I hope I’ve convinced you to experiment with leftovers in your fridge by now. Most of my favorite recipe creations have come from me just piling whatever I have leftover in my fridge into a bowl or pot, and seeing how it turns out, including this Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen. I’m not kidding when I say this is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, and it only takes about 15 minutes and a handful of ingredients. #totalwin
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I had some coconut milk leftover from making my Easy Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala on Facebook live the other day, plus Aldi had baby bella mushrooms on sale for $1.69 per container 😱 so I had purchased some of those with the intent of roasting them, which didn’t happen. I came home ravenous for carbs after Orange Theory, saw that coconut milk and the mushrooms in my fridge, and immediately knew what I needed to make!
The super simple broth for this ramen (vegetable broth + coconut milk) is so freaking good that I’m 100% going to be making a regular “cream” of mushroom soup with this method in the near future. So if you don’t like ramen but love creamy mushroom, just hang tight. ;)
What Kind of Mushrooms Should I Use?
Definitely try to get baby bellas or full sized portabella mushrooms for this recipe. The deep color and robust flavor of these mushrooms makes a big impact, and I think regular button mushrooms would fall flat.
What Kind of Coconut Milk Should I Use?
I used full-fat coconut milk in a can for this recipe and it made the broth extremely rich and delicious (and surprisingly it didn’t taste like coconut). I think you might be able to get away with using light coconut milk, but just be aware that the broth won’t be nearly as creamy or thick. I do not suggest using the dairy milk substitute type of coconut milk that comes in a carton. It is FAR too thin. Only canned coconut milk for this recipe.
What Kind of Ramen Should I Use?
I used the super basic, super cheap, 25₵ per pack ramen. Nothing fancy needed here. I did toss the seasoning packet and use my own vegetable broth, though (Better Than Bouillon).
What Else Can I Put in My Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen?
Whatever you want! Ramen is one of those great “catch all” dishes that is good for tossing all your leftover vegetables and proteins into. Check out my post about 6 Ways to Update Instant Ramen to see what other fun things I like to put in my ramen. Some quick ideas are tofu, sliced bell pepper, sesame seeds, or shredded cabbage or carrot.
Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen
Servings 1 (or two)Ingredients
- 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms ($0.85)
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth ($0.20)
- 1 handful fresh spinach ($0.53)
- 1 package ramen noodles (discard seasoning) ($0.25)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (canned) ($0.66)
Optional Garnishes
- 1 green onion, sliced ($0.11)
- 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha ($0.13)
Instructions
- Slice the mushrooms. Add them to a small sauce pot with the cooking oil and sauté over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft, dark, and all the moisture in the bottom of the pot has evaporated.
- Add the vegetable broth, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil. Once boiling, add the ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet) to the broth. Cook the noodles in the boiling broth for about 3 minutes, or until tender.
- Turn the heat off, add a heaping handful of fresh spinach, and stir until the spinach is wilted (about 30 seconds). Pour the coconut milk into the pot and stir to combine.
- Serve the Vegan Creamy Coconut Ramen as-is, or with garnishes like green onion or chili garlic sauce.
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Nutrition
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Love Mushroom Soup? Try our Creamy Mushroom Soup recipe.
How to Make Vegan Creamy Mushroom Ramen – Step by Step Photos
Slice 4 oz. baby bella mushrooms (about 4-5 mushrooms or half of an 8 oz. package). If you want to do full sized portobella mushrooms, just slice the caps in half, then slice crosswise into thin strips.
Add the sliced mushrooms to a small saucepot with about 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil (your favorite type of oil to cook with, any type is fine). Sauté the mushrooms over medium heat until they are soft and dark, and all the liquid they release has evaporated out of the pot.
Add 1.5 cups vegetable broth to the pot with the mushrooms. I use broth made with Better Than Bouillon broth concentrate. Turn the heat up to medium-high and allow the broth to come up to a boil (this goes faster with a lid).
Add one “brick” of ramen noodles (discard the seasoning packet) to the broth and continue to boil for about 3 minutes, or until the noodles are tender.
Turn off the heat and add a heaping handful of fresh spinach to the soup. Stir until the spinach is wilted (about 3o seconds).
Finally, pour in 1/2 cup coconut milk (the canned kind, not the dairy milk substitute kind in a carton). Stir to combine.
And that’s literally all it takes! Done in about 15 minutes. You can serve it as is, or add some fun toppings.
I added sliced green onion and some chili garlic sauce to mine. The sharp chili garlic sauce added a nice contrast to the super creamy broth!
I’ve made this every week now for four weeks, and I learned something. I love this recipe, it was a home run right out of the park, but…I managed to screw it up one time by using the wrong kind of noodles. So, just a warning to others: know your ingredients. I tried it with some rice noodles from the Asian Grocery store that turned out to be the kind of noodle you’re supposed soak overnight and cook for a long, long time. Don’t make my mistake! The goodness of this recipe is that it is quick and you barely cook the spinach, that’s one of the reasons it is so good. Stick to noodles that you know cook quickly. (I’m sure that those chinese rice stick noodles are good for something else.)
This is my new favorite go-to. It’s so easy to make and so delicious! I added silken tofu and it tasted great! Thank you!!
Great addition Leah! Thanks for sharing!
As usual, your recipe did not disappoint! How is this so good?! I didn’t have mushrooms, but I threw in some Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn in addition to the spinach. It was delicious! I also added a little soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil. What a perfect comfort food. My husband said it was the best ramen he has ever had. We will be making it again this week I’m sure!
That’s great Sarah! Thanks for sharing!
What can I substitute the coconut milk with? Can’t find a kosher can of it
My best guess is some heavy cream, although I haven’t tested this recipe with that so I’m not sure if it will have quite the same effect.
Did coconut milk in the end kosher fine delicious :) thank you
How was does this soup keep as leftovers?
It does well but you may want to add more noodles or keep them separate as they can keep absorbing the broth!
I made this the other day and when I went to get some for lunch today, all of the liquid had evaporated! What do you recommend to get some broth back into it so it doesn’t go to waste?
It’s probably not that the broth evaporated, but that the noodles absorbed it. You can try adding more vegetable broth, or just enjoy the noodles the way they are. They’re probably super flavorful now that they’ve absorbed all that broth! :)
This was AMAZING and so quick and easy! I was a little nervous about the coconut milk because I don’t like coconuts, however the ramen really doesn’t taste very coconutty so a total win! I definitely recommend adding chili garlic sauce on top!
Happy to hear it Amanda!
We made this tonight. It was a big hit with my everyone, including my 11 year old. Husband, who cooked, threw in some jammy eggs, which were a great addition. We might add some ginger next time, too.
Yes!! Happy to hear it was such a hit!
Hello,
I am really wanting to make your recipe tonight! I was wondering what kind of better than bouillion flavor did you use?
Thx!
You can use the vegetable base. Enjoy!
Heads up vegans and vegetarians – ramen packaged noodles might have beef flavor already infused in the noodles (even if they are not beef flavored). I found this out the hard way last night as I was making this recipe. Threw out the flavor packet for the sesame ramen and when I put the ramen noodles in the veggie broth the whole thing turned an odd color – and I said huh? Looked out the ingredients on ramen package and there it was beef extract. :(
Fortunately had a shrimp flavored ramen packet too and go figure those noodles did not have any beef or other meat flavorings listed on ingredients. Loved the dish after the 2nd go and the first batch is in my fridge waiting to go to my sister who is non vegetarian.
I did just find organic ramen noodles at Whole Foods – takes the budget friendly part out but keeps it vegan and/or vegetarian friendly.
So simple, so delicious! Thank you for this new go-to winter meal.
Hooray Julia!
Not a huge fan of coconut milk — anything wrong with using a low-fat dairy milk for this?
Personally, I don’t think that would taste good. It’s just not the same. The fat in the coconut milk is what makes it so delish, the other part is the coconut flavor. :)
This was great and so easy. What kind of Better than Bouillon do you use?
I used the garlic kind and threw in some cubes of grated ginger I had in the freezer, plus a dash of soy sauce.
I know I ruined the vegan-ness, but it was really good with a soft-boiled egg.
Hey no problem putting an egg on it! And Beth just used the vegetable base for this recipe.
You are a culinary genius!!!! I love your blog. This is so good. I can put in basically anything that’s left over in the pot actually. :) Left overs Ramen! Thank you Beth!
Thank you Amy!!
Amazing we had it 4 times this week cant get enough
Well that’s a huge win!