This Japanese udon noodle soup recipe features an easy udon soup base that you can make in minutes. Choose your favourite udon toppings such as spring onion, katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and shichimi togarashi (Japanese chilli flakes)! This light, tasty Japanese noodles soup is perfect as a quick lunch, dinner or appetiser.

Why We Love This
This udon noodle soup recipe is so simple to make at home – all you need are a few basic Japanese ingredients: dashi powder, soy sauce, and mirin (sweet rice wine). Even better, these ingredients can also be used as the base for a wide range of essential Japanese dishes – our favourites are okonomiyaki savoury pancakes, onigiri rice balls and gyoza dumplings.
Udon noodles are a fantastic dish to slurp down when you’re in a rush. But we like to take our time a little more to appreciate the subtle flavours, and enjoy the differences of the dashi stock between restaurants, home made and powder form.
The great thing about this dish is the ability to make it as quick or a slow as you like, depending on how hands-on you want to be, and what toppings you’d like. While our Udon Noodle Soup Recipe uses only basic ingredients for a quick eat, below are some further ideas for beefing up your dish.
P.S. If you’re looking for a spicy noodle soup, try our simplified recipe for Japanese tantanmen ramen with creamy broth and crispy pork!
Related: How to Make Udon Noodles / Yaki Udon (Stir Fried Udon Noodles)

Where We Learned This Recipe
Our favourite place for Udon noodles is a tiny place near Osaka Station which we walk past on our way back to our apartment. The noodles there always have the best texture, and their dashi broth is so flavourful!
Now that we’ve been able to replicate the flavours so easily at home, we’re in heaven, and love that we can bring another little piece of Japan back home with us.
What You’ll Need
For our simple udon noodle soup recipe we opted to make our dashi stock with dashi powder. If you have time, you might like to make your own proper dashi stock base with kombu seaweed and bonito flakes.
- Udon noodles
– dried, frozen or fresh
- Dashi stock powder
- Light soy sauce
- Mirin
- Salt
- Sugar
Optional Toppings
- Spring onion
- Dried bonito flakes
(katsuobushi)
- Japanese chilli flakes
(shichimi togarashi)

How To Make Udon Noodle Soup
- Cook udon noodles according to packet directions, or recipe if you’re making them by hand.
- Place dashi, soy sauce, mirin, salt and sugar into a deep bowl, then pour boiling water over the top.

- Take cooked udon noodles and slide into the soup base.

- Top with sliced spring onion, bonito and chilli flakes.

Wandercook’s Tips
- For the best experience, use the freshest udon noodles you can source. Any noodles will do of course, but freshly made udon noodles have the most delicious chewy texture that you just can’t beat. Cook them until al dente, just like pasta, so they don’t become too soggy.
FAQs
Udon noodles are made from a combination of wheat (normal regular white flour) and salt. That’s it! No egg or rice. Sometimes a little cornflour is used when the noodles are cut to stop them from sticking together.
We’re so glad you asked! This has to be the most fascinating part. Traditionally, udon noodles are actually made with your feet! Depending on the style, it’s not uncommon to press out the dough many times to ensure the ultra smooth texture of the final product. During our previous trips to japan we’ve learned how to make udon noodles from scratch from an udon master.

What other toppings can you put on Udon Noodles?
The most simple udon noodle topping is a handful of sliced spring onion (scallions) with bonito flakes, but why stop there?
Try these other popular udon noodle toppings:
- Fried tofu
- Wakame (seaweed)
- Tempura vegetables or prawns (shrimp)
- Kamaboko – fish cake slices
- Thinly sliced beef
- Egg
- Anything else you’d like to experiment with!
What are your favourite topping combinations?
Variations
- For a vegetarian/vegan version of this dish, be sure to use kombu dashi powder
– it’s made with only seaweed and no bonito flakes.
- For a more intense flavour we usually use hon dashi
(note, this is made with bonito flakes).
- Make it a curry by adding a block or two of Japanese curry roux to taste. You can use a strainer to help it dissolve into the stock.
For more delicious Japanese noodles, try these recipes next:




★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
- 1 packet udon noodles frozen or fresh
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tsp dashi powder use kombu dashi for vegan/vegetarian version
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp mirin
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch sugar
Optional Toppings:
- 1 stalk spring onion / green onion finely sliced diagonally
- 2 tsp bonito flakes / katsuobushi
- 1 pinch chilli flakes shichimi togarashi
Instructions
- Cook udon noodles according to packet directions, or recipe if you're making them by hand.1 packet udon noodles
- Place dashi powder, soy sauce, mirin, salt and sugar into a deep bowl, then pour boiling water over the top.1 tsp dashi powder, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp mirin, 1 pinch salt, 1 pinch sugar, 1 cup boiling water
- Slide cooked udon noodles into the soup base. Top with sliced spring onion, bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and chilli flakes or shichimi togarashi.1 stalk spring onion / green onion, 2 tsp bonito flakes / katsuobushi, 1 pinch chilli flakes
Video
Recipe Notes
- For the best experience, use the freshest udon noodles you can source. Any noodles will do of course, but freshly homemade udon noodles have the most delicious chewy texture that you just can’t beat. Cook them until al dente, just like pasta, so they don’t become too soggy.
- What are Udon Noodles made from? Udon noodles are made from a combination of wheat (normal regular white flour) and salt. That’s it! No egg or rice. Sometimes a little cornflour is used when the noodles are cut to stop them from sticking together.
- How are Udon Noodles made? We’re so glad you asked! This has to be the most fascinating part. Traditionally, udon noodles are actually made with your feet! Depending on the style, it’s not uncommon to press out the dough many times to ensure the ultra smooth texture of the final product. It’s never been easier to make your own udon noodles at home.
- What other toppings can you put on Udon Noodles? The most simple udon noodle topping is a handful of sliced spring onion (scallions) with bonito flakes, but why stop there? Try these other popular udon noodle toppings:
- Fried tofu
- Wakame (seaweed)
- Tempura vegetables or prawns (shrimp)
- Kamaboko – fish cake slices
- Thinly sliced beef
- Egg
- Anything else you’d like to experiment with!
- For a vegetarian/vegan version of this dish, be sure to use kombu dashi powder
– it’s made with only seaweed and no bonito flakes.
- For a more intense flavour we usually use hon dashi
(note, this is made with bonito flakes).
Nutrition

24 Comments
Doug
14/10/2022 at 6:24 amHi! Thanks for posting! Wondering if you really mean 1 teaspoon each of mirin and soy. The broth seems weak compared to restaurant udon. I upped it to a tablespoon each per 1.5 cups water, and it seems to be the right strength.
Wandercooks
18/10/2022 at 12:12 pmHey Doug, udon should be quite light, and rely on the dashi for depth of flavour. However, you can definitely up the amounts to your liking. 🙂
Ashley
15/09/2022 at 1:42 amHello, I came across your recipe and am eager to try , however, I want to ask if I am able to make it without Dashi powder or if there is any other substitute for it? Please let me know, thank you 🙂
Wandercooks
15/09/2022 at 5:21 pmHey Ashley, there really is no true substitute for dashi. It is the base of the recipe that give the umami factor to the dish. The good news is, you don’t have to use dashi powder. You can have a go at making your own dashi from kelp and bonito flakes, or even make a simpler dashi stock from shiitake mushrooms. Good luck!
Nana
26/12/2020 at 9:43 amReally tasty! Didn’t have mirin so I replaced it with chinese cooking wine and added a bit of sesame oil 🙂 Will definitely cook it again!
Wandercooks
29/12/2020 at 2:54 pmOh brilliant. Good subs there too. Thanks for letting us know. Happy cooking!
Amber
18/12/2020 at 2:11 pmTastes and smells just like those served at restaurant! My family really enjoyed it.
Wandercooks
21/12/2020 at 9:06 amOh amazing Amber, thanks so much for letting us know!
Jess
06/11/2020 at 1:12 pmI decided to have udon last night and came across this recipe, along with the recipe for okonomiyaki and daifuku mochi, so last night was a Japanese feast that brought me right back to my last holiday! Warm and comforting udon with the crispy and saucy okonomiyaki finished off with a soft mochi (I filled mine with whipped cream, my fave) so good! And looking at your about us section you’re from little old Adelaide too! Howdy neighbours and keep being awesome👋
Wandercooks
07/11/2020 at 4:15 pmWell hello there neighbour Jess from Adelaide! *high five!* 😀 Haha – Wow, sounds like you went on quite the Japanese adventure. So glad you could recreate the flavours and pretend to be back in Japan for a night. Sounds epic with cream in the mochi too – how decadent! Did you semi-freeze the cream to wrap the mochi over it? Or just be uber careful sealing it up?
Rogee
21/08/2020 at 10:30 pmIt was perfect! I’ve been cooking this for 3 Fridays now (no-meat day of the week for us, Catholic, by choice). So happy with it. Wish I could attach my photo, but don’t know how.
Wandercooks
22/08/2020 at 10:36 amHey Rogee! So great to hear from you again and awesome work with the udon – 3 weeks in a row must mean it’s tasting pretty good! We made it for lunch this week too haha. So good in winter! While we don’t have photos on here, feel free to email through and I can always share on Instagram. 🙂
Farah
09/10/2019 at 5:25 pmMy dream autumn soup! Full of such umami flavor. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Wandercooks
10/10/2019 at 8:02 amSo glad you liked it Farah, thanks for letting us know! 🙂
Adrianne
02/10/2019 at 9:13 pmWhat a fantastic looking soup!! I would definitely be having a little pinch on mine. Can’t wait to try it, cheers!
Wandercooks
09/10/2019 at 4:31 pmHaha, sometimes we even go a few pinches! 😛 :O
Dannii
02/10/2019 at 6:19 pmThis is total comfort food. And so much that you can do with it too.
Wandercooks
09/10/2019 at 4:30 pmAgreed! 😀 It’s a good one to keep in the repertoire.
Veena Azmanov
02/10/2019 at 5:01 pmSuch amazing recipes and dishes are always a welcome with my family. This soup looks yummy.
Wandercooks
09/10/2019 at 4:30 pmThank you so much!
Adriana
02/10/2019 at 4:02 pmwow, udon noodles are the best one of my favorite meals. It is so comforting and super flavorful. It sounds complicated but it is not thanks for all the tips! Pinning for later.
Wandercooks
09/10/2019 at 4:30 pmHappy to help! We were surprised how easy it is too. Once you have dashi in the cupboard, you’re set!
Molly
10/04/2019 at 3:22 pmThank you for a great and simple recipe!
Wandercooks
07/05/2019 at 11:37 amThank you for taking the time to tell us! Happy cooking! 🙂