This miso soup is an amazing starter, or customize your favorite toppings to make it a meal.

Hardy kale stands in for wakame seaweed in this untraditional but crazy good kale miso soup. It’s full of umami flavor and probiotics from the miso, freshness from the ginger, garlic, and scallions, and protein from the tofu.

Kale miso soup is my favorite thing to sip on when I want comfort, but need veggies.

So conveniently, this is an all-the-time kind of soup. One day I found myself with an extraordinarily large amount of kale, and an immense craving for comforting, delicious miso soup. Thus, kale miso soup was born. Already, you can tell that this recipe is far from traditional. But it’s authentic to what I would love to eat, and I’m sure you’re going to like it, too.

There’s only 7 ingredients in this super-simple, 20-minute, 1 pot recipe.

Bonus! It’s also really good for you. Besides the fact that we’re squeezing in some highly nutritious kale, this kale miso soup offers protein from the tofu and the amazing benefits of miso. Miso paste is a fermented food, which means it offers beneficial prebiotics and probiotics. It’s rich in vitamins like vitamin B, E, and K, as well as minerals copper, manganese, and zinc.

What is miso soup?

Miso soup is a central pillar of Japanese cuisine. Traditional miso soup is based on a Japanese dashi stock, mixed with softened miso paste. The most popular additions are wakame (seaweed) and tofu.

Dashi is a simple Japanese base broth typically made by soaking kombu or kelp, fermented tuna or bonito, dried anchovies or sardines, or dried shiitake in near-boiling water. It’s an umami bomb from the beginning! These ingredients are readily available on Amazon, and I encourage you to seek them out at your local Japanese or Asian supermarket (you are blessed if you have one!) if you are looking to make a traditional miso soup.

Today, we’re keeping it super simple and plant-based, and sticking to an amazing roasted vegetable broth. I have an all-purpose roasted vegetable broth recipe that works perfectly for this kale miso soup, and honestly, for drinking straight! It’s mostly hands-off time. You’ll also find that roasting the veg before simmering adds a delicious, roasty-toasty flavor and beautiful color to your soup.

Everyone needs to have at least one tub of miso in their fridge at all times.

Miso is The Way. Not only for this kale miso soup, but also because it’s incredibly versatile and undoubtedly delicious. Seriously. Miso on everything: roasted vegetables, stirred into stews, with butter on toast, in mashed potatoes, added to salad dressing… (p.s. try this miso risotto too.)

For kale miso soup, we’re going with the easiest-to-find white shiro miso.

In well-stocked grocery stores, you’ll see at least 3 types of miso: white (shiro), yellow (shinsu) and red (aka). These are the most common miso varieties you’ll find in the States. The darker the miso, the longer it has been fermented. If you’re poking around your grocery store and find awase miso, that works for this recipe, too. Awase miso is a cross between white and red miso.

In big-box American grocery chains, you are likely going to find a plastic tub of Cold Mountain white miso in the Asian refrigerated section – this will work just fine if you’re a miso beginner. Once you get on board the miso train, I highly recommend seeking out miso by the Japanese brands Miko, Marukome, Hikari, or Maruman. These are high-quality misos but are still on the lower end of the price spectrum (typically between $5 – 10). Lots of bang for your buck!

What kind of tofu should I use?

This depends on preference. Tofu ranges from silken to extra-firm. Silken tofu is most commonly used in traditional miso soup, so go this route if that’s what you’re into. I like silken tofu most of the time, but for this recipe I prefer firm tofu to make this kale miso soup feel more like a meal.

Tofu should be pressed for at least 15 minutes or up to 30 before cooking (except for silken and soft tofu, which would completely fall apart!). You can do this by opening the package, discarding the liquid, and place your tofu block on a paper-towel lined plate. Place another layer of paper towels on top, cover with a cutting board or an upturned plate. (You can also use a clean, lint-free dish towel.) Lastly, just place something heavy on top, like some cookbooks or a cast iron skillet and let it rest.

Here are some pro tips for making this kale miso soup.

Everything starts with vegetable broth. Homemade is best, but store-bought is fine. Bring it to a simmer. While you’re waiting, stir together the miso and a little bit of warm water to form a smooth paste and reduce clumping when you add it to the broth.

As soon as your broth is simmering, add in the tofu, kale, green onion, ginger, and garlic. Let the whole gang simmer away for a few minutes until the tofu is warmed through and the kale is no longer tough. If you’re using silken tofu for this recipe, though, wait until after you add the miso to add in the tofu. Silken tofu will fall apart while your broth simmers and while you’re stirring the miso into the soup.

This is important: remove the simmering broth from the heat before you add your smooth miso paste. The heat from simmering or boiling kills the probiotics in the miso, and with it the health benefits it provides for your digestive system. I usually go for 1 heaping tablespoon of miso for each cup of broth (I’ve tried this recipe with Miko and Hikari miso). But I don’t know your miso preference! Start with a little less and work your way from there.

Taste the soup after you’ve added the miso. If you’ve added too little, add a little more. If you’ve added too much, thin the soup out with some more vegetable broth, if you have it, or a splash of hot water. At this point, you can add any of your favorite toppings (listed below), but this is delicious as is. This makes a great starter or side on its own, but add in noodles, other protein, or veggies to make this kale miso soup into a delicious dinner.

Additions to kale miso soup

• Different types of miso: try shinsu, awase, or aka for a deeper, saltier miso flavor
• Noodles: rice noodles, soba noodles, buckwheat noodles, udon, zoodles (pro tip: if you want to add noodles but don’t have anything on hand except for spaghetti or other long pasta, cook the spaghetti al dente and add 1 tbsp of baking soda per 1 quart (4 cups) of water – this results in chewier, ramen-esque noodles!)
• Protein: a soft-boiled egg, shredded chicken, or take it up a notch with shrimp or steak bites
• Extra veggies: chard, sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli or broccolini, bok choy, eggplant, pumpkin, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms… the list goes on!

Variations

• This recipe is vegetarian and vegan!
• If you can’t or don’t eat soy, try chickpea miso (similar to awase miso) or brown rice miso (similar to aka miso), and swap out the tofu for a different protein of your choice