What To Add To A Pot Noodle: 33 BEST Ideas!
Is a Pot Noodle your culinary guilty pleasure?
Whether you’re a student on a tight budget, a busy parent looking for a quick lunch, or a serious foodie who fancies a little experimentation, there are tons of choices for what to add to a Pot Noodle that can transform the supermarket staple into something really quite impressive!
The most delicious ideas for what to add to a Pot Noodle
Just need the quick answer? Add a serving of protein to your Pot Noodle, such as shredded chicken, grilled prawns, or seafood sticks. Make a little more progress towards your 5-a-day with veggies like mushrooms, beansprouts, peas, grated carrot, and chopped red onion.
Adding an egg can also work really well, and you can choose from a crispy fried egg, or a chopped boiled egg.
You might also want to add some extra flavour with hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or your favourite fresh herbs like coriander.
Before we dive into the full list of ideas, it’s worth noting that a little common sense goes a long way when it comes to choosing your toppings, and you need to consider the type of Pot Noodle you’re planning to make and which of the options will be best suited.
The Chinese Chow Mein Pot Noodle, for example, lends itself perfectly to being served with Asian inspired toppings like beansprouts and pak choy. The Mac & Cheese variety would definitely benefit from a little crispy bacon, whilst if you prefer the Bombay Bad Boy, you might want to try a dollop of mango chutney or even a naan bread for dipping.
Keep reading to discover more ideas for what to add to a Pot Noodle…
- Egg (choose from crispy fried, or chopped boiled!)
- Grated cheese
- Gochujang (Korean red chilli paste, for big lovers of heat!)
- Shredded chicken
- Grilled prawns
- Calamari (grilled or breaded)
- Seafood sticks
- Crispy marinaded tofu
- Braised pork belly
- Crispy bacon
- Chopped spam
- Kimchi
- Mushrooms
- Sweetcorn
- Grated carrot
- Spring onions
- Finely sliced red onion
- Beansprouts
- Peas
- Lime wedges
- Broccoli
- Spiralised courgette
- Sliced bell pepper
- Pak choy
- Dried seaweed
- Sesame seeds
- Peanut butter (if you love satay flavours, you need to try this one)
- Mangetout
- Fresh chopped chillis (or dried flakes)
- Chopped nuts
- Hot sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- A pinch of MSG (this is the ‘secret ingredient’ that makes a lot of takeaway meals taste so good. Though it has come up against much scrutiny over the years, it’s now generally recognised as safe)
Final thoughts on what to add to a Pot Noodle
As you can see, there’s no shortage of choices for what you can add to a Pot Noodle to make into a more satisfying meal. Keep your base flavour in mind, then get experimental with your toppings to create a balanced and satisfying lunch or dinner.
Finally, consider serving a chunk of bread on the side. This is ideal for mopping up all the sauce, and making your lunch or dinner more filling. Whatever you have in your pantry will be just fine (and even better with a generous spread of butter!), or you can choose based on the flavour of your Pot Noodle. One of my favourite combinations is a Bombay Bad Boy with a side of fluffy, fresh garlicky naan for dipping!
What do you add to your Pot Noodle to make it into a meal? Leave a comment below and share your ideas.
