For quick individual portions at Easter lunch, choose a multipack of instant noodles with a seasoning your guests will enjoy. If you’re making a sharing dish with your own choice of sauce and toppings, start with noodles that need cooking instead. Tins and jars can round out your cupboard, but they won’t replace the noodles themselves.
If each guest needs their own portion, a multipack of individual sachets saves you from portioning out a large pack. Auchan, for example, offers a 5 × 60 g format, while E.Leclerc has a 3 × 65 g format. Check that the flavour and allergens are suitable for your guests.
If you want to choose the sauce and toppings yourself, look at noodles that need cooking. Egg noodles, rice noodles, udon and nest noodles feature in the ranges at Carrefour and Auchan. Allow time to prepare them, as well as the other ingredients for the meal.
Keep noodles intended as the base of a dish separate from tins or jars meant to go with them. When putting each product away, check its date, the condition of the packaging and the storage instructions, especially after opening.
For Easter lunch, first decide whether you’ll serve noodles in ready-seasoned portions or use them as the base for a shared dish. Then choose which toppings to keep separate.
Choose these: when individual portions and quick preparation matter more than being able to customise each plate.
Bear in mind: the flavour is set by the product, so check that it suits your guests before buying the multipack.
Choose these: to prepare a sharing dish with your choice of sauce and toppings.
Bear in mind: you’ll need to cook and season them, as well as prepare the other ingredients for the dish.
Choose these: if you want toppings to serve with the noodles at mealtime.
Bear in mind: these products don’t replace the noodles, and you’ll need to bring the components of the dish together.
| Criteria | What to check | Who is this for? |
|---|---|---|
| Portions and speed | Number of sachets and the weight of each; a fixed multipack or packs bought separately. | I want to serve individual portions without having to divide up a large pack at the last minute. This would be a priority for around 42% of consumers. |
| Putting the dish together | Type of noodles, stated portion sizes and preparation needed before adding sauce and toppings. | For a shared dish, I prefer to choose the toppings and seasoning myself. Around 33% of consumers would make this flexibility their priority. |
| Cupboard storage and ingredients | Ingredients and allergens in the exact pack; date, packaging and storage instructions. | Before storing and serving these products, I want to know what they contain and how to store them. This would be the main concern for around 25% of consumers. |
The noodle formats offered by Carrefour and Auchan include sachets and packs. A tin bought for the cupboard won’t necessarily provide the noodles you need for your dish.
Make separate lists for the noodles you need and any tins or jars intended as toppings, then check what’s actually in each pack.
An offer to buy three packs, such as Carrefour’s deal on SUZI WAN noodles, isn’t the same as a pack that already contains several sachets.
Check how many units are included in the product you choose rather than relying on how the offer is presented.
The product details for AUCHAN Chinese egg noodles list wheat and eggs. Ingredients in another product or flavour should be checked separately.
Read the ingredients, allergens and any ‘may contain’ warnings on the exact pack before serving several guests.
Individual packaging makes serving easier, but it doesn’t decide what else goes into the meal. 60 Millions de consommateurs, for example, identifies additives as one of the markers of ultra-processed instant noodles.
If you want to put together lunch with a separate sauce and toppings, compare noodles that need cooking too, and read the ingredients list on any instant multipacks you’re considering.
Auchan’s range and a Joybuy product listing include instant noodles in multipacks of five 60 g sachets.
Carrefour and Auchan list this brand’s egg noodles, rice noodles and udon for recipes you can customise.
E.Leclerc, for example, lists a 3 × 65 g multipack of duck-flavour instant noodles under this brand.
The brand offers 250 g Chinese egg noodles, listed as serving three, as well as wok noodles.
These five multipacks are for anyone looking to keep instant noodle portions handy for quick serving. For an Easter dish you can customise, choose noodles that need cooking and keep the toppings separate instead. Check the flavour, label and date on the multipack before serving.
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Worth considering if you want to serve instant noodles quickly to several guests.
The multipack contains five 60 g portions, with a vegetable flavour. Check the ingredients, allergens and storage instructions on the exact pack.
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This format is a good option if you’re looking for separate instant portions and the chicken flavour suits your meal.
The multipack contains five 75 g packs. Check the ingredients, allergens and preparation instructions on the packaging.
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Individual portions are handy for quick serving if the chicken flavour suits your guests.
The pack contains five 60 g portions. Check the allergens, date on the pack being sold and storage instructions.
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This multipack is for guests who specifically want a spicy seafood flavour rather than plain noodles to use as a base.
It contains five 120 g packs. Check the allergens and preparation instructions on the packaging before serving it.
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Consider this for individual portions if your guests enjoy a prawn flavour.
The multipack contains five 60 g packs. Read the ingredients and allergen information, as well as the preparation instructions on the pack you buy.
Not necessarily. The DGCCRF says that food with a best-before date can still be eaten after that date if the packaging is intact, although some of its qualities, such as its taste, may have changed. Check the condition of the pack and its storage conditions. Don’t apply this rule to a use-by date.
Check whether each pack has a use-by or best-before date. According to the DGCCRF, a use-by date is a strict deadline, while a best-before date relates to how well the product retains its quality. Also follow the storage instructions and any guidance for after opening.
First check the ingredients and allergen information on the specific pack. The product details for AUCHAN Chinese egg noodles list wheat and eggs, as well as possible traces of soya, milk, sesame, mustard and lupin. Don’t assume another product has the same ingredients.
A multipack gives you quick portions, but noodles with seasoning already included don’t meet the same need as noodles you cook and serve with separate toppings. If you’re planning a dish you can customise, choose noodles and accompaniments to suit your guests, then check the ingredients list on the products you’ve picked.