After getting into a brief analysis about this brand’s potential financial issues in the October 2025 news post, I thought it was appropriate to do a little marathon of the handful of Chef Woo products I currently have in my stash, starting with Chef Woo Roasted Chicken Flavor Ramen. (And just in case you didn’t know, Chef Woo is a brand name, not a real person.) Like the Gordon Ramsay flavors I reviewed back on the YouTube channel, this is a plant-based ramen product with added protein, this time with a simple roasted artificially chicken flavored broth. This cup is marketed as a “healthy” vegan alternative to your typical chicken ramen cups, but is it any good? Let’s find out.
Read more: Review: Chef Woo Roasted Chicken Flavor RamenLike other Chef Woo cups, this has protein added to the noodles, resulting in a much chewier texture than you might expect. This is not to be confused with the other Chef Woo product line, which is Ramen Express by Chef Woo, which are the cheaper noodles without all the added protein. On the bright side, if you are looking for a healthier instant ramen, these high-protein Chef Woo cups aren’t super expensive compared to their competition. I paid $1.50 at one of my local supermarkets, and you can find these in Walmart for a similar price. As I write this, there appears to be a shortage of Chef Woo products available to order online, but if you’re interested in this, keep checking your local grocery stores and Amazon/Walmart.com.
This cup is moderately sodium-heavy, clocking in at 1120mg. There is also no MSG (boo!). This also has 20g of protein, which is pretty good for a noodle cup and is one of the main focal points of this product line.
Inside, you’ve got a block of wheat noodles containing pea protein and other healthy additives, a powdered broth, and some dried vegetables. The broth is an artificial chicken flavoring (yeast, soy, etc.) with some onion, garlic, and chives, and the veggie pieces are carrot, onion, red bell pepper, peas, and corn.
Noodles:
The noodles still are exactly the same as when I reviewed them for the Gordon Ramsay collabs, and they just aren’t my favorite, but I don’t find them nearly as inedible as other “reinvented” ramen noodles. Between the pea protein and other additives and whatever manufacturing process is involved in making these, the noodles end up with kind of a rough, overly firm texture even after the instructed 5 minute steep. Normally I like a firm noodle, but this is just a hair in the “too firm” direction. There are people out there who adore these, though, so maybe you’ll have a different experience than me if you buy this. For what it’s worth, the noodles did grow on me a bit as I worked my way through this cup, just like they did with the Gordon Ramsay-branded ones. Honestly, despite my complaints, I have to give some credit to the manufacturer for managing to cram extra nutrients in these noodles while keeping them relatively edible. It could’ve gone much worse.
- 4.5/10
Spiciness:
No spice at all.
- 0/10
Overall:
Getting past the tolerable-but-still-odd noodles, as a vegan chicken broth product, this is pretty alright when it all comes together. Being devoid of any actual chicken fat or extract, the broth is more just a salty onion flavor with a light tinge of sugar or something else sweet to balance it out. As far as chicken broths go, I’ve had way worse. Nothing about it particularly comes across as “roasted” flavor as opposed to just plain old chicken flavor, which surprised me since usually that “roasted” moniker means there’s a hint of sesame oil or something else nutty to impart a fake roasted flavor into the broth. I guess in this case, the slight bit of added sugar is meant to give it a pseudo-caramelized finish. The vegetable pieces are adequate and rehydrated well, even though they’re not terribly exciting. There’s more carrot and onion in this than I expected, although I found maybe one tasty little piece of bell pepper in the whole cup and would have liked more. And that’s pretty much it – a no-frills health-focused vegan chicken ramen. I wouldn’t really seek this out on a regular basis, and the noodle texture will most likely turn some people off, but if you’re in the market for a cup like this, it’s a reasonably good flavor for a comparatively good price for a health-focused ramen.
- 6/10
