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This 30 Minute Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen is for those nights when you need a cozy, healthy dinner, and you need it fast. All made in the instant pot (or in one pot on the stove), using healthy, pantry staple, ingredients. It’s creamy, spicy, filled with veggies, lean chicken, and ramen noodles. Perfect for a cold night in, after a long busy day.
It’s official, I’ve entered full on cozy food mode and don’t see myself straying from it anytime soon. Currently all I can think about is slow cooked dishes, creamy soups, pastas, bowls of chili, homemade beer bread, and fall baking. It’s possibly the best thing ever and I’m loving it!
We had a cold front move in this week. Monday was dark and stormy almost all day. Our leaves are just passing their peak color, and it’s the perfect fall weather. Soaking up this time before the snow comes and the ground is covered in white…not ready for that.
I know I’ve been saying this very often lately, but this is the best time of year. Makes me so happy!
I’m also loving the fact that I am finally starting to get a good rhythm going on in the new studio. So far this week I’ve had three solid days of work. Feels really good to be back to my normal self, cooking, photographing, writing, etc, etc. Love a good busy day that feels productive, the best!
Anyway…
Moving onto this bowl of ramen which I am so excited to share with you guys. Every fall it’s become a tradition to make a new ramen recipe. This year it’s about this creamier Thai inspired peanut chicken ramen.
This is actually a recipe that I adapted from years and years ago, and I’m loving this new fresh take. Plus this version is easier and slightly healthier too. Cool. Cool. Always love easier and healthier without having to sacrifice flavor!
Here are the details.
I wanted this recipe to be EASY enough for weeknights, but also DELICIOUS. Lately I’m loving using both my instant pot and slow cooker. It was either cook this ramen quickly, or go low and slow with it. Since nothing in this recipe really needs a long and slow cook, I went with my instant pot (which I’ve truly been using every day).
SO, add all ingredients to the instant pot, set it to cook for ten minutes, walk away, pour some wine, make a cocktail, fold laundry, scroll the Gram, do whatever it is that you do. Then come back, shred the chicken, add the ramen noodles, cook five minutes, and dinner is done.
YES. It’s that simple, and I promise, it tastes great too!
As you can guess from the recipe title, this is not your average bowl of ramen.
I used some of my favorite Thai ingredients like Thai red curry paste, coconut milk, peanut butter, mushrooms, and bell peppers, to create a ramen that’s a mix of both Asian and Thai flavors. It’s definitely very different, but don’t worry, it’s delicious.
For the actual ramen noodles, I love using Brown Rice and Millet Ramen noodles (which you can find at Whole Foods and in many grocery stores). These taste just like real deal ramen noodles, but they are much healthier, gluten free, and vegan. Also, I recommend storing the soup and noodles separately, then adding the noodles just before serving. If you let the noodles sit in the soup, they will soak up all the broth and become very mushy.
This ramen is perfect for any night of the week whether it’s a crisp cool night, pouring rain, or a night where you just need a healthy dinner, and you need it fast.
It’s warm, creamy, peanutty and salty. My current favorite bowl of soup to cozy up with on the couch after spending all day testing recipes, emailing, and running around like a crazy person. I love autumn, but man, it’s always crazy busy! Thankful for easy dinners like this!
Watch the How To Video:
If you make this 30 minute Thai peanut chicken ramen, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
30 Minute Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 578 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 2-4 squares ramen noodles
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/3 cup fresh basil or cilantro, roughly chopped, plus more for serving
- chopped peanuts and toasted sesame oil, for serving
Instructions
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of the instant pot, combine the chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, peanut butter, and curry paste. Add the chicken, cremini mushrooms, red peppers, ginger, and garlic. Cover and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.2. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release and release the steam. 3. Set the Instant pot to sauté. Shred the chicken, it should fall apart. Stir in the noodles, lime juice, spinach, and cilantro. Let sit 5 minutes or until the noodles are soft. 4. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with peanuts and toasted sesame oil. Enjoy!
Stove Top
- 1. In a large soup pot, combine the chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, peanut butter, and curry paste. Add the chicken, cremini mushrooms, red peppers, ginger, and garlic. Set over medium heat on the stove and bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily.2. Once done cooking, shred the chicken.3. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Stir in the noodles, lime juice, spinach, and cilantro. Let sit 5 minutes or until the noodles are soft.4. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with peanuts and toasted sesame oil. Enjoy!
Notes
*I recommend storing the soup and noodles separately, then adding the noodles just before serving. If you let the noodles sit in the soup, they will soak up all the broth and become very mushy.
I made this last night and I loved that its sort of Ramen meets Tom Kha meets Satay. It’s full of delicious flavors and whole food ingredients, but I do have some recommendations. I did not use the brown rice and millet noodles as recommended, I just used some regular ramen noodles, surprisingly the only option they had at Sprouts (next time I’ll try one of the many Asian markets near me). I would HIGHLY recommend still boiling your noodles on the side and ladling the broth over it for three reasons: The noodles I used sucked up A TON of the broth, so it was less soupy and more just noodles and vegetables in a light sauce; secondly it’s much easier to separate the noodles for separate storage as recommended; lastly you will get more servings out of this recipe. I guess at least two more. I should also note I did not do this in the instant pot I did the stovetop method which may have caused more reduction in the sauce. Thanks Tieghan for the recipe and much needed inspiration in the kitchen!
Hey Adam,
I appreciate you making this recipe and I’m thrilled to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend! xx
What can I use in place of coconut milk ? I allergic to coconut. Also in other recipes that call for maple syrup- (can not tolerate smell or taste of maple) what can you use instead? Thank you, looking forward to trying this new recipe 🤤
If you do dairy I’d bet you could just use some cream or half and half. When I don’t have dairy and need something similar I actually just use our non-dairy coffee creamer (unflavored and unsweetened). It seems to be taking the place of Miso in a traditional ramen recipe so I bet you could use that as well.
Hi Darci,
You can use another milk in place of the coconut milk and honey in place of the maple syrup. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
All your recipes that I have tried are absolutely delicious! Well, this soup is one of my and my family’s favorites.
Thanks a lot! ❤️
Hey Alla,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was delish!! xx
So I normally love every recipe but this one kinda missed the mark for me and I’m bummed because it has about $15 worth of organic chicken in there!
This smells amazing but flavor is missing something… and ugh, I wish I would’ve ONLY added the noodles I needed for tonight’s meal because it’s nearly impossible to separate noodles from soup (as recommended). Hoping I don’t have to toss it because it becomes too mushy….
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Please let me know if there is something that I can help with! xx
Update – this was actually amazing as leftovers, better than it was as “soup”. I used fresh ramen noodles and like I said, I couldn’t separate it that night. By the next day, the noodles had soaked up all the sauce but weren’t overly mushy and it was just a super tasty noodle bowl with all that yummy chicken I was worried about!
Thanks so much for sharing Lisa!!
Delicious and super easy to make! Love that it’s a one pot dish. (Definitely make sure to use the low sodium options, otherwise it is very salty.)
Hey Ruth,
Happy Wednesday!❄️ I appreciate you making this recipe and I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Very flavourful soup! Easy to make
Hey Jenna,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! xT
Made this for Valentine’s dinner 😉❤️ it was absolutely delicious 😋
I swapped the chicken for Shrimp. Kept everything else exactly the same (added some crushed red pepper, hubby likes spicy).
Very easy to make. Delicious
Thanks Tieghan, for another fantastic recipe!
Hey Tammie,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a hit! xT
So so good! We had a cold and rainy girl’s night at my house . This soup hit the spot! 😋
Hey Isabelle,
Happy Sunday!!🏈 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
This was incredible! I have to admit, I was intimated by the ingredients, but it was DELICIOUS and instantly became one of our new go-to dinners! The whole family loved it, which is super rare for us! 🙂
Hey Christine,
Happy Friday!!❤️ I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it was delish! xT
Delicious!! Loved how quick this came together. I shredded some rotisserie chicken cause it’s what I had on hand and it was perfect. So much flavor. Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Hey Marie,
Awesome!!🌼 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try! xT
I made this soup tonight and it was delicious! I did make a few changes.
1. I only used 5 tsp’s of the red curry paste. It was the perfect amount of heat. I cannot imagine 1/4 c! I also only used the juice of 1/2 lime. I made adding cilantro easy by using 2 Tbsp of Cilantro paste. I also cooked my ramen seperately on my stove top and once it was cooked I poured the soup mixture over top the noodles. This way you know you won’t be leaving noodles in the soup to soak up all your broth. Very easy to make more noodles tomorrow for lunch or dinner.
Hey Wendy,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it turned out well for you:)
Made this last month and it was delicious! One of our favorite ramen recipes! Do you think tofu would be good in it instead of the chicken? We’re trying to eat vegetarian a little more these days.
Hey Melissa,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! Sure, tofu would be fine to use! Have a great weekend:)
Second time making this in the last month, love it! I just add whatever vegetables we have (bok choy, cabbage, carrots) and it’s turned out great. Thank you!
Hey Christy,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your comment, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Ramen has become so popular and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I looked around and settled on your recipe since your recipes never disappoint. This was SO delicious and just perfect! Thank you!
Hey Marina,
Happy Valentine’s Day! 💌 I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xT
Delicious and easy to make on a cold weeknight. My only change was the original recipe I found to be a little too sweet for what I typically prefer for ramen. I added some chili crunch oil when reheating the next day and it was perfect!
Hey Brittni,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and sharing your comment, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
What do you suggest for a vegan alternative to fish sauce? Do you think tofu would work well for a sub to the chicken?
Hey Beth,
Sure, tofu should work well for you! Also, there should be some vegan fish sauce alternatives at your local grocery store! I hope this helps! xx