Turmeric Miso Soup With Ginger, Garlic and Tofu. Kick that cold with this soothing, anti inflammatory, brothy soup. Vegan Gluten-free Nut-free Recipe. Can be made soy-free.
I hit a cold bug this last weekend and wanted a bowl of soup that was hot, brothy, strong flavored. I decided to use elements from Mom’s tip for a cold – a peppery salty turmeric concoction to both gargle with and sip on, and the recent fave brothy miso soup to get the body ready to fight them bugs.
I went to the kitchen, chopped up stuff and kept adding to get the flavor I wanted. Ah. a bowl of goodness. And then trying to hold in the sneezes for a quick photo shoot.
The soup has liberal ginger, garlic, turmeric, miso and some shredded veggies. Add veggies of choice, some mushrooms and greens for variation. Make this healing soup your own. Amazingly simple and versatile. Between this soup and a sipping on my Golden Milk Spiced Latte, the cold seems to be on its way out.
More soups for the soul. A winter Minestrone, creamy Broccoli Slaw Soup, peppery Turkish lentil soup, Turmeric Laksa Curry Soup with fresh turmeric root, 15 min Indian Spiced Tomato Soup, Fall flavor Curried Butternut Squash Soup with toasted pepitas and brothy Mushroom chickpea greens soup.
If you don’t like turmeric, omit it. Don’t want the tofu, use more veggies and/or chickpeas, or mushrooms. To make it completely soy-free, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and chickpea miso.
If you make this soup do leave me a comment, or tag me #veganricha on Instagram!
Recipe Card
Turmeric Miso Soup With Ginger, Garlic and Tofu
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- 7 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 to 1.5 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
- 1/2 (0.5) hot green chile optional
- 1/2 cup (64 g) grated or shredded carrots
- 1/2 (0.5) green or red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 7 oz (198.45 g) 1/2 a block of tofu, cubed small
- 2 tsp tamari or soy sauce
- 2.5 cups (625 ml) water or more, to preference
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) or more turmeric
- 1 tsp apple cider or distilled white vinegar
- 1 tsp or more sugar or maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt less or more to taste, depends on your miso
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1 tbsp or more white mellow miso
- scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger and chile and cook until translucent. 4 mins.
- Add the carrots and peppers and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add tofu and mix in. At this point you can also add in chopped veggies(chopped small) such broccoli.
- Add water, 1/3 tsp black pepper and rest of the ingredients except miso and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 4 minutes. Then add the miso and mix in. Taste and adjust salt, sweet and tang(vinegar). Simmer for another few minutes.
- Garnish with scallions and black pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Janice Short
Wow, Richa, you really outdid yourself with this wonderful recipe! I made it for lunch today and it was awesome delicious. When I first read it, I knew I was going to love it so I doubled it (even though I cook for one) and I am so glad to have the leftovers to look forward. What I love best is how easy it was to add ingredients so I was able to use up odds and ends before my grocery trip tomorrow, like strips of napa cabbage and sliced shitake mushrooms. I only had Fresno peppers and they did not provide enough heat, so I added hot Hungarian paprika, which did not alter the flavor profile but really amped up the heat. Garnished with scallions and cilantro, yum. I already have ideas swirling for making this in the future with my favorite greens. Thanks for yet another great recipe for my regular rotation and for the immune system boost!!!
PS: I had trouble finding a turmeric I liked til I happened upon one at Rancho Gordo. Burlap & Barrel New Harvest Turmeric from Satara, India has become my go-to. It is grown organically and has a high 4% curcumin content, great for golden milk too. Your purchase also supports smallholder farmers. 1.9 oz/54g glass bottle. I think it was 9 or 10 dollars.
Vegan Richa Support
wow, thank you for this great review! I appreciate your recommendation.
bob
Whats the red specs pieces in the soup? there’s no such ingredient stated in your recipe.
Vegan Richa Support
Hi Bob! The red specs are from the red pepper.
Rachel Federman
So good! I added mushrooms too, & kale. I loved it! Better than any recent tofu soups or hot pots I’ve made. Gave it to neighbors resting with Covid and they loved it too. Thank you.
Vegan Richa Support
yummy, how nice of you
Louise Egan
Excellent soup! Very easy to make. I prefer ‘less sweet’ taste so I substituted Ume Plum Vinegar (from Eden Select) for the sugar. I added thinly sliced mushrooms. Very delicious.
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for stopping by.
Lisa
Delicious!
Megan Johnson
I’ve made this twice now, after having just landed on it from google. it’s delish!
Richa
Awesome
CJ
This is quite good, considering how easy and simple it was to make. I used some veggie stock instead of water and added celery, chard and mushrooms. Cannot imagine it without the chile pepper – to me, that made the soup. I will definitely make this again. My only questions as I ran through this — You didn’t specify the kind of tofu — I had firm instead of extra firm, and it would have been better added a little later in the cooking process because it didn’t hold together or perhaps it was just the wrong kind. Also not sure whether I was supposed to bleed the water out of it first.
Marked it only 4 stars because I was looking for some additional flavor in there, although not sure what – a fish sauce perhaps or mirin instead of sugar, a little nori? I’m not skilled enough to say. The soy was not quite enough.
Richa
Firm works fine unless it’s too easily crumbly. No need to drain the water. It’s probably personal preference as the ginger garlic added a lot of flavor that I wanted in the soup.
Pooja
Hi Richa, I was thinking of adding noodles to this soup. Do you think it would be interesting to add them towards the end or should I boil them separately? Thank you! Ps. Love your recipes!
Richa
depends on the noodles. if they are quick cooking thn add with the tofu
Betty
I was visiting my son when my daughter-in-law made this soup because my son had come down with some kind of a viral infection. The whole family ate it and we loved it, even the children who are only four and a half! I shared it with my other son as they were sick. they also used it and everyone loved it, except the two-year-old – she is a bit young! I am getting the ingredients together now and intending on making it. Can’t wait! Thank you so much!
Richa
hope everyone is feeling better!
Donna
Hi Richa,
Can this soup be frozen and reheated?
Richa
yes
Soupy
Tasty! I had some fresh tumeric from the farmer’s market and was looking for a soup. It was easy to modify according to what i had on hand. Also, a good hangover soup. 🙂
Richa
great!
Davana
I just made this recipe, and oh my goodness! It’s so delicious. This soup is so easy and quick to make. This was absolutely perfect for me, especially after school. My mother loved it, too! Thanks for the recipe!
Richa
awesome!
Stephanie
Just found this recipe, it looks good. Question: wondering if it’s kid friendly regarding the spice level – probably not, huh?
Richa
reduce or omit the hot green chili and add black pepper to preference.
Sophie
Hi Richa. I’m home with the beginnings of a cold and your soup was perfect! I made some changes based on what I had on hand: (1) I added 1/2 cup of shredded purple cabbage, kale, and cilantro, (2) I fried the cubed tofu stovetop before adding it to the soup to make it a little firmer, and (3) I used brown miso from some instant miso soup packets I had and it still tasted good! Thanks for the great recipes!
Brenda Zeller
Richa, this soup is fabulous! I made a double batch and added finely sliced baby bok choy to it. So delicious, warming and comforting. Thank you!
Richa
awesome
Tamara
I will be making this today, to combat the bug that decided to give me a sore throat!!! The only change I’ll be making is, I will be using frozen tofu (which has been thawed and then squeezed, to remove the extra water), which I like for its texture, which is firmer and more chewy. I can’t wait to be sitting down to try this healing elixer of a soup!!!
Anthont
What are the benefits of miso? I know it’s cultured so it’s probiotic-rich, but doesn’t adding it to the hot soup neutralize the probiotic bacteria? Otherwise it’s there for the salty, umami flavor I’d imagine? I got your Indian Kitchen cookbook for Christmas and I am so excited to dig in! Thanks for the great content.
Richa
Both for flavor and probiotic. You can mix it in a bit later when the soup is warm hot rather than boiling hot. Or you an add more just when you serve. Depends on your preference.
Nicole
I made mine very simply. 6 cups of water and 2 tbsp of miso paste. Before consuming I grated ginger and garlic and added turmeric and green onions. Such a simple delicious soup! I love that you can keep it simple or make it as complicated as you want. Thanks for sharing!
Sandra
Richa thanks so much for this flavorful and easy recipe!! Worth making over and over! I didn’t have chili and used jalapeño instead. And added cilantro for garnish at the end!
Love this, thank you!
Debra
Just made your soup for brunch/lunch and it’s so good. I added collards because I needed them, and it’s the first time I’ve used coconut amino’s. They’re great. Trying to send you a picture but I haven’t figured out how to do it.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes. I love them
Richa
Awesome! you can post it to the facebook page or if you have instagram, post on yours and tag me.
Debra
I did post it to Facebook with pic, hope it posted
Richa
i saw it. Thanks! looks great.
Deckard
I’ve made this soup four times, all with slight tweaks and variations from the original recipe. It’s helped me combat not one, but two colds. Thank you so much for this recipe! I feel so much better after having this.
Kale is a really nice add, and so is spinach. I steam them before and put them in before the water. 🙂
Richa
Thats awesome! yes some greens definitely will work.
Elyse
This soup is amazing!!
I added vermicelli noodles and mushrooms to make it more hearty. I could drink the broth alone for days!
Richa
Great additions!
Sarah
I can’t believe how good this soup is, especially when you consider how easy it is to make!
Thank you for posting!
Richa
Thanks!
Lauren
This is absolutely delicious! I used 2 1/2 cups of liquid but substituted 1 cup of water with vegetable stock and it worked wonderfully. Definitely will be making this again.
Richa
Awesome! I add the liquid depending on how brothy i want the soup to be. some days i just want to drink up all the broth 🙂
Tammy
Thank you. I was thinking vegetable broth too. Now I will definitely use it. Low sodium as well. I’ve never cooked with miso but here it’s quite salty so low sodium broth it is.
Renee Willoughby
This is delicious! I was fighting a bit of a cold and decided to give this recipe a try..I’m so glad I did! It has just enough kick to it and the broth tastes nice and rich. Love it!
Richa
Yay!
Becky
Our whole county’s schools have been closed due to illness. My solution? This is in the making for tonight! Thanks for the new ideas to add to my original miso soup, like the turmeric, bell pepper, and the vinegar! I feel a restoration to good health is coming after this deliciousness.
Richa
oh no. hope everyone feels better soon.
Stephanie Smith
This looks amazing! can’t wait to try this!!
Gina
This looks like exactly what I need around this time. What firmness of tofu do you usually use? Thanks!
Richa
I use firm. Any would do.
Beth
I love turmeric! I’m gonna try this recipe, but I’m gonna use squash instead of tofu, since I don’t eat soy products. 🙂 <3
Cora
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I’ve been trying to up my intake of turmeric especially, but also ginger and anything anti-inflammatory/good for cold season…. but I’m not always sure where to. This screaammmss healing!
Richa
This definitely hits the spot.
beforewisdom
As suggested at the end of the recipe, I had to add more sugar, salt, and miso to get rid of that sandy-raw-astringent turmeric taste. I’m not a natural or adjust by tastebud cook. I prefer to blindly follow a recipe and get something good at the end. It was quick and easy to make. A good everyday soup.
Richa
Maybe try a different brand of turmeric. Brands differ in flavor and some are more pleasing and less bitter or less astringent etc than others.
beforewisdom
I did not know that. Would you care to recommend a brand?
Richa
I get the Organic brands from Indian store. I also have some homegrown turmeric my mom grows and powders and brings me some when she visits. Its a personal preference really as she loves the extra bitter while i prefer finer and lighter turmeric. So you should try small quantities of various brands ( the darker coarser powder seem to be more bitter). Also use lesser quantity. Taste buds adjust after a while and the astringent flavor you feel now might feel too mild after a while.
beforewisdom
I’ve been using Frontier Herbs turmeric, from a bulk spice bin. It was a bit old. The little plastic bag I had it in was sticky. The Indian grocery stores in my area do not have organic products in them. In the health food stores I have seen spices in glass bottles with “Organic” as the literal brand name. The recipe is easy enough. I will try it with other types of turmeric. Thanks for the tip about lighter vs darker turmeric.
Richa
yes the stickyness means it has probably gone a bit rancid because of age or exposure to too much extreme conditions. those will definitely have a more astringent/rancid like flavor, some will kind of feel too thick on the tongue if you use it for turmeric milk. You can use that up in curries where its a much smaller quantity. For recipes where turmeric flavor is going to show, you really need the better brand.
beforewisdom
Use stale turmeric, get a bad taste. Duh! LOL!
Thank you for the valuable information. That turmeric is going in the trash and I will try the recipe again next week .
Thank you!
Steve
I tried the recipe again this week.
This time I used turmeric I bought fresh
https://www.amazon.com/Simply-Organic-Turmeric-2-38-oz/dp/B000VK49YM/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=simply+organic+turmeric&qid=1569099462&sr=8-5
I wasn’t expecting it to make a difference, but WOW.
Much more mellow and even tasty.
Thanks for the tip.
The stores in my area are starting to sell whole turmeric root. If I wanted to experiment with that about how much would I use?
Richa
Awesome! so glad you liked it!
fresh turmeric has a stronger bitter flavor, grate or mince about a 1/4 inch and simmer for a few minutes and see if you like the flavor. you can build it up to a higher amount once you get used to it
JC H.
What kind of tofu do I use for this? Recipe doesn’t specify.
Richa
firm