If you’ve ever been struck by a late-night craving for a comforting bowl of ramen but didn’t want to make a mess in the kitchen, this recipe is for you.
This Easy Vegan Miso Ramen comes together in just 15 minutes! (Seriously, I timed it.) It requires just one small pot to boil the noodles and veggies, and the rest comes together right in your bowl. It delivers deep savory flavor and velvety texture.
Table of Contents
Quick Recipe Overview
- Flavor & Texture: A creamy and savory umami broth with springy noodles, tender broccoli, and hearty tofu cubes.
- Total Time: 15 minutes (5 minutes prep, 10 minutes cook time).
- Method: Single-pot noodle and vegetable boil combined with an in-bowl emulsified tare.
- Pro Tip: Use a microplane to grate your garlic and ginger into a fine paste rather than mincing with a knife. Because the aromatics aren’t being sautéed in hot oil, large pieces will stay basically raw, while a fine paste dissolves instantly into the hot broth.
Why You’ll Love this Easy Ramen
- Minimal cleanup: Boil your noodles, tofu and veggies in one pot, and build the yummy soup base directly in your serving bowl.
- Instant creamy broth: The blend of starchy cooking water, miso paste and tahini creates a rich emulsified broth.
- Pantry-friendly: No need to hunt for speciality ingredients. There’s a good chance you’ll already have everything you need in your pantry.
- Super flexible: Use up whatever veggies or plant-based proteins are already chilling in your fridge or freezer.
Key Ingredients & Swaps
- Miso paste: White (shiro) or red (aka) miso both work great. I usually always have white miso in my fridge, so that’s my go-to. It’s a bit sweeter and milder, whereas red miso brings a deeper flavor.
- Tahini (or nut butter): A shortcut to achieve the body of a traditional long-simmered pork broth or a soy milk ramen. Use tahini or cashew butter for the most neutral flavor, or mix it up with a peanutty punch by using creamy peanut butter instead.
- Veggie bouillon paste: Something like Better Than Bouillon works great. You need just a little bit to beef up the savory backbone of the broth. You can sub a dash of Yondu (a plant-based umami seasoning I always keep in my pantry), or a quarter of a bouillon cube.
- Fresh aromatics: A clove of garlic and a piece of fresh ginger (both grated with a microplane), plus green onion.
- Ramen noodles: Use any kind of ramen noodles you like, and simply boil them according to the package directions. You can borrow from a pack of instant ramen, or use something like Lotus Foods Rice Ramen (my personal favorite).
- Tofu & veggies: Cubed extra firm tofu, broccoli florets, frozen edamame and frozen sweet corn are my favorite add-ins to make this a complete meal. Sub any of your fave veggies or protein sources! Baby bok choy, spinach, sliced mushrooms and mung bean sprouts are some of my other go-tos.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the noodles, tofu and veg.
Cook ramen according to package directions. When there are 5 minutes left of cook time, add tofu and vegetables.
Step 2: Build the miso tare in your bowl.
Add all ingredients for the tare into your serving bowl.
Step 3: Emulsify the soup base.
Add a ladleful of the hot noodle cooking water in with the tare ingredients and whisk to emulsify the ingredients together.
Step 4: Blanch the scallions, assemble and enjoy!
Add the white parts of the scallions in for the last 30 seconds of boiling. Pour about 2 cups of the cooking water into the bowl with the tare, then drain the noodles, tofu and veg and add them to the bowl.
Sarah’s Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip the emulsion step: It’s important to add just a small amount of water to the tare ingredients at first. It makes it easier to break up the miso and tahini for a perfectly smooth and velvety broth.
- Watch the starch level: Certain brands of gluten-free noodles can release a lot of starch into the water as they boil. This can make your soup base thick and gloopy. If this is the case, add an extra 1-2 cups water when boiling. (Regular wheat ramen usually won’t have this issue, and the Lotus Brand rice ramen I use doesn’t either.)
- Grate, don’t mince: The recipe works best if using garlic and ginger paste, rather than roughly minced pieces. A microplane is a cheap and worthwhile investment for recipes like these. You can also use store-bought garli and ginger paste.
FAQ
Ramen is always best enjoyed fresh because the noodles will get mushy if stored in the soup. However, you can definitely prep the components ahead of time. You can mix up a double or triple batch of the tare base to store in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to a week. Mix all the ingredients together into a paste, then add about 2 heaping tablespoons of it into a bowl and follow the recipe from there.
You can use any unsweetened nut or seed butter, such as cashew butter, almond butter, or even peanut butter (if you don’t mind the flavor). It’s purpose is to help the broth ingredients emulsify and to add body.
Yes, but the broth will be thinner.
You can substitute coconut aminos in for the soy sauce, and substitute chickpea miso paste for the traditional soy-based miso. The flavor will not be quite the same but it will still be savory and flavorful. Coconut aminos tend to run a bit sweeter than soy sauce, so you might not need to add the maple syrup depending on your taste.
Use a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari, and use gluten-free ramen noodles (like the Lotus Foods brand that I mention in the recipe card). Double-check your bouillon paste for gluten-ingredients.
The recipe scales well in terms of ingredient measurements. However, to avoid having to measure out the tare ingredients separately into each bowl, you can mix the multiplied ingredients together in one large bowl. Use a few ladles of the noodle cooking water to whisk and emulsify the base. Then, add the whole tare into the large pot with the noodles, tofu and vegetables just after they come off the heat. Serve from the large pot.
Storage & Reheating
- To Store: Store leftover broth separately from the noodles, tofu, and vegetables in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If stored together, the noodles will drink up the liquid and become soggy.
- To Reheat: Pour the broth into a small saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Drop in the cooked noodles, tofu, and vegetables during the last 60 seconds just to heat them through.
More Quick Vegan Recipes
15-Minute Miso Ramen (Vegan)
Equipment
- saucepot
- whisk
- microplane for the garlic and ginger paste
Ingredients
Easy Miso Tare
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon white or red miso paste
- 1-2 teaspoons chili crisp optional, to taste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup or brown sugar or Aji-Mirin
- 1/2 teaspoon veggie bouillon paste such as Better Than Bouillon; see notes
- 1 tablespoon tahini or cashew butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste about 1 grated clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste about 1/2" piece ginger
Ramen
- 1 serving dry ramen noodles see notes
- 1 cup cubed extra-firm tofu
- 1/2 cup broccoli florets
- 1 green onion sliced, whites and green parts separated
- 1/4 cup frozen corn optional
- 1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame optional
Instructions
- Cook noodles, tofu and veg: Bring a quart of water to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add dry ramen noodles and cook according to package directions. When there are about 5 minutes left of cook time, add in the broccoli florets, cubed tofu, frozen corn, and frozen edamame.
- Prepare the miso tare: In the meantime, mix all ingredients for the tare right in your serving bowl. Add toasted sesame oil, miso paste, chili crisp (optional), soy sauce, maple syrup, bouillon paste, tahini, garlic paste, and ginger paste.
- Make the soup base: Before the noodles are done cooking, take a ladleful of the starchy boiling water from the pot and add it to your tare. Use a whisk to thoroughly mix, making sure to break up any lumps of miso paste or tahini.
- Blanch scallions: About 30 seconds before the noodles are done, toss the white parts of the scallions into the pot. They'll cook just long enough to remove the raw bite.
- Put it all together: Pour about 1/2 cup of the noodle cooking water into your bowl with the tare (you can use more or less depending on preference). Then drain the noodles, tofu and veg and add them to the bowl. Garnish with the green tops of the scallions and enjoy!
