Slow Cooker Beef Ramen

This Slow Cooker Beef Ramen is the weeknight dinner you didn’t know you needed. A rich, soy-based broth, juicy ground beef, and plenty of colorful vegetables — all coming together in your Slow Cooker with barely any effort. Set it in the morning, add the noodles at the end, and dinner is done.

Why You’ll Love This

• Almost entirely hands-off — the Slow Cooker does the heavy lifting while you go about your day
• Big, bold flavor — the broth deepens over hours, with garlic, a touch of brown sugar, and just enough sriracha heat
• Loaded with vegetables — broccoli, carrots, and bell pepper make this a full meal in one pot
• Great leftovers — the noodles soak up more broth overnight and reheat beautifully with a splash of stock
• Totally customizable — swap the protein, adjust the heat, add whatever vegetables you have on hand

A Note on the Ingredients

The beef stock: use a good one. I know that sounds like generic advice but there’s a real difference between the watery stuff and something with actual body to it. I like the low-sodium versions because the soy sauce is already doing a lot of work in the salt department.

Speaking of soy sauce — low sodium there too, same reason. I learned that the hard way. First batch I made, I used regular soy sauce and it was… a lot. My husband didn’t say anything but he drank about three glasses of water with dinner, which told me everything I needed to know.

The sriracha is flexible. I use about 2 to 2½ teaspoons because one of my kids doesn’t love too much heat, but if you like things spicy, go to three or even a little past. It won’t ruin anything.

The ramen noodles — I just use the cheap instant kind and throw away the flavor packets. Well, actually I save them. I’ve read things about using them for seasoning popcorn or whatever and I keep meaning to try that. I have a whole little collection of them in the back of my spice cabinet. That might be a problem.

Sesame oil at the end. Don’t skip it. It’s one of those finishing things that you won’t necessarily be able to identify but you’ll notice its absence.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained (I do this the night before sometimes — one less thing in the morning)
• 32 oz beef stock, the good kind
• ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar — I pack it a little, maybe more than I should
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sriracha, depending on your crowd
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (or more, honestly — I usually do 4)
• 1 small head broccoli, chopped into florets
• 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced — I do these on a bias because it looks nicer and I have no real explanation for why I care about that
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped, plus more for serving
• 2 packages instant ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• Sesame seeds for garnish

How to Make It

Start by browning your beef. I know the Slow Cooker people will tell you that you don’t have to do this, that you can just throw the raw beef in and it’ll be fine — and I’m sure it probably would be — but I think it makes a difference. The texture is better and there’s less grease floating around in your broth. Do it the night before if mornings are tight.

In the Slow Cooker, whisk together the beef stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, sriracha, and garlic. Just get it mostly combined — it doesn’t have to be perfect. Add the browned beef, broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, and green onions. Put the lid on and set it to low.

Walk away. This is the part I love. Four hours, five hours — somewhere in there. If you’re home and you peek at it around hour three and the broccoli is looking softer than you’d like, that’s fine, it’s still going to be good. I’ve cooked this anywhere from four to nearly six hours on days when I got distracted, and it’s held up every time.

About fifteen minutes before you want to eat — and I mean actually eat, not fifteen minutes before you remember you need to set the table and find where you left your reading glasses — break the ramen noodles into the pot and add the sesame oil. Let them sit for about five minutes untouched, then stir them in once they’ve started to soften. Cook for another five to ten minutes. They’ll absorb the broth and thicken things up just slightly.

Serve immediately. Or as immediately as your family can get to the table, which in my house has historically been optimistic by about eight minutes.

Variations Worth Knowing

Ground turkey works well here instead of beef — lighter but still satisfying. I’ve thought about adding bok choy instead of or in addition to the broccoli, and I think that would be lovely — you’d add it even later than the noodles so it just barely wilts. Same with spinach. A handful of baby spinach stirred in right at the end would wilt perfectly and you’d get some greens in there without anyone really noticing, if that’s a concern at your table.

One time I tried adding a soft-boiled egg on top like proper ramen and it was actually really nice. I just forgot to do it the next time, and the time after that, and now I’m not sure it’s ever happening again. That’s how it goes sometimes.

Storage

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for three or four days. The noodles will soak up more broth overnight, so if you’re reheating it, add a splash of beef stock or just water to loosen things back up. I add a little soy sauce too, just a drizzle, because the broth can taste a touch flat after sitting.

I’ve never frozen this because there’s never been anything left to freeze, but I suspect the noodles would get strange. If you wanted to freeze it, I’d make the broth and beef portion and freeze that, then cook the noodles fresh.