Your Miso Soup May Not Be Vegan Depending on the Broth — Details Here

Vegan instant noodles, which often come in regular and spicy miso flavors, are some of the best quick dinner meals around. Canned vegan soup in the winter, which usually includes miso soup, is likewise a staple in every plant-based foodie's pantry.

With the ubiquity of miso soup products and the number of vegans who enjoy them, is it safe to assume that all miso soup is vegan? As it turns out, the answer is as murky as the colorful broth with which miso soup is served.

Should you assume all miso soup on menus is always vegan? Is there a way to tell if the miso soup you plan to order is vegan or not? We answer these questions and more below.

Unfortunately, unless the restaurant menu clearly states that the miso soup you intend to order is vegan or can be made vegan, it is safe to assume that the item is not vegan. According to Allrecipes, dashi stock is most commonly used as the base of miso soup. While the outlet does acknowledge that variations exist, most recipes use dried fish flakes (bonito) in the stock.

The Umami Information Center confirms that historically and in modern times, some form of fish is used in dashi.

It's easy to understand why diners may be confused about whether miso soup is inherently vegan. At the famous Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York City, for example, the miso soup contains tofu. However, because the base is made from dashi stock, its vegan status is called into question.

Bon Appétit acknowledges that the most basic variation of dashi stock is vegan, dashi stock more commonly contains some extract of an animal base, including fish flakes, dried sardines, shrimp, or scallops.

This Ten-minute Miso Noodle Soup from World of Vegan's Michelle Cehn combines heart-healthy veggies with miso paste to create a healthy vegan miso soup free from cruelty to marine life. This easy vegan ramen recipe is my personal favorite, as it masterfully combines vegetable broth, miso, and tons of flavorful additions to create a delectable, ethical meal that still honors the traditional cultural tastes of these soup dishes.

The easy vegan miso soup recipe from Rabbit & Wolves omits the dried fish flakes and suggests replacing that flavor with vegan fish sauce. I find that the dried nori sheets, as well as the inclusion of dried shiitake mushrooms, aid in approximating the savory taste of non-vegan miso soup broths.

While I typically keep my tofu and miso ginger-free, this recipe's recommendations are indeed full of creative flavors.

Finally, this Super Simple Vegan Miso Soup recipe from Joyful Balance packs on the flavor and easily replaces the fishy and savory flavors with brilliant umami flavoring swaps such as tamari, shiitake mushrooms, dried kombu, and red miso paste instead of white miso.