Easy Vegan Miso Soup with Tofu and Vegetables

Try out this simple vegan miso soup that'll have you feasting within less than 10 minutes! This plant-based soup is perfect for anyone who wants an easy and nutritious weeknight meal at home!

Miso soup, also known as miso shiru in Japanese, is a comforting and traditional soup that can easily be adapted for a vegan version.

Despite what you might think, making miso soup is actually quite simple and is considered one of the easiest soups in Japanese cuisine. In fact, it can be prepared in under 10 minutes, making it a quick and easy option for a tasty and satisfying meal.

This recipe is for you if:
• You love miso soup.
• You want to make vegan miso soup.
• You are looking for variations for vegan miso soup.
• You are searching for an easy miso soup recipe.

Let me show you how to make it. If you want to check the recipe immediately, please visit the link below. Let's get started!

Jump to:

• About this recipe
• What is Miso Soup?
• Is Miso Soup Vegan?
• 📋 Ingredients
• Where to Buy Japanese Ingredients
• 🔪Instructions
• Vegan Miso Soup Variations
• What to serve with
• Thanks For Stopping By
• FAQ
• 📖 Recipe
• Easy Vegan Miso Soup with Tofu and Vegetables
• 💬 Comments

About this recipe

• Traditional Japanese soup
• Easy vegan miso soup recipe
• Learn variations of the ingredients

What is Miso Soup?

Miso soup is mild yet flavorful Japanese soup and perfect as a side dish for any meal of the day and provides an umami-rich taste. Its main ingredients include miso paste, dashi, and simple ingredients such as tofu, vegetables, and seaweed.

Miso soup is a daily staple enjoyed by many Japanese people (we have it almost every day for breakfast), whether at home or dining out. It is commonly found on the menus of Japanese restaurants, served alongside steamed rice and other dishes.

Is Miso Soup Vegan?

Traditional miso soup is not vegan as it typically contains fish stock. However, it is possible to make it a vegan dish with a few simple substitutions.

The three basic components of miso soup are miso paste, dashi (soup stock), and ingredients of your choice, such as vegetables and tofu.

The dashi used in traditional miso soup is often made with katsuobushi, which are dried bonito flakes. To make a vegan version, you can substitute katsuobushi with kombu (dried kelp) and dried shiitake mushrooms.

Let's find out more in the following section!

📋 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

• Miso paste
• Vegan dashi
• Ingredients of choice: You can choose any vegetables, seaweed, and tofu. I use wakame, chives, and tofu in this recipe.

See more details on each ingredient below.

Miso Paste

Miso paste is flavorful, savory, and salty fermented soybean paste, typically made from koji (a type of fungus), soybeans, and salt. The mixture is fermented for varying lengths of time, which gives the miso paste its distinct flavor and texture. The longer the fermentation process, the darker and stronger the miso paste will be.

Miso paste is rich in enzymes, probiotics, vitamins, and minerals that can promote good digestion, boost the immune system, and provide other health benefits. It's a versatile ingredient that can be used in many dishes, including soups, marinades, salad dressings, and sauces.

Learn more about miso paste in this article: What is miso paste?

Which miso paste to choose?

Here are the three different types of miso by color:

• White miso (Shiro miso) - Short fermentation (1 to 3 months). Slightly sweet with a light aroma.
• Yellow miso (Awairo miso) - Medium fermentation (4 to 8 months). It's mainstream miso.
• Red miso (Aka miso) - Long fermentation (one year or more). Salty and rich in flavor

Which one to choose is a personal preference. I like using yellow for miso soup and red for other dishes like stir-frying and dressing. I recommend yellow or sweet white miso if you are not familiar with the taste of miso paste.

If you want to find out your personal preference, try them all! Miso paste won't go bad in the fridge, so you can keep it for a long time.

Vegan Dashi

Dashi is an essential soup base that adds a distinct, savory umami flavor to traditional miso soup. It's typically made from fish stock using ingredients like katsuobushi (dried, smoked bonito flakes) or niboshi (dried baby sardines), which provide a rich and complex flavor.

However, you can substitute the dashi with kombu (dried kelp) and dried shiitake mushrooms easily, which also provide a natural source of umami. Here are two ways to make vegan dashi:

• Instant kombu dashi stock powder - Pick this option if you like something easy and quick. You just add the powder to the water. Kombu dashi powder provides a Japanese flavor, but if you can't find it at your local grocery store or Asian grocery store, you can substitute it with vegetable broth.

• Homemade vegan dashi - If you want to avoid additives and all that, pick this option. To make the broth from scratch, you will soak the kombu and shiitake mushrooms in water for at least 5 hours. It takes time, but homemade Japanese stock makes your miso soup more delicious. See the recipe below.

Ingredients of choice

You can add a variety of ingredients to miso soup!

Tofu, wakame (a type of seaweed), and scallions (green onions) are popular in Japan, but you can pick your favorite ingredients from the list above.

Here are some of my favorites to give you quick ideas:

• Bean sprouts, cabbage, and tofu
• Eringi mushrooms and bok choy
• Napa cabbage, carrot, and aburaage (fried tofu)
• Natto and shimeji mushrooms
• Onion, sweet potato, and carrot
• Rice noodles, nori sheet, and spring onion

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

🔪Instructions

I will show you how to make vegan miso soup in 5 steps. You can also watch this vegan wakame seaweed miso soup video.

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

1. Cut soup ingredients of choice
2. Put the soup ingredients, dashi powder, and water (or homeamde vegan dashi) in a saucepan
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmering over low heat
4. Turn off the heat and add miso paste
5. Dissolve the miso paste

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

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

Helpful Tips

• 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).
• It's easy to add miso paste with a whisk (see below).

Helpful tips for Tofu

• There are many types of tofu, such as silken tofu (soft tofu), firm tofu, and extra-firm tofu, and you can use them all for miso soup ingredients.
• You might wonder if you have to press tofu to remove the excess water. You have to drain the water in the package, but you don't need to press it!
• Take it out from the package, place it on your palm (if you can), cut it into cubes, and put them into a saucepan.

Miso measuring whisk

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!

Storage

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 and store it in the fridge. It will be good for 2 to 3 days.

I don't recommend putting it in the freezer because freezing and thawing change the texture of the tofu.

Vegan Miso Soup Variations

These are some of my favorite miso soup recipes! If the recipe uses regular fish dashi, substitute it with vegan dashi.

Mushroom miso soup

Ingredients: Miso paste, vegan dashi, eringi, shimeji, and maitake mushrooms

Kabocha miso soup

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

Natto miso soup

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

What to serve with

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

• Vegan miso soup
• Umeboshi onigiri (rice balls)
• Fried daikon
• Vegan vegetable gyoza (dumplings)
• Okara salad

Thanks For Stopping By

How did you like the recipe? Enjoy crafting the best flavor you love with a wide range of ingredients!

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)
• 10 Easy Japanese Miso Soup Recipes
• 8-Minute Tofu Miso Soup
• Wakame Seaweed Miso Soup
• Simple Japanese Mushroom Miso Soup

FAQ

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