Shirataki Noodles substitute

Best substitute

Hearts of palm noodles

Use the same amount by weight or volume as the shirataki noodles you are replacing

Best for low-carb pasta dishes

Taste and texture differ

It depends which of shirataki's two jobs you need. If you are using them as a low-carb pasta replacement, hearts of palm noodles are the best swap at one for one, with kelp noodles and zucchini noodles close behind. If you want that specific slippery, bouncy, translucent texture in a Japanese dish like sukiyaki or oden, mung bean glass noodles are the real texture match, though they bring actual carbohydrate with them. Shirataki adds no flavour, no richness and no starch at all: it is bulk, chew and sauce-carrying capacity, nothing more. That is liberating, because anything neutral and chewy can stand in for it.

Other shirataki noodles substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Kelp noodles
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Clear, crunchy noodles made from kelp, sodium alginate and water, also close to calorie-free.
What changes
Best for
cold noodle salads, low-carb stir-fries, spicy sesame noodles
The nearest match on calories and on that see-through look, and like shirataki they never really soften. They start out crunchy rather than springy, which some people dislike; soaking them for 10 minutes in warm water with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of baking soda genuinely transforms them into something soft and slippery. There is a very mild sea-mineral taste, noticeable in a plain dish, invisible in a sauced one.
3Zucchini or cucumber noodles
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by volume, allowing for shrinkage
Spiralised or julienned vegetable strands, very low in carbohydrate and easy to make with a peeler.
What changes
Best for
low-carb pasta dishes, cold noodle salads, quick weeknight bowls
The big difference is water. Zucchini releases a lot of liquid, which thins your sauce into a puddle, so salt the strands for 15 minutes, squeeze them and cook them for no more than two minutes. They go from crisp to limp very fast and cannot be simmered in a hot pot the way shirataki can. Cucumber noodles work only cold. Both taste faintly vegetal where shirataki tastes of nothing at all.
4Mung bean glass noodles
Close match
Use 2 oz dried for every 7 oz packet of shirataki
Bean thread or cellophane noodles, made from mung bean starch, which turn transparent and springy when cooked.
What changes
Best for
sukiyaki, oden and hot pot, Japanese and Korean simmered dishes, stir-fries
This is the answer if you want the texture rather than the calorie count: springy, slippery and translucent, and in a hot pot most people would not notice the swap. The difference is nutritional, not sensory: glass noodles are pure starch, so around 190 calories and 45g of carbohydrate per 2 oz. They also absorb broth greedily, so add them in the last five minutes or they drink the pot dry.
5Tofu shirataki (tofu and konjac blend)
Different texture
Use the same amount
The same konjac noodle with a little tofu worked in, sold in the same refrigerated pouches.
What changes
Best for
low-carb pasta dishes, noodle soups, anyone who dislikes plain shirataki
Softer, whiter and considerably more like real pasta, with a slight beany taste and about 20 calories per serving instead of near zero. If someone has tried shirataki and hated the rubberiness, this is the version to hand them. It is more fragile, so keep the stirring gentle and skip the long dry-frying step.
6Thin rice vermicelli or angel hair pasta, if carbs are not the point
Taste and texture differ
Use 2 oz dried for every 7 oz packet
An ordinary noodle, for when the recipe simply calls for shirataki and you do not care about the low-carbohydrate angle.
What changes
Best for
noodle soups, stir-fries, family meals
Worth saying plainly: if you are not counting carbohydrate, almost any thin noodle makes a nicer dinner than shirataki, and Japanese cooking uses glass noodles in most of the same dishes anyway. What you lose is the way shirataki holds its texture indefinitely in a simmering pot. Rice vermicelli goes soft in minutes and keeps absorbing liquid, so add it at the end.

What is Shirataki Noodles?

Shirataki Noodles is Shirataki noodles, also sold as konjac noodles, konnyaku noodles, miracle noodles or yam noodles, are translucent, rubbery-springy noodles made from the glucomannan fibre of the konjac corm, packed wet in liquid and containing almost no calories or digestible carbohydrate.

Cooking tips

Rinse them for a full minute under running water, longer than feels necessary. Shirataki is packed in an alkaline calcium hydroxide solution that smells faintly fishy the moment you open the bag, and that smell is entirely in the liquid. Drain, rinse, drain again and the noodles are odourless.
Dry-fry them. This is the one technique that turns shirataki from disappointing into good: after rinsing, put the noodles in a hot dry non-stick pan and cook them for five to eight minutes, moving them about, until they squeak and the pan is dry. Driving off the surface water makes them firmer and much more noodle-like, and lets them take on sauce.
They absorb almost nothing, ever. Unlike wheat or rice noodles, shirataki cannot soak up a thin broth or a watery sauce, so flavour has to sit on the outside. Make the sauce thicker and more concentrated than you would for pasta, and toss the noodles in it over heat for a minute so it clings.
Cut them with scissors, straight in the pan. Packet shirataki comes in very long strands that tangle into a single mass and are almost impossible to portion; two or three snips makes them manageable and stops each forkful pulling the whole bowl along with it.
Glucomannan is a very absorbent fibre, so a large bowl of shirataki is unusually filling and can feel heavy or cause bloating if you are not used to it. Start with a normal portion, around 7 oz, drink water with the meal, and treat it as a food rather than as a free pass.

Frequently asked questions

What do shirataki noodles actually taste like?

Of nothing, which is the point and also the problem. There is no wheat sweetness, no starchiness and no richness, so the noodle contributes texture and volume only, and whatever you taste comes entirely from the sauce or broth. The texture is the memorable part: springy, slightly rubbery and slippery, closer to a firm jelly noodle than to pasta. Rinsing well and dry-frying makes them far better.

Why does the packet smell fishy?

Konjac dough is set with an alkaline solution, usually calcium hydroxide or limewater, and the noodles are packed in that liquid to stay shelf-stable. The smell lives in the packing liquid, not in the noodles, so a thorough minute-long rinse in cold water removes it completely. If any hint remains, blanch them for a minute in boiling water and rinse again.

Can I use regular pasta instead of shirataki noodles?

Yes, and if you are not restricting carbohydrate it will taste better. Use about 2 oz of dried pasta per 7 oz packet of shirataki. The one thing you lose is durability: shirataki sits in a simmering hot pot for half an hour without changing, while pasta or rice noodles keep softening and absorbing liquid, so add them near the end and expect the broth level to drop.

Are shirataki noodles keto and are they really zero calorie?

They are essentially all water and glucomannan fibre, so a standard serving has a couple of calories at most and no digestible carbohydrate, which is why they are a staple of keto and low-carb cooking. Fibre is not digested for energy, so the labels are not exaggerating. That also means they provide no protein, fat or meaningful nutrition, so the rest of the bowl has to do that work.

Can I leave the shirataki out of sukiyaki or a hot pot?

You can, and the dish still works, because in a hot pot the noodle is one component among many rather than the centre. What you lose is a specific pleasure: a slippery, chewy strand that never turns soft no matter how long the pot simmers. If you want that back and do not mind the carbohydrate, glass noodles added in the last five minutes are the traditional alternative in many of the same dishes.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Shirataki Noodles substitute

Other shirataki noodles substitutes

2Kelp noodles

3Zucchini or cucumber noodles

4Mung bean glass noodles

5Tofu shirataki (tofu and konjac blend)

6Thin rice vermicelli or angel hair pasta, if carbs are not the point