Today’s review is going to be a quick little examination of a hot, pun intended, new flavor from Maruchan and Frito-Lay. This is a new collaboration between them: Maruchan Instant Lunch Flamin’ Hot Chicken Ramen.
The Verdict:
| Product: | Maruchan Instant Lunch Flamin’ Hot Chicken Ramen |
| Origin: | Japan (Manufactured in the USA) |
| Noodle Quality: | 4/10 |
| Spice Level: | 3/10 |
| Overall Score: | 7/10 |
This is not the first time that Maruchan and Frito-Lay have collaborated on a product. You might remember Hot and Spicy Chicken Ramen Funyuns from back in 2024. Now we have Flamin’ Hot Chicken Ramen. And Flamin’ Hot is a seasoning blend that is proprietary to Frito-Lay. You’ve probably seen it in grocery stores in products like Doritos, Cheetos, Ruffles, and of course Funyuns. And the seasoning blend is Frito-Lay’s own concoction of cheese, chili pepper, garlic, onion, citrus, and MSG with a kind of intimidating bright red coloring. And now that bright red spice blend has found its way into Maruchan’s chicken flavored Instant Lunch cup, and that’s what this is.
I like Flamin’ Hot Doritos well enough, so I am expecting to like this, even though I already know I don’t love Maruchan’s noodle quality in these. If you want to take the plunge with this flavor yourself, you will find these at Walmart stores or on walmart.com currently for $0.62 each as I film this. And yes, that is yet another Walmart exclusive noodle product. It’s not to say that these won’t also show up in other supermarkets at some point, but I haven’t seen them anywhere else. And if you’re really desperate to try them and can’t find them for some reason, there are some food scalpers who are pieces of shit charging $4 a cup plus shipping on eBay. I would not recommend giving money to those people in principle, but if you’re really, really interested in trying these and can’t find them, you might not have a choice.
Inside the cup, we’ve got a bright, angry red broth powder on top of some noodles and a good amount of corn. Now, the broth powder is where all the Flamin’ Hot flavor is. So, obviously, you can’t adjust your spice level because it is all together blended in with the rest of the flavoring. In here you’ve got MSG, cheddar cheese, citric acid, chicken fat, powdered chicken, garlic, onion, and that proprietary spice blend that includes chili pepper. The sodium in this is 1330mg or 58% of your daily allowance. These noodles need to be steeped, not microwaved.
After steeping, the broth is very red, and the aroma has some chicken and garlic, but I’m definitely picking up on the cheese. And it sort of smells like a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. That’s kind of cool. I don’t know how well that’s going to translate into an instant noodle, but we’ll see.
Noodles:
For me, these cup-form Instant Lunch noodles are just never great. I find them to have a slightly oily aftertaste with a very thin gauge, a texture that’s a little too soft for my liking. I’m usually fine with Maruchan’s broth flavors, but the noodles just don’t do much for me. And that is very true of this cup, just like all the rest. Edible, but forgettable.
- 4/10
Spiciness:
So, now the part you’re probably waiting for. How spicy is this? Not very. I think it’s less spicy than the Flamin’ Hot chips that I’ve had. There’s definitely a little tingle in the back of my throat, but nothing that lingers too long. It’s not overwhelming. I can taste the flavor of the broth through the spice. Honestly, if you’re already a fan of Flamin’ Hot, there’s nothing to worry about here.
- 3/10
Overall:
And now the flavor. This is interesting. It tastes like Cheetos. Like really, truly. Somehow this formulation, the cheese powder that’s in here, the onion, the chicken fat, the MSG, it all comes together to taste like liquid Cheetos. And how much you will like this cup depends on how appealing the idea of liquid Cheetos is to you. For me, it’s not something I thought that I needed in my life, but I find it strangely compelling. If you’re a ramen purist, this is not something you’re going to want to try. If you’re into weird, funky, snack-adjacent flavors, then this is going to be something you’ll want to try. It really tastes like powdered cheese and chicken broth, and I think it’s a really interesting combination. I don’t have any particular complaints other than the noodle quality. I don’t think this flavor is something that I would reach for all the time, but next time I’m at Walmart, I am going to buy more of these. I kind of like this. If the noodle quality were better, I’d probably push this score to an 8 out of 10. But as it stands, these Maruchan noodles don’t really do it for me from a texture perspective. But I love the flavor of the broth. If you already like Cheetos and Maruchan Instant Lunch noodles, then the score is probably going to be even higher for you than what I’m giving it. Really interesting product.
- 7/10
Final Thoughts
So, that was a pretty fun little collaboration, and I’m really not mad at the results. I think this fits right into the Flamin’ Hot product line. And while it doesn’t quite evoke the same flavor combination I’ve gotten from the Doritos or what I assume you would get from the Ruffles or Funyuns flavors, it definitely evokes the Cheetos flavor. And I think that makes this a pretty good flavor on its own merits. If the noodles were a bit better than Maruchan’s usual quality, I’d probably be even happier about this. But if you’re a fan of cheesy spicy food or the Flamin’ Hot branding in general and you love cheesy snacks and junk food, I think this is worth checking out. Here’s hoping we get more interesting products out of this collaboration in the future.
Continuing the Journey
- Want another cheesy, spicy noodle-adjacent oddball? You might love Samyang Buldak Mac n’ Cheese.
- If you’re looking for a milder cheese option from Maruchan, check out Maruchan Yakisoba Cheddar Cheese Flavor.
- Looking for a simple pack of chicken noodles without a gimmick? Check out Sapporo Ichiban Chicken Ramen.
