Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen (2024)

Spicy Gochujang peanut butter ramen is an absolute comfort food recipe with a delicious, creamy broth, gochujang flavors, lots of ginger and garlic, topped with Gochujang tofu. It’s a 30-minute, One-pan meal! Options for gluten-free Soyfree Nutfree included.

For this spicy peanut butter ramen, you cook the noodles directly in the broth, so you only need one pot. I topped it with some crispy tofu, and you can use the same pot to crisp up the tofu that you use to cook the ramen. You can bake the tofu, though, if you prefer.

The peanut butter gives this ramen a creamy, rich broth, and gochujang brings sweet heat and gives this vegan ramen recipe such a special flavor! You will want to make this every day! Change up the veggies and toppings for variation.

Why You’ll Love Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen

• spicy-sweet-creamy broth
• One Pot dinner
• nut-free option
• crispy gochujang garlic tofu is toothsome and flavorful
• Good balance of protein.
• Versatile, add more of less veggies to balance in the broth

More Vegan Ramen Recipes

• Hot and Sour Ramen
• Curry Ramen with Miso Lentils
• One Pot Peanut Sauce Noodles
• Thai Skillet Noodles (Drunken Noodles)

Recipe Card

Ingredients and Substitutions

• tofu – This is your protein. You can use chickpea tofu, if you prefer. Do know that gochujang contains soy. You can make your Soyfree Gochujang and use that instead..
• soy sauce – Adds salt and umami to the tofu flavoring and to the broth. Use tamari for gluten-free
• gochujang – This adds a sweet heat that’s just amazing in the peanut butter broth! You’re using gochujang in both the tofu and in the broth.
• garlic powder – Deepens the flavor of the tofu.
• cornstarch – Helps the tofu get really nice and crisp. You can use tapioca starch, if you prefer.
• sesame oil – Oil helps the tofu get crispy, and using sesame oil specifically also adds even more flavor!
• mushrooms – These add a nice texture and flavor to the peanut butter ramen broth.
• ginger-garlic paste – Ginger and garlic pair so well with peanut butter! You can use minced or pureed ginger and garlic if you can’t find ginger-garlic paste.
• smooth peanut butter – Makes the broth creamy and gives it an amazing flavor!
• water /stock – This bulks out the broth and cooks the noodles at the same time, in the same pan.
• noodles – Use ramen or thin udon noodles to make this soup.
• garnishes – Lime wedges, green onion, and sesame seeds finish this ramen.

Tips

• Make sure that you press your tofu for 15 minutes before cooking! You can prep the rest of the ingredients while the tofu presses.
• You may not need all of the cornstarch listed. Start with two teaspoons, and see if that’s enough to soak up the moisture, so it adheres to the tofu. If needed, add the remaining cornstarch.
• When you add that first quarter cup of broth, whisk well to get the peanut butter to dissolve, so you won’t have any lumps.

How to Make Peanut Butter Ramen

First, make the gochujang garlic tofu.

Press and cube the tofu, and add it to a bowl.

In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, gochujang, garlic powder, and sesame oil and pour it over the tofu. Toss well to coat.

Add two teaspoons of the cornstarch and toss well. If the mixture is still somewhat wet, then add the rest of the cornstarch and toss well.

Then you can either transfer the tofu cubes to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake it at 400ºF for 20-25 minutes or you can transfer them to a hot wok or saucepan with a teaspoon of oil and cook them until they are crisp on most of the edges, about 5-6 minutes.

I use the same wok for making the tofu as well as the ramen. Remove the tofu once crisp from the pot and then make the ramen.

Add oil, mushrooms, and a good pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes to brown the mushrooms on some of the edges.

Then add the ginger-garlic paste, peanut butter, gochujang, and soy sauce and mix really well.

Add a ¼ cup of the water or broth and mix in to mix the peanut butter, else it will clump up . Bring the mixture to a boil then gradually add the rest of the broth and mix in.

Bring the broth to a good rolling boil, then add your noodles and cook them according to the time on the packaging. Ramen noodles will cook pretty quickly, within 3-4 minutes, while udon noodles will take around 7-8 minutes.

Once the noodles are cooked to your preference, switch off the heat. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. If you want it sweeter then you can add more maple syrup. You can add more salt if needed or some black pepper for extra heat.

Serve the broth using a ladle into your serving bowls. Then transfer some of the noodles with mushrooms to your serving bowls. Top it with the crispy tofu, lime wedge, green onions, and sesame seeds, and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions