodles in hot water shortcut.
So glad you liked it, Lee Ann – it’s a favorite for us, and so quick. Thank you for letting me know!
My family enjoyed this one immensely! It is definitely going in the rotation. Thank you
can i tell you how much of a delicious thing this turned out to be? tried it and now i’m loving it 🙂 Thanks for sharing
I tried this recipe today for my family & it was a hit everybody loved it. This recipe was easy to follow, no time in the kitchen, & better than most of the take-out we have had recently. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for letting me know Tyettea! I’m so glad that everyone liked it!
I just made this, as written, and I can’t put down my fork…even though my stomach **hurts** from inhaling this DELISH dish!! Thank you so much for sharing such an Easy & YUMMY recipe, that even I, a novice in the kitchen, could make! And your girls are so ADORABLE!!! That Look! 🙂
Cathy – thank you so much for your sweet note both about the recipe and our girls. I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed it – this is one of our favorite dinners!
I wod rather boil the water, instead of using hot tap water for the ramen noodles. Other than that, sounds wonderful. Will try it.
This was so good and easy! I added asparagus and half a bag of Cole slaw mix!?
Not much left over, but what is will be my lunch tomorrow!
Great idea to add asparagus and cole slaw mix! (I’m always looking for ways to use up leftover half bags of cole slaw mix – mental note!)
Ooh gosh, this stir-fry looks ridiculously tasty! We ended up going out tonight after getting home late and realizing that the dinner we had planned wouldn’t be ready for nearly two hours…we certainly could have used a recipe like this! But I’m sure there will be a “next time,” and I’m looking forward to try this! That first photo in particular makes me want to dive in head first.
Your SO lucky to be able to look at your children, and give them all of your love through big hugs and cuddles.
Make food for them, make food with them and laugh about silly things together…. I’m never going to be able to have a baby for me to have these moments.
I don’t mean to be a negative wet blanket, i just wanted to i guess make sure that to have those kids you have are SO VERY lucky… You all deserve that loving bond and they deserve it from you also.
Never ever let a day go by without knowing you’ve let them know through either words or actions that you LOVE them to the end of the earth.
Bless all of you beautiful momma’s and dad’s.
Happy Holidays,
A
What sweet words – thank you Ally.
I love easy, cozy meals like this! And oh those darling girls are getting so big. 🙂
They ARE getting so big, Karista! Part of me wants to stop time but part of me just loves each new stage. Parenthood I guess, right? 😉 Hugs.
Is the calorie count per serving? 396 for one serving or the whole 4 servings?
Hi Stella – I’ve updated the recipe to help clarify this. The calorie count is for one serving of the recipe (which serves 4).