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Home » Recipes » Japanese Soup Recipes

11 Easy Miso Soup Recipes And How To Make It

Published: Nov 23, 2022 · Modified: Aug 11, 2023 · Auther: Juri Austin

5 from 2 votes
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Find a new favorite Miso Soup recipe that'll warm your heart and soul with these 11 variations! Learn how to make it and enjoy a healthy and delicious Japanese soup!

wakame miso soup in a soup bowl.

Have you ever experienced the delicious flavor of soup served in a Japanese restaurant? Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup made from miso paste, dashi broth, and a variety of ingredients such as tofu, seaweed, and green onions. It is an everyday staple in Japanese cuisine.

Through this post, you'll be able to learn the step-by-step process of making easy miso soup, along with 11 delicious miso soup recipes. These recipes are simple to follow and can be made in no time!

Treat yourself to a delightful bowl of classic Japanese miso soup at home!

    This recipe is for you if:
  • You love Japanese miso soup.
  • You want to make miso soup.
  • You are looking for miso soup recipes.

Let's get started!

Jump to:
  • About This Recipe
  • 11 Japanese Miso Soup Recipes
  • 1. Tofu Miso Soup
  • 2. Mushroom Miso Soup
  • 3. Wakame Seaweed Miso Soup
  • 4. Daikon Miso Soup
  • 5. Kabocha Miso Soup
  • 6. Summer Vegetable Miso Soup
  • 7. Natto Miso Soup
  • 8. Egg and Cabbage Miso Soup
  • 9. Vegetable Miso Soup
  • 10. Nameko Mushrooms and Cabbage Miso Soup
  • 11. Japanese Sweet Potato Miso Soup
  • How To Make Miso Soup
  • 1. Miso Paste
  • 2. Dashi
  • 3. Ingredients of Choice
  • Where to Buy Japanese Ingredients
  • Tofu Miso Soup Ingredients
  • How to Make Miso Soup (5 Easy Steps)
  • How To Make Tofu Miso Soup
  • How To Store
  • What To Serve With
  • Thanks For Stopping By!
  • FAQ
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 11 Easy Miso Soup Recipes
  • 💬 Comments

About This Recipe

  • Easy and simple Japanese soup
  • 11 easy miso soup recipes
  • Japanese ingredients explained
  • List of Ingredients
  • 5 steps to make miso soup

11 Japanese Miso Soup Recipes

8 miso soup recipes

Let's dive into the varieties of miso soup recipes! Here are easy and cozy classic miso soups you can try today!

  1. Tofu Miso Soup
  2. Mushroom Miso Soup
  3. Wakame Seaweed Miso Soup
  4. Daikon Miso Soup
  5. Kabocha Miso Soup
  6. Summer Vegetable Miso Soup
  7. Natto Miso Soup
  8. Egg and Cabbage Miso Soup
  9. Vegetable Miso Soup
  10. Nameko and Cabbage Miso Soup
  11. Japanese Sweet Potato Miso Soup

1. Tofu Miso Soup

tofu miso soup served in a bowl.

This is a classic miso soup and the most popular one with tofu cubes and scallions.

Ingredients: Miso paste, katsuobushi dashi granules, tofu, and scallions

Easy 8-Minute Tofu Miso Soup Recipe
5 from 8 votes
Learn how to make tofu miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
tofu miso soup in a Japanese soup bowl.

2. Mushroom Miso Soup

mushroom miso soup in a saucepan.

This is a vegan miso soup with kombu kelp dashi. Use four Japanese mushrooms, and the combination of mushrooms is the key flavor in this recipe.

Ingredients: Miso paste, kombu dashi powder, shiitake, shimeji, eringi, and maitake.

Simple Mushroom Miso Soup Recipe
5 from 4 votes
Learn how to make mushroom miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
Japanese mushroom miso soup in a bowl.

3. Wakame Seaweed Miso Soup

wakame seaweed miso soup served in a bowl.

This is another traditional miso soup with wakame, soft tofu, and chopped scallions.

Ingredients: Miso paste, kombu dashi powder, tofu, wakame seaweed, scallions

Easy Homemade Miso Soup With Wakame Seaweed
5 from 2 votes
Learn how to make wakame seaweed miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
wakame seaweed miso soup in a soup bowl.

4. Daikon Miso Soup

daikon miso soup in a saucepan.

Ingredients: Miso paste, niboshi dashi, daikon, daikon leaves, aburaage

Japanese Daikon Miso Soup (Niboshi Dashi)
5 from 6 votes
Learn how to make daikon miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
daikon miso soup

5. Kabocha Miso Soup

kabocha miso soup served in a bowl.

Ingredients: Miso paste, niboshi dashi, kabocha squash, komatsuna, and tofu

Easy Kabocha Miso Soup
5 from 2 votes
Learn how to make kabocha miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
kabocha miso soup in a bowl

6. Summer Vegetable Miso Soup

summer vegetable miso soup served in a bowl.

Ingredients: Miso paste, niboshi dashi powder, zucchini, eggplant, and tomato

Summer Vegetable Miso Soup
5 from 4 votes
Learn how to make kabocha miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
Japanese summer vegetable miso soup in a bowl

7. Natto Miso Soup

natto miso soup served in a bowl.

Ingredients: Miso paste, dashi packet, natto, shimeji mushrooms, and scallion

Natto Miso Soup
5 from 5 votes
Learn how to make natto miso soup in this recipe.
Make This Recipe
natto miso soup in a bowl

8. Egg and Cabbage Miso Soup

cabbage and egg miso soup in a bowl.

Ingredients: Miso paste, niboshi dashi, cabbage, moyashi, egg

9. Vegetable Miso Soup

vegetable miso soup in a bowl.

Ingredients: Miso paste, niboshi dashi, carrot, onion, aburaage, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp

10. Nameko Mushrooms and Cabbage Miso Soup

nameko and cabbage miso soup in a saucepan.

Ingredients: Miso paste, katsuobushi dashi powder, cabbage, nameko mushrooms

11. Japanese Sweet Potato Miso Soup

Japanese sweet potato miso soup in a saucepan.

Ingredients: Miso paste, dashi powder, Japanese sweet potato, onion, and aburaage

Japanese Sweet Potato Miso Soup
5 from 3 votes
Try this delicious and hearty bowl of Japanese sweet potato miso soup! Made with savory miso paste and tender sweet potatoes, this soup will surely satisfy and nourish you!
Make This Recipe
Japanese sweet potato miso soup in a serving bowl.

How To Make Miso Soup

miso soup ingredients illustration.

Let me walk you through the ingredients and how to make miso soup. There are three basic ingredients:

  1. Miso paste
  2. Dashi (soup stock)
  3. Ingredients of your choice (such as vegetables and tofu)

Let's find out more in the following sections!

Learn more about miso soup in How to Make Japanese Miso Soup: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Miso Paste

Miso paste.

Miso is flavorful, savory, and salty fermented food (soybean paste), an essential seasoning for Japanese cuisine. It's a healthy and nutritious-rich ingredient containing beneficial bacteria (see the benefits here).

Have you ever seen different types of miso paste? The darker miso means it was aged longer (the Maillard reaction), has a rich flavor, and tastes less sweet than light-colored miso.

White miso paste (shiro miso) is the way to go for a sweet and mild taste. If you're looking for more rich flavor, try red miso paste (aka miso). 

Learn more about miso paste in What Is Miso Paste And How To Use It.

2. Dashi

4 dashi ingredients.

Dashi stock is essential for giving miso soup its unique umami flavor and aroma. We use the ingredients below for making dashi in Japanese cooking. They are used by themselves or combined.

  • Katsuobushi (Bonito flakes)
  • Kombu Seaweed (Kelp)
  • Shiitake Mushroom
  • Niboshi (Baby anchovy)

How are they made into dashi? There are 3 types:

  1. Make homemade dashi, such as awase dashi, from these dashi ingredients.
  2. Dashi powder or dashi granules
  3. Dashi packet

Learn more about Japanese dashi in What is dashi: How to make Japanese Dashi.

3. Ingredients of Choice

ingredients of choice for miso soup.

The ingredients of choice are limitless, so we don't get bored eating the soup every day. The most popular ones are wakame seaweed, tofu, and green onions, like this wakame seaweed miso soup.

Here are the ingredients you can pick for your miso soup!

  • Root Vegetables - Daikon radish, sweet potato, carrot, onion, potatoes, gobo
  • Leafy Vegetables - Spinach, bok choy
  • Other Vegetables - Green onions, chives, scallions, kabocha squash, tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, zucchini, cabbage, napa cabbage, moyashi sprout
  • Mushrooms - Shiitake mushrooms, eringi mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms
  • Dried Seaweed - Wakame seaweed, aosa, tororo kombu,
  • Soybean Products - Silken tofu, firm tofu, aburaage, atsuage, natto
  • And many more - Egg, clams, fish cake

Pick your favorite ingredient from the list and make your own miso soup daily! By the way, I like to put three or more ingredients to make it a hearty soup.

Where to Buy Japanese Ingredients

If you live in the US, you can find Japanese ingredients in the list below.

  • Japanese market: Mitsuwa Marketplace, Marukai
  • Asian market
  • Whole Foods Market
  • Health food stores
  • Online stores: Instacart, Walmart, Amazon

Tofu Miso Soup Ingredients

Ingredients for tofu miso soup.

Here is an example of Tofu miso soup, which is one of the basic miso soup recipes, and they are made of these ingredients:

  1. Rice Miso paste (yellow)
  2. Katsuobushi dashi powder
  3. Soft tofu
  4. Scallions

How to Make Miso Soup (5 Easy Steps)

5 Easy Steps to Make Miso Soup.

How to make it is so simple and easy as follows:

  • Step 1 - Cut ingredients
  • Step 2 - Put ingredients, dashi, and water in a saucepan
  • Step 3 - Bring to a boil and simmer
  • Step 4 - Add miso paste
  • Step 5 - Dissolve miso paste

Please see more details in this tofu miso soup video.

How To Make Tofu Miso Soup

Let me guide you through the step-by-step process of making tofu miso soup. These steps are the same for other ingredients as well. You can watch a video tutorial on this Tofu miso soup video.

how to make tofu miso soup.

1. Chop scallion and cut tofu into cubes.

how to make tofu miso soup.

2. Put the scallions, tofu, dashi powder, and water in a saucepan.

how to make tofu miso soup.

3. Bring to a boil on medium heat, lower the heat, and simmer for one minute. Since both tofu and scallions can be eaten raw, they don't require much cooking time. Simply cook them to warm them up.

how to make tofu miso soup.

4. Turn off the heat and add miso paste using a miso measuring whisk.

how to make tofu miso soup.

5. Stir gently until it dissolves.

Serve

Tofu miso soup in a Japanese soup bowl.

That's it! Miso soup is best enjoyed when it's hot, so serve it immediately!

By the way, we use these Miso soup bowls (Owan in Japanese) to serve miso soup. Maybe it's just me, but the miso soup tastes better when eaten in this bowl!

Helpful Tips

  • In Japanese cooking, it is common to cut tofu on your palm. Doing so lets you gently transfer the tofu directly into the pot after cutting without worrying about breaking it.
  • Always add miso paste after turning off the heat. If you boil the miso, you will lose the excellent flavor.
  • When adding the miso to your soup, stir gently (try not to break the tofu).
  • I highly recommend the miso measuring whisk for convenience and precision! More information on this whisk can be found below.

Miso measuring whisk

Miso measuring whisk with miso paste.

This miso measuring whisk is a MUST tool for making miso soup.

You can easily measure and scoop miso paste. All you need to do is to put this whisk into the miso container and turn it around! Plus, you can put the whisk into the soup directly to dissolve the miso.

I love it so much! I highly recommend having this simple tool if you make miso soup often!

How To Store

wakame miso soup in a glass jar.

Fresh miso soup is the best, but if you have leftovers, let it cool and keep it in the fridge.

Transfer the soup to a glass jar or airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will be good for 2 to 3 days.

What To Serve With

onigiri, tamagoyaki, and salad served on a plate along with miso soup.

You can serve your soup with onigiri rice balls a bowl of rice, and other traditional Japanese dishes to give it a more authentic feel. Here are some recipes you might want to try:

  • Tofu miso soup
  • Kombu onigiri
  • Tuna and scallion tamagoyaki
  • Wakame salad
  • Nukazuke

Thanks For Stopping By!

Tofu miso soup in a sauce pan.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡ . If you've tried this recipe (or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

More Miso Soup Recipes You Might Like

  • What Is Miso Soup?
  • Miso Soup Ingredients (And How To Make It)
  • 8-Minute Tofu Miso Soup
  • Wakame Seaweed Miso Soup
  • Simple Japanese Mushroom Miso Soup
  • 10-Minute Vegan Miso Soup

FAQ

What is typically in a miso soup?

Miso soup is made from three basic components: Miso paste, dashi (soup stock), and Ingredients of your choice. The most common ingredients are tofu, scallions, and wakame seaweed.

Why is miso soup not vegan?

Because we usually use katsuobushi (bonito) dashi for miso soup. But you can easily make it vegan using kombu dashi.

How often do Japanese people eat miso soup?

Miso soup is a daily staple in a traditional Japanese meal. It depends on the family, but I make it almost every day, and we eat it a couple of times a day.

📖 Recipe

wakame miso soup in a soup bowl.

11 Easy Miso Soup Recipes

5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Save Saved!
Prep: 5 minutes minutes
Cook: 3 minutes minutes
Total: 8 minutes minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Author: JURI
This guide is a great place to start if you're looking for miso soup ingredients. Learn the basics for the authentic recipe and savor the taste of Japan!
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
  

  • Miso Paste
  • Dashi Stock
  • Ingredients of choice
  • Water

Instructions

  • Pick a recipe from these miso soup recipes:
    Tofu miso soup
    Mushroom miso soup
    Wakame seaweed miso soup
    Daikon miso soup
    Kabocha miso soup
    Summer vegetable miso soup
    Natto miso soup
    Japanese sweet potato miso soup
  • Follow the recipe instructions and enjoy the delicious soup!

Video

Notes

  • In Japanese cooking, it is common to cut tofu on your palm. Doing so lets you gently transfer the tofu directly into the pot after cutting without worrying about breaking it.
  • Always add miso paste after turning off the heat. If you boil the miso, you will lose the excellent flavor.
  • When adding the miso to your soup, stir gently (try not to break the tofu).
  • I highly recommend the miso measuring whisk for convenience and precision! 
  •  
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: miso soup recipe
Did You Make this recipe?Please Leave a star rating!

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