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Ramen is one of those universally loved dishes that can feel like a warm hug from the inside out. While traditional ramen features a rich, meaty broth, this vegetarian ramen recipe offers a delightful alternative that is just as satisfying and flavorful and vegan-friendly.
Whether you’re a full-time vegetarian, a plant-based foodie, or just wanting a light, vegetable-loaded comfort soup, this quick recipe is sure to become a favorite in your kitchen. Let’s dive into how to make this light and nourishing soup.
Tips for the Perfect Vegetarian Ramen
I’m not gonna lie, I feel fancy when eating ramen at a restaurant. Yet the reality is it can be quite affordable and tasty to make at home. You can buy Instant Ramen for $0.33 at the grocery store or spend $36 on a bowl at a restaurant in Aspen (I know from experience!). Vegetarian or not, this ramen recipe I’m sharing today is the best of both worlds using instant ramen noodles and ton of veggies.
- Make it Ahead: The broth can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen for longer storage. Just reheat and add noodles and veggies when you’re ready to eat.
- Broth Variations: Feel free to experiment with the broth. The shiitake mushrooms add extra depth, yet you can go even farther by tossing in kombu (dried seaweed), miso paste, fresh ginger root, garlic, or red chili paste while simmering to enhance the umami flavor.
- Noodle Choices: While instant ramen noodles work great, you can use traditional ramen noodles, soba noodles, udon, or millet ramen. If you’re on a gluten-free diet, use rice noodles or make zoodles, spiralized zucchini.
- Seasonal Vegetables: Use whatever vegetables you have on hand! Bell peppers, zucchini, spinach, or snap peas can be great additions. You can even swap fresh mushrooms for dried shiitake mushrooms or use both!
- Increase the protein by adding in tofu (you can fry it in the skillet with the veggies), nuts or seeds (ex: toasted pepitas or sesame seeds). With ramen, there’s really no wrong way to go!
- Spice it up: If you like spicy, add in some red chili oil, kimchi, sliced serrano peppers or a dash of cayenne pepper.
Vegan vs Vegetarian
Vegan and vegetarian ramen both use a vegetable broth base, yet the toppings can differ. If you’re vegan, you’ll strictly use vegetables, nuts and seeds. If you’re vegetarian, you can add a soft-boiled egg for additional protein.
How To Make Vegetarian Ramen
Prepare the ramen Broth
Start by creating a rich and flavorful broth that will serve as the backbone of your ramen. In a large pot, combine the vegetable stock (or vegetable broth) and water. Heat over medium-high heat until it starts to boil. Add the mushrooms, tamari (or soy sauce), and sesame oil. Bring it to a gentle simmer. If you like a bit of spice, add some chili paste during this step.
Cook the Noodles
Add the instant ramen noodles to the broth and cook according to package. Typically, 3-5 minutes. You can toss the flavoring packet that comes with your ramen noodles, or save it for the end and sprinkle a little on the broth if you think it needs a little extra.
Sauté the Vegetables
In a separate pan, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, cabbage and baby bok choy, cooking for about 3 minutes, just enough to gently toast it all. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Assemble the Ramen Bowls
Once your noodles are ready and vegetables are sautéed, it’s time to assemble your ramen bowls. Divide the noodles and veggies between bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles, ensuring each bowl gets a good amount. Top with crushed red pepper, green onions (scallions), thinly sliced radishes and chopped cilantro.
Serve and Enjoy
Serve vegetarian ramen while it’s hot and steamy. The beauty of ramen is that it’s completely customizable, so feel free to adjust the toppings and ingredients based on your preferences. Enjoy this warm, comforting bowl of goodness on a chilly day or any day you’re craving a nourishing meal.
Best Way to Store Ramen Leftovers
Ramen definitely tastes best eaten right away. If you need to store leftovers, keep toppings and sauteed vegetables separate until ready to reheat. You can store broth and noodles together in an airtight container and the toppings and veggies in a bag in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Ingredient Swaps
- Swap instant noodles for millet and brown rice ramen noodles to get a hearty They’re super delicious, and I can get a big bag at Costco.
- If you aren’t able to find baby bok choy, use swiss chard or spinach.
- Coconut aminos or white miso paste are great swaps for tamari.
- If you’re not a fan of mushrooms, leave them out or swap for another vegetable you really do enjoy.
Instant Vegetarian Ramen
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 2 packages instant ramen noodles
- ½ head baby bok choy halved
- ¼ cup red cabbage thinly sliced
- ¼ cup shredded carrot
- ¼ cup green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp tamari
For garnish
- red pepper flakes
- 1 radish
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a pot, bring the vegetable stock and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, tamari and sesame oil and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the ramen noodles and cook about 5 minutes, or until noodles are softened (refer to noodle package for more specific time).
- In a separate pan, saute the carrots, bok choy and cabbage for 3-5 minutes, until gently toasted. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Divide vegetables and noodles between bowls and ladle broth on top.
- Top with green onions, crushed red pepper, radishes and cilantro.
Notes
- Short on time? Skip sauteeing the veggies and toss right into the broth!
- Swap vegetable broth with miso broth or mushroom broth.
- Swap ramen noodles for spiralized zucchini for a grain-free version.
- Swap fresh shiitake mushrooms for dried shiitake mushrooms.
I’ve been looking for a Ramen soup recipe that I like and this one fits the bill! Easy & flavorful. I made it exactly as written and can’t wait to make it again.
You’re so right, this one is super easy to throw together!
Loved this one too! I made it with miso and skipped the red pepper flakes and cilantro. Will be making it again
Miso is a great idea, Manuela!
Simple and tasty ramen! As suggested, I used miso instead of vegetable stock and it was a great miso ramen.
So glad you like this one, Yayoi!
I’m going a little out of order with the soup challenge (due to ingredient availability). Modified it a bit… First, sautéed the chunky part of the bok choy as well as the red cabbage in sesame oil, then took it out of the pot, broth in pot. Meanwhile, cooked some udon noodles and spiralized one zucchini. Drizzled a bit low sodium soy sauce on the zoodles (didn’t have tamari). Added a good squirt of Sriracha and little squirt of white miso paste to the broth. Then dumped everything (udon, zoodles, sautéed and fresh veggies (thinly sliced green onions, green part of bok choy and shaved carrots)) in the pot. Quick stir, off the pot and into bowls. Yummy!
Hi Daria! No worries on going out of order. Sounds like your version turned out great!
Loved this! Added a bit more salt and pepper, as I did in most of the other soup recipes as well.
So glad you liked the ramen!
Day 9 was easy and quick to make and for me that’s a 5 star! I think one could use just about any veggies as the base is receptive to them all. It’s a canvas waiting for paint really. You can add whatever spices and flavors you like. I used 1/2 the ramen to lower the carbs and I think next time I make this I’ll cook the ramen separately.
You’re so right, K.B. You can’t go wrong with any veggie in this one!
Not my favorite soup. I’m not a huge fan of cabbage or bok choy. It also seemed a little bland to me. I think more tamari might have helped…
Hi Becky! More tamari is a great idea!
Almost there.
Hi Ingrid! Glad you like this one!
I started a few days late. But finished. Yeah! Just wanted to let you know Jen, I enjoyed all the soups. I saved the Ramen until last and savored it with friends. With several cooks in the kitchen, we made some tweeks along the way. But the soup was delicious. We did cook the veggies to tender in the broth, chopped the baby bok choy, and added the fresh sliced radish as a topping. One friend dropped an egg in her soup. Not vegetarian I know. Thanks for all of your encouragement. May you continue to be blessed on your journey.
Found the recipe quite enjoyable. Hadn’t used bok choy before. This makes a nice presentation in a bowl.
I’ve never had a Ramen bowl but this was so good. Very fresh and a rainbow of veggies. Fairly simple and light.
So good! Plus easy to make and versatile! This has been my favorite so far.
This one was ok….our granddaughter liked it the best.
Love Ramen bowl. Never made it at home. Eady and delicious
Gorgeous to look at; feast for eyes & tastebuds alike. Living in Richmond / Vancouver Canada, we have a huge Asian population so things like bok choy are readily available. For the Ramen noodles, I used organic konjac noodles… konjac flour and oat fibre [“Better than Noodles” brand(?)] current brand available from London Drugs. Almost no sodium, very low cal, high fibre. Ready to eat; just rinse and add. Previous brand they had was partly soy so this one is nice . It’s a Chinese product and the “noodles” are curly like ramen versus the spaghetti version. Used my own broth. Yum!!
I do not know how to evaluate this soup. It was so different from anything I have ever made or tried. I made one quarter of the recipe and it was like a double portion for me. By the time I got it all together, it was lukewarm, so I microwaved it a minute. The fresh vegetables were better than I expected. I really enjoyed the bok choy which I do not think I have ever had before. I will make this again to use up the rest of the ingredients. Maybe I will get better at it. While I am not that fond of fresh vegetables, they are making me feel healthier.