How many ramen lovers do we have out there? Ramen is a de facto food trend. Being landlocked here in the Midwest, it takes a little more time for food trends to filter their way over. But Indianapolis’s food scene is growing (so says Bon Appetit) and with it, we can now get real ramen here in Indy! “Real” ramen being fresh noodle ramen with complex savory broth, not the 50-cent flavor-packet variety. This easy vegetarian ramen recipe is inspired by Alex and my trip to eat ramen at a local restaurant: and man is it good! While it can be difficult to harness savory meaty flavors in a meatless ramen broth, this vegetarian ramen delivers.
The inspiration behind this vegetarian ramen
How do Alex and I get inspiration for our recipes? One of our favorites is to go out to restaurants and taste new flavor combinations. We love travelling the globe to find inspiration, but often we find inspiration at restaurants here in Indianapolis. Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines are our comfort zone for creating recipes. But after grabbing ramen at a local restaurant (Rook) this weekend, we were inspired to up our ramen game. Our restaurant ramen experience was fantastic. The savory broth was full of umami (that fifth savory sense), the curly noodles were fresh and chewy, and it was topped with a creamy poached egg. And if you’re me and Alex, it was all doused in spicy sriracha. Yes, to us it was the ultimate comfort food in a bowl. The ramen we had there had meat in it, but we decided it was time. We needed a good vegetarian ramen recipe to make at home.
How to make vegetarian ramen
Now, the big challenge making a vegetarian ramen is that ramen broth is intensely savory. How do you get big flavor using no meat? When Alex and I went to recreate our restaurant ramen it to our kitchen, we couldn’t quite create the savory broth flavor we were looking for. (But not for lack of trying.) We went through various iterations before we settled on a new theme. Instead of dark, meaty and savory, let’s got for light and fresh vegetarian ramen! This vegetarian ramen is quick, easy and fresh, made with vegetable broth and aromatics like ginger and garlic. It’s heavy on the vegetables: greens, shiitake mushrooms, peppers, green onion, radishes. And to top it off, we were able to find fresh ramen noodles from our local Asian grocery. Here are the basic steps for how to make vegetarian ramen (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.
And that’s it! Let us know if you try our vegetarian ramen recipe in the comments below. And if you’re looking for a vegan ramen recipe…keep reading!
Make it a vegan ramen recipe
If you’re looking for a vegan ramen recipe, might we recommend our tofu ramen? This one is full of savory veggies and protein packed tofu. Adding tofu is essential for a vegan ramen to make it filling enough. Or, you can use this recipe with a few modifications. Here’s what we’d recommend:
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.
Looking for vegetarian dinner recipes?
Outside of this easy vegetarian ramen recipe, here are a few vegetarian dinner recipes:
Quick Dinner Idea: 5 Minute Tacos Tomato Coconut Cauliflower Curry Mexican Sweet Potatoes Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Soup Classic Vegetarian Chili Best Veggie Burger Recipe Easy Calzone Recipe All our Healthy Dinner Recipes!
4.9 from 9 reviews
