Peanut Butter Ramen Only 3 Ingredients Ready In 5 Minutes

This peanut butter ramen recipe is a quick and inexpensive way to create a delicious side dish or main course. Back in college, this recipe was life! I could make this in less than 5 minutes and with ingredients in my sparse college apartment pantry. Like many starving college students, I lived on Ramen noodles. I actually got this recipe from my husband back when we were first dating. He came over to my apartment one day for lunch and of course, all I had was Ramen noodles. He added a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter and some Sriracha sauce, then handed it to me. I skeptically took a bite and it was so good! I don’t think I ate plain Ramen again. It quickly became my favorite meal that I could make for under fifty cents! And it literally takes two minutes to make from start to finish.

Ingredients to Make Peanut Butter Ramen

You ready for this? Here are the THREE simple ingredients you need to make these peanut butter ramen noodles:

Easy Microwave Method

As if this recipe weren’t easy enough, you can actually make it even easier! Instead of making the ramen in a pot of boiling water (as per package directions), you can actually make it in the microwave! Put the ramen in a microwave safe dish or bowl and microwave for 4 minutes or until noodles are soft. Pour out most of the water (reserve about ½ cup) and add the packet of ramen seasoning. Add the peanut butter and sriracha and that’s it!

Additions and Variations

Want a little flavor variation? You can also add a splash of soy sauce to the noodles and/or a little chili garlic sauce or chili paste to the peanut butter mixture. If you like a sweeter ramen, you can add a drizzle of honey or a splash of coconut milk for creaminess. To make this more of a Thai peanut butter ramen, serve with lime wedges (the lime juice adds such a delicious flavor). Looking for some additions to add to beef up your peanut butter ramen? You can add so many toppings to these noodles if you like. I love adding peanuts for crunch and cilantro or green onions for flavor and color, but you could also toss in shredded carrots, chopped chicken, red bell peppers, bean sprouts, mushrooms, beef, shrimp, tofu, sesame seeds, just about anything goes!

Tips for Peanut Butter Ramen

Just about any flavor of Ramen noodles will work. I usually use the regular chicken flavor, but I’ve tried this with beef, spicy chicken, shrimp and spicy beef. Don’t forget to make the Ramen noodles as directed on the package, including adding the spice packet. Otherwise your noodles just won’t have enough flavor. Sriracha is a brand of hot sauce that can be found in most grocery stores in the Thai or Asian food section. It has a consistency of thin ketchup but packs a powerful punch that gives this recipe a much needed kick! The sriracha and the peanut butter combined make the perfect peanut sauce. You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, whatever you have on hand. Crunchy will give the whole dish a little more texture which is absolutely delicious.