The Top Line:

Public Goods Ramen Noodles are grown up(ish) ramen. During the Lockdown of 2020, we really looked forward to having this as a snack or a quick lunch. The ramen sells out all the time. If you see it, ADD it to your pantry. {Edited on 20 August for price.]

Note: we did a Public Goods Roundup Review here!

The Breakdown:

• Cost & Products: $̶7̶.̶0̶0̶ $9.75 for a package of 5 noodles

• How ‘Clean’ Is This? No preservatives. 7 ingredients total. High in sodium from the soy sauce.

• Packaging: Ugh. It’s wrapped in plastic, the way most stuff is at Public Goods. Given the nature of the product, we sort of get it, otherwise the noodles would get crushed. But, ugh.

• Purchasing & Shipping: The website is cleanly designed and ordering is a straightforward. The free shipping threshold seems a little on the high side at a minimum of $45. These noodles give us a reason to keep shopping Public Goods.

• Good to Know: The Public Goods blog is kind of awesome. They even post recipes using their ingredients, like this one with the ramen. Note: we have not tried said recipe because we are lazy.

• Coupons: $10 off your first order with ‘BLOG10’

• What’s Your Impact? Kind of zero. Packaging similar to your typical grocery store ramen BUT the ingredients are way, way, way better. So, we guess that’s a win.

The Process

Um. It’s like instant ramen, but you have to boil it.

• Boil water.

• Put noodles in.

• Two minutes.

• Take noodles out.

• Cover with chili oil.

• Mix.

• Eat delicious noodles.

The Cost

They are $1.40 per packet of noodles. We think that’s all you need to know. Yes, “normal” ramen is like $0.25. but this is more than 5.6x better.

The Good:

✔ Delicious

✔ Delicious

✔ Only 7 ingredients

✔ NO MSG, artificial colors, flavors or additives

✔ Delicious

The Bad:

✗ It’s wrapped in plastic!

✗ A little green-washed

Our Recommendation:
Sigh. Yes there is plastic. The air via plastic protects the noodles during shipment. We get it. We caved anyway.

If carbs are your friend, ADD Public Goods Spicy Sesame Oil Ramen to your pantry. They sell out often - you’ve been warned. Oh, they also make a non-spicy versions here and here, but we haven’t tried them.

We're on a mission to reduce our personal carbon footprint with small, hopefully easy, changes in our home to fight against climate change. This means we're looking for products that may be all natural, ideally zero waste, reusable or compostable -- while still being affordable!