Three brothless ramens joined the permanent menu at Noodles & Company. | Photos courtesy of Noodles & Company.
Ramen noodles are the perfect canvas for endless flavor exploration, believes Tina Massey, VP of culinary R&D for Noodles & Company. And customers agree, turning last year’s LTO of Chili Garlic Ramen into one of the most successful menu launches for the Broomfield, Colorado-based fast casual, bringing more than 150,000 new guests to the brand.
“We attracted a new audience of Gen Zs and Millennials,” said Massey, some of the same fans who were playing around with packaged ramen on social media, creating brothless hacks by mashing up flavors and ingredients.
Earlier this month, Noodles piggybacked off the success of Chili Garlic Ramen and rolled out a trio of brothless bowls, highlighting ramen’s versatility with three unique flavor profiles: Gochujang Carbonara Ramen Noodles, Sweet Sesame Steak Ramen Noodles, and Spicy Korean Steak Ramen Noodles.
Spicy Korean Steak Ramen Noodles is a reimagination of a Noodles & Company lo mein dish.
Why brothless?
Ramen noodles are traditionally served in soup, but brothless versions have have been trending across Japan and are emerging on U.S. menus, according to Technomic. The Japanese name for no-broth ramen bowls is “mazemen,” which refers to ramen noodles that are mixed with a flavorful sauce instead of tossed into a bowl of bubbling broth. This makes the dish more customizable and versatile.
“Mazemen is definitely the vibe in our three new ramens without having to communicate that to guests,” said Massey. “Our menu needs to be really approachable. Anytime you have to educate too much in your marketing and advertising, you don’t really gain traction. We’ve even had instances of guests not knowing what Bolognese sauce is.”
Not only does brothless ramen allow for maximum fusion and flavor combinations, it’s easier to execute on the line. “This was a really seamless fit with our menu and our back-of-house operations,” said Massey. “And we were really strategic about bringing in new SKUs, making sure not to overcomplicate things.”
Noodles & Company was able to create a whole new ramen menu category with just a couple of ingredient additions. That includes the fresh ramen noodles, sourced from longtime Asian supplier partner, Wonton Food. “They are the provider of our udon noodles, and they have been for many, many years, decades at this point,” said Massey. “So we worked with them to develop ramen noodles designed specifically for what we needed.”
It was crucial to the team that they got the ramen texture and cook time right to function in the back of the house, she added. The fresh noodles are prepped with a quick precook before they are sauteed to order with the sauces and other ingredients for each of the three ramen dishes.
The team also worked with a supplier partner to bring in specific sauces created to work with each of the three ramen dishes. “We have always had a dedicated Asian category on the menu and that allowed us a lot of fun tools in our sandbox that we could play with automatically,” said Massey. “We didn’t need to bring in any proteins, vegetables, or garnishes so we really focused on the sauce.” To achieve the desired flavor profiles, she and the team made sure the seasonings and spices were already incorporated into the sauces. That strategy also streamlined execution.
Putting the ideas to test
When it was clear from the 2025 launch of Garlic Chili Ramen that Noodles’ guests were brothless ramen fans, Massey got to work brainstorming variations. “We looked at what the market is doing and what guests are informing, from CPG to fine dining,” she said. “We were definitely seeing a lot more diversity of flavors and mashups out there.”
She and the team came up with eight to 10 concepts that it looked like people were excited about and started “R&D-ing them.” Noodles has become more stringent about its testing process, set on getting more guest feedback before rolling out new items. To begin, the name and description of each concept is put before a panel of guests, and once the responses come in and tweaks are made, the actual dishes are tested at select locations. Right now, Noodles & Company is paneling in Chicago and testing in locations in the West, Central, and East to really understand regional differences, Massey explained.
“You can’t get better data than actual live tests with guests who are paying for the dish,” she added. “We are putting items through a bit longer tests than we have previously to get more insights and analysis. Everything has to be validated through a guest lens.”
Aside from the three ramens that made the cut, some of the others hit the mark but didn’t move forward because they weren’t quite ready or the timing wasn’t right. They were put on the back burner and may be released at a later date.
Of the three ramens that did debut in mid-October, Spicy Korean Steak Ramen Noodles was one that was reimagined from a previous incarnation made with lo mein noodles. This time around, ramen noodles are paired with marinated steak, napa cabbage, red cabbage, and spinach in a sweet and spicy Korean-style gochujang barbecue sauce, topped with cucumber, scallions, and cilantro. The bold flavor profile of the dish works better with the ramen noodles than lo mein, Massey noted.
Gochujang Carbonara Ramen Noodles showcases Italian-Korean fusion.
A second dish, Sweet Sesame Steak Ramen Noodles, boasts a sweet and savory flavor profile. The noodles are sauteed with marinated steak, carrots, and red bell peppers, then finished with sesame seeds and cilantro. And the third in the trio, Gochujang Carbonara Ramen Noodles, represents Italian-Korean fusion. The ramen noodles are sauteed in a creamy gochujang-Parmesan carbonara sauce with bacon, napa cabbage, and red cabbage, then finished with grated Parmesan, an Asian spice blend similar to Chinese five-spice, and parsley.
“This carbonara doesn’t use cream or eggs; butter gives the ramen creaminess and bacon the smokiness,” said Massey. “The goal was to make this comforting and approachable.”
What’s next?
When Noodles & Company added this new ramen category, the chain didn’t have to remove any other sections from the menu. The original ramen trio will remain in the lineup for a while, but there are plans to eventually rotate in new ramens, some of which are in the pipeline.
Massey couldn’t reveal what those might be, or which, if any, ramen ideas were discarded during the R&D process, but she did share Noodle’s thinking when it comes to culinary innovation. “We’re not saying no to any ramen avenue, but we’re not looking at things that are a little too out there, that aren’t in guests’ minds at the moment,” she said, “or mashing up two flavors that might blow people’s minds a little too much. It could taste amazing, but getting guests to trial anything that’s too exotic can be challenging. Hitting their knowledge set is the main thing.”
In December, Noodles & Company is rolling out its next menu test. We might be seeing some chicken.
Pat plans and executes menu, food and drink stories for Restaurant Business and hosts the weekly Menu Talk podcast. She provides in-depth coverage of chefs, trends and menu innovation.
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