Shake Up Your Mundane Taco Night With Some Crunchy Ramen

With juicy, spiced ground meat and yummy, colorful toppings all inside an irresistible shell, tacos are the perfect meal everyone looks forward to (especially if you celebrate Taco Tuesday every week!). And now there's a way to help clear out the pantry while making taco night even better — by using up your packets of instant ramen! If you're usually more of a soft taco lover, or if a crispy taco shell just doesn't provide enough crunch, you might find that dried ramen noodles add an extra fun texture to tacos.

With this trick, there's no need to even put your cup of ramen in the microwave. Simply crush up the dried ramen into bite-size crumbles and then top your tacos with them as you wish! If you want even more crunch in each bite, try adding the crushed ramen to your ground meat mixture as well. It's the perfect, no-fuss way to put a fun, fresh spin on your favorite taco recipes.

If you want to get more creative, bust out a deep fryer and try your hand at making ramen noodle taco shells. Deep-fry the dry noodles in the shape of a taco shell and then stuff it to your liking. Or if you want additional ways to use your ramen noodles but prefer them cooked, why not throw the ramen noodles into your ground meat mixture? Add some water and your ramen to the skillet along with your taco filling and then let it all cook together. Scoop this mixture into your taco shells or use large lettuce leaves for a take on Asian lettuce wraps.

There are even more ways to combine the flavors of these two easy comfort meals. Switch up your ramen noodle soup with a Mexican-inspired birria ramen. You might already know birria tacos as savory, fried tacos filled with the tender meat that's been marinated in the consommé, or broth, of the birria stew. Birria ramen uses that consommé as a base and adds vegetables, toppings, and, of course, ramen noodles. Try adding dried ramen on top for extra crunch!

Have you ever had an Asian-inspired chopped salad with the perfect crunchy topping that made your salad-eating experience all the more delightful? That topping was likely dried chow mein noodles. But who says you can't emulate this experience at home by adding dry ramen noodles to your salad? Adding a new texture is one great way to elevate a boring, leafy salad, after all.

Furthermore, you can avoid anything going to waste by adding the contents of the ramen noodle package's seasoning packet to your taco filling. Whether you're using ground beef, turkey, chicken, crumbled tofu, or another meat substitute, you can use this tip to expand your taco possibilities with a more Japanese-inspired flavor profile. Not to mention, the high sodium content of the ramen seasoning will take care of adding salt for you! Like the trendy spaghetti tacos that came before them, ramen tacos may sound strange at first but can turn out to be more delicious than you might think.