Ditch The Packet — One Canned Soup Turns Instant Ramen Into A Gourmet Dish In 5 Minutes

Once relegated to the role of cheap, shelf-stable dorm room fare, instant ramen has had a resurgence in recent years. This is most likely due to various hacks and upgrades peppered across the internet showing people budget-savvy ways to turn these squares of crunchy, dried noodles into wholesome, complete meals — a trend that has people ditching the flavor packet in favor of adding a wide array of secret ingredients to their instant ramen. One of the more popular additions is a simple can of French onion soup.

We already know canned French onion soup is the secret to great pot roast, and that mac and cheese takes on gorgeous flavor with the help of canned French onion, so it makes a boatload of sense to add it to instant ramen as well. Not only is instant ramen intended to be eaten as a soup, canned French onion is broth and seasoning all in one, as it's basically a combination of beef stock, dried onions, and other seasonings and stabilizers.

Swapping the aforementioned flavor packet for condensed soup also fortifies your ramen with a little protein and a few other nutrients that make the meal more satisfying. It's great as a simple noodle dish, but you can also elevate it with the true French onion treatment, or enhance it with some fresh Asian flavors, many of which pair surprisingly well with this soup.

If you're low on time, simply heating the canned French onion and adding the noodles to soak up all that flavor makes a fast and delicious meal. Since the soup is condensed, the flavor will be fairly concentrated, which is what you want. Rather than diluting it according to package instructions, try adding just enough water to loosen it up slightly before adding the noodles. This ensures your meal is packed with flavor while maintaining a balanced broth-to-noodle ratio.

Fresh ingredients like a little grated ginger and minced garlic help the dish taste and feel more homemade. Meanwhile, seasonings like a drizzle or two of soy sauce, sesame oil, or even a splash of rice wine vinegar cut through the soup's richness to create a more complex flavor. Top with peppery chopped daikon radish or chopped scallions to elevate your instant ramen the right way.

Of course, you can also go in the other direction and create a sort of cheesy French onion noodle casserole — a hack that recently went viral on TikTok. This involves baking several blocks of dry noodles in the soup, topping with grated Gruyère, and broiling to make the cheese brown and bubbly. Add even more savory deliciousness by garnishing with crispy fried onions, crumbled bacon, or topping it with buttery herbed breadcrumbs. Stir gently to create a creamy noodle dish you won't forget.