Spicy Ground Pork Soup with Noodles
This comforting Pork Soup recipe is fast and built largely on pantry staples, but punches above its weight class in terms of flavor. Use what you have on hand when choosing the protein, noodles and greens.

My Go-To Pork Noodle Soup
On the coldest nights here in the Midwest, only a bowl of hot steaming broth and noodles will warm me up. My family goes out for a lot of ramen, udon and pho, but we also make versions of these Asian dishes at home quite often.
This soup is adapted from an old Alison Roman for Bon Appetit recipe, adapted to be easier for the home chef (because I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to chop cumin seeds, and I don’t keep Sichuan peppercorns at home).
Even with some shortcuts, this soup doesn’t TASTE like a shortcut. The fragrant, umami-rich broth gives you the perfect balance of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, ground cumin (no chopping seeds!) and black pepper in each bite.
Make this soup as spicy (or not spicy) as you’d like by adding an appropriate amount of red pepper flakes. And please use what you have on hand when you’re choosing the meat, noodles and greens. I’ll talk about this more below!
Why You’ll Love Ground Pork Soup
- Have a bag of kale that’s been in the fridge . . . awhile? This soup is the perfect way to use it up!
- The broth has an amazing depth of flavor thanks to smart ingredient choices like garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, cumin, soy sauce and fish sauce.
- It tastes like a long-simmered soup, but it comes together in about 30 minutes right on the stove.

Pork Noodle Soup Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post. This section contains affiliate links.
- ground pork – the rich, savory protein for this soup that we tested this recipe with. More protein ideas below!
- udon noodles – to make the soup more filling and give you something to slurp up! We tested this recipe many times, and dried udon like this was our favorite choice for a widely available grocery stsore option. However, if you are near an Asian market or another store that sells frozen Sanukiya udon, these noodles are thick, chewy, and super satisfying. Even MORE noodle options below!
- chicken broth – feel free to use a less-sodium version, since the soy sauce and the fish sauce also contribute sodium. Just be sure to taste your soup before serving, and add salt or more soy sauce if needed.
- kale – adds a fresh, slightly bitter element to balance the rich pork. Both curly kale and dinosaur/lacinato kale work. More greens options below!
- green onions – scallions add a mild onion flavor without overpowering.
- olive oil – for sauteeing the pork.
- garlic – the base aromatic flavor for the broth.
- grated fresh ginger – adds a warm, slightly spicy flavor to the pork noodle soup.
- red pepper flakes – contribute a bit of heat. Add as much or as little of these as you want!
- cumin – I would have never thought to add cumin to an Asian soup until seeing it done in Bon Appetit, but it really works. You can’t really detect a specific cumin flavor in the end result, but all of the ingredients work in perfect harmony to make the broth one of the most delicious substances ever.
- salt and pepper – to season this ground pork soup recipe to perfection.
- soy sauce – to add umami and season the broth.
- fish sauce – another umami and seasoning punch. Red Boat brand is our preference, it’s always in our fridge.

Variations Of This Soup With Pork
- MEAT – Also good with ground chicken or turkey!
- NOODLES – Udon is great, but so is ramen (dried noodles OK, frozen ramen even better; discard the seasoning packets for both options or reserve them for another use). Soba noodles work here, as well. Be sure to follow the suggested cooking time for your specific package of noodles when adding them to your soup.
- GREENS – Kale is usually easiest to find at the store here in the United States, but if you have mustard greens, Swiss chard, spinach, escarole or collard greens in the fridge or in your garden, they’re all great here!
- ONIONS – Did your green onions get slimy and weird in the fridge? Use a small handful of finely chopped white or yellow onion instead, and everything is going to be OK.
How To Make Pork Soup

1. PORK. Heat the oil in a large pot, then add the pork and cook until it’s browned and cooked through, breaking it up with the side of a wooden spoon as it cooks.

2. AROMATICS. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt and pepper and cook briefly until the spices are toasted.

3. BROTH. Add the broth and heat to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer.

4. EVERYTHING ELSE. Stir in the noodles, kale, onions, soy sauce and fish sauce, and cover and cook until the noodles are tender.
Pork Soup Recipe Home Chef Tips
- Adjust the heat to your taste by adding more or less red pepper flakes. 1/4 teaspoon for the whole pot is about right if my daughter (elementary schooler, pretty adventurous eater) is having it. 1/2 teaspoon for the pot is right if it’s just my husband and I and we want it a bit spicier. Maybe NO red pepper flakes is right for you. Don’t forget that you can always add extra to individual bowls for those who like it spicy.
- This pork noodle soup tastes even better the next day, so make a double batch and enjoy the leftovers!

WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Pork Noodle Soup Storage
If you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Simple Pork Soup Recipe FAQs
The most tender parts of pork for soup are typically the shoulder and tenderloin, but in this case we’re using ground pork so that it cooks up nice and fast, and is plenty tender and flavorful.
To soften pork in soup, allow it simmer over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes. This allows the collagen in the meat to break down and results in very tender pork in the finished dish.
This is meant to be a thin, brothy soup, so no thickening agent like cornstarch or potato starch is necessary here.

More Foxes Love Lemons Favorites

Simple Pork Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound ground pork
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 6 ounces dry udon noodles
- ½ bunch kale thick stems removed, thinly sliced
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
Instructions
- In large saucepot, heat oil over medium heat. Add pork and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until pork is browned and cooked through, breaking up meat with side of spoon and stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt and pepper and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add broth and heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 5 minutes.
- Stir in noodles, kale, onions, soy sauce and fish sauce. Increase heat to medium. Cover and simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until noodles are tender; stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.
Wow…very tasty! I’m a sucker for anything with greens like mustard, collards etc and noodles are always a plus. I threw in some Korean red pepper flakes which are very flavorfull IMO and not overly ‘hot’, plus it gives soups a nice color if bland looking. I’ll definitely keep recipe and make again. Thanks for a tasty soup…Bill in the PNW
Korean red pepper flakes sound perfect for this. So glad you liked this recipe, Bill!
Wow! Just finished cooking and tasting this fabulous soup! Warm, soothing, flavorful…and super delicious. OK, in full transparency, I did more than just taste. I just consumed 3 bowlfuls of this incredible soup. Albeit small bowls, I had 3 servings in one sitting. Wasn’t even hungry. Very good soup. Now at the top of my list to make regularly. Thank you!
So glad you liked this, Kim. All 3 bowlfuls 🙂
Since my last comment over 2 years ago, I have to tell you I keep coming back to this recipe time and again. A little bit different every time but always simple and delicious! Tonight I made it with fresh ground bison, dandelion greens (they seem to be my go-to for this soup) and sauteed fresh garlic scapes and chive flowers before adding the broth. I think this is the best one yet!
Oh my gosh, I’m so flattered to hear this, Alisha! That’s my favorite thing about soups like this – you can just adapt them to whatever you happen to have on hand or want to use. I have a chive plant in my yard doing crazy. You’ve inspired me to add some chive flowers to my next batch of soup!
Thanks so much, Kaitlin! I’ve definitely enjoyed cooking the cover for the last year or so!
This looks awesome–just the kind of thing I want to eat at the end of the day. And such a good idea to commit to the cover recipes!
Oh yum, all of those ingredients sound great for this, Alisha! The broth is my favorite part of this soup, for sure 🙂
I made this last week with ground turkey, organic dandelion greens (don’t ask me why I paid $5 for dandelion greens!) and black kale. It was amazingly delicious and I plan on making it again tonight! I love how simple but flavorful the broth is. My noodles absorbed ALL of the liquid though so I’ll have to keep them separate. I just threw the noodles into the broth and served. Even will all of the broth absorbed it was super delicious though.
do you think i could make this with kale or spinach if i can’t find mustard greens? thanks!
xo julesinflats
Oh yes, definitely, Julia! I would recommend kale – it’ll hold up a little better than spinach 🙂
thank you for your quick reply, lori!
Wow! This looks fabulous. I’m new to your blog (found you thru Susan Palmer) and love the idea behind Cook the Cover! After all the terrible weather here in the north east I’m ready for a spicy soup like this!
So glad you found me, Mallory. Cook The Cover is really fun – it definitely makes going to the mailbox fun at least once a month 🙂 I am SO tired of the cold weather here in Michigan. Ready for spring!
Pretty much a perfect soup. I’m really into Asian noodle dishes with greens so this makes me a bit too excited (I’m really pumped). Can’t wait to try!
Oh gosh, me too, Pamela. I’ve been so into Asian soups with dark leafy greens lately. I just made another one with homemade wontons and kale – that recipe coming soon 🙂
Having eaten this twice – when made and as a leftover – I can say it is a very tasty interpretation of ramen noodle soup. It was a good combo of pork flavor, spice, and greens. Yum.