Nothing beats a quick cup of instant noodles. Students live on them. Your favorite Final Fantasy characters swear by them. And they’re about to get even better. Nissin is finally releasing a Cup of Noodles (well, technically just a Cup Noodles) that you can prepare without any heat.
The food manufacturer revealed the revolutionary new consumable in a press release on its website. “For the first time in its 55-year history, ‘Chilled Cup Noodles’ are not suitable for use with boiling water!” reads the Google machine translation of the announcement. The summer noodles use a patented “cold rehydrate method” to soften without boiling water. Pour in refrigerator-temperature water, wait five minutes, and boom, you should have something mildly delicious that you can slurp down in a pinch.
冷水はやべぇだろ、カプヌに#冷しカップヌードル#冷水専用#7月20日新発売 pic.twitter.com/2OUmCLc4eb
— カップヌードル (@cupnoodle_jp) July 13, 2026
The first two cold noodle cup flavors will be Spicy Kimchi and Salt Lemon. They release in Japan on July 20. Nissin is promising a “firm yet smooth texture” for the experimental new noodles that, for the first time in the company’s 55-year history, are “not meant to be eaten with hot water.”
Those of us in a rush or sweltering in the summer heat who have been dunking our noodles into ice cube baths now have a potentially better option. Or maybe you’re taking a break at soccer practice and want to use some of your thermos water to begin prepping a snack for the ride home. We’re truly living in the future we always dreamed of. Well, those of us in Japan, at least. No word yet on if or when these space-age foods will arrive stateside.
