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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.
This soup is delicious! I have never made Ramen before but I definitely will be making it again! I love the fresh veggies (I added broccoli and asparagus to the mix) with the cooked noodles and broth. Yes please to seconds
The Vegetarian Ramen Soup is PERFECT! We love the vegetable mix in the soup base and the sesame oil and tamari added excellent flavor. My husband especially liked the ramen noodles. Will definitely do a repeat.
Loved this soup! Veggies were good with broth poured over. Next time tho I will cut the Bok choy and cabbage into smaller pieces.
This soup uses many vegetables that I rarely eat. Like all the soups I am thrilled to have new ways to incorporate different tastes in my soup. This one was really delicious.
Yum yum yum for my tum tum tum!!! I followed your suggestion and used spiralized zucchini noodles for the grain-free option and also used my own mushroom broth. This was super tasty and easy to make. I never had lotus noodles before but picked up a bag from COSTCO & they’re delicious. I used coconut aminos instead of tamari and the toasted sesame oil gave it a nice flavor on top. I liked the fact that the vegetables are al dente.
Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Love this. So easy to make and healthy
This sounds easy. I wil try it soon.
I never even thought of making yummy ramen at home. I’m so dead I found this recipe.
I was going to skip this one since we don’t eat ramen noodles, but decided to try it with whole wheat rotinis instead. It was good but probably would have been better with Ramen. I loaded it with mushrooms to give it more of a mushroom flavor which I liked. I doubt I will make this again, but it was fun experimenting!
Gorgeous soup! Really fun to put together and see the colorful vegetables all in one beautiful bowl! Love the recipe just as you have it. But this one could so easily be adjusted to anyone’s liking/dietary restrictions or preferences. Will definitely be making this one again.
I’m not a fan of Raman but this was definitely better than the prepackaged instant variety. The vegetables were cooked just right.
This one lacked flavor. Perhaps adding in miso or if not having vegan, also cracking an egg and/or adding fish stock. I did like the vegetables, and sauteed the mushrooms and bok choy in advance so I had a nice mix of textures that I enjoyed.
I ended up with the larger bok choy due to limited produce in the stores. I had to give it a few minutes in the broth prior to make sure it was blanched enough to eat. Which is great I loved that I had a larger portion. I also added some garlic and ginger in my broth for extra flavor. This is lunch at work!
We are big on ramen in the house and hot pots. I like certain flavors in it. The veggie choices are awesome. I started thinking of all the other veggies I could add later: bean curd, pea shoots, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower , sweet potato cubes, spinach, watercress, bell peppers, mini tomato, asparagus, etc.
This meal was very colorful, bright, had good texture with nice flavors.
Beautiful meal overall. I would for sure make again
Comfort food at its best! Love it!
So good@
Oh my goodness!!! Yum!
You state, “vegetarian ramen can still use a meat-based broth”. In WHAT universe do vegetarians eat meat????
Hi Jenna, I understand your confusion. Of course, using a meat-based broth would change what we call this recipe from Simple Vegetarian Ramen to just Simple Ramen. We just wanted to point out that using a chicken or beef broth would still make for a delicious recipe for those who still allow meat into their diets. It all comes down to the individual preparing and eating the recipe. 🙂