16 Instant Ramen Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

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Ramen is the staple food crop of modern life: It is omnipresent and can be found in grocery stores, online, and gas stations alike. The quick and satisfying meal, which only requires boiling water, is the dinner of choice for many college students, who are low on time and resources. But the necessity of ramen goes beyond dorm halls. For many low-income Americans who depend on SNAP (Supplement Nutrition Action Program) and live off a $4 per day food budget, as reported by National Geographic, ramen is cheap and filling.

The other upside of ramen is that it can be bought in bulk, and stored in cupboards easily with a long shelf life — officially two years if stored properly, though some sources say instant ramen can be eaten up to two months after the marked expiration date (via Cook Gem). This makes ramen the perfect food to store in emergencies like when you're back from a night out drinking, are ravenous, and have nothing to eat. To that end, ramen brand Nissin even released an "emergency instant ramen subscription" service for actual disasters. The popularity of ramen is undisputed, but there are many brand players on the market, old and new. Here's our ranking of ramen brands, taking into account price, quality, taste, public opinion, and nutritional value.

Fans of cheap, tasty, and convenient meals will be familiar with the plentiful options available at the beloved Trader Joe's brand; its fall offerings and vegan selection inspire dedicated and loyal customers. So when Trader Joe's introduced instant ramen noodle cups in 2018, people who had already graduated from college were understandably excited. The dedicated fans at Club Trader Joe's review was, however, lukewarm at best, "The cup of ramen [is] hardly a snack considering that Trader Joe's has snack bars with more than 180 calories," and recommends eating two for one person. Notably, the noodles clumped, a problem that Freezer Meal Frenzy observed as well, along with texture notes that they were "a little rubbery and hard to chew."

Overall, at around $1.29 a pack (which in reality, would cost closer to $2.58 a meal), Trader Joe's Ramen is healthier than the average ramen, but isn't anything to miss out on, even for TJ fans.

Another instant noodle brand that's suitable for vegans, Dr. McDougall's ramen products bears a face of an affable looking Doctor who clearly has never worked in a Japanese kitchen before, but has had a lot of success in getting Americans to live healthier lives through his McDougall Program. His brand of ramen noodles is suited for those battling chronic illnesses through diet and contains no added oils or GMOs. These noodles are convenient, as well, since no stove is necessary to make them — just boiling water.

Unfortunately, similar to Annie Chun's, Dr. McDougall's instant ramen lacks in the flavor and taste department due to its all-natural nature. However, it is a healthy vegan option for instant noodles that is slightly cheaper, coming out at around $3 a serving (a pack of 6 of the Vegan Hot and Sour Ramen goes for $18.50 on Amazon), making Dr. McDougall's a more economical healthy choice.

If you have had the distinct pleasure of frequenting a 7-Eleven in Thailand, then you'll be familiar with their superior snack selection, which includes shrimp chips, Eleven Tigers Brand herbal powder packets, and the next instant ramen brand in our lineup: MAMA Ramen. As a Thai brand, MAMA offers a lot of spicy noodles with classic Thai flavors like basil, tom yum, and green curry, as well as more unique offerings like "Hot Korean Flavor," "Chili Crab Flavor," and "Spicy Cheese Flavor." A variety pack of 30 instant ramen noodles is $38 on Amazon, so price-wise, one bowl of MAMA ramen comes to about $1.25. The duck and tom yum flavors pack more of a punch than the chicken, but across the board, MAMA gets points for constant innovation in its flavor offerings. Case in point: this chicken taco ramen flavor

The variety and depth of taste come at a price, however: The artificial pork flavor ramen contains a mouth-watering 60% of your daily sodium.

Daisho began as a company in 1991, and at first, made hot pot soup bases, to help people "intake plenty of vegetables in one meal." Its goal is aligned with vegetarians who like ramen, since the Nagahama Yatai Ramen, Tonkotsu style is pork-flavored (tonkotsu literally translates to pork bone), but is completely meat-free. The broth has garlic, and sesame oil, and relies heavily on the umami flavor profile of vegetables. This brand of ramen is good for couples or roommates who are too lazy to cook since two servings conveniently come in one package (or inconveniently, if you are single). One fair warning: Daisho instant ramen comes in packaging that is entirely in Japanese, but there is a handy online Youtube video with clear instructions on how to make your ramen if you can't read Japanese.

As one Amazon reviewer recommends, "The sodium is 2,000 mg but you can cut it by putting twice the amount of water to boil it. I recommend it for families since it makes multiple servings with one set of noodles and a seasoning packet. Goes well with any meat or veggie you want with it."

Where A-Sha USA is innovating the ramen game, immi is a full-on disruptor. A true startup company, immi raised the interested eyebrows and funds of investors and advisors, some of which are founders at millennial-targeted companies like Magic Spoon and Thrive Market. Immi, founded by two Asian-Americans, both named Kevin (Lee and Chanthasiriphan, respectively) aggressively went to market in 2021, according to one report by Forbes, to make waves in "a 42 billion global industry dominated by a few Asian conglomerates."

The defining characteristics of immi ramen: It's low-carb (6 grams per serving) and filled with plant-based protein (21 grams per serving) and comes in bright, Instagram-friendly packaging with flavors like Black Garlic "Chicken," Spicy "Beef," and Tom Yum "Shrimp." It's tasty enough for healthy noodles, and filling thanks to the protein, and the website boasts famous fans like Kygo and the former governor of California's son, Patrick Schwarzenegger. But, a 6 variety-pack does cost a pretty penny of $39, and that's without shipping. If you're hoping to get into ketosis, however, it may just be worth the price.

Ichiban in Japanese means number one, and while Sapporo Ichiban Original ramen from Sanyo Foods is not number one on this ramen ranking, it's pretty decent ramen. The broth combines soy sauce and chicken broth, plus garlic and ginger, and pairs nicely with the "bouncy" texture of the noodles. Besides the popular original flavor (an Amazon choice with 4.8 stars and over 1,500 rave reviews), there's also beef and an umami-flavored chicken flavor available.

The founder, Takeshi Ida, was obsessed with a soy sauce soup in Sapporo, which inspired a drive to recreate his favorite ramen — a pursuit he was dissatisfied with until the owner of the shop gave up his secret ingredient: an aromatic vegetable. Today, Sapporo ramen is a nostalgic favorite — again, not the healthiest of ramens, but a Japanese instant ramen classic that is cheap, filling, and reliable. It also has a high caloric count, so you can easily dress it up with an egg or vegetables for a satiating quick meal.

Spice lovers who want even more spice in their ramen need to check out Samyang Foods, another Korean brand that was founded in the aftermath of the Korean War. The quality of its ramen can be attributed to the fact that the brand oversees the production process from start to finish, and have its own farm which produces beef for its soup base and even dairy cattle raised in open pastures for the milk and dairy products.

Dairy products? For a ramen company? It may seem strange, but the ramen requires cheese, as Samyang offers unique flavors, one of which is Cheese Spicy Hot Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles. Samyang Ramen also offers various spice levels in its ramen (all of which the Try Guys tested out in their Korean Fire Noodle Challenge). The cheese comes in powder form, which seems bizarre, but after eating ramen amped with cheese flavor, it becomes strangely addictive. Fair warning: The spice levels are hot, so if it's too much, go with the mild cheese flavor. Because the extreme spice levels aren't for everyone, we had to put this brand in third place (though it's first place in many ramen lovers' hearts).

The best instant ramen brand goes to the company behind the iconic Cup Noodles: Nissin. Few may know that the world's first instant ramen was chicken flavored, and was invented by a man named Momofuku Ando at just 48 years old in 1948. A few years later, in 1971, Ando invented the worldwide phenomenon, Cup Noodles.

Before you go knocking on Cup Noodles: It's a classic that's been around for more than 50 years and has a dedicated museum in its honor in Osaka for a reason. It's reliable and has saved many sensitive stomachs from bad airplane food. For vegetarians, the brand launched a Very Veggie Line in 2017 (per Mic). But Nissin is behind so many other beloved instant ramen: The Demae Ramen Instant Noodle is a classic that comes in roasted beef, sesame oil, and tonkotsu flavors, and the unique seafood flavor delivers a satisfying umami punch. The Top Ramen line has been branded for the English-speaking market and has even inspired a Pringles flavor. Because of this notoriety and the fact the products are consistently excellent, we awarded Nissin first place in this ranking.