These Miso Soba Noodle Bowls with Spicy Tofu are filled with umami flavour and are the perfect vegetarian comfort food!
How to make this recipe
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Cut tofu into cubes and marinate for 15 minutes and up to an hour. Remove cubes from marinade and roast in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes, flipping once.
- While tofu is cooking, make broth by combining miso paste with broth in a large pot and whisking constantly as you bring it to a boil. Stir in soy sauce and chili garlic sauce, then add mushrooms and green onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add soba noodles and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon into large bowls, add desired toppings and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Soba noodles – Korean buckwheat noodles and whole wheat vermicelli will replace the soba noodles identically. You can use udon noodles or ramen noodles as a replacement as well but it will alter the overall flavour.
Miso broth
- Vegetable broth – If you want to have a more authentic Japanese-cuisine experience, use dashi instead!
- Miso paste – This recipe calls for miso so you will want to make sure you have this ingredient. There are a few variations of miso paste like white, red, yellow, etc. I recommend the white soybean miso paste for the best results.
- Soy sauce – Using Tamari or coconut aminos will work well in place of soy sauce.
- Chili garlic sauce – Chili garlic sauce adds a spice element to the broth. If spicy food isn't up your alley, then feel free to leave this out.
- Enoki mushrooms – Enoki mushrooms add rich vitamins and healthy amino acids to your broth. You can choose to use a different mushroom instead or leave it out completely.
- Green onions – If you don't like green onions, you can leave this step out or replace them with chives for a similar effect.
Spicy Tofu
- Extra firm tofu – Using extra firm tofu keeps its shape through the cooking process but medium to medium firm tofu also pairs nicely in miso soup. Just a heads up, it is more delicate than firm tofu.
- Sunflower oil – Olive oil and vegetable oil will also work in place of sunflower oil.
- Sriracha – If you're looking for a spice alternative you can use chili paste, crushed chili flakes, or cayenne to replace Sriracha. If you're looking to minimize the spice level of this recipe, feel free to leave this out.
- Soy sauce – See substitutes for soy sauce above.
- Rice wine vinegar – If you do not have rice wine vinegar on hand here is what you can do instead: Use 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar plus 1/4 tsp of sugar for every tablespoon of rice wine vinegar.
Toppings
- Sunflower sprouts – Toppings are made to be to your liking and preferences so if you don’t like this ingredient, feel free to swap it out for anything you prefer. Keep scrolling to see other topping options!
- Red cabbage – See note from sunflower sprouts.
- Jalapeños – See note from sunflower sprouts.
- Spicy Tofu – See note from sunflower sprouts.
What exactly is miso?
Miso is a fermented soybean paste that originates from Japan. It is used to create flavour in a lot of Asian cuisine but is mostly recognized for being the main ingredient in miso soup. The overall taste of miso is also the reference point for “umami” – a flavour sensation in Japanese dishes.
More topping ideas
The options for toppings are endless when it comes to a hearty noodle soup! Here are some recommendations:
- Mushrooms (king oyster, shiitake, cremini, enoki, etc.)
- Shredded carrots
- Baby bok choy
- Snow peas
- Bean sprouts
- Edamame
- Cilantro
- And anything else you’re in the mood for!
Storing and reheating
If you’re looking to store any extra miso soup place it in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate it. The best tip I have is to store your soups in mason jars, it makes it so easy when you need to take your leftovers with you on the go! After storing your soup, you will want to enjoy it within three days of refrigerating. When you’re ready to have your miso noodle soup, you will be able to microwave it for 1-2 minutes but the best results will come from reheating it on the stove until warmed.
More noodle soup recipes
If you're looking for more noodle soups, check out these other faves of mine below!
- Mason Jar Instant Noodles
- Spiralized Zucchini Chicken Noodle Soup
- Soba Noodle Broth Bowls: Panera Bread Copycat
Meal prep tools
- These are the mason jars I use.
- I love this low-sodium soy sauce.
- This is the brand of tamari I like (if you're looking for a soy sauce alternative!)
Easy Miso Soba Noodle Bowls
Ingredients
- 9 oz Handful of soba noodles
Miso broth
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup miso paste
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- 8 oz enoki mushrooms
- 3 green onions, sliced
Spicy Tofu
- 350 g package extra firm tofu
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
Toppings
- Sunflower sprouts
- Red cabbage
- Jalapeños sliced and deseeded
- Spicy Tofu
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- Cut tofu into cubes and marinate for 15 minutes and up to an hour. Remove cubes from marinade and roast in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes, flipping once.
- While tofu is cooking, make broth by combining miso paste with broth in a large pot and whisking constantly as you bring it to a boil. Stir in soy sauce and chili garlic sauce, then add mushrooms and green onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add soba noodles and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Spoon into large bowls, add desired toppings and enjoy!
Carl says
I see that soba noodles come in both cooked and uncooked varieties at my local grocery store. Which did you use in your recipe? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Carl! I used the uncooked variety then boiled them in water for a couple minutes according to the package directions. They are usually in with all the other dried rice noodles, vermicelli etc. 🙂
Laura @MotherWouldKnow says
So now I know what to do with that brick of tofu I bought recently when I was in a healthy mood and that has been sitting in my fridge ever since 🙂 Delicious looking and probably almost as good as chicken soup in curing whatever ails you.
Mei says
That looks soo good! And now I’m hungry! ><
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Mei!! 🙂 That was the idea hahaha
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
Love your tip about soybean paste over miso paste. And this bowl is calling to me!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Kristen! Sometimes labels at the store can get so confusing!
Sarah says
Love tofu and this sounds simply delightful!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Sarah, glad to hear somebody else around here actually likes tofu!
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
Taylor – I find myself drooling over your recipes day after day!!! Love this 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Aww Erin you are so sweet!! I love your website too, especially the income reports!! It’s so helpful to see other medium-sized bloggers like me and how they make their money – we can’t all be Pinch of Yum with 2 million visitors a month ahahah
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen} says
Oh, yummy! The perfect antidote to my cold 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Oh it’ll knock your cold out alight!! 😉
Kristina says
photos are stunning! I love these kind of bowls – I could eat them every day!
we are getting a lot of sunshine here too, LOVE it!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Kristina!! 🙂