Tofu Soup with Spinach

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

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

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.

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!

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:

• Try our fan-favorite Easy Baked Tofu
• Go for Easy BBQ Tofu
• Opt for Coconut Tofu Curry or Easy Tofu Tacos
• Make a Go-To Tofu Stir Fry

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Easy Baked Tofu

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Easy BBQ Tofu

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Go-To Tofu Stir Fry

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25 Tasty Tofu Recipes

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