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!
Oh… my… goodness. This is my FAVORITE lunch. Don’t change a thing about the recipe, it’s perfect as is, but definitely make use of the garnishes (chili garlic sauce omg <3)
I really liked this recipe, simple and easy to come together: I just substituted with what I had
– I used white mushrooms cause that’s what I had but sautéed them with a bit of soy sauce in addition to the oil
– I added sliced red onion with the mushrooms
– I used kale instead of spinach
– used rice noodles not ramen
– added diced tofu I had leftover
– topped with scallions and samal olek (chili garlic sauce)
This recipe is so simple and SO delicious! I have been craving it again ever since I made it the first time! I did not have the chili sauce the first time, but otherwise made the recipe exactly as written. I think it would be great with an egg
Big delicious payoff for such an easy recipe. I sautéed some broccoli with the mushrooms. You could really be flexible and add peppers, onions, squash, carrots, kale, etc. I used half the ramen seasoning but next time, I’ll try and not be lazy and do my own seasoning. I mean, it was delicious but not exactly the healthiest choice. I also only did a cup of chicken broth bc I like it less soupy. I barely ate half bc my toddlers wanted all the bites ha. I think next time, I’ll add an egg. But it’s fabulous as written
Could I replace the coconut milk with whole milk?
Yes or heavy cream would be best.
This is very tasty and a part of our meal rotation for meatless meals. Love the coconut in it! Thanks Beth.
AMAZING. Flavorful and filling, we loved this! Thanks for your recipes!!
The soup tasted so good and the pictures were so helpful to follow along with the steps. Thank you!
Literally love this. I’m not vegan so i used chicken broth, scrambled an egg seperately that i mixed in at the end and i also used Louisiana hot sauce (since i didnt have the chili sauce but really like spicy lol) so so good. I IMMEDIATELY texted the recipe to my sister. So good. I cannot wait to make this again.
Unbelievable! Made dinner for 4 adults in record time resulting in rave reviews! Can’t beat that!
Just made this today for lunch! Fantastic, thank you. Followed the recipe ‘as is’ and it was wonderful. Will definitely be making it again tomorrow!
It’s great! I made this twice in two days. I cooked the ramen separately both times, it’s just how I do it. You have to be careful not to add too much milk, because it’s EXTREMELY rich. I had trouble finishing it the first time, it was so filling! I also recommend adding minced garlic in with the mushrooms.
This has become a weekly staple for me. It’s a perfect combination of cheap, easy, tasty, and relatively healthy.
I’ve gotten into the habit of adding a tablespoon+ of miso paste (while the broth is coming to a boil) and adding a chopped red bell pepper in while the mushrooms are cooking.
I added soy sauce, onion salt, onion powder, and garlic powder to increase the flavor. Definitely not flavorful enough the way it is.
It was really bland…if you make this recipe, please add a lot of salt and pepper to make up for the lack of seasoning. Also, probably a good idea to add the coconut in before the noodles finish cooking, otherwise it gets soggy.
I may be misunderstanding you comment… but the recipe calls for coconut milk (plant-based milk substitute), not coconut chips/pieces.
To be honest I wouldn’t be expecting a full flavoursome ramen in this amount of cooking time. I imagine to get the best flavour its essential to use flavoursome/fresh mushroom as they are what is providing a lot of the umami flavour. The flavour could easily be upped just by using miso paste.
OMG this is so easy and delicious!!! Great recipe, thank you!