Best Instant Ramen Brands Ranked by a Food Critic

Shin Ramyun is the benchmark against which all spicy instant noodles are measured. The Korean gochugaru-based broth produces a heat that builds progressively. Nongshim has sold over 32 billion packages since 1986. Shin Ramyun Black adds a beef bone broth sachet and garlic-sesame oil packet.

Indomie Mi Goreng is the most beloved instant noodle product in the world by some measures. A dry noodle dish tossed with five condiment sachets combining into a savory-sweet-slightly-spicy sauce of surprising complexity. Blind tasting score: 8.2/10.

14,444 Scoville Heat Units — the product that launched the viral fire noodle challenge generating hundreds of millions of YouTube views. The noodles are excellent: thick, chewy, holding up to the thick sauce coating. The 1x Buldak is a better culinary recommendation.

The most underappreciated instant ramen in the Japanese market — most authentically represents Tokyo shoyu ramen. A chicken-based broth with nuanced soy complexity including fermented notes beyond salt. Closest approximation to a Tokyo shoyu ramen shop. Availability: specialty Japanese grocery stores.

Won the Ramen Rater annual best-in-world competition in 2015 and 2016. The laksa broth — coconut milk, shrimp paste, lemongrass, galangal, chili — is completely absent from Japanese and Korean instant ramen. Blind tasting score: 7.8/10. Price: .50-5.00.

The most unusual flavor profile in instant ramen that actually works: spicy octopus in a Korean sweet-spicy sauce applied to exceptionally good noodles. Seafood umami from octopus extract + sweet Korean chili sauce. Blind tasting score: 7.6/10.

The best-value instant ramen in the Japan-origin category. Shio broth is built on chicken and sea salt with konbu dashi, producing clarity of flavor. Noodles cook in 2 minutes. Best value-quality ratio on the list. Price: approximately bash.80 per package.

Singaporean brand using anthocyanin-rich purple wheat as the noodle base. Flavor range draws on Singaporean hawker center flavors. The Char Kway Teow variety captures wok hei smokiness through aromatic compounds in the oil packet. Blind tasting score: 7.3/10.

A cultural phenomenon and a genuinely well-constructed product. The masala flavor profile — turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, MSG — is distinctly Indian and genuinely addictive. The 2016 re-launch following comprehensive formula review has been vindicated by subsequent testing. Blind tasting score: 6.9/10.

Shin Ramyun is the benchmark against which all spicy instant noodles are measured. The Korean gochugaru-based broth produces a heat that builds progressively. Nongshim has sold over 32 billion packages since 1986. Shin Ramyun Black adds a beef bone broth sachet and garlic-sesame oil packet.

Indomie Mi Goreng is the most beloved instant noodle product in the world by some measures. A dry noodle dish tossed with five condiment sachets combining into a savory-sweet-slightly-spicy sauce of surprising complexity. Blind tasting score: 8.2/10.

14,444 Scoville Heat Units — the product that launched the viral fire noodle challenge generating hundreds of millions of YouTube views. The noodles are excellent: thick, chewy, holding up to the thick sauce coating. The 1x Buldak is a better culinary recommendation.

The most underappreciated instant ramen in the Japanese market — most authentically represents Tokyo shoyu ramen. A chicken-based broth with nuanced soy complexity including fermented notes beyond salt. Closest approximation to a Tokyo shoyu ramen shop. Availability: specialty Japanese grocery stores.

Won the Ramen Rater annual best-in-world competition in 2015 and 2016. The laksa broth — coconut milk, shrimp paste, lemongrass, galangal, chili — is completely absent from Japanese and Korean instant ramen. Blind tasting score: 7.8/10. Price: .50-5.00.

The most unusual flavor profile in instant ramen that actually works: spicy octopus in a Korean sweet-spicy sauce applied to exceptionally good noodles. Seafood umami from octopus extract + sweet Korean chili sauce. Blind tasting score: 7.6/10.

The best-value instant ramen in the Japan-origin category. Shio broth is built on chicken and sea salt with konbu dashi, producing clarity of flavor. Noodles cook in 2 minutes. Best value-quality ratio on the list. Price: approximately bash.80 per package.

Singaporean brand using anthocyanin-rich purple wheat as the noodle base. Flavor range draws on Singaporean hawker center flavors. The Char Kway Teow variety captures wok hei smokiness through aromatic compounds in the oil packet. Blind tasting score: 7.3/10.

A cultural phenomenon and a genuinely well-constructed product. The masala flavor profile — turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, MSG — is distinctly Indian and genuinely addictive. The 2016 re-launch following comprehensive formula review has been vindicated by subsequent testing. Blind tasting score: 6.9/10.