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© History Oasis
Discontinued: 2003
The holy grail of discontinued ramen.
When Maruchan pulled this flavor from shelves in 2003, they didn’t just discontinue a product—they created a legend. This wasn’t your typical chicken or beef broth. It featured tomato-based flavors that somehow worked perfectly with instant noodles.
The aftermath? Pure devotion bordering on obsession.
Some old flavoring packets have sold for up to $1,000 on eBay—making them more valuable per ounce than gold.
Maruchan claims the food was discontinued due to “lack of sales,” but the passionate fanbase tells a different story.
Discontinued: 1993 (Name changed to “Cup Noodles”)
When the Mandela Effect came to styrofoam cups.
Here’s something that’ll mess with your head. Most Americans still call it “Cup O’ Noodles,” but it’s been officially called “Cup Noodles” since 1993. That little “O” disappeared nearly 30 years ago, yet over 80% of people remember it being there.
When Nissin brought back the “O” temporarily in 2021 for their 50th anniversary, almost nobody noticed.
The original “Cup O’ Noodles” launched in America in 1973, revolutionizing convenience food. You could package, prepare, and serve noodles all in the same container. A concept both simple and genius.
Today, you can still get the same product, but it’s just called Cup Noodles.
Discontinued: 2018 (Renamed to “Soy Sauce”)
When political correctness met your pantry.
This wasn’t technically a discontinuation. But wokeness killed the original name.
For decades, both Top Ramen and Maruchan sold “Oriental Flavor” ramen. The taste? Just soy sauce with a classic shoyu profile, Japanese ramen lovers know and love. But around 2018, brands quietly started changing the name to “Soy Sauce Flavor.”
The reason? The term “Oriental” had fallen out of favor when describing Asian cuisine, considered outdated and potentially offensive.
But the recipe stayed pretty much the same. Only the packaging changed. The flavor lives on, but political correctness killed the name.
Discontinued: 2022
The flavor that broke the internet.
October 2021. The world was still recovering from a global pandemic. And then Nissin launched Pumpkin Spice Cup Noodles.
But it was only a Walmart exclusive for Cup Noodles’ 50th anniversary.
The ramen noodles featured sweet pumpkin spice seasoning in savory ramen, creating a murky orange broth that looked deeply suspicious. Nissin even recommended topping it with whipped cream for the “full experience.”
The reactions were split down the middle. Some people genuinely loved the spicy, buttery notes. Others found it overly sweet with a weird licorice aftertaste that haunted their taste buds.
It returned briefly in 2022, but the food was again discontinued forever.
Discontinued: Unknown (Renamed to “Top Ramen”)
Before “Top Ramen” became a college dorm staple, it had a much more playful identity: “Oodles of Noodles.”
When Nissin entered the American market in 1972, they chose this whimsical name that perfectly captured the product’s fun, accessible nature. Somewhere along the way, corporate minds decided “Top Ramen” sounded more authoritative.
“Oodles of Noodles” was introduced during a time when instant ramen was still new to American consumers. It was a silly name that launched the ramen obsession in America.
Discontinued: Early 2020s
The collaboration nobody saw coming.
Sometimes corporate partnerships create magic. Sometimes they create confusion. This was the latter.
In the late 2010s, Pringles teamed up with Vietnamese producer Acecook to create a ramen that tasted like potato chips. The Sour Cream and Onion variety came in square boxes featuring the Pringles mascot.
It actually tasted good. Served yakisoba-style with a light, well-balanced flavor that defied all expectations.
But people couldn’t get past the mental image of wet, soggy chips floating in broth—even though that’s not what it was at all.
The product was too weird to live on in your supermarket aisle.
Discontinued: Unknown
Not your typical chicken flavor. The curly noodles had a thin, flat texture that prevented them from becoming pulpy and dense. Combined with a sweet-spicy flavor profile and gentle chicken notes, it created something special in the instant noodle world.
Indomie briefly brought it back for their 50th anniversary.
But like many anniversary revivals, it was more about honoring the past than planning for the future.
Discontinued: Mid-2000s
The fusion experiment that almost worked.
Maruchan wasn’t content with just discontinuing their regular Tomato Flavor. They had to take down the whole tomato family.
This yakisoba flavor married Japanese noodles with Italian flavors. Tomato and basil notes dominated, but there was an unexpected umami beef flavor lurking underneath with no visible meat in the package.
It was fusion food before fusion was fully mainstream.
Discontinued: Mid-2010s
The spicy promise that failed to deliver.
This Mexican cuisine-inspired flavor featured ground habanero peppers and looked serious about heat. The reality? It was surprisingly mild, disappointing spicy lovers everywhere.
The chunks of soy protein and dehydrated vegetables added nice textural variety, and the overall flavor profile was actually quite pleasant.
But in the instant ramen world, if you promise spice and deliver mild, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Discontinued: 2010s
The cheese explosion nobody expected.
This wasn’t your typical “add some cheddar” approach to instant noodles.
Maruchan went all-in with a white sauce made from a seasoning packet that combined white cheddar, parmesan, and other cheese varieties. The flat noodles gave it an almost pasta-like experience. It was yakisoba pretending to be mac and cheese.
The complexity was impressive. The price point was reasonable. The flavor was genuinely satisfying. But it went away anyway.
Discontinued: Mid-2010s
Available at Walmart in the early 2010s, this yakisoba was deceptive.
The seasoning packet contained actual dried shrimp pieces—you could see them floating around like tiny aquatic confetti. But when you took that first bite, expecting oceanic flavors, you got... garlic. Lots of garlic.
The flavor disappointed shrimp lovers everywhere.
Discontinued: Mid-2010s
A niche that couldn’t find an audience.
In 2013, Maruchan decided the world needed beef-taco-flavored yakisoba.
These ramen noodles took two completely different food cultures and smooshed them together in a styrofoam container.
The execution was probably fine. The concept was unique. But “beef taco yakisoba” requires a very specific type of customer with very specific cravings.
Discontinued: Unknown
The Disney-Pixar collaboration nobody asked for.
At 198 calories per cup, this was Cup Noodles’ attempt at health consciousness.
Inspired by both the classic French dish and the beloved Pixar movie, it featured tomato top notes and dried vegetables in a lighter broth format.
The flavor was accessible, the calorie count was appealing, and the pop culture connection was clever.
But instant ramen consumers aren’t typically looking for “light” options. They want comfort, convenience, and indulgence.
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