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easy miso soup recipe
Isla Marie

Authentic Japanese Miso Soup

Classic umami-packed miso soup with homemade dashi, silky tofu, wakame seaweed, and green onions. Light, soothing, and ready faster than delivery sushi.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings: 4 small bowls
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Gluten Free, Lunch, Soup, Vegan
Cuisine: Japanese
Calories: 45
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dashi (Broth)
  • 4 cups 1 L cold water
  • 10 g kombu dried kelp, one 4×4 inch piece
  • 15 g katsuobushi bonito flakes – omit for vegan
Soup
  • 3 –4 tbsp miso paste shiro/white = mild & sweet, aka/red = bold
  • 150 –200 g silken tofu cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp dried wakame seaweed
  • 2 green onions very thinly sliced
  • Instant Hack when lazy
  • 4 cups water + 1–1½ tsp hon-dashi granules

Equipment

  • Medium saucepan
  • Fine mesh strainer
  • Ladle & small bowl (for dissolving miso)
  • Chopsticks or fork

Method
 

  1. Make Dashi
  2. Gently wipe kombu → place in cold water → heat slowly to just under boil (10 min) → remove kombu → add katsuobushi → turn off heat → steep 2–3 min → strain.
  3. Rehydrate Wakame
  4. Soak wakame in warm water 5 min → drain → chop if needed.
  5. Dissolve Miso
  6. Ladle ½ cup hot dashi into small bowl → whisk in miso until completely smooth → pour back into pot.
  7. Finish Soup
  8. Add tofu cubes + wakame → heat gently 1–2 min (do NOT boil after adding miso).
  9. Serve
  10. Ladle into bowls → top with green onions → enjoy immediately.

Notes

Never boil miso → kills flavor and healthy probiotics
Gluten-free → choose barley-free miso (most white/shiro miso is safe)
Vegan → skip bonito flakes, use kombu + dried shiitake dashi
Dashi keeps 3–4 days in fridge → make extra
Adjust miso to taste → 1 tbsp per cup is standard