I’m doing something a little different today with a double review: Maruchan Instant Lunch Hot & Spicy Chicken and the Funyuns Hot & Spicy Chicken Ramen Flavor snack that was designed to taste like it. I’ve reviewed instant noodles for years, but I’ve somehow never tried this particular Instant Lunch flavor, mostly because I generally don’t love the Instant Lunch noodle texture and I know I tend to be a snob about it. But Funyuns releasing a flavor based on these noodles was too interesting to pass up, and it didn’t seem right to review the snack without trying the product it’s based on.
Read more: Noodle Journey Episode 174: Maruchan/Funyuns Hot & Spicy Chicken RamenBoth the Instant Lunch cups and these Funyuns are widely available in US grocery stores. Instant Lunch tends to run anywhere from $0.50 to $1 depending on the store, and variety bundles can be found on Amazon for a markup. The Funyuns bag I picked up was $5 for a 6oz size, and I believe these come in at least one other size as well.
Maruchan Instant Lunch Hot & Spicy Chicken Ramen
Sodium for the Instant Lunch is 1260mg, or 55% of your daily allowance. Under the lid is an orange broth powder on top of a standard cup-noodle style block with bits of corn, carrot, and onion. The broth powder includes real chicken extract, salt, sugar, MSG, chili powder, habanero pepper powder, paprika, and celery salt. The spices aren’t listed individually, but I smelled cumin immediately, hinting at a Tex-Mex-leaning profile. Once prepared, the aroma has a noticeable buttery or shortening-like scent, which is something I remember encountering the last time I tried an Instant Lunch product, like stale movie theater popcorn butter. Not terrible, but definitely distinct.
Noodles:
These noodles are softer than I prefer and don’t offer much chew. They’re edible, but they sit below even Nissin Cup Noodles in texture for me. Instant Lunch noodles just don’t deliver the bite I want, and this cup didn’t change my mind.
• 4/10
Spiciness:
Despite the “hot and spicy” label, the spice level is mild. If you’re used to eating Buldak or anything in that heat range, this barely registers. It’s comparable to adding a splash of generic supermarket hot sauce to chicken noodles.
• 3/10
Overall:
The broth is better than I expected. It’s surprisingly garlicky, which works in its favor, and the real chicken extract helps give the flavor a savory backbone. There’s onion, paprika, and a cumin-driven “fake Tex-Mex” vibe, just enough seasoning to make things interesting without fully committing to a true Tex-Mex profile. The corn is a bit underdone; the carrots are fine. The biggest drawback is that same buttery, oily aftertaste I smelled earlier, which dulls the overall experience. If not for that, I might have scored this at a 6.5, but I’m dropping it slightly because that note lingers on my palate when I eat Instant Lunch. It’s still perfectly fine for what it is, and I’d consider buying it again if I were in the right mood.
• 6/10
Funyuns Hot & Spicy Chicken Ramen Flavor
A serving of these Funyuns is listed as 13 pieces, with 140mg of sodium. Per-serving stats include 6g of fat (1g saturated), 0mg cholesterol, 18g carbohydrates, and 2g protein. Funyuns are fried cornmeal snacks seasoned with buttermilk, salt, chili pepper, garlic powder, paprika, sugar, yeast, and other seasonings. There’s no chicken here, but there is buttermilk, so they’re not vegan.
Opening the bag releases a huge wave of fried onion aroma (very classic Funyuns) along with cumin and a light oily scent.
Spiciness:
The heat is modest, less spicy than the Instant Lunch and mostly driven by chili powder rather than anything sharp.
• 2/10
Overall:
These Funyuns are puffy, crunchy, and sit texturally between cheese puffs and crunchy Cheetos. They taste like onion, a touch of chili, and a surprisingly strong amount of cumin – much heavier on the cumin than the Instant Lunch broth powder was. They’re saltier, bolder, and significantly punchier in seasoning intensity. They’re genuinely tasty, and I’m definitely finishing the bag once the camera is off. They don’t taste exactly like the Instant Lunch broth, though. The soup has more heat, while the snack has more spice intensity. They share a general flavor ballpark, but they’re not close matches. Even so, if you like onion-and-cumin snacks, these are easy to recommend.
• 7.5/10
