Is Miso Soup Keto Vegan Friendly? (2 Easy Recipes Included)

Miso soup is one of the staple foods of Japanese people and a big hit amongst anyone who’s into Japanese cuisine. The recipe might vary, so depending on the used ingredients, you may end up with a bowl of soup that is relatively high in carbs and far from being vegan. 

But for those wondering, “Is miso soup keto vegan friendly?” while craving some of it, I have all the answers and solutions in this post. 

Are you interested in a particular topic about keto, vegan and miso soup? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page. 

Is miso soup OK for vegans? 

OK, first and foremost, let’s put keto aside and talk about the vegan part. 

Miso soup, for the most part, is made of two ingredients. 

Miso paste, made from salt, soybeans, and fermented barley, rice, or soybeans called “koji.” That seems vegan-friendly. 

However, the second typical ingredient is dashi. And that’s where things might get tricky. Dashi is a soup stock, and it can be made from various ingredients.

E.g., Kombu is made of dried kelp, Katsuobushi – of dried, fermented bonito fish, Hoshi-shiitake – is made of dried shiitake mushrooms, and so on. So while fish-based miso soup recipes are the most common ones when you go out for that miso to a restaurant, vegans still have options. 

On top of it, miso might include some additional ingredients, basically anything you might find in the fridge: potatoes, tofu, seaweed, kelp, eggs, etc.

So long story short, we should deprive ourselves of a bowl of miso soup if we are following a vegan (and keto) diet. But the best option to make sure that your miso is safe to eat is to cook it yourself.

And maybe even experiment a little, to come up with a super special recipe that might make all non-vegans rave about it too. I’ll share some ideas. Just bear with me. 

Can you have miso paste on keto?

Yes, depending on the final recipe you are going to use the paste for. But first, let me tell you, it truly is a fantastic ingredient. Like other fermented soybean products, miso is nutritionally dense.

It contains dietary fiber, protein, essential amino acids, antioxidants, and essential trace minerals. It also contains very high concentrations of isoflavones. Those are believed to contribute to bone health and may help to prevent osteoporosis. 

Although it’s quite high in Sodium and let’s face it – it’s not zero carbs. 

For instance, one tablespoon of Miso paste by Miko contains 4g of carbs (along with 860mg of Sodium). But if you take into consideration that you only need one tablespoon of miso paste for a bowl of miso – it’s not that bad at all. 

Is miso soup keto approved?

It definitely can be! As we’ve established, miso soup recipes may vary from cook to cook. Anyone can add extra ingredients depending on personal preferences.

You can make your dish more nutritious and still keto-friendly. For instance, by serving it with mushrooms and tofu (both are excellent sources of vegetable protein with almost zero carbs, depending on the brand/kind). 

Keto vegan miso soup recipes

I’ve got two miso soup ideas for you today, with all the macros calculated. Both are vegan and keto-friendly and delicious too! 

Keto miso soup with tofu

Dried kelp miso soup

How long to keep miso soup in the fridge?

 If your soup is chilled correctly, it will last 2-3 days before going bad. So you can include this soup into a short term meal prepping routine. But a thing to remember: reheating miso soup brings out a sourness in it, ruining the balance of flavors.

Also, some ingredients – like wakame or kelp – better be served right before you are going to eat it as its color and texture will change if stored in the soup too long.

So I personally would prefer to set prepped ingredients aside and keep refrigerated miso base separately from anything else. And then I’ll be just adding extra toppings when I am reheating my meal. 

Thanks for the photos: Freepik.com and Canva.com

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