instant ramen upgrade
/ˈɪnstənt ˈreɪmən ˈʌpɡreɪd/
CommonImproving cheap instant ramen with real ingredients to make it taste like a proper meal.
Usually said with pride. There's a whole culture around it. Can also mean any cheap food that gets unexpectedly elevated.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Soft boiled egg and butter in my ramen. instant ramen upgrade complete. | The small additions turned basic ramen into something worth eating. | tiktok, 2023 |
| 02 | my instant ramen upgrade is frozen corn and a slice of american cheese trust me | Sharing a personal combination that makes the ramen much better. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | spent 3 dollars total on dinner and it was an actual meal. instant ramen upgrade goes hard | The cheap ramen with additions was satisfying enough to feel like a real dinner. | reddit, 2023 |
| 04 | garlic butter and a fried egg is the only instant ramen upgrade you need | These two additions are so good they make everything else unnecessary. | tiktok, 2024 |
Use it when
- You added real ingredients to instant ramen and it came out good.
- Someone asks how you ate well on no money.
- Showing off a ramen bowl that looks way better than packet ramen.
- Describing a glow-up for any cheap food.
Do not use it when
- You ordered ramen at a restaurant.
- You just cooked it normally with no additions.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
Grew out of food hack culture on YouTube and TikTok where creators showed ways to make cheap food taste expensive. Ramen upgrade videos became a popular format around 2020.
- First seen
- 2020s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/instant-ramen-upgradeUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0