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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 LOVE THIS RECIPE!! I can’t say enough good things about how yummy this is. SO SO GOOD! Thank you Tieghan. Like a warm hug. So flavorful. So easy!
Thank you so much! Sooo happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 xT
SO GOOD! This was quick, easy and family approved, even picky daughter loved it. The only change I made was reducing the chili paste due to a kid that can’t handle any spice, but the rest of us made that up with chile/garlic oil and sriracha. It was nice that it wasn’t overly salty. Do yourself a favor and make this!
Thank you so much! Sooo happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 xT
Made it for dinner on a cold, windy, autumn day. It was very good. Used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breast as they were on sell. Added Shiitake mushrooms cause I really like them. I did cook my noodles separately as only 2 of us was eating this recipe and I anticipated leftovers. This was my first recipe from this site and won’t be my last!
Hey Debbie,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and your review, so glad it was delish! xT
This soup had great flavor and was easy to make. My family loved it and we will definitely make it again.
Thanks Sandy! xT
Will be adding to our rotation! So easy & great flavors! My 4 yo and 1 yo ate the noodles, sauce and peppers (huge win!)
Me and daddy added some sriracha to our bowls! Yum! Thanks for all your recipes💙
Hey Sarah,
I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great week! xT
I love this Ramon great flavor and easy to make.
Hey Judith,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! x
Yum! Any recipe I make that my 10 year old can use chopsticks on is always a slam dunk. Lots of happy slurps. Made it Instant Pot style. Swapped bok choi for the spinach because I had it on hand, and apparently ran out of peanuts so subbed cashews to top.
Hi Carrie,
Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your review, love to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Absolute gas. Took out the shrooms because I’m not a big fan of any type, and subbed 1 TBSP dried basil and 1 TBSP ginger paste for the fresh equals. Honestly could’ve used something in place of the mushrooms, but that’s on me for taking them out… maybe a shallot or something. This was amazing.
Lol thanks so much Connor! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit and I appreciate you making it! xT
This was sooo good! I made it for a weekday lunch when I was working at home on the stove top. I used pulled rotisserie chicken breast meat that I had on hand and only used 1/4 cup peanut butter. I also cook one brick of brown rice/millet ramen seperate to eat with my bowl. Such a great comfort food, will def make this again!!
Questions:
1. Could I swap out regular for light coconut milk to make it a little lower in fat?
2. Will this soup base freeze well?
Thanks!
Hi Celeste! Yes, you can definitely use light coconut milk! And I haven’t ever frozen this but this should freeze just fine 🙂 xT
Okay I didn’t have any of the suggested substitutes, so I used 1% milk and I think the milk curdled in the soup. Any suggestions how to fix it? 😅
Hey Sarah! I would let the milk come to room temp or you could heat it up a bit! xT
This was delicious and cozy, and I’m so happy I could throw this together quickly enough while the baby napped! 😄
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
This has become a family favorite. I make it in my crockpot as I don’t have an instant pot. I throw everything, but the peppers and spinach in and cook on high for 4 hrs, adding the peppers for the last hour and spinach just to wilt before serving when I shred the chicken. Makes a delicious soup the feeds a crowd and repeats beautifully if Ramen kept separately. 😋 it may be in my crockpot again as I type.
Hi Erica,
That’s fantastic to hear! Thanks for trying this dish and your comment, love that it was enjoyed! xT
This was phenomenal and also super flexible based on your preferences… every mom’s favorite type of recipe, right?
I made it vegetarian by using extra firm tofu, no-chicken broth (better than boullion), and mushroom soy sauce in place of both the soy sauce and fish sauce (vegan fish sauce exists but I couldn’t find it in my store). I don’t like bell peppers or whole mushrooms so I threw in bias sliced carrots, sliced cabbage, and sliced baby corn at the start of cooking. I added the spinach at the end as the recipe says to and served over noodles.
I was a little short on coconut milk so I added some almond milk at the end to make up for it somewhat and it was fine. I tried to 1 1/2 the recipe and thought I had a 2nd can of coconut milk. It tasted ok but was a little spicy that way for my tastes so if you are short on coconut milk and don’t like a lot of spice you might want to go a little lighter on the red curry and/or plan to add something else – but that’s another way you can adjust this, it can be made more or less spicey to your choice. I tend to order a 3-4 on a 1-10 scale if we order Thai food and as written I feel like this was exactly on my level or spice preference.
This was easy, yummy, and quite reminiscent of a ready made Thai peanut dressing that Costco carried briefly and then dropped which was a surprise bonus feature – now I have a hack to recreate the things I used to make with that! I think the sauce-only parts of this with maybe 1/2-3/4 of the broth might be just right… I never even thought about trying to find a copy cat recipe for that so this was really a great surprise!
Only one of my kids is vegetarian so I am going to try this with chicken some time and I’m sure it will be great.
Also I know it’s not always helpful when someone changes everything in a recipe and then reviews it, good or bad – but I really didn’t alter the heart of the recipe here. I really only changed the stuff that went in the sauce, and I’m sure the recipe as written would be just as good for someone who likes bell peppers and whole mushrooms.
Thank you so so much for this feedback and for adding your input on what worked for you! I really appreciate it! xT
Do you have suggestions for coconut milk substitute? (Allergy) Thank you.
Hi Kate! You could use almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, or heavy cream! xT
I made this last night and 1 1/2’ed the recipe but didn’t realize I didn’t have enough coconut milk… coulda sworn there was a 2nd can in the pantry. Oops. So I added almond milk (from a carton) to the finished product and it made a huge difference. I think you wouldn’t get quite the same creaminess/mouthfeel going that route using just pre-made almond milk and no coconut, but if tree nuts are not a problem you could do like you do to make a nut based sauce, whiz the nuts in hot water until as smooth as possible (cashews work well for this but soaked blanched almonds would probably work, too). I might actually try a batch just this way because I have a bunch of cashews I need to use up.
Can you make this in a slow cooker?
Yeah, that should work well! xT
Holy smokes. This is both easy to pull together, but also complex in flavor and texture. So amazing.
Thank you so much Christopher! xT
This was delicious, though next time I will use a bit less peanut butter as the flavor was a little overwhelming. Loved the touch of spice!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have a great fall season! 🙂 xT