Peanut Miso Noodle Soup

This miso noodle soup is a simple, healthy and delicious vegetarian noodle soup; perfect for both cold winter and hot summer days! Ready in under 10 minutes, it is perfect for those times you really can’t be bothered to cook much.

Miso soup with noodles is one of my all time favourite light and healthy yet filling soups. Add in some creamy peanut butter, and this comforting but light bowl just got even tastier!

Whilst warming on a cold winters day; this vegetarian miso soup is definitely a summer soup too. It is best eaten warm – although I have eaten it cold – when Mini Jones was a baby it would take me hours to eat a bowl of soup! I made miso noodle soup ALOT when we lived in Japan during the hot and humid summer months. It was refreshing and not filling, perfect for those hot days when you just want something light.

In Japan we didn’t have peanut butter, but I would often sprinkle peanuts over the top to add crunch, texture, and a little protein to my soup. With peanut butter a staple store cupboard ingredient in my kitchen once again, I decided to add it to the soup. The peanut butter adds a creaminess and thickens the soup, and really turns it into a delicious meal. (If you like peanut butter in soups, then have  look at this pumpkin and peanut butter soup.)

Oh, and this noodle soup is ready in under 10 minutes (5 minutes if your noodles take 3 minutes to cook!) and is made from just 6 ingredients – and one of those is water! See: 🙂

How to make miso noodle soup:

1.Cook the noodles according to packet instructions.

2.Whilst they are cooking make the miso ginger soup by placing the miso, peanut butter, ginger and spring onion into a pan:

3.Add the water, place over a medium heat and heat through, stirring.

4.Drain the noodles and either add them to the soup, or place them in the bowl and pour the soup around them.

Notes about Ingredients:

Miso paste: I use white miso paste in this recipe. If you have red miso, it will alter the colour of the dish (which wouldn’t matter too much!), but red miso is also saltier and stronger in taste, so I would recommend using ½ tbsp at first, and checking the miso soup once heated to see if you need to add a little more.

Peanut butter: Use a no added sugar one. A sweet peanut butter would be a mistake in this soup! Use a smooth peanut butter rather than crunchy.

Noodles: I use a variety of soba noodles, which take only 4 minutes to cook. If you wanted to use udon or another type of noodle, feel free! They may take a little longer to cook, but I still think they would be very tasty in this soup! If wanting to make a vegan miso noodle soup, check the variety of noodles you use are vegan as some are made with egg.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What exactly is miso?

A key ingredient in Japanese cooking, Miso is a fermented paste. Most commonly it’s a mixture of soybeans and a mould called, koji. The word ‘miso’ means fermented beans in Japanese. It has a wonderful salty, savoury unami flavour that provides a great depth to so many dishes.

Is it OK to  boil miso?

Try not to. The taste and some nutritional probiotic qualities of miso are destroyed if you boil it.

What to serve with miso noodle soup:

If you want to add vegetables to the miso soup, a few tablespoon of sweetcorn added as you heat the miso soup is delicious, as is a handful of baby spinach added at the end.

Suggested toppings: I like to top mine with shredded nori, fresh red chilli, fresh coriander leaves and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

If serving to toddler Mini Jones, I leave off the toppings, apart from the sesame seeds.

More recipes you may like:

Savoury peanut butter recipes: satay pumpkin curry, African peanut stew

If you and your family love eating noodles, then you might like these easy noodle recipes: Vegan Dan Dan Noodles, Sesame noodles, sticky tofu and Vietnamese noodle salad