Here’s a skillet dinner that’s perfect for those too-busy-to-plan and too-poor-to-door-dash nights. In other words, any weeknight from September to May. My husband requests this often and calls it Ramen Hamburger Helper. I call it Souped Up Ramen, although it’s not as brothy as a bowl of ramen.
This dish’s flavor and starch foundation is a package of ramen noodles enhanced with the ground meat of your choice. What’s on sale typically informs my choice. It’s good with ground beef and ground turkey. I can imagine ground chicken would be okay. I can vouch for ground elk’s suitability, and you may have luck with other game meats.
This recipe is from my mom’s stash, likely clipped from the Atlanta newspaper’s weeknight menus. It’s been a solid mealtime savior lo these many years. This dish is unfussy and for that reason, I sometimes sub shredded cabbage slaw mix for the half a cabbage. I’ll toss in leftover salad greens, too. It’s a true test of a cook to take minimal basic ingredients and turn out a tasty dish on a weeknight. This recipe will help you get there.
Souped Up Ramen Recipe
Ingredients
1 pound ground meat (beef, turkey or elk)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil or neutral vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 package ramen noodles, chicken flavor
1 small head of cabbage, chopped or shredded
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2-3 green onions, chopped (optional)
Instructions
1. Start with a skillet like a cast iron set over medium heat. Brown meat in skillet. 2.Add a teaspoon salt and use a spatula to break meat into small pieces. 3.Remove meat from pan and pour off grease.
4. Return skillet to stovetop, set over medium heat and coat with olive oil.
5. Saute onion with remaining teaspoon salt until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.
6. Return meat to pan. Add water, noodle seasoning packet and soy sauce.
7. Break noodles into small pieces and spread over meat. Cover with a lid and bring to boil. Cook until noodles are tender.
8. Add shredded cabbage, cover and cook 5 minutes more.
9. Sprinkle chopped green onions over the dish. Before serving, taste for seasoning. You may want to add more soy or maybe a grind from the pepper mill. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, ready to save dinner later in the week.
More Weeknight Recipes from A Cook and Her Books
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This is such a creative twist on ramen! The cabbage and ground meat make it hearty and nostalgic. I like to add a spoonful of NoodleBomb ramen sauce at the end to give the broth an extra boost of umami without needing to use a flavor packet. It’s a small-batch concentrate from Bonney Lake that adds rich depth. Loved this recipe — thanks for sharing!