I've excerpted this recipe straight from my best-selling cookbook, Vegan Comfort Classics, just for you! It truly is the BEST vegan ramen recipe around.
I’m half-Japanese, but I’m not going to front like I’m some kind of ramen expert. I even read we stole it from China?! Anyway, this isn’t a history lesson, you just want noodles drowning in a well-rounded, rich, layered umami broth. So I’ve created a homemade ramen that’s less intimidating to make but just as decadent and flavourful as anything you’d order in a restaurant. And the best part, of course, is it’s all veggie-based!
This recipe is slightly more time-consuming but certainly not difficult to make. If you want an easier ramen to devour in minutes I have this recipe! But if you make the best vegan ramen I'd love to know your thoughts. Leave a comment below!
The tare is your main squeeze here. It's where all the flavor exists, bringing the salty, sweet, sour, and spiciness to this dish or, rather, umami!
The tofu bacon crumbles are optional—that recipe is in Vegan Comfort Classics—but they're like a fried pork substitute and are really tasty in this ramen. You could substitute your favorite vegan meat like ground round or sausage. Then crumble it and pan-fry it until crispy.
ingredients you need
- vegetable oil
- onions
- garlic bulbs
- sweet potatoes
- cremini mushrooms
- shitake mushrooms
- celery
- green onions
- carrot
- frozen corn
- fresh ginger
- napa cabbage
- kombu seaweed
- water
- low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- tahini
- red or white miso paste
- seasoned rice vinegar
- vegan-friendly ramen noodles
- sea salt
- ground pepper
- chili oil or sesame oil
how to make the best vegan ramen
Arrange onion halves, garlic bulbs, and diced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and there's charring on the vegetables.
In a large stockpot over medium heat add mushrooms, celery, green onions, ginger, and cabbage. Add the roasted onion halves and 1 of the roasted garlic bulbs.
Once the vegetables are wilted and cooked down, add salt, ground pepper, kombu, and water. Bring to a simmer for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, combine the tare ingredients together until smooth.
Strain the broth, but reserve any intact garlic cloves as well as mushrooms if you want to add them to the final ramen. Peel the remaining garlic bulb and add these cloves to a blender.
Blend a portion of broth with sweet potato and the roasted garlic cloves. Add this back to the strained broth in the pot and heat.
Cook noodles in a separate pot or in the hot broth in the stock pot.
Assemble the bowls of vegan ramen with toppings like corn, carrot, roasted sweet potatoes, tofu bacon crumbles etc.
hot tip
The broth and tare can be made ahead and refrigerated–you will reheat the broth but do not heat the tare. The tare is meant to have hot liquid poured over it rather than being heated in the stockpot. If you heat it in the stockpot it will separate and cloud rather than mesh nicely into the broth.
The tare can last in the fridge for up to 1 month, but do not freeze it. It's best to make it as you need it.
equipment
- large stock pot or Dutch oven (6 quart or larger)
- another large pot
- baking sheet
- colander
- small mixing bowl
- sharp knife
- measuring cups and spoons
the best vegan ramen
Ingredients
broth
- 2 onions, halved
- 2 garlic bulbs
- 2 large sweet potatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 C whole cremini mushrooms
- 2 C whole shitake mushrooms
- 2 celery stalks, quartered
- 3 green onions, quartered
- 2 thick slices of fresh ginger
- ½ head of napa cabbage, quartered
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon ground pepper
- 1 large piece kombu seaweed
- 12 C fresh water
tare
- ⅓ C low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- ⅓ C tahini
- 2 tablespoon red or white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
noodles & toppings
- 4 (3 oz/100 g) packs vegan-friendly ramen noodles
- 1 carrot, shredded or ribboned
- 1 C frozen corn, thawed & drained
- 4 green onions, sliced diagonally
- 1 C warmed Tofu Bacon Crumbles (optional)
- 3 teaspoon chili oil or sesame oil (optional)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
- On a large baking sheet arrange the onion halves, garlic bulbs, and diced sweet potatoes. Roast for 40 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through and there is charring on the vegetables.
- Heat vegetable oil in the stockpot over medium heat and combine the mushrooms, celery, green onions, ginger, and cabbage. Add the roasted onion halves and 1 of the roasted garlic bulbs (smashing it a bit to release the roasted garlic). Sauté for 10 minutes until the vegetables are wilted and cooked down a little. Add the salt, ground pepper, kombu, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour
- Meanwhile, combine the tare ingredients together until smooth and set aside. This can last in the fridge for up to 1 month but do not freeze it. It's best to make it as you need it.
- Strain the broth into another large pot or bowl that can hold about 11 cups of liquid. If you see any of the roasted garlic still intact, reserve the soft cloves, removing the skins. You can also reserve the mushrooms and add to the final bowls of ramen. Compost the strained vegetables! Clean the original stockpot and add the strained broth back in.
- In a blender, combine ½ cup of the roasted sweet potatoes with 1 cup of the strained broth, the roasted cloves from the remaining garlic bulb, and any roasted cloves you pulled from the broth. Blend until smooth and cloudy. Add this mixture to the stockpot of broth.
- To cook the noodles, bring the finished broth to a boil. Add the noodles and lower the heat to a simmer. They take about 3 minutes to cook. If you’re not serving all portions at the same time, only use the amount of broth and noodles you need. Alternatively, you can cook the ramen in a separate pot of boiling water. Drain but do not rinse. Then add the heated broth at serving. Store the remaining broth in the fridge and consume within 7 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Traditionally bowls are warmed before serving. You can heat them in a microwave or, if they’re oven safe, in a 325°F oven for a few minutes, but it’s not necessary. You can also reheat the remaining sweet potato and tofu bacon crumbles at this time.
- To serve, add 2 tablespoons of the tare in the bottom of each bowl. Top with 1 cup of the broth. Stir with a chopstick to mix together. Fill with approximately 1 ½ cups of broth, dependig on the size of the bowl, and add a portion of noodles. Top each serving with shredded carrot, corn, green onion, remainsed sweet potato pieces, and tofu bacon crumbles. Drizzle with chili oil, if desired, or with sesame oil if you don’t want spice.
Lauren Toyota
Lauren is a plant-based powerhouse, a former TV host turned wildly successful food creator, best-selling cookbook author, and the woman responsible for making vegan comfort food a thing worth craving. Through her blog and YouTube channel, hot for food, she’s amassed a dedicated following by recreating all the nostalgic, indulgent dishes we love—mac & cheese, burgers, cinnamon rolls—but making them entirely plant-based. No compromise on taste, no weird ingredients, just damn good food.