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Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry

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You’re going to fall in love with this easy one-pot recipe! Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry is made with ground chicken, coleslaw mix, bell peppers, ramen noodles and an incredible homemade sauce. Be prepared to wow your tastebuds!

This is an Instant Pot version of my stovetop Chicken Ramen Stir Fry (a reader favourite!). The stovetop version is quick too, but using the Instant Pot turns this into a one-pot meal. Perfect for busy weeknights!

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Chicken Ramen Stir Fry in black bowls garnished with sliced green onion, placed in front of an Instant Pot.

This Instant Pot ramen stir fry is one of the most requested meals at my house and I’ve been hearing the same from my readers about the stovetop version.

Reasons to love this dish include:

  • the sauce is truly delicious (I use a similar sauce for my Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai)
  • you’re eating vegetables without realizing it (the cabbage wilts down a lot!)
  • there’s not a lot of prep aside from slicing the bell peppers and whisking the sauce
  • it reheats beautifully in the microwave, so it’s ideal for meal prep!

Ingredients

Here’s an overview of the ingredients and steps to make this pressure cooker ramen stir fry. See the recipe card below for all the details!

For the sauce you’ll need

  • Honey – for sweetness
  • Soy sauce – use a low-sodium variety if necessary. You can also use tamari.
  • Rice vinegar – apple cider vinegar works too!
  • Sesame oil – adds to the asian-inspired flavour
  • Minced garlic – we like to use fresh garlic, but garlic powder works in a pinch
  • Grated ginger – I use store-bought ginger paste to save time
  • Sriracha – we add a small amount to keep the dish kid friendly and add more to taste at the table

For the “stir fry” you’ll need

  • Ground chicken
  • Bell peppers – the sweeter varieties work best (red, yellow, orange)
  • Coleslaw mix
  • Instant ramen noodles – discard the seasoning packets, you won’t need them!
  • Water – to cook the noodles and produce steam for pressure cooking
An overhead photo of the ingredients needed to make Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry.

How to make it

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

If you like tender-crisp bell peppers rather than softer peppers, use the Sauté function to cook them first to add back after pressure cooking. Set them aside on a clean plate.

Next, fully cook the ground chicken while breaking it apart into bite-size pieces, then deglaze the bottom of the pot with a quarter cup of water. Turn off the Sauté function.

A six-photo collage showing the steps to make Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry.

Stir in in the coleslaw mix and add the sauce. If you are pressure cooking the bell peppers, layer them on top of the cabbage. Break each block of ramen noodles into 3-4 pieces and layer them on top, then pour the remaining 1 and a quarter cup of water over the noodles. Do not stir.

Pressure cook on High for just 1 minute, then quick release the pressure. The noodles won’t look fully cooked yet and that’s okay. Give them a stir to get evenly coated in the sauce. Add back the bell peppers if you sautéed them, then set the lid askew on the pot for 5 minutes to let the noodles fully soften.

Chicken Ramen Stir Fry in an Instant Pot, viewed from overhead.

Tips for success

  • Customize the texture of the bell peppers. If you don’t mind softer peppers, skip the sautéing step and simply pressure cook them along with the cabbage to save time!
  • Break apart the blocks of ramen noodles. This allows for more even cooking and makes them easier to stir and serve.
  • Use the right amount of added water. Rule of thumb: half a cup of water for each block of noodles. The 1.5 cups of water in the recipe + the liquid in the sauce allow for fully cooked noodles coated in flavourful sauce. Note that the cabbage also releases some liquid as it cooks.
Three bowls of Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry next to small bowl of sliced green onion and three forks, viewed from overhead.

How to reheat

This meal is amazing reheated. The noodles maintain their texture and the flavours develop even more when stored in the refrigerator. Simply reheat in the microwave until fully heated through (2-3 minutes), stirring once halfway for even heating.

More easy Instant Pot chicken dinners

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Chicken Ramen Stir Fry in a black bowl garnished with sliced green onion.

Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry

Laura Lawless, BASc
You're going to fall in love with this easy one-pot recipe! Instant Pot Chicken Ramen Stir Fry is made with ground chicken, coleslaw mix, bell peppers, ramen noodles and an incredible homemade sauce. Be prepared to wow your tastebuds!
4.95 from 19 votes

Click stars to rate now! ↑

Servings 4
Calories 585
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Inactive time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • ¼ cup honey
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (can sub 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (or store-bought ginger paste)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha

For the "stir fry"

  • 2 teaspoons neutral cooking oil
  • 2 bell peppers, sliced
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 14-oz package coleslaw mix
  • 3 packages instant ramen noodles, seasoning discarded (3oz / 85 g per package)
  • 1.5 cups water, divided

For garnish

Instructions
 

  • Make the sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
  • Optional step: sauté the bell peppers. Follow this step if you prefer tender-crisp peppers. Turn on the Sauté function on your Instant Pot and wait until the screen says "hot". Add the cooking oil and then sauté the peppers until fragrant and slightly softened. Remove from the insert and set aside on a clean plate.
  • Cook the chicken. Still using the Sauté function, add the ground chicken to the hot insert (add a bit more cooking oil first, if necessary after sautéing the peppers). Break the chicken into bite size pieces as it cooks until no longer pink, about 7-8 minutes. Turn off the Sauté function.
  • Deglaze. Add a quarter cup of water to the pot and use a flat-bottomed spatula to scrape up any bits of food stuck to the bottom of the insert. This will prevent a burn warning.
  • Add the remaining ingredients. Stir in the coleslaw mix and pour the sauce over top. If you didn't sauté the bell peppers, layer them on top of the cabbage. Break each bundle of ramen noodles into 3-4 pieces and layer them on top. Pour the remaining 1 ¼ cup of water over the noodles. Do not stir.
  • Pressure cook. Close the lid and set the vent to sealing. Pressure cook on Manual High pressure for 1 minute. (Your Instant Pot may have a "Pressure Cook" button rather than a "Manual" button). At the end of cooking time, quick release the pressure.
  • Stir and rest. Open the lid and use kitchen tongs to stir and coax apart the noodles (it's okay if the noodles don't look fully cooked yet, they will be after resting). If you sautéed the bell peppers, gently mix them in. Set the lid askew over the pot and let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the noodles to fully soften and absorb the sauce.
  • Serve with your chosen garnishes. Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator and eat within 4 days.

Notes

  1. Inactive time indicates the time it takes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure and release pressure. 
  2. This recipe was tested in both 6-quart and 8-quart Instant Pot models. 

Nutrition Estimate

Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 843mg | Potassium: 910mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 1873IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 4mg

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4.95 from 19 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




37 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Instead of Ramen Noodles, I used a cup of instant rice. My kids liked it even better… great both way, but we don’t always have ramen. Love this recipe!

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      What a great idea! So glad your family loves the recipe!

  2. I’m wondering if anyone has tried to freeze. Only 2 of us?

  3. 5 stars
    Took me a whole New York minute to realize this recipe is ZERO ADDED salt (I use low sodium soy sauce). I had a medical emergency in October 2023. 5 days in CICU and many, many drugs after I came to the conclusion, this is HEART HEALTHY. I made this and did NOT miss the salty-ness one bit. It was flavorful & I will be making this again.

  4. 5 stars
    This was amazing, thank you. We substituted the gluten free ramen from Costco and would use 4 of those cakes to equal the regular ramen. It was well loved by all. Thanks!

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      Thrilled to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing how you made it gluten free!

  5. 5 stars
    Hi! I just came across your page for the first time and will be trying this this week, but I needed to comment to say THANK YOU for including “inactive time”. When I first got my IP a few years ago, we had to abandon dinner on busy weeknights a few times because I believed the “ready in 5 minutes” and didn’t have time for the actual 25 it would take before we had to eat and be back out the door. It’s such a weird thing that other bloggers would fudge the times like that.

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      You’re so welcome! I’ve noticed this issue with other sites too, but it’s not helpful at all to have inaccurate cook times. Glad it helps 🙂

  6. 5 stars
    My picky kid loved it.

  7. Can I make it in my crock pot instead of an instant pot?

  8. Becky Davis says:

    Can I double it in the IP?

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      Hi Becky, I’ve seen other readers mention they doubled it, so I believe so, though I haven’t tried it myself! If you have 8-quart it should work, but might be too full for a 6-quart.

  9. Eudora April says:

    Can you use shredded chicken instead of ground chicken?

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      The cook time is too short to cook chicken breast at the same time as the noodles, but if you’re adding pre-cooked shredded chicken after pressure cooking, that would work!

  10. 5 stars
    So delicious and easy, I will be making this again 👏

  11. 5 stars
    This was very yummy, I did have to give the noodles an extra five minutes to sit for them to fully cook. Very easy to add in extra veggies or swap the protein, etc. it makes a ton and is very filling- one Tupperware can be 2-3 meals and it makes at least 3 regular sandwhich size containers.

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      So glad you enjoyed it, Megan! Yes, the 5 minutes resting time is necessary, but worth it so the noodles don’t overcook 🙂

  12. Lisa Davis says:

    5 stars
    A friend of mine forwarded your video to me when she asked if I had any Sriracha sauce. The recipe looked so good that I had to make this also! My BF and I enjoyed it and he said “whatever you added to the sauce, don’t change it at all. It’s perfect the way it is”. He’s not a huge ginger nor garlic fan, so the amounts you provided were perfect. This heated up great in the microwave the next day too. Thank you! I’ll be making this again!

  13. 5 stars
    We loved it! My two boys cleaned their plates!

  14. 4 stars
    This dish was very good. I substituted carrots and celery for the peppers and added Thia hot peppers. (I don’t like cooked peppers unless they are jalapeño or Serrano.) you could substitute red pepper flakes. It needed additional soy sauce.
    I think I will add rice the next time to make this.

  15. 5 stars
    I made this tonight exactly as written, what a wonderful dish. This will be added to our family favourites. No leftovers

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      Thrilled to hear this! Thanks Sophie!

  16. 5 stars
    I made this with broccoli slaw. It was amazing! I don’t like a ton of sauce and this was just enough to flavor but not enough to saturate it. It was even better the next day!!!

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      We love this dish for leftovers too! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!

  17. 5 stars
    One of the best Instant Pot recipes I’ve made. Fantastic!

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      Wonderful to hear! 🙂

  18. Planning to make this with pre-cooked frozen shrimp instead of chicken. Any gotchas I should look out for?

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      Hi Brian, I haven’t tried it with shrimp myself, but there’s a chance it will be slightly overcooked. From other recipes I’ve seen, precooked frozen shrimp can be done in the Instant Pot in 0 minutes (it just cooks while the pressure builds). Let us know how it goes if you try it!

  19. Lisa Kalych says:

    5 stars
    I made this tonight and loved it! I added some sautéed onions and sautéed snap peas to the sautéed peppers and used ground turkey instead of ground chicken. I also stirred in a spoonful of peanut butter to my individual serving!

    I’m going to experiment with one serving and see how it freezes!

    Will be trying the instant pot Pad Thai next!

    Thank you for sharing your recipes!

    Lisa

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      Love hearing this, Lisa! Your additions sound delicious! Thanks for leaving a review!

  20. 5 stars
    Wow, wow, wow! I’m so happy I came across this recipe. My husband says it has to go on the rotation. Thank you for this budget friendly recipe!

    1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

      I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!

  21. Would this work with rice noodles to make it gluten free?

    1. Jennifer Mickeletto says:

      try using a Barilla gluten free noodle – any shape, I like rotini. Be sure to cook on low pressure for zero minutes (Yes, 0 minutes – pot will come to pressure and then beep to indicate cycle is complete) do a quick release. This technique works with all GF Barilla pastas. I cook them in broth rather than water and for recipes that call for dairy or tomato products – add them last after the noodle cook cycle. Meat and vegetables can be cooked during the noodle in broth cycle.

      1. Laura Lawless, BASc says:

        Thanks for sharing your tips, Jennifer! Appreciate it 🙂