16 Best Instant Noodles of 2025
Top pick
We loved this ramen’s balance of sweet shallots and a meaty sauce coating thick, bouncy noodles. It was a near-unanimous fave of our testers.
Every one of our tasters loved A-Sha’s saucy (soup-free) Meteor Noodles With Danzai Sauce. Many commented on how well the sweetness of the shallots married with the fresh savoriness of the meat—not to mention the notes of black pepper giving it all some lift. These noodles quickly disappeared from the serving bowl (and from our test kitchen pantry).
The “meteor noodles” (the same ones that come with the braised beef noodle flavor we recommend) are ovoid-shaped, with laser cuts intended to absorb extra sauce. While we can’t say for certain whether those laser cuts work as intended, we can say these noodles are al dente when cooked according to package instructions—and with a dry sauce instead of a soup, they stay that way to the last bite.
Dietary notes: vegan-friendly
Sodium content: 1,250 mg per serving
Possible allergens: wheat, soy
Top pick
This saucy noodle pairs a homey beef broth flavor with peppery cream, and it’s surprisingly delicious.
We love Paldo’s Gompaghetti—a simple no-frills beef bone broth that’s a great neutral base for any number of add-ins. But we weren’t sure what to expect from a version pairing that beefy flavor with a creamy sauce, existing halfway between a Korean grandmother’s kitchen and a late-night Italian snack. Weirdly, it works!
The package instructs you to use milk instead of water when mixing the sauce. We tried using both whole milk and water, and the whole-milk version was definitely richer and more satisfying. That said, the noodles were still great without the milk (if you don’t have it on hand).
The creaminess (which comes from a mix of the bone-broth packet and the milk, if you use it) is laced with allium sweetness from onion and garlic and a gentle kick of black pepper. It’s also studded with a confetti of rehydrated carrots, cabbage, and bok choy. The noodles were springy and toothsome, and the whole bowl was giving rainy-day comfort-food vibes.
Sodium content: 1,110 mg per serving
Possible allergens: soy, wheat, gluten; may contain peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk, egg, fish, sulphites, crustaceans, shellfish, mustard
Top pick
These noodles are classic for a reason—they combine sweetness, salt, heat, and umami in a near-perfect blend.
Everyone should try Indomie MiGoreng at least once in their life. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to have every taste bud on your tongue buzzing with joy, this offering is probably the most convenient and inexpensive way to do just that.
You’ll want to have a pair of kitchen shears on hand, because there are five packets to empty onto your cooked and strained noodles: a dry seasoning packet, fried onions, a flavored oil, sambal chili, and a sweet soy sauce. It’s a lot, but this is how the magic happens! The caramel-tinged soy, acidic heat, and crispy onions lit up every corner of our mouths.
The deep-fried noodles look pretty standard, but they cook up extra-curly and bouncy, like a fresh perm. Once again, because these noodles are eaten with a dry sauce instead of a soup, the noodles stay bouncy for longer.
We vastly preferred the classic MiGoreng over the Hot & Spicy version, which we thought traded some of that finely tuned balance of sweetness, salt, and umami for a dry, one-dimensional heat.
Dietary notes: vegan-friendly
Sodium content: 820 mg per serving
Possible allergens: wheat, soybeans; produced in a facility that also processes products that contain peanuts, crustaceans, fish, egg, dairy
Top pick
The best, creamiest sesame sauce we tried this round is paired with wide, uber-chewy noodles and a slight kick.
We’ve tried several sesame-flavored noodles, but since sesame sauce has a tendency to seize up when paired with other liquids, many we’ve tried often end up being dry or clumpy.
But not these noodles.
A’Kuan’s Sesame Paste Flavor had a creamy and appropriately runny sauce that never got cakey, instead clinging plushly to the wide, chewy noodles, which you prepare by soaking in boiling-temperature water for five minutes. Separating the thick bands can take a little chopstick work. But the thick noodles are unlike those of any other pack we recommend: nearly translucent and toothsome beyond measure.
This pack makes a truly delicious meal—so much so that my daughter, who usually steers clear of spice, pushed through the mild Sichuan heat and ate nearly my entire bowl one night.
Sodium content: 1,030 mg per serving
Possible allergens: wheat, soybeans, sesame
