This easy vegetarian ramen recipe makes a bowl of deep, slurpable umami in 35 minutes, with a savory broth, shiitakes, and a jammy soft-boiled egg.
It takes a little more time for food trends to filter their way over to the Midwest, but you can finally actually get great ramen here in Indianapolis: fresh noodles with complex savory broth and loads of delicious toppings.
This easy vegetarian ramen recipe is inspired by Alex and my trip to eat ramen at a local restaurant: and man is it good! It can be difficult to harness savory meaty flavors in a meatless ramen broth, but this vegetarian ramen delivers.
Why You’ll Love This Vegetarian Ramen
- It’s a weeknight recipe. Traditional ramen broth simmers for hours, but this one has some shortcuts and is done in 35 minutes.
- The flavor is layered and delicious. Sesame oil, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and mirin combine with shiitake mushrooms to create incredible flavor.
- It’s customizable. Swap the vegetables with the seasons: it’s a great base recipe that works with whatever you have on hand.
5 Star Reader Review
“I made this last night – my first time making homemade ramen and this was FABULOUS. I’ve been a vegetarian for years but my husband is a carnivore. He could not stop raving about how much he loved this dish. It’s going to be a staple in our house from now on!” -Rachel
Key Ingredients For Umami Without Meat
The big challenge making a vegetarian ramen is that ramen broth is intensely savory, loaded with umami (that fifth savory flavor). When I went to recreate my favorite restaurant ramen in my kitchen, I couldn’t quite create the savory broth flavor I was looking for. I soon landed on a variation: instead of dark, meaty and savory, let’s got for light and fresh vegetarian ramen!
Here’s what you’ll need for this vegetarian ramen so it has plenty of savory notes:
- Good vegetable broth. Store-bought works, but homemade vegetable broth is noticeably better. This mushroom broth would also be great.
- Shiitake mushrooms. The biggest umami contributor by far — rich in glutamates, and they season the broth as they simmer. Try my method for sautéed shiitake mushrooms as a side.
- Soy sauce. Salt plus fermented depth. I use reduced sodium so I control the seasoning at the end.
- Mirin. A single tablespoon of this sweet rice wine rounds off the sharp edges. No bottle on hand? Here’s my go-to mirin substitute.
- Toasted sesame oil. Nutty and aromatic. Don’t skip it.
How To Make Vegetarian Ramen
This vegetarian ramen is quick and heavy on the vegetables: greens, shiitake mushrooms, peppers, green onion, radishes. To top it off, I was able to find fresh ramen noodles from our local Asian grocery. Here are the basic steps for how to make vegetarian ramen (or scroll down for the full recipe):
- Find fresh ramen noodles: not the 50 cent pack kind! Many grocery stores now have fresh ramen noodles; you can also check at Asian or international groceries.
- Soft boil the eggs. See the instructions below.
- Make the broth. Saute minced garlic and ginger, then add veggie broth, soy sauce and mirin. Then add the mushrooms, greens, peppers, and green onions to cook in the broth.
- Cook the noodles. Cook the ramen noodles in a separate pot by boiling them for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Garnish and serve. Add the noodles, veggies and broth to a bowl. Top with soft boiled egg, sliced radishes, and chili sauce.
Which Ramen Noodles To Buy
The noodles in a 50-cent instant packet aren’t what you’re going for here. Here are three good options:
- Fresh or frozen ramen noodles. The best texture by far: springy and chewy. I usually find mine in the freezer section of my local Asian grocery, but you can also sometimes find them in mainstream grocery stores.
- Dried noodle bricks, packet discarded. This works as a workaround if need be!
- Rice noodles or soba. A gluten-free-friendly option, though the texture differs. Also try my soba noodle bowl.
How To Make It Vegan Ramen
If you’re looking for a vegan ramen recipe, I’d recommend my tofu ramen recipe, full of savory veggies and protein packed tofu. Adding tofu is essential for a vegan ramen to make it filling enough. You can also modify this recipe by doing the following:
- Omit the soft-boiled egg.
- Add cubed tofu in the last 5 minutes of the simmer time. You’ll likely need more seasoning for the tofu, so season with salt until the flavor pops or add a splash of soy sauce.
- Some ramen noodles also contain eggs, so check the ingredients in your noodles to ensure they are vegan or replace with rice noodles.
Storage And Make Ahead
Ramen is best assembled fresh, but you can refrigerate the broth and vegetables in an airtight container for up to 4 days and reheat gently on the stovetop. Store cooked noodles separately: sitting in broth overnight makes them absorb all the liquid. Peeled soft-boiled eggs keep for up to 3 days.
Dietary Notes
This vegetarian ramen recipe is vegetarian, dairy-free, and vegan-adaptable.
Easy Vegetarian Ramen
Pin RecipeThis easy vegetarian ramen recipe makes a bowl of deep, slurpable umami in 35 minutes, with a savory broth, shiitakes, and a jammy soft-boiled egg.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1-inch nub ginger root (1 tablespoon minced ginger)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 quart vegetable broth (or Mushroom Broth)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
- 4 cups young baby greens (we used a mix of young Asian greens and tatsoi)
- 3 sweet peppers (optional)
- 3 green onions
- 16 ounces ramen noodles (fresh if possible)*
- 4 radishes, for garnish
- Purchased garlic chili sauce, for garnish
Instructions
- Soft boil the eggs: Fill a medium pot of water and bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Gently lower the eggs into the water with a spoon and simmer for 7 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water. When the eggs are done, place them in the ice bath and let them cool completely, then gently peel.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the garlic. Peel and mince the ginger.
- In another large pot or Dutch oven, heat the sesame oil and olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Add the soy sauce and mirin.
- Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and thinly slice them. If necessary, wash the greens. Thinly slice the peppers and slice the green onions (cut the green onions on the bias). Thinly slice the radishes for a garnish, and set aside. Place the mushrooms in the broth and cook 5 minutes. Add peppers, green onion and greens and cook for 1 minute. Taste the broth and season with salt until the flavor pops, adding a splash of soy sauce if needed.
- In the pot used for the eggs, bring fresh water to a boil and boil the ramen noodles until just tender, around 2 to 3 minutes, then drain.
- To serve, place noodles in a bowl and top with broth, vegetables, and soft-boiled eggs. Garnish with radishes and garlic chili sauce.
Notes
*I find my fresh ramen in the frozen section in my local Asian grocery. If you can’t find fresh ramen, you can use packaged ramen without the flavor packet. For a vegan ramen, omit egg and ensure pasta does not contain egg.
More Noodle Bowls And Vegetarian Dinners
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