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This tofu soup recipe makes a nourishing, satisfying meal! It features spinach, mushrooms, and a flavorful broth.

Tofu soup

Are you a tofu fan? Then you’ll love this simple tofu soup recipe, a tasty, nourishing plant-based meal! Cubes of tofu float in a savory broth flavored with miso, ginger, dried mushrooms, and fresh mushrooms. Add crunchy carrots and green onions just before serving, and it’s a satisfying combination of hearty earthiness with crisp, fresh vegetables. Our entire family are tofu-lovers, so this vegan soup was a big hit over here: everyone got seconds!

Ingredients in tofu soup

There are many ways to make a tofu soup. There’s a popular Korean tofu soup that’s made with soft tofu called soondubu, or Japanese homemade miso soup with tofu (head to those recipes if you’re looking for those styles!).

The recipe below is a spinach and tofu soup with a simple mushroom broth made from dried miso and mushrooms. We experimented with a few methods for making a tofu soup, and found that store-bought vegetable broth just doesn’t cut it! Making your own has a much richer, developed flavor. Here’s what you’ll need for this style of tofu soup:

  • Olive oil
  • White onion
  • Baby bella or shiitake mushrooms
  • Dried mushrooms, like porcini
  • Celery
  • Garlic
  • Grated ginger
  • Yellow or white miso
  • Soy sauce
  • Salt
  • Extra-firm tofu
  • Spinach
  • Carrots
  • Green onions
Tofu soup

Why dried mushrooms are key

This tofu soup is made with dried mushrooms, which infuse a hearty, savory flavor into the broth. Because here’s the thing: you’ll be making broth from water! That’s right: vegetable broth doesn’t work here. When we tried making this soup with veggie broth, both the flavor and color was muddy and unsatisfying. Alex had the idea of making miso mushroom broth with water and dried mushrooms, and it works! You don’t even need extra time: the soup still comes together in 30 minutes.

The dried mushrooms, miso, ginger and salt are key to making a broth from water that tastes bright, savory and bold. Do not skip them! The type we used was porcini mushrooms. You can find dried mushrooms near the produce in most standard grocery stores.

Tofu soup recipe

Tips for tofu soup

This tofu soup recipe uses the tofu raw, and it soaks up all the delicious flavors in the broth. It makes the method very simple, since you won’t need to cook the tofu beforehand! (While we love our baked tofu and fried tofu, it’s not necessary here). Here are a few things to note about this tofu soup method:

  • Use extra-firm tofu. Make sure to have the right type of tofu: check the package for the words “extra firm.”
  • Prep all ingredients in advance. The cook time goes quickly, so make sure to have everything chopped and ready to go.
  • Don’t skip the dried mushrooms! As noted above, they are essential to the flavor.
  • Add the crunchy vegetables at the end for garnish. The contrast of savory and soft versus crunchy and fresh really makes this one!
Tofu soup

Optional garnish: hot sauce

You can garnish this tofu soup recipe with hot sauce: we added a dollop of chili garlic sauce to the mix. However, we found it made for a very spicy soup and that we preferred it without hot sauce! The delicate flavors don’t need the sauce, though you can add it if you love heat.

This tofu soup makes a tasty healthy dinner idea: serve it with edamame or a simple green salad. This carrot ginger dressing makes a nice pairing!

More tofu recipes

Tofu is one of our best loved plant-based proteins around here! Here are a few more tofu recipes to add to your arsenal:

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Tofu soup

Tofu Soup with Spinach


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 13 minutes
  • Cook Time: 17 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Description

This tofu soup recipe makes a nourishing, satisfying meal! It features spinach, mushrooms, and a flavorful broth.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 medium white onion, sliced
  • 12 ounces baby bella and/or shiitake mushrooms, sliced (stems removed for shiitakes*)
  • ½ ounce dried mushrooms (like porcini)
  • 2 celery ribs, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons yellow or white miso**
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 package extra firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
  • 4 cups baby spinach (or chopped spinach)
  • 3 carrots, sliced into ribbons
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • Chili garlic sauce, to garnish (optional; we found we preferred this soup without!)

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and fresh mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
  2. Add 6 cups water to the pot. Stir in the dried mushrooms, celery, garlic, ginger, miso, soy sauce, salt and tofu. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 12 minutes. Taste and adjust salt until the broth tastes bold and flavorful.
  3. Turn off heat and stir in the spinach. Serve hot in bowls, garnished with shredded carrots and green onions.

Notes

*Standard size shiitake mushrooms have very tough stems that should be removed before cooking. If you can find baby shiitake mushrooms, the stems are edible.

**Avoid red or brown miso, which has a very strong, salty flavor.

  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Vegan
  • Diet: Vegan

Keywords: Tofu soup, tofu soup recipe

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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