The Best Maruchan Ramen Flavors, In Order (PHOTOS)

We went to college once, you know.

We've certainly hit the point in our lives around here where packaged ramen noodles are an occasional nostalgic indulgence and not a major dietary staple. But we did go to college once. And maybe one of us made it her personal mission to try every flavor of packaged ramen she came across. Okay, I am talking about me. For some reason, when it came to cheap, instant noodles that of course bear very little resemblance to miracle of real ramen, I always liked Maruchan best.

Maruchan (whose name kind of translates to "lovable round-headed kid"?) estimates that they produce 3.6 billion packages of ramen noodle soup a year. If you strung together all those noodles, they would stretch from Earth to Mars and back again. Seriously, their website says that. Like all things, there is a hierarchy when it comes to flavors. The best ramen flavor is salty but not too salty, complex but not too weird, umami-laden but not fake-tasting. For this ranking, I stuck to the ramen you can buy in a plastic package, and excluded ramen soup cups -- which, as an added bonus helps us avoid the cheddar and alfredo flavors. Which, yuck.

15
Creamy Chicken
Amazon
NO, GUYS.
14
Lime Shrimp
Amazon
Fake lime flavor has an incredible ability to taste like bathroom cleaner.
13
Lime Chili Shrimp
Amazon
The addition of chiles marginally improves this.
12
Picante Beef
Amazon
Sigh.
11
Picante Chicken
Amazon
Double sigh.
10
Beef
Amazon
Definitely the most MEH of the traditional flavors.
9
Chili
Amazon
Isn't this what Sriracha is for?
8
Oriental
Amazon
Aside from the inescapable feeling that this a rather racist thing to call a ramen flavor, I'm pretty sure it just means "soy sauce," right?
7
Mushroom
Amazon
Totally solid.
6
Roast Beef
Amazon
I'm pretty sure this one has been discontinued and is therefore really hard to find. Roast Beef-flavored ramen is to Beef-flavored ramen as actual roast beef is to clammy boiled beef.
5
Chicken Mushroom
Amazon
One of the most delicious combinations ever, ramen or otherwise.
4
Pork
Amazon
Ramen and pork just go together.
3
Chicken
Amazon
This is a traditional, stand-by classic.
2
Shrimp
Amazon
If you have been too afraid until now to try shrimp-flavored ramen, let me tell you something: TODAY IS YOUR DAY. Toss some peas in there like the label says and enjoy a delicious new treat.
1
Roast Chicken
Amazon
Like roast chicken potato chips, Roast Chicken ramen nails the salty chicken ramen flavor we've come to expect with the exact amount of umami we need to be intrigued. Do not miss.

*As usual, this post was neither sponsored nor influenced by the brand mentioned. No amount of advertising money could produce love this nerdy.

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