Miso Noodle Soup
This miso noodle soup recipe features tofu and vegetables. This meatless soup is comforting like chicken noodle soup, but much more flavorful!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on March 27, 2025
This miso noodle soup is fresh, light, and filling all at once. It’s the perfect soup if you’re craving a warm, bright meal or feeling under the weather. Most soups need at least 30 minutes on the stove to develop full flavor, but not this one. This soup is ready in half the time.
This recipe is not traditional Japanese miso soup, which typically features kombu (dried kelp), wakame seaweed and silken tofu. If you’re looking for the delicious miso soup you enjoy at Japanese restaurants, try this one at Just One Cookbook.
This recipe is an abstract option that includes miso and tofu (extra-firm) but not seaweed. It features spaghetti noodles and fresh vegetables, including bell pepper, snow peas and carrots. It’s generously seasoned with ginger, green onion, toasted sesame oil and soy sauce.
I created this recipe over twelve years ago for Better Homes and Gardens and revisited it recently. I added more miso, soy sauce for complex saltiness, and toasted sesame oil for its savory flavor and richness.
I also switched from recommending soba noodles to regular spaghetti. While I love soba noodles, they tend to get gummy and starchy if left in liquid for any excess time, which will inevitably happen if they’re cooked in soup. Spaghetti simply works better.
I hope the improvements to this recipe and updated photos entice you to try this soup. It’s just lovely. Consider serving it in early fall before the cravings for heartier soup set in or early spring when the temperatures drop. It’s also a terrific vegetarian and vegan alternative to chicken noodle soup. Enjoy!
Miso Noodle Soup Tips
You’ll find the full recipe below. Here are a few quick tips before you get started.
- Prepare your ingredients before you start cooking so they’re ready to add.
- Let the mixture return to a simmer each time before starting your timer. We’ll add the ingredients at intervals to ensure each one is cooked evenly.
Watch How to Make This Soup
Serving Suggestions
This soup could be a light meal on its own. It features an abundance of veggies, and the tofu offers a plant-based source of protein.
If you’d like to add a complimentary side dish, consider my Seaweed Salad or a simple green salad with Ginger Salad Dressing (you could incorporate any of the vegetables used in this soup).
More Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this recipe, check out my Veggie Sushi Bowls and Build-Your-Own Buddha Bowls. You might also appreciate the following soups and stews:
Please let me know how your miso soup turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Miso Noodle Soup
This miso soup recipe features noodles, vegetables and tofu. It’s fresh and restorative and a very abstract interpretation of Japanese restaurant-style miso soup. Recipe yields 6 bowls of soup.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 4 ounces spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 1 (14-ounce) container extra-firm tofu, drained and sliced into small, bite-sized cubes
- 1 medium red bell pepper, sliced into bite-size strips (about 1 ½ cups)
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 cup fresh snow peas, halved crosswise
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and ribboned using a vegetable peeler
- ¼ cup white miso
- 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, to taste
- 1 to 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, to taste
- For extra spice (optional): additional red pepper flakes and/or sriracha
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or soup pot, bring the broth and water to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and let the mixture return to a hearty simmer. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the tofu, bell pepper, onions, ginger, and red pepper flakes (if using). Bring the mixture back to a hearty simmer, then set the timer for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the halved snow peas and carrot ribbons. Simmer for 1 minute more or until the peas are crisp-tender and the noodles are cooked through. Reduce the heat to low.
- Transfer about ½ cup of broth to a small bowl and stir in the miso. Once the mixture is smooth, stir it back into the soup. Stir in 1 tablespoon each of the sesame oil and tamari. Taste, and if it needs more saltiness or overall flavor, add another tablespoon of tamari. For more sesame flavor, stir in up to 1 more tablespoon of sesame oil.
- Remove the soup from the heat. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with additional red pepper flakes and/or a light drizzle of sriracha, if desired.
Notes
Recipe edits 2025: I revised this recipe significantly. I increased the amount of water, switched from soba to spaghetti noodles, reduced the ginger, quadrupled the miso, and added sesame oil and tamari.
Make it gluten-free: This requires a careful review of ingredient labels. Choose a sturdy gluten-free noodle, like a corn and quinoa blend. Verify that your miso and tamari are gluten-free.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This soup sounds so fabulous! Perfectly colourful too. Love it!
It’s not even 10 o’clock in the morning, and I find myself craving some of this soup!
I’m sad to admit that I’ve never had anything with Miso in it- I think it’s time to change that, this soup looks delicious!
Oh please give miso a try! It’s magical, I mean it.
This is just the kind of meal I’ve been craving!
This looks so hearty and delicious! I’ve been sick so I made myself some chicken noodle soup and I’ve pretty much overdosed on the stuff. This looks like a fresh variation that I must try this week. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!
Made this last night – so simple and delicious. Trying to have a healthy week before I leave on vacation and this is perfect!
How long would I be able to keep this?
It should be able to keep in the refrigerator, covered for a few days. Hope this helps!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I just used it as inspiration to spice up a bit of left over miso broth.
THIS IS AMAZING ! and I doubled the recipe ;)
I made this soup today and all three of my kids loved it. It’s the best miso soup I’ve ever made from scratch. Restaurant quality for sure. Thank you Kate!
Wonderful! Thank you for your review.
Can this be frozen
I don’t freeze all my recipes, so I can’t say for sure.
Such yummy soup, however, on our second meal from the pot I added in a bit of miso gravy and my husband thought it was perfect. I found it perfect either way and I have passed your recipe on to others! Thank you.
I love this recipe. I don’t need to go out for ramen anymore. This is just as delicious as what I get at restaurants.
Delicious and looks just like the photo!
This is so delicious. I made it for my son after he had his wisdom teeth out! He loves tofu and we needed to eat soft food. I didn’t have snow peas and added baby spinach at the end! It was so so so good. I will definitely make it again! Thanks!
I’m glad it was just what he needed! Thank you for your comment, Allison. I hope he has a fast recovery.
So delicious! definitely the quickest soup I’ve ever made, but so satisfying with the miso. Love the tofu addition as well.
This soup is so easy, quick, and delicious. I have been sick for weeks with a sinus infection, and now I’m dealing with the side effects of too many antibiotics. So, I thought the miso would be great for the probiotics. Since I wasn’t feeling well I didn’t want to go to the store (or ask my husband to go to the store for the second time in one day!) so I used what I had on hand and it was still really good. I used vermicelli bean thread noodles for the soba, mixed colored bell peppers, added some diced cabbage, omitted the tofu, replaced the snow peas with frozen sweet peas and it was really good. This will be on repeat this fall/winter. Thanks for another great recipe.
Kate could I use miso broth and also add the miso paste
Hi Susan, I’m not sure since I haven’t tried that. If possible, I’d stick with vegetable broth and add miso, since I know that produces balanced flavor.
This is your best soup recipe ever!! So good – easy and I made mine with chicken broth. Such as easy way to get my veggies and protein in one delicious meal!
Wish it was lower sodium. Looking for healthy low sodium recipes.
I’ve been exploring healthier recipes lately, and I love how easy and delicious this one looks! If anyone’s looking for quick and tasty ideas!
can you substitute fresh shrimp for tofu?
Hi Janice, I’m vegetarian and I don’t eat shrimp, so I’m not sure how that would work.
When you say sesame oil, Kate, do you mean toasted sesame oil or plain?
Hi Mary, thank you for asking! It should be toasted sesame oil. I have updated the recipe to clarify.
When you say sesame oil do you mean toasted or not toasted? Looking forward to trying this! Thx.
Hi Leslie, thank you for asking! It should be toasted sesame oil. I have updated the recipe to make that clear.
You are such a creative genius- As usual! Can’t believe you thought this up 12 years ago. What a fantastic idea this is. (And I’m so glad you don’t call for boiling the miso since you obviously know that that kills it living enzymes & destroys its nutritive properties or whatever!)
I had most of the ingredients on hand when I saw the email with this recipe, so I improvised with rice noodles, broccoli that I needed to use up, and tempeh instead of tofu. The base of broth, miso, tamari, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, grated ginger, along with the red bell pepper, carrot and scallions tasted great. Will definitely be making more improvised versions of this.
Hi Joan, I’m so glad you were able to make it work with what you had on hand.
Love this soup. Easy to make; the result is delicious and fresh. FYI, I am a fan of everything I have made from your site. Thanks for your commitment to offering such a wide array of vegetarian cuisine.
Hi Sydney,
Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m glad you are finding the recipes helpful!
The soup looks lovely but I question the use of tofu which in itself is tasteless and requires strong flavours to be added to it.. How do you overcome this?
Hi Yve,
This soup is seasoned with ginger, green onion, toasted sesame oil and soy sauce. I find the flavors strong enough to complement the tofu. If you like more spice, you could always add sriracha or red pepper flakes. The tofu is included to give the soup some plant-based protein.
Delicious, healthy and easy to make!
Would coconut aminos be too sweet in place of the tamari?
I’ve had some trouble with tamari in terms of gluten (even with what is
labelled ‘gluten free tamari’.
Thanks!
I’m looking forward to making this.
I think coconut aminos would work.
It is an another successful recipe. I made the soup tonight. It was delicious. My family loved to its last drop. Thank you.
We made this soup tonight, it was wonderful.
Hi Kate!
I’m in love with your site and recipes (I have your book)!! Time to write another :D. Thank you so much for being an inspiration to eat healthy. Question regarding this recipe and any others that use Miso as an ingredient. What is a good substitute since I have a soy allergy? Admittedly, no fan of beans (don’t like the pasty texture). I thought of making a sauce with Tahini, Coconut Amino Acids and water, but the recipe incorporates these flavor items separately as well. Suggestions? Thanks!
Hi Ann, thank you for the kind words. As for a substitute for miso paste, you are on the right track with coconut aminos. Use 1 ½ teaspoons for every tablespoon miso paste. I have also read about umeboshi paste, which is made from fermented plums and has a tangy, salty taste, but I haven’t tried it. That would mimic the texture. If you try that or even the tahini, let me know how it works out.
Terrific, Kate. Thank you so much and I will give these suggestions a try!
Everything about this soup is wonderful! Easy to prepare, super flavorful, and thoroughly satisfying without being heavy. Just feels so nourishing to eat. I added some sliced garlic and a few shiitake mushrooms for fun. So delicious!
Hi Amber, those additions sound amazing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup.
This was delicious, easy and quick! I added a bit extra miso because I love the flavor. Also added shine baby spinach at the end.
Hi Lynne, I am so glad you liked it! The addition of baby spinach at the end sounds great.
This was SO good! I used ramen noodles and bok choy (didn’t have any red pepper).
Made Miso Noodle Soup today. It is excellent and easy to make. I used soba noodles and it was great. I would suggest getting every item ready before you start cooking it moves fast. I will make this again and again and share with friends. Clean yummy soup. Thank you.
Thank you Kate! This is a delicious recipe & like always did not disappoint! Fast & super easy to make.
This was delicious! A real “slurpy” soup, similar to a Vietnamese pho. I substituted super firm tofu for extra-firm because my favorite brand was on sale. Easy to put together. Just prep your ingredients beforehand. I served it with a green salad.
VERY GOOD! I will definitely make again.
First off, I love all of your recipes…have your book…have given your book as a gift! Not a necessarily a vegetarian, my diet consist mostly of vegetables with the occasional chicken or fish. ;) In this recipe, could I roast/bake the tofu first? I have been able to get my husband to eat every recipe I have made of yours but he is not a huge lover of tofu. He has eaten crispy tofu before so I am sure I could entice him if the tofu was crispy. What do you think?
Hi Jo, I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes. I don’t think that the texture of the baked tofu would work in the soup broth. Using chicken or fish, since you eat those occasionally, might be better. If you’re trying to experiment with tofu recipes, there are several that work with my baked tofu recipe.
I followed recipe exactly as it reads. The taste of this soup is awesome and easy to prepare. Doesn’t take a lot of time. Thank you