Easy Gluten Free Ramen Noodle Soup Recipe
This easy Gluten Free Ramen Recipe with chicken and soft-boiled eggs is SO delicious! Loaded with simple ingredients like fresh veggies, meat, seaweed, and a super tasty broth, this is sure to hit the spot at home. It’s gluten-free with paleo, whole30, low carb, and vegan options!
This post was originally published on November 22nd, 2020.
🍲 Gluten-Free Chicken Ramen Soup Recipe
Healthy comfort food is always something I strive for in the kitchen, and I think we hit the gold mine on this gluten-free ramen soup recipe. It’s delicious, super filling, and it is also really easy to make. It makes you feel really good, especially when it’s a bit chilly outside!
Ramen has been a favorite of mine in recent years. I think I only really discovered it around 2015, and now I always seek it out when I get the chance to eat out in autumn, winter, or early spring. It’s just like a hug in a bowl, and if they add extra spice, even better!
This is very a quick and easy gluten-free ramen recipe. There’s not much to it, and it seems much more complicated than it looks. This isn’t an incredibly “soupy” bowl of ramen. The emphasis is on the chicken, veggies, and eggs, the broth brings everything together. My homemade ramen broth is made of some warming spices like anise and also coconut aminos to add plenty of flavor and a little sweetness, with zero gluten, unlike soy sauce. Traditional ramen noodles have gluten in them so I opted for rice noodles, but you can even use spiralized vegetables or gluten-free spaghetti.
🗝️ Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Broth
- Coconut Aminos: Coconut aminos are a gluten-free & paleo substitute for soy sauce. It adds sweetness, saltiness, and also flavor! You can opt for gluten-free soy sauce if that’s easier, just add a little honey or maple syrup as well.
- Chicken stock: You can use chicken broth as I did, or vegetable stock for a veggie version.
- Star anise: Star anise gives this ramen recipe a beautiful warm flavor. It really complements the coconut aminos and ginger very well.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger, grated adds flavor and heat.
- Butter: I don’t usually add butter to things but this ramen broth recipe really called for some richness. The butter was perfect! Either dairy-free or regular butter, even ghee will work.
Everything else
- Oil: I used olive oil to sauté the onions, and then a little sesame oil for flavor at the end.
- Chicken: Four chicken breasts, whole, are perfect here. If you want to make a vegetarian version, substitute the chicken breasts for a couple of cans of jackfruit in water, drained, or more mushrooms. This recipe is my favorite way to use up leftover chicken or turkey as well!
- Bok Choy: I used 1 head of baby bok choy in this easy ramen recipe. Slice off the stocks and cook them with the chicken to make sure they’re nice and soft.
- Shiitake Mushrooms: These mushrooms absorb the broth flavor really well, and just add a little more nutrition.
- Onion & Garlic: Yay flavor! I love the garlic and onion combo in so many Asian-inspired dishes, and this one is no exception. You can add some chopped green onions to garnish at the end as well if desired.
- Coconut Aminos: For that delicious salty-sweet flavor, coconut aminos are perfect! They also add great color to the chicken and veggies.
- Ramen eggs:My last post is all about Ramen eggs (ajitsuke tamago or ajitama) and they are the perfect garnish for ramen! Make a batch to have on hand for snacks this week.
- Noodles: Instead of using regular ramen noodles, I used rice noodles, which are naturally gluten-free noodles. You can try other noodles like gluten-free ramen noodles, gluten-free spaghetti, or even vegetable noodles like zucchini or sweet potato.
🥣 How to make gluten-free ramen soup
Ramen broth
- Prep the ingredients: Firstly, grate the ginger and measure out the butter.
- Heat and simmer: Next, add all of the broth ingredients to a large pot over medium heat on the stove until it simmers, and then turn it to low. Allow the ramen broth to cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.
- Baby Bok Choy: Finally, 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve the ramen, add the baby bok choy leaves into the broth (turn the heat on if you’ve turned it off) and allow them to soften up.
Chicken ramen
- Prepare the soft boiled egg (optional): Make the ramen eggs (<< full recipe here) earlier that day, or a day or two before if you’re having them. They are amazing in this ramen recipe. Highly recommended, but completely optional.
2. Sautée: Secondly, sautée the onions, baby bok choy stalks, and mushrooms until they become soft. This will take about 5 minutes, and then add in the garlic for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken: Next, add the chicken and salt to the pan and brown on each side, flipping at around 5 minutes.
4. Add the coconut aminos: Add in the coconut aminos, give it a little stir, place the lid on the pan, and allow everything to simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat, flipping the chicken halfway through.
5. Cook noodles (optional): Cook whichever noodles you decide on, if you want noodles at all! Rice noodles take about 5 minutes, veggie noodles will take longer to soften up. My favorites are sweet potato or zucchini noodles. You can even use raw bean sprouts! They are a super easy option, just wash them and toss them in the bowl!
6. Check and cut the chicken: After the 20 minutes have passed, cut into the thickest part of the chicken you can see on each breast, double-checking it has cooked all the way through. If it’s still pink, flip, cover, and cook for 5-10 more minutes. When the chicken has finished cooking completely, cut it into slices or bite-sized chunks.
7. Plate up: Finally, in a large bowl start with the noodles if you’re having them, followed by the vegetables, chicken, and seaweed, and then pour over the broth (especially on the seaweed if it’s dry!). Garnish with Homemade Ramen Eggs!
🫙 Storage Instructions
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat it in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. Heat thoroughly, until everything is piping hot before consuming.
🍜 Gluten-free noodle options
Real noodles
- Rice vermicelli
- Sweet potato noodles (found in your local Asian market)
- Kelp noodles
- Glass noodles (a.k.a. cellophane noodles)
- Brown rice noodles
- Buckwheat soba noodles
Vegetable noodles
- Spiralized zucchini
- Spiralized sweet potato
- Spiralized daikon radish
- Bean sprouts (raw, washed)
- Shredded mushrooms
✨ What else can I add to my ramen soup?
Load it with veggies or meat! Here are some of my favorite add-ins:
Fresh vegetables
- Seaweed
- baby bok choy
- mushrooms
- bamboo shoots
- water chestnuts
- zucchini or yellow squash
- bell peppers
- sliced radish
- crispy brussels sprouts
- chili peppers
- bamboo shoots
- cabbage
- canned jackfruit in water
Herbs, spices, etc.
- crispy fried garlic
- spicy garlic (garlic fried in chili oil)
- chili powder, paprika, or cayenne pepper
- Chinese 5 spice powder
- lemongrass
- curry leaves
- peanut butter (or almond butter is a great alternative). 2 tablespoons added to the sauce is SO good!
🌱 Options for other diets
As always, I like to include options for other dietary requirements. I hope one of these suits you!
Paleo ramen & Whole30 ramen
It’s really easy to fit this chicken ramen recipe into these diets! Just use a vegetable noodle, for instance, spiralized zucchini or spiralized sweet potatoes, or bean sprouts. You can also keep things even more simple and skip the noodles together.
Vegetarian or vegan ramen
To make this ramen recipe vegetarian, use vegetable stock in the broth, and replace the chicken with your favorite vegetables from the list above.
Low carb ramen
This recipe can easily be made low carb by using low carb noodles. Options include zucchini noodles, bean sprouts, and konjac/shirataki noodles (rinsed well). What’s your favorite low-carb noodle?
😋 More soup & stew recipes to try:
- White Chicken Chili
- Thai Coconut Soup with Shrimp
- Easy One Pot Gumbo
- Vegan Keto Smoky Chili
- Gluten Free Stout Beef Stew
Have you made this recipe? I’d love to know <3 Tag me (@makehealthyrecipes) on Facebook and Instagram, Pin it on Pinterest, and please leave a star rating review below! Don’t forget to subscribe to the email list (top right of this page) for sparkly new recipes in your inbox.
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Chicken Ramen Recipe
Ingredients
Ramen Broth
- 120 ml 1/2 cup coconut aminos, divided
- 500 ml 2 cups chicken or veggie broth
- 3 g heaped 1/2 teaspoon butter, ghee, or olive oil
- 2 star anise
- 1- inch fresh ginger grated (about the size of the top part of your thumb, before the knuckle)
Chicken, noodles, and vegetables
- 1 onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 135 g 4.75oz shiitake mushrooms, diced or sliced
- 1 head baby bok choy leaves removed and stalks chopped
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ramen eggs halved (optional recipe link below)
- 250 g noodles of choice zucchini, sweet potato, palmini, rice noodles
- A few handfuls of dried seaweed optional
- Green onion to garnish optional
Instructions
Ramen eggs (optional):
- Make the ramen eggs earlier that day, or a day or two before if you’re having them. They are amazing in this ramen recipe. Highly recommended, but completely optional.
Ramen broth:
- Firstly, grate the ginger and measure out the butter.
- Secondly, heat all of the broth ingredients on the stove until it simmers. Allow the ramen broth to cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.
- Finally, 10 minutes before you're ready to serve the ramen, add the baby bok choy leaves into the broth (turn the heat on if you've turned it off) and allow them to soften up.
Chicken, veggies, and noodles
- Sautée the onions, baby bok choy stalks, and mushrooms until they become soft. This will take about 5 minutes, and then add in the garlic for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken and salt to the pan and brown on each side, flipping at around 5 minutes.
- Add in the coconut aminos, give it a little stir, place the lid on the pan, and allow everything to simmer for about 20 minutes on low heat, flipping the chicken halfway through.
- Cook whichever noodles you decide on if you want noodles at all! Rice noodles (which I used this time) take about 5 minutes, veggie noodles will take longer to soften up. My favorites are sweet potato or zucchini noodles. You can even use raw bean sprouts! They are a super easy option, just wash them and toss them in the bowl!
- After the 20 minutes have passed, cut into the thickest part of the chicken you can see on each breast, double-checking it has cooked all the way through. If it's still pink, flip, cover, and cook for 5-10 more minutes. When the chicken has finished cooking completely, cut it into slices or bite-sized chunks.
- Finally, in a large bowl start with the noodles if you're having them, followed by the vegetables, chicken, and seaweed, and then pour over the broth (especially on the seaweed if it's dry!). Garnish with Homemade Ramen Eggs!
Notes
Ramen options for other diets:
- Paleo ramen recipe & whole30 ramen recipe: It's really easy to fit this chicken ramen recipe into these diets! Just use a vegetable noodle, such as spiralized zucchini, spiralized sweet potatoes, or bean sprouts. You can also keep things even more straightforward and skip the noodles together.
- Vegetarian/vegan ramen recipe: To make this ramen recipe vegetarian, use vegetable stock in the broth, and replace the chicken with your favorite vegetables from the list above, or tofu. For vegans, do the same and omit the eggs.
- Low carb ramen recipe: This recipe can easily be made low carb by using low carb noodles. Options include zucchini noodles, bean sprouts, and konjac/shirataki noodles (rinsed well). What's your favorite low carb noodle?
