(KTLA) – Cup Noodles, the cheap, quick — and now microwaveable — instant ramen makers are again diving into parts unknown with a limited-time noodle cup with an unexpected flavor profile.
Earlier this month, Cup Noodles launched the new Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese-flavored noodles in sauce.
You read that right: noodles flavored like an everything bagel, swimming around in cream cheese.
Nissin Foods USA, Cup Noodles’ parent company, said the new product offers an “unmatched bagel experience” in the form of a savory tasting instant ramen seasoned with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, dried onion and caraway seeds.
Everything Bagel instant ramen was born out of the two food items’ commonalities as on-the-go quick-fix meals, Nissin says, adding that consumers have already been adding the beloved spice blend into their noodles for years.
“We know noodle fans and foodies are constantly finding ways to elevate their instant ramen with different sauces, seasonings and unexpected ingredients,” said Priscila Stanton of Nissin Foods USA. “We took inspiration from our consumer base to give everyone’s favorite noodles a creamy twist.”
This isn’t the first time Cup Noodles has ventured into oddity flavors; it’s not even the first time the company’s dipped its toe into breakfast.
Last March, Cup Noodles released a breakfast ramen with flavors of sausage, eggs, pancakes and maple syrup.
In 2021, the company released a limited-time pumpkin-spiced ramen for fall, capitalizing on consumer curiosity to try new and unusual products, especially if the price is right.
Cup Noodles Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese is available right now exclusively at select Walmart stores and on Walmart.com with prices around $1.18. In support of the launch, Cup Noodles Breakfast has returned to the world and can be purchased alongside its breakfast successor.
Creative, if not downright bizarre, stovetop ramen flavors aren’t unique to the United States. For example, Japan’s Super Cup brand noodles has teamed up with Pringles in the past to make a variety of flavors based on the famously canistered crisps.
And if you thought it was a one-way mashup, you would be wrong. Pringles has also sold limited edition soup-flavored chips, such as Top Ramen Chicken.