These vegan Tofu Ramen Bowls are big on flavor and packed with veggies! Mix and match toppings for your perfect bowl of ramen soup!
Paul and I make homemade ramen pretty much every week lately!
It’s fast, filling, and flavorful – three factors that are basically essential for a weeknight dinner around here.
This time around I added crispy baked tofu as well as some bonus noodles made of spiralized zucchini and carrot. It was delicious!
No spiralizer? No problem! You can also use a veggie peeler or julienne slicer to get ultra thin veggie noodles.
Special Diets and Swaps
As written, this rockin’ ramen is both vegan and vegetarian friendly.
If you’d like to add some extras here – go for it! Ramen is crazy versatile! My omnivore friends are welcome to add a soft boiled egg or extra protein of choice if the urge hits.
Gluten-Free? There are a few GF varieties of ramen noodles on the market right now but you could also make lots of carrot and zucchini noodles with a spiralizer and make a veggie noodle bowl if you’d like!
When it comes to the tofu, you can bake extra firm tofu up nice and crispy (see my honey garlic tofu post for detailed tips and technique) or opt for a softer silken tofu like restaurants often serve in their miso soup. Both are delicious!
Is this ramen spicy?
Yes! Yes! 1000x YES! Luckily if you’d like to make it milder you absolutely can.
The Sriracha chili sauce (or garlic chili sauce if you prefer to use that) as well as the fresh sliced jalapeños are what control the heat here. If you’re making my fried garlic chili oil that will contribute to the spiciness as well.
The jalapeños and chili oil are totally skippable if needed (but if you like spice they’re super tasty!) and you can reduce the amount of Sriracha added to taste. Start with a few teaspoons and increase as desired.
Meal Prepping Ramen
This recipe yields 4 servings and is great for those who want to meal prep future lunches or dinners.
Since the noodles cook ULTRA fast, I usually make what I need when I need it.
However, if you want to prep your ramen bowl to take with you for a work lunch, you can totally make them in advance and keep them in a separate container until it’s time to reheat your bowl-o-yum. This way the noodles don’t drink up all the broth and you have a nice soupy bowl of ramen to enjoy!
Store leftover broth and toppings in the fridge for 3-4 days, just like you would with other leftovers.
The broth can be reheated in a pot on the stove (I bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer until nice and hot) or in the microwave. Add cooked (or pre-cooked) noodles and top with all your favorite toppings.
Rockin’ Ramen Topping Ideas
- fresh cilantro
- sliced green onion (scallions)
- toasted sesame seeds
- garlic chili sauce or Sriracha chili sauce
- tofu
- julienned carrots
- spiralized zucchini
- sautéed mushrooms
- snow peas or snap peas
- edamame (cooked + shelled)
- baby bok choy
- bean sprouts
- thinly sliced jalapeño
- soft boiled eggs (skip for vegan)
- spicy garlic chili oil
- lime wedges
Vegan Tofu Ramen Bowls
I’m so excited for y’all to try this tasty vegetarian ramen! Let’s get our recipe on!
Tofu Ramen Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP light sesame oil or avocado oil
- 5 oz chopped shitake mushrooms or baby portobella mushrooms
- 6-8 scallions , thinly sliced (whites + greens separated)
- 6 cloves garlic , peeled, smashed, and minced
- 2-3 tsp fresh minced/grated ginger
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3-4 TBSP tomato paste (for a richer broth; optional)
- 3 TBSP Sriracha (adjust based on spice preference)
- 3-4 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce
- 8-10 ounces uncooked ramen noodles (see notes)
FOR CRISPY BAKED TOFU (add 55 min to total time)
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu (14 oz)
- 1 TBSP cornstarch
- 1 TBSP oil (olive or avocado oil are my go-to)
- salt and pepper to taste
TASTY TOPPINGS
- 1-2 jalapeños , sliced thin
- 1-2 baby bok choy , slice in half vertically then into ribbons
- 1 small zucchini squash , spiralized or julienned
- 2 carrots , spiralized or julienned
- see blog post for more topping ideas
Instructions
RAMEN INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring a large pot to medium-high heat with a TBSP of oil. Add mushrooms and the white portions of the chopped green onion. If adding bok choy, add the chopped white portions here as well, saving the shredded greens for topping.
- Sauté until tender and fragrant, adding minced garlic and ginger towards the end to prevent burning.
- Add vegetable broth, tomato paste, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
- Simmer, covered, on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, prep your choice of toppings and cook your noodles.
- For a thicker ramen broth where the noodles soak up some of the broth, cook your noodles directly in the simmering broth for approx. 3-4 minutes or until tender. For a thinner broth, feel free to cook ramen seperately and add before serving.
- For tender carrot and zucchini noodles, add to the ramen during the last minute of boiling/cooking. For crisp texture of raw veggies, simply add them at the end as a topping.
- Give the broth a little taste and further season if/as desired. A little extra Sriracha will add heat while extra soy sauce will add saltiness and umami. For a brother, soup-like ramen bowl feel free to add an extra cup of broth and adjust spices and seasoning to taste.
- Ready to eat? Top ramen and broth with all your favorite toppings and feel free to check out the blog post for even more topping ideas! Enjoy!
FOR PLAIN TOFU
- For a speedier tofu ramen, you can 100% use firm or extra firm tofu and simply cut it into smaller, spoon-sized cubes to add to each ramen bowl. Add to hot broth for a few minutes until cooked through, then add toppings.
FOR CRISPY BAKED TOFU
- Drain water from tofu package. Slice the block of tofu into 2 rectangular planks and place on a stack of 4-5 folded paper towels, placing an additional stack of paper towels on top. Set something heavyish on top (I use a cast iron skillet) to make a make-shift tofu press for water removal. Allow to sit. I usually start my tofu about 30 minutes before I want to start cooking.
- Once the water has been pressed out, preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut each tofu plank into 8 bite-sized cubes, for 16 pieces total.
- Drizzle with 1 TBSP oil and sprinkle cornstarch or arrowroot starch over the tofu. Gently toss until evenly coated.
- Arrange the coated tofu spaced on the parchment lined sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, tossing or flipping at the 15-minute mark until nice and crispy. Add with toppings to ramen bowls just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
My favorite ramen to use is a little less traditional (as I don’t have fresh noodles handy) and healthier than the little square packets of ramen since it’s not fried and does not come with a salty seasoning packet.
I can’t typically find it fresh at my local grocery store so I opt for the dried noodles from the International Foods aisle.
They’re KA-ME Curly Noodles and are a great healthier option for ramen bowls! These noodles are pretty easy to find and I’ve found them at Publix, Target, and on Amazon.
If you’d like to use fresh ramen for any of my ramen recipes, 100% go for it!
Looking for More Ramen Recipes?
My recipe archives are loaded with them!
If you get a chance to try these vegan tofu ramen bowls, let me know!
Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
I added 3 tbsp of miso paste and omitted the sriracha and this is really really good.
At first I thought the tomato paste would make it too tomatoey but it added great flavor and texture. Great recipe for fall. Thanks for posting
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this one.