Authentic Vegan Miso Soup (Healthy + Easy) - Okonomi Kitchen (2024)

Learn how to make Authentic Vegan Miso Soup with this quick and easy recipe. All you need is 5 ingredients, 15 minutes and 1 pot to make this healthy, light and nutrient packed soup.

Miso soup is a staple in Japanese cuisine. It’s something I grew up eating at least once a day and it has become my soul food. Nothing it more comforting than a flavour packed miso soup accompanied with a freshly cooked bowl of rice!

I’m assuming many of you have tried miso soup from restaurants or those handy instant packs with just tofu, wakame and green onions. However, in Japan, most families will use a variety of ingredients to make their miso soup. Today, I’ll be sharing 3 Miso Soup recipes that I grew up eating. The twist? We’re making it vegan friendly.

I think most of you will be surprised to know that miso soup is typically not vegan. Why? Because of the dashi broth. Dashi is usually made with bonito flakes/fish for that umami flavour but we will be replacing that with kombu (seaweed) dashi. It tastes just as good (if not better!!) and you don’t miss out on that umami flavour at all.

By the end of this post you’ll learn how to make Authentic Vegan Miso Soup that tastes so much better than the ones at restaurants/instant packs. Lets dive right in!

Ingredients for Vegan Miso Soup

The base of miso soup is made with dashi and miso paste. I have been some other vegan miso soup recipes use vegetable broth… and while that is still a “miso soup”, you really do miss out on the true flavour of real miso soup.

Types of Miso Paste

There are quite a few types of miso pastes and different brands. Depending on the type and brand, you will need to adjust the amount of miso paste added to the soup. As a guideline, I use 1 cup of dashi + 1 tbsp of miso paste.

• Aka (Red): Aged the longest. The most salty and strongest in flavour.
• Shiro (White) Miso: Fermented for a shorter time period. It’s less salty, slightly sweet and mild in flavour.
• Echigo (Brown) Miso: My personal favourite. Fermentation period is between red and white so it’s saltier than red, slightly sweet and pretty mild in flavour. It has bits of the grains left so after dissolving in the sieve, I add those bits in the end.

Miso Soup Variations

There are a ton of variations to miso soup as well! In this post, I’m sharing my 3 favourite variations but here are some more you can play around with. Depending on the ingredient, you will want to add it before the dashi is boiling and after the dashi is boiling.

Ingredients to Add Before Dashi is Boiling

These ingredients should be added before/during dashi is boiling so that they have time to cook.

• Daikon
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Kabocha
• Onions

Ingredients to Add After Dashi is Boiling

These ingredients should be added after the dashi is done boiling and the miso paste has been added, over low heat.

• Soft/Siken Tofu
• Yuba (Soy Bean Skin Curd)
• Aburaage (deep-fried tofu)
• Noodles (cooked)
• Napa cabbage
• Spinach
• Wakame (seaweed)
• Green onions/scallions
• Sugar snap peas

How to Make Vegan Miso Soup

Miso soup is incredibly easy to make. Probably one of the easiest soup recipes out there! Plus, all you need is one pot and it’s ready in just 15 minutes!

1. Add water and dashi to a pot. If using any add ins that need to be cooked, add them now and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium low and simmer until vegetables are tender (around 6-7 minutes).
2. Turn down heat to a low. Add miso paste into a small fine mesh sieve and dissolve it into the pot using a spoon. Be sure not to let that soup boil at any point once the miso paste is added in because this will kill any gut-healthy probiotics, nutrients and it also changes the flavour.
3. Add in any of the remaining vegetables and let it sit on the stove until heated through (around 2-3 minutes).

Serve and garnish with scallions/green onions and sesame seeds!

Tips to Making Perfect Vegan Miso Soup

• Dashi from Scratch: I’m going to be making a homemade dashi recipe soon, but for now here is a quick run down: simply soak a piece of kombu in water (I usually use a 2×2 inch for 2 cups of water) over night. Add the water and kombu into the pot and bring to a boil. Once it starts to bubble, remove the kombu and turn down the heat. Use this as the dashi.
• DO NOT Boil Miso: Boiling miso changes the flavour and kills nutrients and probiotics that is in the miso (we wanna keep the good stuff)!
• Use a Fine Mesh Sieve to Dissolve Miso: This avoids any chunks of unwanted miso paste.
• Pre-cook Add-ins: If using add-ins like spinach or wakame, pre cook/soak them so that it does not change the colour of the soup and so that it doesn’t over cook.

How to Properly Store Miso Soup

Miso soup is best served as soon as it’s cooked so I have made this recipe for just 2 servings. If you do decide to double or triple the recipe and have left overs, let the soup completely cool and store in the fridge. To reheat, add miso soup to a pot over medium but try not to let it come to a boil. I suggest keeping the miso soup and add-in ingredients separate and adding it only when serving.

Helpful Equipment to Make this Recipe

• Fine Mesh Sieve
• Miso Muddler

I hope you give making Vegan Miso Soup a try and love it as much as I do! I really enjoyed writing todays recipe because it brought back so many memories of my childhood. Even though miso soup is such a simple dish, it truly is the most comforting and nourishing soup. 🙂

More Healthy Vegan Soups to Try!

• Ozoni Japanese New Years Soup
• Kabocha Brown Rice Soup
• Lemongrass Ginger Thai Coconut Soup
• Instant Pot Panera Black Bean Soup

If you recreate this Authentic Vegan Miso Soup recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!

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