This Vegan Ramen is made with a flavorful miso mushroom broth! A delicious ramen recipe with mushrooms, crispy tofu, bok choy, and ramen noodles. One of our favorite vegan recipes on the blog! Plus a simple tip to making this “creamy”! 
Vegan Ramen with Miso Shiitake Broth with tofu and veggies in a bowl
Sumptuous and oozing with flavor, a good bowl of Ramen is pure comfort food. Here’s a recipe for Vegan Ramen that is made with a flavorful, rich Miso Shiitake Broth. This is actually one of the oldest recipes on the blog that desperately needed a little updating. I simplified the recipe and updated the photos… I hope you like it!
What I love about this recipe, is you can meal-prep the flavorful broth on a Sunday, then store it in the fridge in a jar, for the busy workweek, heating it up as you need it, pouring it over noodles and veggies. Deeply satisfying and nurturing.

VEGAN RAMEN! | 45-second Video


While in Japan, we tried many different types of Ramen. I can honestly say, that every single bowl I had there was a mind-blowing experience. Every bowl was the best bowl of ramen, I’d ever had. It’s crazy how nuanced and different each one was, each with a personality of its own.  Anyways, I’ll never forget it.

How to make Vegan Ramen:

Make the Broth

This recipe starts with flavorful miso mushroom broth! It’s hard to believe the broth is totally plant-based, it has so much flavor!
vegan ramen broth
  1. Deeply caramelize the onions (you could even char them over a wood fire!)
  2. Add veggie stock, water and dried shiitake or fresh mushrooms.
  3. Add a sheet of  Kombu, dried kelp found in Asian markets adds complexity and depth.
  4. Add a splash of MIRIN
  5. Miso paste! Use this instead of soy sauce, for better flavor.
kombu (dried seaweed) for ramen broth

WHAT IS KOMBU?

It’s basically a type of sea kelp, that adds complexity, depth and that delicious umami flavor we all crave.  It’s different than nori (nori is seaweed, kombu is kelp). It is typically used in Japanese cooking to make Dashi Broth. Here we are borrowing that idea for this vegan ramen broth. Now you can leave the kombu out, if in a pinch, but to elevate this, add the Kombu!
Make sure to rinse the Kombu first before placing it in the stockpot with other ingredients.
Bring to a boil and turn heat down to medium, and simmer  30 minutes (uncovered), remove kombu and season, this will impart depth and complexity to the ramen broth.
tongs picking Kombu out of the broth
TIP: For a “creamy” style ramen broth, blend up the broth after it’s cooked – those tender shiitakes will give it a delicious creaminess! Or leave it unblended and brothy- up to you!
blending the vegan ramen broth to make it creamy

Prep veggies and tofu

While the flavorful broth is simmering, prep any other veggies. In winter, I’ll add roasted veggies, in summer, fresh crunchy veggies.
Today I’ve added baby bok choy, fresh shiitake mushrooms and crispy tofu.
bok chow and shiitakes sautéing in a pan
Make some simple Crispy Tofu.
cooking crispy tofu in a skillet

Cook the Ramen Noodles

fresh ramen noodles

There are two main types of ramen noodles used for ramen, yellow egg noodles, and white flour noodles. In the past, yellow egg noodles were the most common – these are the type found in most dried ramen packages.

Recently, flour noodles have been gaining in popularity. The two types differ in size and texture. Egg noodles are fairly thin, firm to the palate, and slightly curly. Flour noodles are soft and wide.

Many Japanese say that the ramen noodles found in the United States lack the depth of flavor because of the absence of kansui, a highly alkaline mineral water found in Asia. Some chefs use baking soda in their noodles to approximate the flavor.

These ramen noodles shown above are freshly made, vegan, all-flour noodles, available in the refrigerated section at the Asian market. To cook, follow the directions on the package. You could also use gluten-free rice noodles.

cooking the ramen noodles in a pot of water

Prep The RAMEN TOPPINGs ( optional)

  • seaweed (nori),
  • other veggies: bamboo shoots, corn, carrots, daikon, cabbage, enoke mushrooms
  • scallions,
  • pickled vegetables
  • soft jammy boiled egg- obviously not vegan. 😉

And I love these little enoki mushrooms for garnish – just use fresh and raw! They are so tiny they will cook enough in the ramen broth.

a package of enoki mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms (also referred to as the velvet shank) are delicate yet flavorful mushrooms that grow on tree trunks, roots and branches mostly found in Japan.

Assemenble the vegan Ramen

Begin filling your veggie ramen bowls with noodles first,  then the toppings.

I love adding a piece of toasted nori to the bowl- it gives it a delicious flavor.

assembling the ramen in a bowl

Then top with your veggies (bok choy and mushrooms) and garnishes. You could also try your hand at Smoked Mushrooms! Super easy and flavorful!!!

Vegan Ramen with Miso Shiitake Broth- an easy healthy ramen with mushrooms, tofu, Bok Choy and scallions. Plus a simple tip to making this "creamy". #veganramen #easyramen #bestramen #vegetarianramen #ramen

Then pour the steaming hot vegan ramen broth over top.

Pouring the broth over the noodles, veggies and tofu.

Season with sesame oil, and sriracha sauce if you like.

Vegan Ramen with Miso Shiitake Broth- an easy healthy ramen with mushrooms, tofu, Bok Choy and scallions. Plus a simple tip to making this "creamy". #veganramen #easyramen #bestramen #vegetarianramen #ramen

I love adding something crunchy and fresh for texture- these watermelon radishes are nice or try daikon radish or Japanese pickles.

Vegan Ramen with Miso Shiitake Broth in a bowl with tofu, veggies, scallions and chopsticks

Sprinkle with sesame seeds or Furikake, and a little drizzle of sesame oil… and Slurp Away!

Three components to ramen

  1. The broth
  2. The noodles
  3. The toppings

Four most popular types of ramen broth

  1. Miso ramen, which is miso-based – like this one!
  2. Shio Ramen with its clear, light-bodied salty chicken broth
  3. Shoyu Ramen, a soy sauce flavored chicken broth
  4. Tonkotsu ramen, a rich pork-based broth, which is fatty and milky white in color.

Let us know how you like this recipe for Vegan Ramen in the comments below!

xoxo

Sylvia

More vegan recipes you may like:

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Vegan Ramen with Miso Shiitake Broth- an easy healthy ramen with mushrooms, tofu, Bok Choy and scallions. Plus a simple tip to making this "creamy". #veganramen #easyramen #bestramen #vegetarianramen #ramen

Vegan Ramen

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 43 reviews

Description

Vegan Raman with Mushroom Broth – a simple delicious recipe for making the most flavorful bowl of vegan ramen soup!


Ingredients

Units Scale

Flavorful Vegan Ramen Broth:

  • 1 large onion-diced
  • 2 smashed garlic cloves
  • 12 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 cups veggie stock
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/2 cup dried Shiitake Mushrooms, broken into small pieces (see notes )
  • 1 sheet Kombu seaweed (available at Asian markets) –optional, but good!
  • 1/8 cup mirin ( Japanese cooking wine)
  • 12 tablespoons white miso paste
  • pepper to taste
  • for spicy, add sriracha to taste, or hot chili oil

RAMEN:

  1. 68 ounces Ramen Noodles
  2. 8 ounces Cubed Crispy Tofu
  3. Optional veggies: Steamed or sauteed bok choy, fresh spinach, shredded carrots or cabbage, roasted winter squash, roasted cauliflower, roasted carrots, roasted sweet potato, sauteed mushrooms, smoked mushrooms, baby corn, Bamboo shoots, Enoki mushrooms, Kimchi, Soft boiled eggs (obviously not vegan) daikon radish, pickled radish, fresh herbs.
  4. Garnishes: scallions, Furikake or toasted sesame seeds, sriracha and sesame oil

Instructions

  1. If adding roasted veggies, do this first. Toss bite-sized pieces, with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and roast in a 400F oven until fork tender.
  2. Make the BROTH: Over medium-high heat, saute the onion in 1 tablespoon oil until tender about 3 minutes. Turn heat to medium, add the smashed garlic cloves and continue cooking the onions until they are deeply golden brown.  Add the veggie stock, water, dried shiitakes, a sheet of kombu (rinsed) and mirin. Bring to a Simmer.
  3. Simmer for 25-30 minutes uncovered on med heat, then remove the KombuAdd the  miso, and pepper to taste. Adjust salt to your liking  (feel free to add salt, soy or more miso). Keep warm.  FYI: If this reduces too much it may become salty…. simply add a little water to taste.
  4. While the broth is simmering, cook the ramen noodles in a pot of boiling water, according to directions. Drain. Toss with sesame oil to keep separated.
  5. Prep other veggies and other toppings. Feel free to steam bok choy or fresh spinach, or saute them until just tender. If using mushrooms, saute in a little oil until tender (or smoke! see post) seasoning with salt and pepper. Use a combo of fresh and cooked veggies for the best texture. 🙂  Make the crispy tofu!

Assemble Ramen Bowls: 

  1. Fill bowls with cooked noodles, crispy tofu and any other veggies you want. Pour the flavorful Shiitake broth over top. Garnish with a little drizzle of sesame oil and sriracha. Top with scallions and sesame seeds.
  2. Serve immediately.

Notes

Make sure to break or chop the dried shitakes into small pieces.

OPTIONAL: To make a Creamy broth: Blend the finished broth in a blender.  The shiitake mushrooms will give the broth a rich creaminess. Or you could blend half the broth for semi-creamy. 🙂

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 335
  • Sugar: 10.1 g
  • Sodium: 1295.8 mg
  • Fat: 13.8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
  • Carbohydrates: 59.5 g
  • Fiber: 4.3 g
  • Protein: 13.9 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Comments

  1. This was fabulous as has been every recipe I have tried that you have created. I cooked the noodles separately and added them to each individual bowl so that leftovers would no soak up all of the broth. I also added some mild miso to the broth for added umami. Thanks for another delicious recipe.

  2. I made this for the family tonight and everyone loved it, even the pickiest teenager ever. I will definitely be making this again and again.






  3. Hi Sylvia,

    Thank you for this and every delicious recipe you have the blog, truly inspiring!
    One question, may I substitute the mushrooms in the broth with bonito flakes?

  4. This was delicious. The only thing I did do is that I added some oyster sauce. It was so wonderfully flavored.






  5. This was super delicious! Would not recommend blending it while hot, my blenders top came off and it went everywhere. A few burns and a mess clean up. Apart from that the broth is amazing!

    1. Oh dear- sorry about that. Yes, if blending warm liquid, cover the lid with a towel, hold it down tightly and start on low speed.

  6. Amazing! Hit the spot with this recipe. So glad it’s easy to make and delicious.
    I have recently found your website and am loving all of your recipes as I try to eat more plant based. Thank you for wonderful and exciting recipes!






  7. Completely delicious!!! Lots of “Mmmm” going on at our table while this was being devoured. Pickled daikon, fresh cilantro, hot chili oil were perfect accents. Will definitely make again!






  8. Hi Sylvia,

    I love your recipes! They are all so good!!! Thank you for sharing.

    I made this two days ago but the broth was kind of thick when I blended it in my commercial grade blender. My question to you is, is it supposed to be thick? It was almost too creamy instead of like a broth. Is it because I added too much shiitake mushrooms?

    Please comment. Thanks again.






    1. Hi, yes, it can get a little thick when blended. I usually don’t blend or only blend a few of the mushrooms. 🙂

  9. Absolutely amazing!!!! So flavorful!!! I made the crispy tofu, with carrots, baby bok Choy, and white mushrooms to top. I used nori instead of kombu since that’s what I had. My taste buds and stomach are so happy! Thank you thank you!!






  10. We loved this soup so much! I was hoping to add fresh shiitakes next time. Would I still be using the dried ones, too? Thank you!






    1. Hi Alesha! I think the broth would be fine frozen, but I might leave the noodles separate, they could get soggy.

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