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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
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.
- 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.
You say to use sweet peppers – which peppers do you suggest?
We like red or yellow bell peppers.
Sooo good. This was more of a base inspiration as I had to alter the recipe a little though as my green onions went brown.. oh winter in the north !! So I had some cilantro so used that instead. I also have issues with soy.. so I went very light on the soy sauce and used lemon ( think lime would have been better?) to pop it out. I also used my own veg broth.
It was cold and drizzly today hovering around freezing point so it really hit the spot. Thank you!!
I made this last night – my first time making homemade ramen – and aside from utterly failing the soft-boiled eggs multiple times (which is not a fault of your recipe, but of my ineptitude with boiling eggs), this was FABULOUS. I’ve been a vegetarian for years but my husband is a carnivore. He is also the chef in the house. 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. Thank you so much.
We love to hear this! Thank you for making it :)
So yummy. I’ve made this twice and my family loves it. It’s quick and easy. Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed! :)
This was an awesome dish! First time making ramen, will definitely do it again. However, instead of cooking the noodles separately and then adding the broth, we just cooked the noodles right in the broth. Worked just as well, we’ll probably keep making it this way. All in all, great recipe!
SOME OF THESE COMMENTS. I’m so sorry you get so many people on here who don’t understand the difference between vegetarian/vegan. I get it if it’s different in another country, but the sheer amount here is mostly just ignorance. Lol, what the heck.
This recipe was DELICIOUS! I have also used the sauce to make a curry with chickpeas and rice instead of noodles, I just make it a little thicker
:)
Glad you enjoyed it! The curry idea is brilliant.
I made this for dinner. First time ever making ramen. I chose this recipe because I’m going on a 30 day plant based diet. It was absolutely delicious. Even my boys loved it!
I did not purchase the garlic chili sauce for garnishing- any ideas for substitutes?
Any spicy condiment would work — sriracha or kimchi would be good!
Tried this today and came out really well. Thank you for an awesome and easy recipe :)
This was so good. made it for my family and they can’t stop telling everyone abt it.
Please tell them not to stop! ;)
delicious!
Made this last night. We loved it! The broth was so wonderful and it was so easy to make. We did ours with Tofu and bok choy
Adding tofu is perfect! SO glad you enjoyed this one!
Omg some of the comments that people leave you!?
Just here to say that your ramen is a go-to in our family and without a doubt, my husband’s favorite meal I make. Thanks for sharing this treat with us! We love to make ours with kale ?
Haha! We’re SO so glad to hear that — especially that it’s your husband’s favorite! Love the idea of making this with kale — we’ve got to try that!
Can’t call yourself a vegetarian if you eat animsl derived foods. You’re an omnivore like the majority of the western world
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I have been a vegetarian for the last 5 years and I don’t eat meat but I eat dairy and eggs. Many of my friends are vegan, which means they don’t eat any animal derived products. This is a delicious recipe and you’re welcome to omit eggs if you don’t want them no need to spread hate towards the writers <3
Eggs in a vegetarian recipe? Um?
Sounds like you’re thinking of vegan! A vegetarian diet includes eggs and cheese; a vegan diet is all plant-based.
In my country, vegetarian people do not eat eggs but do eat dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt etc. It gets a bit confusing sometimes, for different locations it can mean different things.
The recipe looks delicious though. Will try without the eggs :D
Ahhh I see! Very interesting, what country are you in? Thank you so much and let us know if you try it without the egg!
This was awesome. We used baby bok Choi as the veggie and adds some tofu – it was fantastic!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it — great ideas for the additions!
Amazing, I love this recipe. I recommend adding lots of and pepper for some spice
Hi! can you please suggest substitutes for
a. reduced sodium soy sauce
b. mirin
thanks! ;)
Gloria, you could use regular soy sauce or Liquid Aminos instead of reduced sodium soy sauce. Mirin is a sweet rice wine, you could substitute dry sherry or dry white wine or rice vinegar and add a little sugar, about 1/2 tsp sugar per tbsp of wine/vinegar will be very close to the sweetness of Mirin.
Tasted great!
Am I missing something? At what poitpnt do you say what to do with the eggs?
^ please forgive my typo
Thanks for the note! I’ve added to garnish with the eggs in the recipe. Thank you!
An awesome, restaurant-quality recipe! Will definitely be adding this to the rotation!
Since when does a vegetarian recipe contain egg?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovo-lacto_vegetarianism
Lacto Vegetarian– Ovo Vegetarian– Lacto-ovo vegetarian– Pollotarian– Pescatarian– Flexitarian all kind of mumbo jumbo for hiding the fact that none of them are truly vegetarian..:-)
–
Hi Mac! I think you’re thinking of the term “vegan”, which uses no animal products. Our friends over at Minimalist Baker have a great vegan ramen recipe that you might enjoy: http://minimalistbaker.com/easy-vegan-ramen/
Hi Sonja
I’m being picky…I get fed up going to “vegetarian” recipes on the web and finding that they contain eggs, milk, cheese etc. None of which can even loosely be described as vegetables! I don’t call myself vegan or vegetarian. I prefer “following a plant based diet”.
Regards
Mac
Thanks Sonja I will give that one a try – it looks good.
Mac
Hi. Vegetarians eat eggs and dairy. Vegan does not. In fact vagan often doesn’t eat honey either.
I found this looking for a vegetarian ramen recipe for my daughter. Who is a vegetarian. Looks great thanks.
I’ve been a vegetarian most of my life and consume eggs and dairy. If you are looking for plant only recipes look for vegan, otherwise the only one you should be getting fed up with is yourself.
You’re thinking of vegans. Vegetarians eat everything except fish and meat whereas vegan don’t eat meat, fish or anything that is produced by animals such as eggs and milk etc.
vegetarian means no meat products, you are thinking vegan.
Oh wow. When I ate this I heard bells ringing and angels singing. I made it for dinner last night and everyone was singing its praises. Bravo! Absolutely delicious. I didn’t have ramen so I used thin Udon, but I’m guessing it had a similar taste. Thank you!
This was so good! I added a little sake, dashi, and sesame seeds for garnishing. Fabulous! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
This looks great. I can;t wait to try it. I’m going to leave the mushrooms out though.
Looking forward to making this, I will have to make a pit stop at Sakura’s!
Never met a noodle I didn’t love!! This veggie ramen looks amazing! Can’t wait to make it!!
I’m a big fan of noodle bowls in general. This looks like a great bowl to get us through the remainder of winter. And after listening to your podcast and hearing you joke about it taking two hours to shoot the photos, I’d say it paid off. They are beautiful and bright and all the elements show up well. :-)
Thank you! Perfect – not too far from me! I am going to stop there tomorrow.
Hi! I am a fellow ramen lover in Indianapolis. Which local Asian market do you prefer for those fresh ramen noodles? Thanks!
Great to meet you! We got our noodles in the freezer section in Sakura Mart (Keystone and 71st-ish). Let us know if you try them out!
I made this last night for dinner – with the noodles from Sakura Mart. So, so good! The homemade noodles make all the difference. Thank you!
I’ve never had vegetarian ramen!! This is absolutely gorgeous. Stunning photos!
It looks yummy and delicious. Trying this weekend. Pinned
This looks like a seriously perfect meal! I’m in love!
I’m so down with this yumminess! The veggie combination that you’ve added is perfection!
Eggs are vegetables?
This recipe is vegetarian, which includes dairy and eggs! To make it vegan, you could omit the egg.
Yes.