Warm your belly with this 5-minute soup on cold wintery nights. Add a dash of sesame oil and your favorite garnishes to make it extra special.
Can vegans eat miso soup (often misspelled meso soup)? Yes, as long as you buy miso paste that made predominantly from fermented soybeans. I designed this recipe for my friend Lindsay who is always looking for easy-to-make vegan and vegetarian meals. This 5-minute miso soup recipe is perfect for someone on the go. You can even make it in a mug and bring it with you to an event or to stay warm outside in a vacuum flask. Of course, you can enjoy miso soup anywhere and anytime, in any season.
RELATED: Learn more about silken tofu.
Tips for success
- Buy vegan miso paste at the Asian grocery store. Miso paste is made from two main ingredients: fermented soybeans and salt. Check the ingredient list in the miso paste you are considering buying to make sure there are no additional non-vegetarian and non-vegan ingredients, such as dashi or other fish and meat flavorings.
- You can buy the dried seaweed from Japanese or Asian grocery stores. Find the dried seaweed in the aisle with dried bean curd and seaweed, which is often next to the canned goods section.
- Add a dash of sesame oil for extra flavor.
- Substitute the green onion for your favorite garnish or herbs, such as chives or cilantro.
- There is no need to drain your silken tofu because you’re going to dunk it in miso soup anyway.
Ingredient substitutions
Substitute tofu
You can skip the tofu or you can substitute silken tofu with a different type of tofu. Try soft tofu or regular brick tofu substitute
RELATED: Learn about the different types of tofu you’ve probably never heard of.
Substitute seaweed
If you can’t find the dried seaweed in your grocery store, you can skip the seaweed. If you’d like to add some greens, you can substitute the dried seaweed with spring mix, baby lettuce, or baby spinach. Simply wash a handful of the baby greens and add to the hot soup.
5-Minute Homemade Vegan Miso Soup With Silken Tofu and Seaweed
Equipment
- Kettle
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon miso paste, find a vegan miso paste if you care that your soup is vegan or vegetarian
- 2 cups water, boil the water in a kettle
- 4 cubes silken tofu, add as much or as little as you like
- 1 tablespoon Green onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried seaweed, find at the Japanese or Asian grocery store
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- Add the miso paste to the boiling water. Be careful and avoid burning yourself. Stir to dissolve the miso paste.
- Add the seaweed and green onions to the miso soup. Allow it to sit for 3 minutes to give the seaweed time to hydrate.
- Once the seaweed is fully hydrated, the soup is almost ready to drink. You can check by scooping up some seaweed to check if it has fully unraveled. If substituting, add the spring mix or baby spinach at this step.
- Add the cubes of silken tofu. Your miso soup is ready to serve
- Enjoy your 5-minute homemade miso soup!
Nutrition
What to eat with miso soup
Similar recipes
No, you can omit tofu from miso soup. You can enjoy miso soup with only miso or you can add other mix-ins, such as seaweed, shredded vegetables, or chopped green onions.
The traditional tofu choice for miso soup is silken tofu. At a Japanese restaurant, miso soup usually comes with cubes of silken tofu cut into the size of Thompson Seedless grapes. But, one of the greatest benefits of cooking is you can use any kind of tofu you like, including cubed firm or extra firm tofu. You can also make the cubes bigger (like the size of a cherry tomato) or smaller (like the size of a sweet pea).
Because silken tofu is soft and delicate, it may fall apart in your miso soup. You can reduce the chances by cutting it into smaller cubes. Silken tofu the size of a sweet pea will fall apart less likely than tofu the size of a large egg yolk. It’s OK for silken tofu to fall apart. It might not look as pretty but it tastes just as good.
If you use silken tofu, you never need to press or drain it (because your soup is wet anyway). For other kinds of tofu, especially firmer varieties, you can press tofu if you like it to have a chewy, meat-like texture.
READ NEXT: How to use silken tofu in fruit smoothies for tasty, high-protein breakfasts & snacks
