DIY Instant Noodle Cups, a Healthier Version
This is hands down one of the easiest and quickest lunches to prepare. These DIY Instant Noodle Cups are a regular lunch item in this house because they’re dead simple and everyone can customize them to their liking. We’ve been making these regularly for a few years now and love how versatile they can be! For all of those who love instant noodles this is a much healthier and tastier updated version.
DIY Instant Noodle Cups – How to
The idea is pretty simple. Start with some parboiled noodles in the bottom of a wide mouth mason jar and add a generous handful of prepped veggies and the protein of your choice on top. When you’re ready to eat, you just add hot broth and let it sit for 5 minutes or so (you can use bouillon and hot water too but I prefer broth).
Vegetables like mushrooms and green onions, baby bok choy and shaved carrots, and bean sprouts and snow peas work wonders in these DIY Instant Noodle Cups (and they don’t need to be cooked ahead of time). They tend to soften just perfectly when sitting in the hot broth for a few minutes. As for seasonings, start with some soy sauce and hot sauce (even a teeny little dollop will still add flavour without making it too hot). I also like to add just a tiny amount of miso to the jar too, because miso adds great flavour to soup bases. I’ve been using barley miso for years because it has a slightly milder flavour than other varieties.
Since we’ve been making these for so long, we’ve developed some preferences for noodles along the way. While parboiled spaghetti noodles work in a pinch, we find that rice noodles seem to hold their texture the best and never go mushy. And of course, ramen noodles are also a great addition and don’t need to be parboiled ahead (which makes the soup even faster!) Make sure that any protein you use has been pre-cooked as well, since adding the hot broth won’t actually cook anything in the jar.
I introduced these DIY Instant Noodle Cups to the kids a few years ago, because I wanted them to be able to make them for lunch independently when needed. They all have their preferences for veggies and some just prefer a big ol’ jar of noodles sometimes. When I know it’s not full of all of that sodium and processed stuff, I’m okay with that. Using a pint-sized jar kind of takes the guesswork out of measurements for them too. They know a handful of noodles and a jar full of veggies on top will make a pretty substantial bowl of soup. The best part is, lunch can be eaten right out of the jar or poured into a soup bowl. This is truly fast food!
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Try these soup recipes:
- Cabbage Roll Soup
- Cup of Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Butternut Squash Vegetable Soup {21DayFix Approved}
- Beet Borscht Soup
- Skinny Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Ground Chicken Lentil Pasta Soup
- 1 cup rice noodles, parboiled
- 3 cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp. shaved carrot
- 1 head baby bok choy, quartered
- 3 snow peas or snap peas, slivered
- ½ green onion sliced
- 1-2 pieces of chicken or protein of choice if desired
- ½ tsp soy sauce
- ⅛ tsp miso
- ⅛ tsp sriracha, or more if spicy is preferred
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- handful of bean sprouts for topping
- Measure out the broth In a jar or sealable container and refrigerate until needed.
- Bring water to a boil in a small pot and add rice noodles. Cook for 5 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water.
- In a large mouth pint jar, add the noodles, protein, bok choy, carrots, snap peas, mushrooms and green onions. Add the soy sauce, miso and sriracha to the top.
- When ready to eat, microwave the broth until boiling hot. Pour over the noodle cup and set the lid on top. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so. Pour into a bowl and top with bean sprouts.
