Nissin Cup Noodles Dill Pickle

This is a Limited Edition entry in the Cup Noodles lineup. It’s marketed as “Ramen Noodles in Sauce” in a Dill Pickle flavor. I’d been excited to try this one.

Produced in the United States. Manufactured by Nissin Foods.

What’s in the Package

Inside the cup you get a fried wavy noodle brick dusted heavily with a fine green dill pickle seasoning powder.

How to Cook Nissin Cup Noodles Dill Pickle

Microwave directions from the cup:

1. Remove the lid, add room temperature water to the inside line
2. Place in the microwave uncovered and cook on high for 4 minutes, then let it stand for 1 minute.
3. Stir well before eating.

How Does It Taste

This cup smells very dilly, strong enough that James made a face just peeling back the lid.

Then you take a bite. It is sour. Extremely sour. Citric-acid sour. Mouth-puckering sour in a way that almost makes your jaw ache. The pickle flavor is recognizable, but the sour is overwhelming. It tastes like the brine of a pickle chip concentrated down into powdered form and tossed onto noodles.

Credit where it’s due: it really does taste like dill pickle. Nissin hit the flavor target they were aiming for. Whether that flavor target works as a noodle bowl is a different question, and the answer for me and James was no. It’s sour and salty with nothing to balance it. Nothing sweet, nothing fatty, nothing grounding.

The noodles are the standard Cup Noodles fried wavy wheat. Thin, light, a 1 out of 5 on thickness. They carry the green powder well and pick up a faint pickle tint once they absorb it.

How Does It Compare

Nothing on the site hits this exact flavor target, which is part of why limited editions like this exist in the first place. The closest sour reference in the catalogue is the Acecook Hao Hao Hot Sour Shrimp, but that one’s sourness is tamarind-driven and balanced against shrimp and chili. Very different from pure pickle brine. This Dill Pickle is more of a novelty conversation piece than something you’d reach for on a Tuesday.

How to Level Up Nissin Cup Noodles Dill Pickle

The noodles are built for ground beef. Sour salty noodles with fatty, savory beef makes the most sense.

If you’re eating it straight, you need something to counteract the sourness and saltiness. James suggested potato chips for texture contrast, especially a regular salted chip rather than a flavored one. Diced raw onion on top works for the same reason a raw onion works on a real dill pickle burger.

A slice of cheese melted into the hot noodles could tip the bowl closer to a pickle-and-cheese sandwich vibe. For the record: we didn’t test either of these additions live, but it’s giving me some video ideas for the future.

Final Verdict

The Nissin Cup Noodles Dill Pickle does exactly what it says on the label. This is a dill pickle noodle, with all the sour and salt that implies. They nailed the flavor target. The bowl itself is a lot to eat on its own because nothing balances the citric acid.

It’s a fun novelty. It’s a better sidekick for a burger than a standalone meal. I’m glad I tried it, I wouldn’t buy it again, but I’d grab another one specifically to turn into a ramen burger video.

How do I rate my ramen? Check out the Ramen Rating Guide.

Related Instant Ramen

• Nissin Cup Noodles Stir Fry Teriyaki Beef
• Nissin Hot & Spicy Chicken
• Nissin Chow Mein Chicken Noodles
• Nissin Cup Noodles Black Pepper Crab Flavor
• Acecook Hao Hao Hot Sour Shrimp

Where to buy Nissin Cup Noodles Dill Pickle

• Walmart