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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.
Another soup challenge winner. Not the salty ramen from memory, yet still flavorful. The green onions and cilantro give a nice freshness to the soup.
Good. Not vegetarian so I used beef broth and threw in a few slices of london broil but it made a pretty good dinner.
Oh, I forgot to say I added some zoodles and used less ramen.
Bringing in the zoodles— woooooot! That’s a great idea, honestly. A blend of noodles and noodles is genius.
Such a refreshing soup. I have never made a ramen soup and really enjoyed it. The red pepper flakes added a great flavor and I did not miss the lack of salt. Will definitely make again.
This was awesome! I have not eaten ramen in probably 30 years. I always considered it cheap food for college students, but this recipe is gourmet, all the way. I used mushroom broth as the base and olive oil rather than sesame oil. Instead of carrots I zoodled a sweet potato. This was one delicious noodle bowl!
Way to go on the mushroom broth, Liz! I have some in my pantry and was contemplating using it. You did awesome and I’m glad ramen has made a comeback for you!
This Ramen is incredible!!!!
I will try to make this recipe today… My son loves Tofu so I will be adding some, thank you! Can’t wait to try all the recipes!
Tofu is such an easy win in this soup. Hope you guys like it!
Started the soup challenge early and out of order because I had just bought baby bok choy and napa cabbage and wanted to use while they were fresh. Never really ate ramen soup. In college and early years of marriage I would cook the noodles, drain and sprinkle some of the seasoning packet on for seasoning.
Made this soup yesterday with only a few changes, baby bellas instead of shitake, napa for red cabbage, and added yellow bell pepper. Delicious! Only made half and it was still too much, so I had the rest for lunch today adding more veggies and a cup of broth.
Today and in the future, I’ll forget presentation, break leaves off my bok choy for easier washing and cut in strips. I still don’t know how people clean bok choy while leaving it whole. I’ll also just let my veggies simmer in the broth.
This soup was beautiful to look at. I would reduce the amount of each vegetable in this soup. I was way too much. I also think I would saute the veggies a little before adding.
Both are awesome ideas to make this one to your own taste!
I love the miso flavor type soups.I cut up my veggies smaller which made it a hit!
So glad you liked this one, Doris!
I will be making this soup again tomorrow. I will sauté the vegetables just a little to make them a bit softer. Great soup and very filling.
That’s a great idea, Tammy!
So easy, delicious, and healthy! I was surprised how filling it was as well.
Glad you liked this one, Caitlin!
a very light refreshing soup. will probably make again but use vegs i have on hand rather then buying special.
This is a great one to throw whatever you have into it, Janet!
I had company over the weekend and make this for lunch on Saturday. The toasted sesame oil and tamari added wonderful flavor to the soup. Next time I am going to use zucchini noodles instead of ramen.
I had company over the weekend and made this for lunch. It was delicious. The combination of tamari and sesame oil was very tasty. Next time I make it, I think I will use zucchini noodles instead of ramen and see how it turns out.
The zucchini noodles are great too!
Excellent soup! I used my homemade vegetable broth and sweet potatoes instead of Ramen noodles. I also used bok choy instead of baby bok choy. I sliced very thin. I also decided to sauté the cabbage, bok choy, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. This soup is very good. I will try my next batch with the ramen noodles to see if I like it better. For me the soup is a home run. Really really good.
Sounds delish, Janie!
Excellent Ramen! I did cook the veggies because I like them softer. It was the easiest of all the soups to make!
Love that you made it your own and cooked the veggies a little longer!