1 Simple Miso Soup Recipe, 5 Ways to Make It

Chicken noodle miso soup, a spicy kimchi and egg version, and more ways to play with a basic miso soup recipe.
Classic Miso Soup recipe
Laura Murray

If you grew up reading fashion magazines, you're familiar with the 1-outfit-5-ways setup, which was always like, wear the sweater...around your waist! The 90s were wild. I'm also pretty sure all of those "definitely true" embarrassing horror stories were "definitely not true." My editor says I'm digressing, so let's get to the point here, which is: I have 1 basic miso soup recipe plus 4 ways to riff on it by senior food editor Claire Saffitz. They're all really great, but more important, they're easy. Though, I've only seen Claire wear her apron one way, so she's got a lot to learn. We all do.

Each recipe makes a base dashi (the broth of miso soup) out of kombu (dried kelp) and bonito (dried tuna flakes, my cat loves these), and some have wakame (dried seaweed). You can find everything in the "international" section of Whole Foods, health food stores, or mega grocery stores like Fairway.

The other essential ingredients to note here are miso and silken tofu. There are a ton of different kinds of miso, but we're using white miso because, per Claire: "Sweet white or mellow white are slightly more delicate in flavor (generally, the darker they are the more they're aged, which makes them stronger/funkier). I also really like South River brand, which is super high quality and artisanal." But TBH she told me you could really use any miso. Just know that red will be saltier and stronger in flavor, and maybe you're into that!

Silken tofu is the smoothest, most delicate tofu option (people love to make puddings with it); it melts in your mouth. If you can't find it, the softest tofu option is your next-best bet. Claire recommends the Nasoya organic brand.

Last thing that applies to all of the recipes: You don't want to boil the soup once the miso is added because boiling destroys whatever living microorganisms are in there. Gentle simmer, folks.

The recipes + some tips:

Laura Murray

Classic Miso Soup

This is the most classic miso soup you can make, and, once you realize that whole dashi part is a lot easier than it seems, you'll be making it instead of picking it up at your take-out sushi joint.

Oh, but remember: This isn't the kind of soup you make in a giant stock pot and reheat all week. Why: the wakame expands when you hydrate it, but the more it sits in hot liquid, the more it turns into a mushy slime texture. The lesson here is live in the moment.

Laura Murray

Miso Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is a take on sick-day chicken noodle soup, so pair it with a marathon of daytime TV court shows and a box of saltines. You start with the classic dashi like before, then cook carrot coins in the same pot with the little star pasta you know you love, until they're both cooked—around 4 minutes. Yes, they cook together! Genius. Drain em, add to the dashi, throw in some rotisserie chicken, add the miso in per usual, and crank the volume on Judge Judy.

Laura Murray

Sweet Potato Turmeric Miso Soup

I know this one looks like modern art, but you don't have to own a beret and rent a windowless studio in an old sock factory to make it. Roast a sweet potato in the oven like it was any other night (and not special miso soup night), and while that's happening, make your dashi. When the sweet potato's ready, you'll scoop out the flesh and blend it with the dashi, miso, a can of coconut milk, and some turmeric. Reheat all of that creamy wonderfulness to a gentle simmer and serve it topped with toasted coconut flakes, or crushed up peanuts, or crushed up Lay's potato chips for all I care—then Instagram the sh*t out of it.

Laura Murray

Green Miso Soup with Soba

You can tell from all the green stuff in this photo that this recipe is probably healthy. And you're right! It's packed with herbs, edamame, and nutty buckwheat soba noodles. It's simple and ridiculously satisfying. But if you need more to be more satisfied, you could add cooked shrimp, pulled rotisserie chicken, cooked shiitake mushrooms, or a squeeze of lime.

Laura Murray

Spicy Kimchi Miso Soup

During the tasting rounds for these recipes, this one was my favorite. Just look at those jammy, 6-minutes eggs and tell me you don't want to eat that. You add the kimchi in with the tofu, and gochujang with the miso. That's seriously it. If you want to crank up the heat, you can add more gochujang to taste, just go a teaspoon at a time until the desired amount of steam is coming out of your ears. Another tip is to throw in some of the juice from the kimchi, which adds heat and funk.

And that's all, folks! 1 basic miso soup, 5 ways to make it. Here are all the recipes:

Classic Miso Soup

Miso Chicken Noodle Soup

Sweet Potato Turmeric Miso Soup

Green Miso Soup with Soba