This easy miso soup can be easily made gluten free and is super easy to make! You can have it ready in less than 10 minutes, and it's a perfect to pair with any meal or enjoyed as a quick, light lunch. Pair it with our classic tonkatsu (pork cutlet) or air fried chicken katsu for a complete and satisfying lunch or dinner!
Whenever Kyong and I order Japanese takeouts or get sushi, I've never failed to also get a serving of miso soup. Something about starting a meal with a light, warm soup just makes me so happy and comforted.
This easy miso soup is a back pocket recipe ours. It's such a handy recipe to have on days where we want to eat something simple because we don't feel like cooking or on days we just need a quick, last minute soup to complete our meal.
If you liked this miso soup recipe, you may also love our egg drop soup recipe! It's unorthodox, but we enjoy eating kimbap with miso soup as well. If you're interested in a kimbap recipe, check out our spam kimbap!
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Ingredient notes
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Water and hondashi powder - To make miso soup quick and easy, we are making the soup base using water and hondashi powder. Hondashi powder is the granulated powdered form of dash broth, which will give the miso soup the dashi flavors it needs. However, you could make dashi broth for this miso soup to make it more nutritious.
- Tofu - Although the most popular and commonly used tofu is silken and soft tofu, miso soup can be made with any firmness of tofu. So feel free to use the one you prefer or have on hand.
- Wakame seaweed - If your wakame seaweed comes in large pieces, make sure to either break or cut them into ¼ inch or smaller pieces so that it's easier to eat. They expand when simmering in the soup.
- Miso paste - These days you can find gluten free miso pastes pretty readily available. If it is not labeled gluten free, read the ingredient label to make sure it doesn't contain ingredients with gluten, such as wheat or barley. You can also use regular miso paste if you prefer. Feel free to use which ever type of miso of your preference, whether white, yellow, or red miso. Do note that the dark color the miso, the saltier and deeper flavor it tends to be.
- Green onions (optional) - It's optional but it adds an additional savory flavor to miso soup.
Miso soup add-ons
Feel free to add your favorite add-ons to your miso soup. If you need some ideas, here is a list of some popular ingredients to add:
- Mushrooms
- Onions
- Root vegetables like potato, taro, and daikon radish
- Proteins from pork to shrimps and tofu
How to make gluten free miso soup
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
1. Make the base. In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil and add the hondashi powder, wakame seaweed, and tofu cubes. Bring the soup back to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes or until the seaweed is completely rehydrated.
3. Add the miso. Turn off the heat and use a strainer to dissolve the gluten free miso paste or regular miso paste into the soup.
🌟 Pro tip: If you don't have a strainer, you can scoop a small amount of soup into a bowl and mix the miso paste into the soup to dissolve. Then, add it back into the soup.
4. Add the green onion. Serve the miso soup while it's hot.
What to serve with miso soup
Miso soup is a very versatile side that goes well with any meal! Here are some common dishes enjoyed with miso soup:
- Grilled or pan seared fish
- Sushi, sashimi, nigiri
- Fried dishes like tempura, tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork cutlet), and air fried chicken katsu
- with rice to go along with any meal
- Noodles like shrimp yaki udon or creamy shrimp udon
Recipe tips
- If you prefer, you can use homemade dashi broth in place of water and hondashi powder for more nutrition.
- For gluten free miso soup, make sure to look for gluten free miso paste! If your miso packaging doesn't have a gluten free label, check the ingredients to make sure it does not include ingredients with gluten, such as barley and wheat.
- Don't boil the soup once the miso has been added. Boiling the miso will reduce the aromatic qualities and nutritional benefits miso has to offer.
Storage
Any leftover miso soup can be stored in an airtight container once it is completely cooled and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you plan on making extra miso soup, we recommend taking out the extra soup before adding miso, and only adding miso to the soup you'll be eating. For example, if you make a whole recipe of our miso soup but only plan on eating 1 serving, take out the remaining 3 servings and add only 1 tablespoon of miso to the serving you'll be eating. This is so the miso stays as fresh, aromatic, and as nutritious as possible.
Reheating
If you have leftover miso soup with the miso paste already added, heat the miso soup in a pot until hot or right before it starts simmering. This is to preserve as much flavor and nutrition in the miso as possible.
If you haven't added miso paste to the soup yet, you can bring the soup to a boil. Turn off the heat, then dissolve the miso paste into the soup like the recipe instructs and enjoy!
FAQ
Not all miso soup is gluten free. To make gluten free miso soup, make sure to use gluten free miso paste. Gluten free miso pastes are usually labelled "gluten free." If it is not, you can check the ingredient list to make sure it doesn't contain any ingredients with gluten, such as wheat or barley.
You can use any type of miso, and it depends on what you prefer. The most common types of miso are white, yellow, and red. White miso is creamy and sweeter while the red miso is richer and saltier.
The main ingredients to make miso soup are dashi broth and miso paste. Everything else are add-ons, but you'd often find miso soup with tofu and wakame seaweed.
You can use any tofu of your choice, whether it be silken, soft, medium firm, or firm. It's up to your personal preference.
If you’ve made this recipe or any recipes from our blog, please tag us on Instagram using #twoplaidaprons! You can also tag us in your Instagram stories using @two_plaid_aprons. We would love to see your creations! It absolutely makes our day! 🥰
📖 Recipe
Easy Miso Soup (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon hondashi powder
- ¼ cup wakame seaweed cut or broken into smaller ½ inch pieces
- 8 ounces tofu drained and cut into ½ inch cubes or smaller
- 4 tablespoons gluten free miso paste white, yellow, or red miso (You can also use regular, not gluten free miso paste as well)
- 1 stalk green onion thinly sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the water to a boil and add the hondashi powder, wakame seaweed, and tofu cubes.
- Bring the soup back up to a boil, then reduce the heat to a high simmer. Let the soup simmer for about 3 minutes or until the wakame seaweed is rehydrated.
- Turn off the heat and use a strainer to dissolve the miso paste into the soup.*If you don't have a strainer, you can scoop out a small amount of soup to dissolve the miso paste, then add it back into the soup.*
- Add the sliced green onions and serve the miso soup while hot and enjoy!
Notes
- Miso paste - You can use white, yellow, or red miso. It's all up to your preference. White miso is creamier and sweeter, and red miso is saltier and richer in flavor. You can also adjust the amount of miso used to your preference as well.
- Red miso paste - Because red miso is usually saltier and richer in flavor, we recommend using 3 tablespoons of red miso per recipe. But feel free to use more of less to your preference!
- Tofu - Although silken tofu is often the most popular choice of tofu for miso soup, you can use your preferred firmness.
- Wakame seaweed - Dry wakame seaweed will expand as it rehydrates in the soup, so make sure to break or cut them into smaller pieces for easier eating.
- Hondashi - This is a quick dashi stock alternative in granule form. It makes great dashi broth and you can skip having to make dashi from scratch.
Dina Rodriguez says
Can I use shiitake mushroom instead?
Mei says
Hi Dina!
What are you substituting shiitake mushrooms for?
Mei ❤️
Eunice says
I don't know why I never tried to make miso soup at home but this recipe was amazing! Found this recipe from the Instagram algorithm and so happy that I did. Super easy and very yummy!!
Mei says
Hi Eunice! So happy that you found us and enjoyed the miso soup!
Mei ❤️
Anjali says
I refer to this recipe so often now and I make miso soup for my husband every week! Thank you for the simple recipe! The instructions are easy to understand.
Mei says
Hi Anjali!
Miso soup is honestly my favorite as well! We're so happy that you guys enjoyed it, and we really appreciate you leaving us such a kind comment!
Mei ❤️