This miso ramen soup carries lots of flavors, even though it is made under 30 minutes. This is a simple recipe using only vegan ingredients and a good basic miso soup to garnish with your favorite toppings.

Showing is a miso ramen soup in a large white bowl that is topped with corn, wilted spinach, green onion, silken tofu and nori seaweed. You can see some of the ramen noodle floating beside all of the toppings as well as a few pieces of sliced mushrooms. There is also a white Asian style spoon on top on the noodle hanging on top. On the table on the side, there is a lined white an blue hand towel, a pair of chop sticks and a wooden cutting board with green onions and more nori seaweed.

I was intimidated to make my own miso soup for so long. I simply did not know much about how to cook with seaweed and miso paste was on the other side of a big cultural barrier I would not dare cross.

But if you are following me enough, you must know by now how much I love miso paste! It has a strong flavor with a pronounced salty and umami taste that I cannot get enough of. Miso paste is a good kitchen staple that holds well in the fridge for a long time and bring lots of flavor to enhance simple and bland ingredients.

What is miso paste

Miso is a thick paste from Japan made from fermenting soybeans, salt and sometimes grains like barley or rice. Koji is the mold added that is responsible for the fermenting process.

There are many different types of miso paste. Each type is characterized by their specific ingredients and how long it has been fermenting for (months to years!). The longer the paste ferments, the darker the paste becomes and stronger the flavors will be.

Miso paste contains lots of salt, so when using this ingredient, just omit adding more salt during the cooking process.

This paste is now widely available in the fridge section in any regular grocery stores. Typically, you will find either a white/light miso and a red/ dark miso. If you are just starting out using miso paste, then I recommend you to try the light version. I use the light miso paste from Miso Master when cooking in my house. (you should also try these lemon miso potatoes and miso tempeh!)

What you will need to make this miso ramen soup

Vegetable broth
Dried seaweed
Miso paste
Ramen noodles
Garnishes of your choice.

This soup is so convenient: always keep the broth, seaweed, miso and ramen in your house (these last for a long time if well stored), so you can always make this basic soup without leaving the house.

Also, although not typically part of a classic miso broth, I recommend to add sliced mushrooms and a little bit of soy sauce. You can skip adding them, but I love how they enhance the flavors even more and add a good chewy bite. This also helps get a extra rich umami broth in a short period of time.

What seaweed to choose when making this miso ramen soup

There are many different type of seaweed you can choose from when making a miso soup. Soaking seaweed in the broth before adding the other ingredients helps get a tons of umami rich flavor.

A few types of seaweed are commonly found in most grocery stores, like kombu, wakame and nori. Check out this article presenting the "Best Seaweed for Miso Soup" to read more about the different types of seaweed you can choose from.

For this recipe, I use Kombu seaweed, but I also like the Wakame type. The more common Nori sheet (what's used to roll sushi) is also a good choice if you have a hard time finding kombu or wakame.

There 3 different types of seaweed (Kombu, Nori and Wakame) placed on a white table to compare their appearence.

How to make the tasty basic miso broth super quickly

This soup is easy to prepare and so fast. Keep this recipe in mind for when you need something cozy and comforting in a short period of time.

Combine the broth and seaweed in a medium pot, cover and bring to a boil. Once it starts boiling, remove the seaweed. (Just like making a cup of tea. Not too bad, right?).

If using nori sheet (instead of kombu or wakame), then I recommend to roughly break the sheet before adding it to the broth. You also should add the nori only when adding the miso paste mixture and you don't have to remove the nori from the broth since the dried sheets are super thin and pleasant to eat. If you add the nori too early to the broth, then it might fall apart in the soup.
Then, add the mushrooms and soy sauce. Once the mushrooms are softened, remove the pot from the heat.
To finish the broth, start by mixing the miso paste with a little water in a small bowl until there are almost no clumps anymore. Add the mixture to the broth and stir.

Showing a large pot of vegetable broth with kombu seaweeds floating in.

Showing is a large pot of vegetable broth containing sliced mushrooms and being stirred with a wooden spoon.

And voilà! You just prepared a very flavorful miso soup broth within only 20 minutes!

Now, simply top cooked ramen noodles with the broth and garnish your bowl using the ingredients of your choice.

Watch how to make it

Toppings suggestions

The basic miso ramen soup broth is a great base to add the toppings of your choice. I love garnishing my miso soup with corn, cubed silken tofu, wilted spinach, chopped nori and fresh green onions.

But you can use what you already have on hand! Roasted carrots, other leafy greens, bean sprouts, bok choy (or any type of cabbage) and red pepper are all good choices.

I'll also sometimes keep this soup very simple and limit the garnishing to green onions as the broth is already so flavorful.

Close up on chop sticks grabbing some ramen noodle from a large bowl of Asian style soup containing mushrooms, corn and spinach.

Other ramen noodle recipes you might like

I hope you like this miso ramen soup as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

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