This easy Slow Cooker Ramen with beef is perfect for those nights when you’re craving your favorite bowl of ramen in the cozy comfort of your home.
Slow Cooker Ramen with Beef
Nothing beats the slow cooker for making homemade ramen when you need an easy dinner idea, especially when you’re craving ramen! It’s slow- cooked in a crock pot with chuck beef (or use pork or chicken thighs), mushrooms, bok choy, a soft-boiled egg, and, of course, ramen noodles. For more Asian noodle soup recipes, try my Shrimp Pho with Vegetables and Asian Beef Zoodle Soup.
Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Ramen Recipe
We go out for ramen quite often in the city. Madison is obsessed with Tonchin, which has some of the best ramen in NYC. But since we can’t go as often as she would like, I usually make it for her. She gave this crock pot ramen two thumbs up, and my husband had three bowls! So, I hope you love it.
- Make-Ahead Dinner: I love a slow cooker meal because I can start it before my daughter gets home from school, and then dinner’s ready whenever we are.
- Customizable Toppings: Each bowl can be topped with whatever you love on your ramen. Madison loves it with roasted seaweed, and I like to drizzle mine with a little soy sauce and sriracha and plenty of sesame seeds and scallions.
- Dietary Restrictions: Weight Watchers-friendly, high-protein, dairy-free.
If you make this easy slow cooker ramen recipe, I would love to see it. Tag me in your photos or videos on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook!
Slow Cooker Ramen Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make slow cooker beef ramen. The exact measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Chuck Roast is a large, tough cut of beef that becomes tender when slowly cooked in broth.
- Salt and Pepper to season the beef
- Mushrooms: Using a variety of mushrooms, like shiitake, maitake, or shimeji, gives the best umami flavor.
- Aromatics: Ginger, garlic, scallions
- Broth: I like Pacific’s low-sodium beef broth.
- Soy Sauce adds a salty, umami flavor.
- Ramen Noodles: I used Ocean’s Halo ramen noodles but you could also use 2 instant ramen soup packages and toss the seasoning packets. If you use fresh noodles, you‘ll need to cook them separately and pour the soup over them.
- Baby Bok Choy is smaller and more tender than regular bok choy, but either will work.
- Eggs: Follow my soft-boiled egg recipe, then top your bowl of ramen with a runny egg. If you like it more cooked, use hard boiled eggs.
- Toppings: Sesame seeds, scallions and sesame oil (if desired).
How to Make Slow Cooker Ramen
Browning the beef and mushrooms on the stove before slow cooking them develops a richer flavor. For printable instructions, see the recipe card below.
Start By Browning the Beef: Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chuck roast cubes and brown in a skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker.
Next, the Mushrooms: Saute the mushrooms in the skillet for a few minutes, then add the ginger, garlic, and scallions. Cook for 1 minute. Transfer to the crockpot and add the broth and soy sauce. Cook on high for 6 hours.
Add the Noodles and Bok Choy: Add the ramen noodles and baby bok choy in the last 10 minutes of the 6 hours.
How to Serve Ramen: Top each bowl with soft-boiled eggs, scallions, sesame seeds, and sesame oil.
More Optional Toppings For Ramen: Top with chopped kimchi, sweet corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, seaweed snacks, edamame, or shredded carrots.
If you like it spicy: Drizzle your bowl with sriracha or top with sliced jalapeños.
Variations
- Meat: You can replace the chuck roast with pork loin or chicken thighs.
- Gluten-free Ramen: Substitute gluten-free noodles and use tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
- Bok Choy: Swap it for baby spinach.
- Mushrooms: Any mushrooms work here. If you can’t find Asian mushrooms, use portobello mushrooms, baby bellas or white button mushrooms.
- Allergic to eggs? Omit them.
Storage
To Meal Prep or Freeze: Prepare the soup without the noodles and freeze or refrigerate, otherwise they will soak up the broth and get mushy. When heating up later, cook the noodles as directed and add to the soup.
- Refrigerate ramen for up to 4 days.
- Freeze it in airtight containers for 3 months.
- Thaw the ramen in the fridge and reheat it in the microwave. If the noodles absorbed much of the liquid, you may need to add extra broth or water.
More Slow Cooker Recipes You’ll Love
Yield: 6 servings
Serving Size: 2 cups
- 1 lb chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cubed 1-inch
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups mushrooms, sliced (8 oz container) shiitake, maitake or shimeji*
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons scallion, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 8 cups low-sodium beef broth, Pacific
- ¼ cup soy sauce, or gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos
- 8 ounces ramen noodles, or two packages without the soup packet (see note bwlow for gluten-free rice ramen)
- 4 baby bok choy, halved
- 3 soft boiled eggs, halved
- sesame seeds, for topping
- sesame oil, optional for drizzling
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Toss pot roast cubes with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet oven over medium- high heat, spray with oil and brown the beef on all sides about 4 minutes total. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker, then spray the skillet again.
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Add the mushrooms to the same skillet and brown, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring halfway. Add the ginger, garlic and scallion; cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Transfer mushrooms and aromatics to the slow cooker.
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Add beef broth and soy sauce to the slow cooker; cover and cook on high for 6 hours.
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In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add ramen noodles* and baby bok choy and cook until tender.
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Serve bowls of ramen with halves of soft boiled eggs and top with scallions and sesame seeds and a drizzle of sesame oil, if desired and optional toppings.
Last Step:
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If using fresh ramen noodles, cook separately and pour soup over them in a bowl.
Gluten-Free: Use rice ramen noodles for a gluten-free option.
To Meal Prep or Freeze: Prepare the soup without the noodles and freeze or refrigerate, otherwise they will soak up the broth and get mushy. When heating up later, cook the noodles as directed and add to the soup.
Additional ramen toppings: Top with chopped kimchi, sweet corn, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, seaweed snacks, sriracha, sliced jalapeños, or shredded carrots.
Makes 12 cups.
Serving: 2 cups, Calories: 316 kcal, Carbohydrates: 34 g, Protein: 30.5 g, Fat: 7.5 g, Saturated Fat: 3 g, Cholesterol: 143 mg, Sodium: 1241.5 mg, Fiber: 3.5 g, Sugar: 3.5 g