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
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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Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
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!
Aaa I’m so sorry for spamming. I meant sweet not sweat (I’m a little dyslexic and English isn’t my first language)
I’m so sorry.
Edit for my review I just posted. I let it sit a bit and luckily I can actually get it down even though it’s sweat and oily. For the next portion I’ll be sure to add less coconut milk and more spices.
Made this just now and tasted it. The amount of coconut milk makes it smell too sweet? coconutty? (I do have ASD so probably not a problem to a neurotypical person) and it’s also too fatty/oily in my mouth. Also it’s kinda bland and sweet because of the vegetable broth and the coconut milk and nothing balancing them out. (it’s a good thing I only made one portion now. I hate to waste food but I’m not sure if I can get this down and I’m not sure how I could fix it without making it worse)
It has some potential though. Just gotta add some spices and maybe add less of the coconut milk. Probably should use the instant ramen spice packet.
Tried to make this again and made it better with curry powder, chili and garlic and a small dash of seasoned salt (aromisuola in my language Finnish). Also I halved the amount of coconut milk and added some tofu.
Made this for lunch today. It’s amazing! I didn’t have chili oil so used crushed red pepper flakes instead. Yum!
I was very excited to make this for my vegan daughter, however glancing at the fat and sodium levels I was rather alarmed. What ingredient are the cause of those high numbers?
Hi, Jenn! As we mention in our nutrition information disclaimer, we use a software called Spoontacular API to calculate all our nutrition information. Because of this, what you see at the bottom of the recipe card should only be considered a rough estimate. (Here’s the full version: https://www.budgetbytes.com/nutrition-information-disclaimer/) In this case, the widget’s calculations for sodium were a bit too high for both the vegetable broth and the chili garlic sauce. I have corrected these discrepancies and updated the recipe card to reflect the changes. We also use Better Than Bouillon to make all of our broths, which is a bit saltier than most boxed broths.
On the other hand, this recipe’s fat content is mostly coming from the coconut milk, but I would say — making sure you know that I am not a health expert or certified dietician (and hope you will confirm with more credible sources online) — that while coconut milk is high in saturated fat, it is not necessarily a source of “unhealthy” fat, and can be a great tool to round out a vegan diet. However, in this particular recipe, it could probably be substituted with light coconut milk and give you successful results (although we haven’t tried it ourselves!). I hope that helps! ~ Marion :)
This is such a great easy one person meal. I saw the reviews that said it needed a little extra flavor so I added a tiny bit of Tumeric, some grated ginger I had in the freezer, a few drops of fish sauce and a little bit of soy sauce and subbed better than chicken bouillon for veg broth. The result was an insanely delicious, satisfying lunch. I got so excited I forgot the spinach. I’ll include it when I make it again tomorrow. Don’t be afraid to spice this up to your tastes. Thanks for the great recipe! I
I used miso broth, and sautéed white bottoms in with the mushrooms. In the future I’m going to do 1 cup miso, 1/3 cup coconut milk, 2 0z baby Bella mushrooms so it is more in proportion and I get 4 servings for 3.25. Maybe since this recipe was created ramen noodle packets have less. I also added lots of green onion, Siracha, a touch of soy sauce, and sea kelp granules. I am in love !
I was excited for this recipe since I had just made a big batch of homemade vegetable broth. Unfortunately, this lacked flavor for me even with the chili crunch and a splash of fish sauce. However, I will try it again with some modifications since I like the ease of it. I would add more vegetable broth and a little less coconut milk and possibly soy sauce since I’m not vegan.
Hi, Mel! I’m sorry you didn’t love it the first time but glad to hear you want to try it out again. I was wondering: What kind of broth did you use? We use Better Than Boullion in our recipes because it’s a wonderfully flavorful, budget-friendly option. It’s also a bit saltier than most boxed broths. Adding more salt (or instead, increasing the salinity with a tsp soy sauce or some miso paste!) should definitely help. You could also incorporate more heat with some chili flakes once the mushrooms are cooked but before you pour in the broth. ~Marion :)
My suggestion is that if you’re not vegan, you should swap out the veggie broth for a chicken or beef broth. Also, we found that a dash of soy sauce and some thinly sliced jalapenos took it up a notch!!!
I use BB a lot but rarely review.
This recipe is worth the review. You know how sometimes you want the cheap ramen because, well, it’s the ultimate cheap, salty comfort food. But you’re also a grown-up and you prefer real food.
Broke? Covid? Bored? Out of time? Have the stuff in your fridge sooo why not? Craving ramen, or even pho? Yeah, this’ll at least scratch the itch.
It’s going into my constant rotation for self-cooking. For my husband and teenager, I tossed in a handful of leftover shredded rotisserie chicken, a little sliced jalapeño, and a dash of soy sauce. I personally did not find any of those to be an improvement (except the soy sauce which just gives a little extra umph), but they like protein and heat.
Thanks BB team for a great recipe.
Excellent, tasty and filling! My husband and I were very impressed with the flavor mixture! Thank you for a delicious meal that we will revisit. We did add some salt, but other than that it was the basic recipe!
Little known fact – button mushrooms and portobello and baby bello mushrooms and cremini are all the same kind of mushrooms. The word portobello was made up as a marketing strategy to be able to sell overgrown button mushrooms.
delicious!! i recommend sauteeing ginger and garlic to the mushrooms before adding the broth! I also added shrimp at the very end!! I felt as satisfied as I do when i leave the ramen shop
What could I use instead of coconut milk (allergic)?
If you aren’t vegan, I recommend greek yogurt with a touch of milk in it to loosen it up. If you are vegan, try cashew milk. xoxo Monti
This was so simple and so good!
Oh I definitely love this ramen! I can’t recreate the one at my local restaurant but this looks way more appetizing. I will also be adding lion’s mane mushroom powder from https://naturesrise.com since I already use it for my baking