Udon Noodles Soup

by Heidi Published: Dec 22, 2024

This one-pot udon noodles soup recipe comes together easily, fast, in just 15 minutes on the stove, for the best, authentic vegetarian udon soup recipe.

Like so many Japanese food fans, I will happily slurp a good bowl of hearty, brothy ramen noodles any time of the day. But if you asked me to choose, udon noodles in their light broth are definitely my first love. There’s something about udon’s thick, bouncy texture that works so perfectly in dishes like my Udon Stir Fry. But this Udon Noodles Soup recipe is where it’s at for an even quicker udon fix. Sure, you can make packaged udon noodles with the enclosed seasoning packet, but I find this super fast broth made with the powdered dashi soup base I keep in my pantry even more flavorful. I add shiitake mushrooms, cabbage, silken tofu, and green onion but there are infinite ingredient combinations to customize this perfect udon recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This udon soup is light, healthy, flavorful, and super delicious
It comes together on the stove easily, in one pot, in just 15 minutes!
You can easily adjust this soup to your liking

What is Udon Soup Made From?

You should be able to find most if not all of these ingredients in the International aisle of your regular grocery store, but if not, any Asian market should carry them.

Water—because we are adding several types of seasonings to this soup, I recommend using water instead of stock for the soup base (the Hondashi powder seasons the broth in the way that bouillon cubes do)
Soy sauce—for flavoring the soup and adding excellent umami flavor
Hondashi powder—this savory, Japanese powdered dashi base is comprised of bonito flakes, sugar, MSG, and yeast extract and is the signature flavor of the soup broth
Mirin—(a sweet Japanese rice wine)—you could also use sake, dry sherry, or rice wine vinegar, mixed with just a pinch of sugar
Sugar—for a subtle touch of sweetness
Udon noodles—The key ingredient to udon soup! These thick, chewy Japanese wheat noodles are fun to eat and so slurpable
Shiitake mushrooms—add a nice meaty texture to the soup
Napa cabbage—for color, heft, and texture in our soup (I like this texture of cabbage best for this particular soup)
Silken tofu—silken tofu is important here because of its smooth and creamy texture
Green onions—for flavor and color
Furikake rice seasoning—a Japanese seasoning mix consisting of toasted sesame seeds, dried seaweed, salt, and sugar
Togarashi seasoning—a Japanese spice blend usually made of chili peppers, sesame seeds, orange peel, ginger, and seaweed adds a little heat

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Udon Noodles

Make the broth. Add water to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the soy sauce, Hondashi powder, mirin, and sugar until the powder and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
Cook the noodles in the broth. Add the udon noodles to the broth, cover with a lid, and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the noodles soften and separate.

Cook the veggies in the broth. Add the mushrooms, cabbage, and half of the green onion. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 3-4 more minutes or until the vegetables soften.

Ladle, season, and serve. Ladle into bowls and add a few spoonfuls of the silken tofu to each dish, topping with more broth to warm the tofu. Add more green onion, furikake rice seasoning, and togarashi seasoning, if desired.

FAQ and Recipe Tips

What is the difference between ramen and udon soup? Udon noodles are thick and chewy, while ramen noodles are much thinner and not as chewy. In terms of udon soup and ramen soup,
Is Japanese udon soup healthy? Yes, this soup is light and full of veggies and protein thanks to the tofu (though you can easily add more protein if you like)

Ingredient Substitutions

Skip the Add fresh ginger, garlic, or a bit of sesame oil to the broth
Add spicy heat with a spoon of chili crisp or a squirt of Sriracha
Swap the cabbage or mushrooms for different veggies, like frozen peas, sugar snap peas, snow peas, carrots, or spinach
Instead of silken tofu, try adding fried tofu
Add thinly sliced baked chicken, cooked beef or pork, or thinly sliced Japanese fish cake for extra protein
Add pickled radishes

Storage Tips

This udon soup will keep stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this soup, even without the noodles.

What to Serve With Udon Soup

This udon soup is excellent on its own, but here are some ideas of things you could serve with it:

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.

This udon soup recipe comes together easily and fast, in just 15 minutes, and is easily adaptable to whatever veggies and protein you like.

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Course Soup

Cuisine Japanese

Keyword udon soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 382kcal

Ingredients

5 cups water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons Hondashi powder
3 teaspoon mirin
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
12 ounces udon noodles , or two packages refrigerated udon noodles
1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms , about 4-6 shiitake mushrooms
1 cup chopped napa cabbage
11 ounces silken tofu , drained
2 green onions , chopped
furikake rice seasoning
togarashi seasoning

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Instructions

Add water to a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the soy sauce, Hondashi powder, mirin, and sugar until the powder and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
Add the udon noodles to the broth, cover with a lid, and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the noodles soften and separate.
Add the mushrooms, cabbage, and half of the green onion. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 3-4 more minutes or until the vegetables soften.
Ladle into bowls and add a few spoonfuls of the silken tofu to each dish, topping with more broth to warm the tofu. Add more green onion, furikake rice seasoning, and togarashi seasoning, if desired.

Nutrition

More Noodle Soup Recipes to Try

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