Miso Soup with Mushrooms Recipe
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Jump to RecipeThis Miso Soup with Mushrooms is a bright and flavorful soup, loaded with simple ingredients, fresh vegetables, and hearty tofu. Ready in just 15 minutes, this easy soup makes great light lunch or side dish with dinner.
Light miso paste has a wonderful salty flavor, which pairs nicely with the earthy mushrooms and fresh onions. This one-pot vegetarian soup is easy to make, and is great to serve with your favorite protein!
Want more quick soup ideas? Try our vegetarian udon noodle soup, spaghetti squash soup, and our favorite vegetarian egg drop soup!
This miso soup with mushrooms is definitely our weeknight ‘go-to’ meal when we want something simple, quick, and comforting! If you keep some miso paste in the refrigerator and fresh ingredients on hand, and this one-pot soup makes a great meal any time of day or night.
Traditional miso soup is made with dashi (made with bonito fish flakes), but I omitted the dashi to keep my version vegetarian, and substituted mushrooms instead in the broth. It’s a wonderfully light dish but also has filling protein from the tofu! This soup can be the main course for dinner, or as an appetizer. I usually throw some jasmine rice in the rice cooker while the water for the soup is boiling, and everything is ready at once!
Why This Recipe Works
- It’s fresh, flavorful, and loaded with vegetables.
- A warm bowl of cozy, satisfying soup.
- Salty (in a good way!)
- This version is a great vegan/vegetarian version of classic miso soup
- A great versatile dish – see other favorite vegetables you can add-in below.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Shiitake Mushrooms & Green Onions
- Light Sweet Miso Paste – I love light and sweet miso paste, I always keep a pack in my pantry for recipes when I want to add a little umami flavor in a pinch. Miso is a paste made from lightly fermented soy beans, and is a classic in soups and Asian dishes. I use light sweet miso paste, and it adds the perfect amount of flavor to this soup!
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Water – as the base of this soup, I like to use water and dissolve the miso paste in it. You could use an unsalted vegetable stock or broth too, if desired.
- Firm silken tofu – for added protein and texture in this soup.
- Greens – I used baby bok choy for my soup, but you can add in seaweed or another type of green like watercress, baby spinach, or baby kale.
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
Additions and Substitutions
- If you want to add dashi flakes, which are a traditional Japanese ingredient, you certainly can! Just know they do contain fish and are not vegan/vegetarian-friendly.
- Add in seaweed if you have some on hand.
- For a spicier soup, add sriracha to taste.
- If you want a saltier soup, you can add in more miso paste or a bit of soy sauce for extra flavor.
How To Make This Soup
Step 1: In a large saucepan bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Using a garlic press, press the 4 cloves of garlic right into the boiling water. Slice the mushrooms and bok choy and add to pot, cook for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the cubed tofu and green onions, and cook for 5 minutes longer.
Step 3: Then add in the miso paste, remove from heat and stir for 3 more minutes until the miso paste has dissolved.
Step 4: Serve the soup into bowls. Top with extra green onions, and serve hot. Add sriracha or soy sauce if desired.
Recipe FAQs
Tradition Japanese miso soup can contain dashi, which is made from bonito flakes. This version is plant-based and omits the dashi for a tasty plant-based version with no fish.
I used sliced shiitake mushrooms, but cremini mushrooms or white mushrooms also work well. If you have dried mushrooms you can use those too, just be sure to soak them in hot water before adding them to the soup.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container and enjoy within 2 days. Make sure to give the soup a good stir before eating as the miso paste can settle at the bottom and make the soup cloudy (that’s normal!)
Expert Tips
- For a more traditional soup, you can add in dashi flakes or seaweed, if desired.
- Make sure to slice the mushrooms and tofu into bite-sized pieces, making them as consistent in size as possible.
- Wait until the end to dissolve the miso paste, and try not to boil it to preserve the flavor.
More Tasty Vegetarian Soup Ideas
- Mushroom Soup with Coconut Milk
- Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup
- Tomato Soup with Noodles
- Black Bean Soup with Avocado
- Vegetable Soup with Egg Noodles
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If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
Miso Soup with Mushrooms
Equipment
- Pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons miso paste white or red
- 6 cups water
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup mushrooms washed and sliced (I used shiitake)
- 2 heads baby bok choy
- 4 ounces silken tofu cubed
- 2 green onions
Instructions
- In a large saucepan bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Using a garlic press, press the 4 cloves of garlic right into the boiling water. Slice the mushrooms and bok choy and add to pot, cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the cubed tofu and green onions, and cook for 5 minutes longer.
- Then add in the miso paste, remove from heat and stir for 3 more minutes until the miso paste has dissolved.
- Serve the soup into bowls. Top with extra green onions, and serve hot. Add sriracha or soy sauce if desired.
Notes
- If you want to add dashi flakes, which are a traditional Japanese ingredient, you certainly can! Just know they do contain fish and are not vegan/vegetarian-friendly.
- Add in seaweed if you have some on hand.
- For a spicier soup, add sriracha to taste.
- If you want a saltier soup, you can add in more miso paste or a bit of soy sauce for extra flavor.
Nutrition
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Hi Kelly,
This looks yummy. What is the. Serving size?
I need to watch my carbs, due to diabetes , and so I need to know before I eat it.
Thank you
Hello Judy – there are 3 servings total in this soup, so each serving is about 2-2.5 cups each. Let me know how you enjoy it!
– Kelly
Delicious I’m trying to eat less animal protein and this is easy to prepare and really good
I’ve made your recipe for miso soup a number of times. We always enjoy it. The ingredients are perfect for us. Very delicious!
We have miso soup all the time, it is great to have for breakfast ~ really sets you up for the day. Especially love it though when I am feeling poorly, you can feel the goodness seeping in to your body. Thanks for the follow btw 🙂
What’s a garlic press? I didn’t even know those existed, sounds like a great tool
You won’t miss a thing 🙂
This looks magnificent! I love miso soup but had always prepared it with a traditional fish stock and need an alternative. I will be trying yours when I get the hankering for miso soup!