This flavorful bok choy miso soup recipe is made with mushrooms and soba noodles and seasoned with white miso, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. It’s a delicious one pot meal that’s vegetarian and vegan and ready in 30 minutes.
Even though the frigid winter weather is behind us, there’s still cold and rainy spring days ahead of us. Yesterday was one of those. It had that classic March dampness that chills you to your core.
Sure, I could harp on the cold, but I like to think of it as perfect soup weather instead! And isn’t it just great timing that I’m writing about a new bok choy miso soup recipe today?! I think so.
If you’re not familiar with bok choy, or miso for that matter, they are two ingredients commonly used in Asian cuisine. Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage also known as pak choi. It has crunchy white stalks and green leaves that have a mildly bitter taste. Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans and grains that contributes a salty, umami flavor to recipes.
In this bok choy miso soup, these ingredients shine alongside meaty mushrooms, soba noodles, and enough ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes to clear your sinuses. The whole dish is a wonderful marriage of flavors, and I know I’ll be making it on repeat. Enjoy!
How to Make Bok Choy Miso Soup
For the full recipe card, scroll down to the bottom of the post. In the meantime, here’s a preview of how easy it is to make this soup!
- Warm sesame oil in a large pot. Cook the onion, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
- Pour in the broth and stir in the white miso paste. Bring to a boil.
- Add the soba noodles, and cook until tender according to package instructions. About halfway through their cooking time, stir in the chopped bok choy.
- Stir in some freshly squeezed lemon juice before serving. Taste, adjust seasonings as needed, and enjoy!
How do you cut bok choy for soup?
You can use large or baby bok choy for soups. Bok choy is more manageable to eat in soups when it’s roughly chopped.
To prepare bok choy in this way, trim a little bit off the root end. Wash the bok choy leaves under cold water to remove any dirt that got stuck in between them, and pat dry. If using baby bok choy, roughly chop the leaves across the stems. This is what I did for this bok choy miso soup. See How to Cut Bok Choy for more tips.
If using large bok choy, use a sharp knife to remove the stalks from the leaves. Dice the stems, then chop up the leaves. Some soup recipes may call for you to halve baby bok choy (keep the root intact) and add them to the soup instead of chopping it up (like my Spaghetti Squash “Ramen”).
Expert Tips
- You can find miso paste at most large grocery stores and Asian markets. I usually find it in the refrigerated condiment area in the produce section. It might be next to containers of tofu, other specialty ingredients that require refrigeration, and/or salad dressings, for example.
- Miso lasts a long time in the fridge, so I encourage you to try some other recipes that use it after making this bok choy miso soup! Check out my Roasted Japanese Turnips (with maple miso butter) and Roasted Golden Beets with Miso Maple Sauce.
- Soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) can be found in the international aisle of grocery stores. I really like these soba noodles. They are not gluten free, because they have wheat flour in addition to buckwheat, but they taste really good.
- Bok choy is available at most stores in the produce section. FYI – Trader Joe’s sells baby bok choy in pre-packaged bags labeled Shangai Bok Choy.
- This soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat on the stove, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. The soba noodles will absorb the broth over time, so add more liquid as needed when reheating.
Similar Recipes
If you’re on a bok choy kick after making bok choy miso soup, you may enjoy the Sesame Ginger Roasted Bok Choy and the Vegan Bok Choy Stir Fry with Mango. For another recipe with soba noodles, see the Peanut Soba Noodles with Roasted Broccoli.
📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Bok Choy Miso Soup
Equipment
- soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 yellow onion - chopped
- 8 ounce cremini mushrooms - sliced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoon sweet white miso
- 4 ounce soba noodles - dry
- 2 heads baby bok choy - roughly chopped, about 3 to 4 cups
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onion is translucent, stirring frequently, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and add the miso paste. Use your spoon to break up the miso as needed. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
- Add the dry soba noodles to the pot, and cook according to package instructions until tender. Mine usually take about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Halfway through the noodle cooking time, stir in the chopped bok choy. Once the noodles are tender and the bok choy has wilted, stir in the lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
Notes
- This serves 4 as a side and 2 or 3 as a main dish. Feel free to add tofu for more protein.
- Look for miso in the refrigerated condiment section of your grocery store. Soba noodles are usually found in the international aisle.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. If the noodles have absorbed most of the broth, add more liquid as needed while reheating.
brian
Your soup is delicious and believe it is quite versatile. next time i’ll add chili peppers and cabbage and believe it’ll be just as good. maybe even black fungus but not sure that’s Japanese.
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Brian!
Lisa
Thank you so much for this recipe, Lizzie. I was looking for something to do with a heap of pak choi and this was perfect! It smells amazing while cooking and the different textures really add to the dish. The taste is so wickedly unami. 😋
Cannot wait to try this with family. 5 stars.
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Hi Lisa, yay! I’m so glad you came across this recipe and enjoyed it! Thanks so much for your review.
deb
Delicious and quick. Popular with the teens. I used shiitake mushrooms instead and rice noodles to make the soup gluten-free. Will make again
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
I’m glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks so much for your review.
Rick
Going to try this tomorrow.
Thinking of using Udon noodles and adding tofu.
Any thoughts?
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
I think that would work very well! Let me know how it turns out!
Jason
This was an easy, delicious soup that was fun to make with a partner. It also reheated well the following day. Great recipe!
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
That’s great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and had leftovers! Thanks for leaving a review.
Jamie
Hello!
It was my understanding miso only goes in for the last 3-4 minutes to preserve its heat sensitive bacteria….
Do you feel otherwise?
Thanks!
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Hi Jamie, yes that is correct. However, I have found that if I stir it in right before I take the soup off of heat or if I stir it in a bowl of soup right before serving, it doesn’t disintegrate well and the broth gets lumpy. So, for the sake of a smooth broth, I stir it in while the soup is cooking. I still find adding the miso paste to the soup beneficial because of the great taste it contributes, even if the bacteria does not remain. It’s up to you if you want to try adding it later on to help preserve the beneficial bacteria. That would be my recommendation for those interested in reaping some of the benefits of fermented miso. Let me know if you do try!
Anna
Lumping is easy to avoid if you stir the miso paste into a small amount of broth in a separate bowl, then add the mixture to the soup just before it is ready.
Michele
Thank you for posting this flavorful, healthy recipe. We love miso and use it often. I use a miso strainer to add it to soup or to mix into other liquid ingredients. I add the suggested amount of miso into the strainer, then hold the strainer partway into the soup, stirring as the miso dissolves. There are no lumps, and the miso is well distributed. I do try not to boil liquids once the miso has been added.
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Hi Michele, I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! Thanks also for your great tip about the miso strainer! Very helpful.
Yana
Just what I was looking for! I’ve also topped it up with some leftover Thai basil, spring onions, and sesame seeds. Very tasty
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
Yum! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for letting me know!
Alli
So far this is cooking away and smells amazing. I hope this does the trick as an alternative to chicken soup! Got a household of illness.
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
I love the smell of it when cooking! I hope it helps you all feel better!
Jeannie
This recipe is great! Lots of flavor, easy to prepare and doesn’t take much time so it’s a great week night meal. Thanks for sharing!
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it, Jeannie! Thanks for leaving a review! 🙂
Jessica
Great recipe! Colorful, flavorful, & easy! (Wish you were on Instagram so I could tag you)
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN
HI Jessica, I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe! I am on Instagram. My Instagram page is linked at the bottom of the recipe card where it says tag @its_a_vegworld_afterall. It’s also linked to the Instagram icon at the bottom of the site menu.