Tofu Soup

Our tofu soup combines a tasty broth with crisp veggies and bite-size tofu pieces into a warm, delicious, cozy dish.

You’ll love this recipe because it’s simple, tasty, and healthy and because you can easily customize it to your taste by choosing your favorite veggies.

There are many ways of making tofu soup, from Korean soondubu jjigae to Japanese Miso soup; tofu is an excellent ingredient because of its neutral flavor and high nutritional profile.

Our tofu soup is an Asian-inspired dish you can make with basic and simple ingredients as an everyday dinner in about 30 minutes.

The best part is that you can customize it with your favorite seasonal vegetables – we show you options for all seasons.

The recipe has a good balance of protein, vegetables, and fats. It’s also fast, easy, customizable, simple to make gluten-free if needed, and perfect as an everyday meal.

We keep this recipe vegan without pork, beef, chicken, egg, clams, chicken stock, anchovy stock, or shrimp and instead use tofu as our primary source of healthy fats and plant-based proteins.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Tofu

Depending on your taste, you can use most types of tofu for this soup.

We like to use firm tofu or extra-firm tofu. Soft tofu and silken tofu are also excellent in this recipe.

Mushrooms

We like to use a mix of mushrooms, generally what we find at our store.

You can use white mushrooms, brown mushrooms, cremini, portobello, oyster mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms.

Dried mushrooms

Dried mushrooms add a bold flavor and umami to the soup.

We recommend using dried shiitake mushrooms, dried porcini mushrooms, or dried oyster mushrooms.

They must be soaked first in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes. Their soaking water should also be added to the soup, so do not discard it because it’s incredibly flavorful.

Substitute miso for dried mushrooms. You can use any miso, a couple of tablespoons, dissolved in water before adding it.

Ginger, garlic & chili

Ginger, garlic, and chili make up the flavor base for the soup. We gently fry them in olive oil so they release their flavor.

The ginger and garlic should be finely chopped. You can add more or less chili pepper based on your spice tolerance.

Substitute red pepper flakes, chili powder, cayenne pepper, or gochugaru for the red chili.

Substitute avocado oil or coconut oil for olive oil.

Soy sauce

Soy sauce adds sapidity, flavor, and umami.

You can replace it with tamari sauce or coconut aminos for a gluten-free alternative.

Vegetable broth

We generally use store-bought vegetable broth, especially if we want to make this tofu soup as an everyday dinner.

But of course, you can make your own vegetable stock from scratch.

Vegetables

Our go-to vegetables for tofu soup are broccoli and frozen peas. Other veggie combinations excellent in the soup are:

• Snow peas and asparagus: perfect for a spring variation of this tofu soup.
  
• Zucchini and bell pepper: ideal for the summer when these ingredients are in season.
  
• Cauliflower, frozen edamame beans, and spinach are perfect for fall and winter.
  
• Other veggies: these are just our suggestions; you can add other seasonal vegetables in your local grocery store. Try kale, napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage, chard, sweet potatoes, and even kimchi.

Salt & Pepper

Add sea salt and black pepper to taste, considering that the soy sauce and miso add a bold, savory flavor.

Miso (optional)

Miso paste is optional in this tofu soup recipe. We recommend it if you want to add even more flavor and umami; plus, miso is healthy for your gut.

You can use any type of miso paste.

Toppings

• Scallion or cilantro: we love adding fresh cilantro or finely sliced scallion or spring onion on top of the soup. They both add freshness and garnish the tofu soup. You can replace them with parsley, lemongrass, green onions, and chives.
  
• Sesame oil: this is optional, but if you have it handy, you can add a few drops on top of the soup just before serving it.

Noodles (optional)

We tested this soup with several noodles, and here’s what we learned.

We recommend using fresh or pre-cooked noodles that often come in vacuum packages like ramen and udon because you can add them directly into the soup, let them warm for a few minutes, and you are ready to serve them.

If you want dry noodles, we recommend cooking them separately first, then adding them to the soup. This is because they absorb much water, and the tofu soup would dry out.

Prep the mushrooms

The first step to make this vegan tofu soup is to soak the dried mushrooms in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes.

Don’t discard the soaking water, as we’ll use it later. It’s packed with flavor.

In the meantime, chop the fresh mushrooms. I like chopping them quite chunkily as they’ll shrink slightly when cooked.

Make the flavor base

Finely chop the garlic, ginger, and red chili pepper.

Alternatively, you can grate the garlic and ginger if you prefer.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, then add the finely chopped garlic, ginger, and chili. Fry gently for about a minute without burning the garlic.

Squeeze the dried mushrooms out of their soaking water (reserve the soaking water), cut them up with scissors if the pieces are too large, then add them to the pot.

Now add fresh chopped mushrooms, soy sauce, salt, and black pepper, and let cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring often.

The mushrooms should start releasing their water.

Add the rest of the ingredients

Now add the soaking water from the dried mushrooms – pass it through a sift if you see that it is sandy, as dried mushrooms can contain some debris.

Add vegetable broth, cover the pot with a lid, set the stove to medium-high heat, and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to medium-low so that the soup keeps simmering gently, then add tofu diced into bite-sized pieces, broccoli florets, and frozen peas (or the vegetables of your choice).

Tip: If you use soft or silken tofu, you might want to scoop it out from its box with a spoon instead of cutting it with a knife.

Let the soup simmer gently for about 10 minutes or until the veggies are cooked but not too soft.

Cooking time varies based on the vegetables that you use, but it’s generally around 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve in a bowl and garnish with chopped scallions or cilantro. Optionally, you can drizzle with a few drops of sesame or chili oil.

Tip: add 1 to 2 tablespoons of miso paste to make the tofu soup more flavorful. Add miso towards the end. Dissolve it in a small bowl with some hot broth, then add it.

Tofu soup with noodles

Noodles are a perfect addition to this soup. We recommend fresh ramen or udon noodles, but you can also add dry rice noodles or soy noodles.

If you use fresh noodles, add them right into the soup with an extra cup or two of vegetable broth, then let simmer for a few minutes as per package instructions.

If you use dry noodles, we recommend cooking them separately first, then adding them to the soup.

We recommend this because dry noodles soak up quite a bit of water, and they’ll dry your soup if you cook them in the same pot.

Spring tofu soup

You can add any of your favorite veggies to this tofu soup and make this any time of the year.

Keep the mushroom base the same and add chopped asparagus and snow peas instead of broccoli and frozen peas.

Summer tofu soup

Try adding chopped zucchini and frozen peas.

Fall and winter tofu soup

Try using fall or winter vegetables. Depending on where you live, you can add cauliflower florets, spinach, napa cabbage, or kale.

Korean Tofu Soup with Kimchi

Soft tofu soup with kimchi is a Korean-inspired soup that is delicious but slightly more particular than our classic tofu soup.

This version is inspired by Korean soft-tofu stew (Sundubu Jjigae). We don’t claim this is the original version; it’s just our adaptation, but it’s delicious and easy to prepare.

To make it, you’ll need kimchi instead of mushrooms. Kimchi is a Korean dish generally made with fermented napa cabbage.

Fry the chopped chili (or Korean red pepper flakes or Gochujang), finely chopped garlic, and finely chopped ginger in oil for a minute.

Add kimchi and soy sauce and fry for another couple of minutes, stirring often. You’ll need about 1 cup of kimchi and its juice.

Now add the vegetable broth and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Generally, this soup is served with Korean soft tofu, but we often make ours with regular firm tofu (I know, not original, but still delicious).

We also like to add extra veggies to the soup, like broccoli or mushrooms (Enoki mushrooms are delicious in this recipe).

Make ahead: tofu soup is an excellent recipe for meal prep as it keeps well for days and tastes delicious the day after it’s made.

Refrigerator: keep this vegan tofu soup in the fridge, ideally in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Let the soup cool down completely, then transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, leaving some space to allow the soup to expand. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw & Reheat: Thaw in the microwave or a pot on the stovetop. Warm it up on the stovetop or in the microwave. Before serving, garnish with fresh cilantro, scallions, and a drizzle of sesame oil.

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For more curries, stews, and soups, check out our soups category page.