I have this dear friend of mine who asked me how she can make Ramen Noodles the healthy way. We have been making them this way for a few years. Although this year I am able to make my very own Pasta for it.

Ramen Noodles – serves 2

4 oz dry noodles (2 servings of fresh noodles)

2 cups of chicken broth

Add broth to a sauce pan (optional – add any small pre-cooked veggies) and bring to a boil.

Add noodles, Dry – cook 8 minutes, Fresh – cook 1 minute

season to taste and serve.

This post will show recipes & video on how to make homemade Ramen Noodles, recipes for making homemade broth, and a small buying guide on finding Organic & Gluten Free Ramen Noodles. Enjoy!

The noodles

Normally I just look in the Amish stores for homemade noodles for my recipe. I really have to check the packages for preservatives and MSG. Usually if you buy them as plain noodles without the packets, you will find that the Amish ones are just fine. Other times I buy the alphabet noodles (veggie ones). At the end of this post I have links to Organic options and Gluten Free options for Ramen noodles.

The healthiest way is to make the noodle yourself. If you have the time you can make and eat them fresh – see the video below. Another option is to make several batches at one time and let them dry. To do this place them in bags or jars for future use. You can make Gluten Free Noodles using Buckwheat Flour or Rice Flour for the recipe instead of wheat flour.

The Equipment

– to make them fresh

Food Processor or bowl and patience to kneed the dough
Pasta Maker or rolling pin, mat, knife and patience to roll out & cut the dough

Since I have had the equipment to make pasta, I decided that now is a great time to learn. The video I chose below has the pasta maker I have and it is inexpensive. I found mine at Bed Bath & Beyond. I like that store because they always have a coupon and an awesome return policy if their customers are unhappy with their purchase.

Noodle Recipe

½ cup flour

½ water on hand (you will use less)

1 tsp oil (he used peanut oil)

I would stay away from olive oil unless you do not mind the strong taste in your noodles – I will be using Raw Grapeseed Oil from Wildtree

This is a video of a man making ramen noodles from scratch and then put them fresh right into his homemade broth.

If making homemade pasta is not something you are interested in venturing in, you can pick up a bag of Japanese Ramen noodles at a local Asian store.

Some healthy brands of noodles out there are:

Koyo Organic Ramen Noodles

Hakubaku Organic Ramen Noodles

King Soba Organic Gluten Free Ramen Noodles

King Soba Organic Gluten Free Buckwheat Ramen Noodles

Now that we have the noodles out of the way, lets talk about

The broth

Broth Option 1: From Scratch

4-5 pound broiler (or fryer) chicken whole or cut up skin removed (or 4-5 pounds of carcass, necks, backs, gizzards – except liver )

4 ½ cups water

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 stalks celery with leaves, cut up

2 carrots, cut up

1 onion, cut up

1 sprig parsley

Note: For those of you on a homestead with chickens – an old hen that is not laying anymore and you don’t know what to do with her is a great option for making broth. This is a great way to cook those hens because they are several years old and their meat is very tough. Crock pot is even the best cooking method for this type of hen.

The rest of these veggies can be found in your backyard garden. Salt & Pepper are staples, so this is a very economical meal or lunch for your family.

Cooking the broth

– I recommend placing all the ingredients in a 6 quart crockpot and 8 hours on low. The flavors are incomparable to an hour or so on the stove top. (skip to step 5 below)

If you do not have time for that…

1. Place chicken in a large stock pot or dutch oven.

2. Add remaining ingredients and heat until boiling.

3. Skim foam from broth, reduce heat.

4. Cover and simmer for about an hour until juices of the chicken run clear.

5. When the broth is cooked, remove the chicken and allow to cool about 10 minutes or so.

6. Strain broth through a cheesecloth lines sieve, discard (compost) veggies.

Broth Option 2

This is a super quick way to use for Ramen Noodles

2 tsp Wildtree Chicken Bouillon Base

1 cup hot water

Makes 1 cup broth

Storing the Broth

You can save the broth in mason jars in the fridge – 24 hours, freezer – that is up to you. I kept mine frozen until I needed it. I never had problems using it up.

Freezing option – you can pour the broth into ice cube trays for a few hours until solid, then transfer them to freezer bags. This makes 2 TBSP broth. – keep the excess in the fridge while taking turns with the ice cube trays.

If you freeze in glass jars, when you fill the jars, leave plenty of headspace between the broth and the top of the jar. I only fill about ¾ the way. I have had several jars crack and bust on me. Broth is no good with slivers of glass in it.

Ways to use chicken broth –

Oodles of Noodles
Chicken & Dumplings – use a whole/cut up chicken and keep the chicken
Chicken Noodle Soup
Broth for sick family in the house
Substitute for water when boiling rice (rice pilaf) or Potatoes (any) to give them some pizzazz.
Base for all light gravies.
Base for white enchilada sauce.

How do you use Chicken broth, please leave your ideas in the comments below. Thanks

Disclosure: I am an independent Representative for Wildtree. If products are purchased through the links in this post, I may receive a monetary funds or products in return. I use Wildtree in my home because I have found that they are trustworthy company founded my a mom whose children have food allergies like my children do. This mom found a way not only to help her children avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup, Additives, Preservatives, Peanuts (she is allergic), GMO’s, MSG etc, she even went as far as turn her entire company 100% Certified Organic in 2013. This year in 2014, the company is going 100% Gluten Free. They have a gluten line which is in its own plant, but now they whole line will be gluten free.