17 Best Nissin Cup Noodles Flavors Ranked in 2025
If you think chicken is the only Cup Noodles flavor you can turn to when you don’t want to cook, you’re woefully mistaken. Allow us to introduce you to the varied, sometimes-baffling and ever-changing world of Cup Noodles flavors.
The first instant noodles were invented by an enterprising Japanese businessman named Momofuku Ando in 1971. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, this product was revolutionary for the time. Instant noodles were (and still are) loved for being quick and endlessly customizable.
Ando’s product quickly spread around the world. Cup Noodles were a hit, and although competitors quickly started to emerge, Ando’s company, Nissin Foods, is still one of the world’s largest instant noodle producers. And although chicken was the first Cup Noodle flavor, the company now offers a wide range of flavors inspired by both Japanese and international dishes.
So, having learned a little about the history of this much-loved product, what is the best Cup Noodle flavor? While the best flavor will vary per person, tasting any of these 17 Cup Noodles flavors is a good call.
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How Many Nissin cup noodles flavors Are There?
This isn’t as simple a question as you might think: there are several product lines of Nissin Cup Noodles. If you include the traditional Cup Noodles line, the vegetable-focused Stir-Fry line, the upscale Ramen Bistro line, plus the heartier Stir-Fry Rice with Noodles line, there are 21 cup ramen flavors offered by Nissin. For the sake of brevity, we’re capping this list at flavors that have the Cup Noodles branding designation.
However, the lineup of Cup Noodles flavors has seen quite a lot of change over the years. Given the company’s 54-year history, there are lots of Cup Noodles flavors that have come and gone; many of which still have a fan base who wishes they would make a comeback.
If you visit Japan, you can even make your own personalized, one-of-a-kind flavor of Cup Noodles at the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama. Additionally, while exploring the country, you’ll likely find many unique cup noodles flavors sold at convenience stores (konbini), which aren’t available in the U.S.
The 17 Best cup noodles flavors Ranked
17. Curry
If you didn’t grow up in Japan or otherwise eat a lot of Japanese home cooking, you might find Japanese curry to be a bit of an acquired taste. Unlike South Asian curries we’re more familiar with in the U.S., such as Thai curries, Japanese curry features a mild spice blend and is often served with carrots and potatoes.
To many, it’s delicious. To others, it takes some getting used to. That’s pretty much the story of this Cup Noodles flavor, too.
Curry is one of the more flavorful Cup Noodles flavors, packed with turmeric and other spices to recreate the taste of homemade Japanese curry. It’s smooth and creamy, much like the real thing.
But it sits at the intersection of spicy and sweet in a way some fans might not be into, making it hard for Curry to warrant a higher ranking on this list of Nissin Cup Noodles flavors.
16. Original
You might think chicken was the “original” Cup Noodles flavor, but no, “Original” here is its own flavor entirely. It’s a combination of things: shrimp, egg, pork broth — a lot of flavors that are used to better effect in other Cup Noodles.
While it’s a perfectly pleasant Cup Noodles flavor, it lacks a bit of panache, with none of its flavors fully coming through the way you’d hope. Nevertheless, if you’re in a pinch, you could definitely do worse than Original.
15. Shrimp
Cup Noodles flavors, as we’ll see moving forward, do a lot better when they have a strong concept. Focusing the recipe on recreating a popular dish (Thai yellow curry, teriyaki chicken, etc.) or bringing out a single flavor (chicken) tends to make better Cup Noodles, and that’s sort of true of shrimp. It’s generally considered to be better than Original, at least, bringing more of what’s on the label to the table.
Unfortunately, many fans still find Shrimp to be a bit lacking in flavor. Seafood broths can be easy to overdo, but this one actually has the opposite problem: the shrimp flavor isn’t quite strong enough. While it will still do the trick as an enjoyable late-night snack if you feel like seafood, it may come as a slight disappointment if you were hoping for a punchier flavor.
14. Stir-Fry Sweet Chili
This Cup Noodles flavor is a real step up. Flavors in the Stir-Fry line tend to be more complex and high-concept, often imitating beloved Asian dishes, and that usually means a more flavorful and interesting Cup Noodles experience. And while this surprisingly mild Sweet Chili flavor might not be everything a spice lover would hope for, it’s pretty great for everyone else.
If you don’t love super-spicy noodle dishes, you’ll be glad to know that this Cup Noodles flavor leans more sweet than spicy. It executes its concept well and includes real vegetables, plus it’s only slightly off-puttingly artificial.
13. Stir-Fry Rice With Noodles, Thai Yellow Curry
Thai Yellow Curry doesn’t seem like a Cup Noodles flavor that ought to work, but it actually does — and a lot better than the Japanese Curry flavor covered already. It’s not a perfect recreation of the mild, creamy flavor of yellow curry, but it does a pretty good job.
Vegetables are a welcome addition to this one, albeit not as numerous as you might hope. It’s not what you expect when you make a cup of instant ramen, and no, it won’t taste exactly like the real thing. But if you’re craving Thai on a budget, Thai Yellow Curry Cup Noodles are a great purchase.
12. Stir-Fry Rice With Noodles, General Tso’s Chicken
This surprisingly hearty Chinese takeout meal in a cup hits almost all of the right notes. Yes, General Tso’s Chicken is a somewhat interesting flavor for instant ramen noodles.
Even the dish itself splits opinions: Whether you like your meat in syrupy American-corporation-imitating-Chinese-cooking sauce is fifty-fifty. But if you do, this rice-noodle concoction nails the balance of sweetness and savoriness that makes so many fall in love with the original dish.
11. Stir-Fry Rice With Noodles, Japanese Teriyaki Chicken
There are a couple of Cup Noodles flavors in the teriyaki sphere, so keep in mind that this is the stir-fry chicken version. (Others will definitely be making an appearance further up the list.)
While there’s nothing abjectly offensive about this Cup Noodle flavor, it doesn’t quite deliver on its potential. Sure, it’s filling — anything packing rice, noodles and meat into one small, dehydrated package would be. And yes, it also tastes pretty good.
But nowhere is the burst of flavor you’d expect after looking at its ingredient list, which is a crying shame. You could’ve been so good, Stir Fry Rice with Noodles, Japanese Teriyaki Chicken — instead, you’re only pleasant.
10. Stir-Fry Rice With Noodles, Korean Spicy Beef
Nissin offers several stir-fry flavors inspired by Korean dishes, and even though this is probably the weakest one, that isn’t saying much. The whole line-up is among Nissin Foods’ best ideas, so you know you’re going to be getting a pretty solid meal with this one, even if it isn’t the best of the bunch.
It’s kind of hard to define what Nissin means by “Korean Spicy Beef,” but what results is pretty great. Rice and noodles make this a much heartier dish, and it comes with additions like cabbage that add texture contrast. While it could be bolder, Korean Spicy Beef is probably one of the better legitimate dinner food ideas among the current Cup Noodle flavor offerings.
9. Stir-Fry Teriyaki Chicken
Stir-Fry Teriyaki Chicken is a pretty solid flavor — let’s just get that out of the way. It’s a good concept and, on the whole, Nissin executes it pretty well.
All of the right flavors and ingredients are there. The issue here is just the quantity: there are some elements of this Cup Noodles flavor that could have been amped up a bit to a much better effect. More chicken and a bit more nuance in the flavor of the broth would have made this a truly A+ flavor.
8. Stir-Fry Teriyaki Beef
Better than Teriyaki Chicken but not as good as some of the better beef Cup Noodles flavors, this is another of those “solid, but not extraordinary” choices.
Its more appealing texture and greater use of vegetables make it taste a bit more food-like (for lack of a better word, but you know what we mean) than Teriyaki Chicken, but it suffers from the same lack of intensity.
Nissin, buddy, where did all that salt go? How can you make a product with this much sodium in it and fail to have it taste the part? We’re not sure. But until we get a solid answer, this is a tasty snack option in a pinch and nothing more.
7. Stir-Fry Honey Sesame Chicken
It’s not often seen as a standout, but this Cup Noodles flavor is solid all-around. It balances sweet and savory flavors better than a lot of its competitors and is an interesting and novel choice of dishes to adapt.
There’s nothing in this cup of noodles for picky eaters to object to: no fishy taste, no spice and pretty much nothing out of the ordinary. That may not make Stir-Fry Sesame Honey Chicken a world-famous hit, but it does make it a very solid choice if you happen to stumble upon it at the store.
6. Seafood
The label of this one alone might make a Cup Noodles enthusiast skeptical. It seems to depict a vague mixture of seafood and vegetables floating in broth, difficult to identify, not quite the clear impression you want to make on potential customers.
But the proof of the pudding is at the time of eating, or something like that. Add boiling water and Seafood Cup Noodles redeem themselves.
Seafood offers plentiful vegetables, abundant chunks of seafood and a much more successful attempt at a fish-broth flavor than the Shrimp Cup Noodles flavor. It’s savory, umami and surprisingly delicious.
And while it comes nowhere close to the real thing, it’s about as impressive as you could expect a seafood-flavored cup of instant ramen to be. Don’t discount this one.
5. Stir-Fry Fiery Korean Chicken
This Cup Noodle flavor has what you look for in pretty much any Korean dish: punchy spice and fresh (ish) cabbage. It’s probably the best flavor out there for true spice fanatics, bringing the heat without the weird sensation of eating a bunch of chemicals layered atop each other into something that vaguely resembles food.
Fiery Korean Chicken is a star in the making. If it’s not a bestseller, it ought to be. Few other Cup Noodles flavors manage to bring nearly this much flavor, panache and creativity to the table, and if your local grocery store happens to have some of these in stock, you’re absolutely in for a treat.
4. Stir-Fry Hot Garlic Chicken
Another winner from the Stir-Fry line — this is becoming a pattern, isn’t it? Whether you’re looking for a lunch food idea or something a bit spicy to keep you awake during an all-night study session, this unique Cup Noodles flavor delivers.
Hot Garlic Chicken doesn’t offer the kind of spice that scalds your tongue. It’s much more subtle, and it takes time to sink in, which we think is a much smarter and more difficult-to-execute strategy.
While it would benefit a lot from a heartier portion of mix-ins, all of the flavors are there, and it makes us wonder why Nissin doesn’t do more with garlic. It really does work here. If you need a little more spice, pretty much any type of hot sauce would give this Nissin Cup Noodles flavor a nice boost.
3. Stir-Fry Korean Barbecue
Korean Barbecue Cup Noodles are kind of a mishmash of grilled Korean BBQ meats and a bunch of the side dishes you’ll get at a Korean restaurant: cabbage, ginger, garlic and the like.
It’s kind of a weird way of interpreting “Korean barbecue,” which is already a super broad concept, but it works. Because of that variety and contrast in flavors, this Cup Noodle flavor is something rare: truly interesting.
There’s something different in every bite, and it all comes together for a surprisingly harmonious whole. While you might be skeptical of the merits of a KBBQ-inspired Cup Noodles flavor, we encourage you to open your mind.
2. Beef
As is so often the case, simple Cup Noodles flavors are ultimately going to beat out the newfangled stuff that’s got star power but not substance. Beef is not a flashy flavor: you’re only getting what it says on the label. But it’s tender, meaty, the most flavorful of the six classic flavors and a hugely nostalgic late-night snack for many.
The fact is, whether through childhood memories or college years spent living off of cup ramen in your dorm, Cup Noodles have become a comfort food for many fans. They’re something you eat not only for the price and convenience, but for the nostalgia. And beef is second only to our number one Cup Noodles flavor in that department.
1. Chicken
The one that started it all. Without Momofuku Ando’s original 1958 Chicken Ramen, we wouldn’t have Cup Noodles (or potentially any instant ramen) at all, and a whole culinary world would never have been opened to us.
Is chicken the most memorable, flavorful or creative of Cup Noodles flavors? No, decidedly not. But it’s hearty, reliable and tastes like your best instant ramen memories.
You could probably find a more exciting Cup Noodles flavor, but you won’t find one that exemplifies what makes this brand so beloved more than Chicken.
When you go out looking for a case of Cup Noodles to take home, you’re probably thinking about Chicken, Beef or maybe Original. Let’s face it — only the most ardent fans would chase a case of their favorite Cup Noodles flavor all over the city.
But you don’t have to be running amok trying to find Stir-Fry Hot Garlic Chicken or Thai Yellow Curry to expand your Cup Noodle horizons. Next time you need a cheap, easy meal, why not see what else your grocery store has to offer?
For even more ways to explore your favorite foods, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.
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