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It doesn’t get much more comforting and cozy than a steaming bowl of ramen. This fail-proof recipe for Slow Cooker Pork Ramen delivers a simple, yet elevated comfort food classic.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Slow Cooker Pork Ramen
What’s better than takeout-quality ramen bowls made at home?
Much like my reader-favorite Spicy Miso Ramen, this recipe offers all the crave-worthy umami qualities of takeout ramen. It’s filled with tender pork, mushrooms, and noodles in a slurp-worthy broth, and finished with fresh and fiery garnishes.
If you feel intimidated by the idea of homemade ramen, I totally get it. However, in traditional slow cooker fashion, the process is super simple.
Not only is this slow cooker ramen easy to make, but you can customize it to fit your dietary preference, or to use up whatever veggies you have on hand.
As with any ramen soup, the magic is the broth. Once you allow the flavors to really marry and develop in the slow cooker, you can turn ordinary broth into a robust, full-bodied soup.
If you love hands-off slow cooker recipes, also check out Slow Cooker Lentil Soup and Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili.
The Ingredients:
- Pork: You can use either boneless pork butt OR boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Onion: Look for yellow or sweet onion for the best flavor.
- Mushrooms: Cremini or shiitake mushrooms work great.
- Ginger + Garlic: Fresh is much more pungent than the dried or ground varieties.
- Soy Sauce: For gluten free, use tamari.
- Miso Paste: Miso is a fermented soybean paste. Look for it in the produce section near the tofu and alternative meats. It offers deeply savory notes of umami.
- Sesame Oil: Look for dark (toasted) sesame oil for fabulously nutty flavor that adds even more complexity to the broth.
- Noodles: Any type of ramen or rice noodle work great here.
- Garnishes: This is where the real magic lies! I love to add something fresh (like cilantro, microgreens, or green onion), something spicy (chili oil or fresh sliced chiles), and something crunchy like sesame seeds.
For a complete list of recipe ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card below.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Step 1: Arrange onion and mushrooms in the bottom of a slow cooker. Lay pork overtop, and add broth, soy sauce, miso paste, ginger, and garlic. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours.
Step 2: Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place on a baking sheet. Break into large chunks, and broil for 5 to 7 minutes, until parts of the meat start to crisp and caramelize.
Step 3: Turn slow cooker to HIGH and add ramen noodles. Cook until the noodles are tender. Lastly, stir in sesame oil.
Step 4: Ladle ramen into bowls and top with pork and garnishes of choice.
Recipe Variations
- Make Gluten Free: Use tamari instead of soy sauce, and brown rice noodles in place of classic wheat ramen.
- Make Vegetarian: Use a high-quality vegetable broth or mushroom broth instead of chicken broth, skip the eggs and pork, and add cubes of firm tofu towards the end of cooking.
- Use Chicken: In place of pork, add boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.5 lbs.)
- Make Spicy: Add chili oil, chili crunch, or a chili paste, such as gochujang.
What to Serve with Ramen:
- Cucumber Salad: Such as this Cucumber Edamame Salad, Asian Cucumber Salad, or Cucumber Avocado Salad.
- Brussels Sprouts: I especially love these Brussels Sprouts with Kimchi Sauce. and Miso Sesame Brussels Sprouts.
Storage Tips:
- To Store. Refrigerate leftover slow cooker ramen for up to 3 days. Store toppings/garnishes separately, if possible.
- To Reheat. Warm the ramen mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave until steaming. Add fresh garnishes after rewarming.
- To Freeze. Freeze the ramen mixture for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
More Slow Cooker Recipes to Try
If you give this recipe a try, be sure to snap a pic and tag #dishingouthealth on Instagram so I can see your creations. Also, follow along on Facebook and Pinterest for the latest recipe updates!
Slow Cooker Pork Ramen Bowls
Equipment
- 8-quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 (2 to 3-lb.) boneless pork butt (or 1.5 to 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs)
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 8 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
- 6 to 8 cups lower-sodium chicken or beef broth
- 3 Tbsp. soy sauce or tamari
- 2 Tbsp. white miso paste
- 2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 oz. dry ramen noodles
- 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 to 2 Tbsp. chili oil, chili crunch, or chili paste (such as gochujang)
- 1/2 bunch thinly sliced green onion
- Additional optional garnishes: soft-boiled egg, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro or microgreens
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from pork butt and season all over with kosher salt. Set aside.
- Arrange onion and mushrooms in the bottom of a greased 8-quart slow cooker. Lay pork (or chicken) overtop, and add chicken broth (all 8 cups if your slow cooker is large enough; otherwise, 6 cups works fine), soy sauce, white miso paste, ginger, and garlic. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours. (Note: you can also do 4 hours on HIGH, however the meat turns out much more tender from the extended cook time on low heat.)
- Preheat broiler to HIGH. Remove the pork from the slow cooker and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Break into large chunks, and place under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until parts of the meat start to crisp and caramelize. (Watch closely, as broiler times may vary.)Remove from oven and break the chunks into smaller pieces.
- Meanwhile, turn slow cooker to HIGH and add ramen noodles. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the noodles are tender. Stir in toasted sesame oil.
- Ladle ramen into bowls and arrange pieces of crispy pork overtop. Drizzle each bowl with chili oil (or chili crisp) and garnish with sliced green onion. Add additional garnishes of choice, and serve.
Notes
- To Store. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. Store toppings/garnishes separately, if possible.
- To Reheat. Warm the ramen mixture on the stovetop or in the microwave until steaming. Add fresh garnishes after rewarming.
- To Freeze. Freeze the ramen mixture for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating according to the instructions above.
Nutrition
I calculate these values by hand to ensure accuracy, however expect up to a 10% variable depending on food brands.
Oh so yummy! I used bone in chicken and then took the bones off at broiler stage. This was so yummy with a soft boiled egg, on a nice rainy day, such a warm treat. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
If using chicken thighs, would you still pull them out and broil them for a few minutes just like the pork? This looks sooo so good!
10/10, would recommend!! Wowweee. This is absolutely the most delicious, nourishing dish I can think of right now! So easy, so tasty and o so good.
So glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Very easy & super tasty! This will definitely be a regular for my meal planning!
Despite many mistakes and/or substitutions on my part (dang AK grocery stores 😂) this was very yummy!!!! The broth had such a depth of the flavor and the pork was incredible! This will be lovely in deep winter next year! I very much anticipate making this recipe again!
My family loves this recipe! Huge hit in our house, the only thing I adjusted for our taste was more lemongrass, more ginger and no mushrooms. Other than that, love the recipe and highly recommend it.
Hi Morgan–I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to leave recipe notes and a review!
I have made this recipe a few times with my family – my college and high school age kids, my parents – and everyone loves it. I let them add their own garnishes, and it’s so easy. Very delicious. I will keep making this whenever I can for a soup night!
I’m going to try this but I will definitely add some pork neck bones and trotters. I love to make ramen but it is an all day job. It would be nice to do it in the Crock Pot.
Has anyone tried this with crock pot on high for shorter amount of time?
I LOVE Ramen!! I also assumed I would screw it up if I made it at home but this sounds pretty easy. Thank you!