Cozy up to a bowl of Miso Dumpling Soup - it's ready in just 20 minutes! Full of vegetables and extra warming, it's great if you're feeling under the weather or just need a nourishing, meat-free option.
Today's recipe is a perfectly cozy dinner that can be ready with pantry-staple ingredients and freezer favorites! Like this Sesame Miso Ramen, it's very customizable and easily prepped ahead. Frozen dumplings are something nice to have on hand for entertaining or as a snack - they fit perfectly into this warming miso vegetable soup.
As a note, this recipe draws inspiration from a variety of Asian cuisines, most notably some variations of Japanese and Chinese culinary styles. This is merely an inspired take. Cultural appropriation is very real in food blogging - I was even hesitant to use chopsticks in images. I recommend reading more about the history of gyoza to fully appreciate this delicious ingredient. This article about the differences between gyoza and potstickers is really well written.
Love soup? Check our this roundup of all of my favorite vegan soup recipes!
What is miso, anyway?
Miso is a traditional Japanese condiment made from fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (a fungus). It comes pre-packages at the grocery store as a thick paste that is full of savory flavor. Is is high in protein, vitamins, and minerals and is the base of many traditional dishes (perhaps most notably, miso soup, misoshiru).
Ingredient Details for Miso Dumpling Soup
- High heat, neutral oil such as avocado, for cooking
- Mushrooms add some hefty and umami. I used button because they are easy to find and affordable, but shiitake would also be good!
- Fresh ginger and garlic make up a large chunk of the flavor profile here.
- Scallions (green onions) are used in the soup base as well as a garnish.
- White miso paste lends most of the savory flavor to the broth.
- Sweet potatoes and kale add some vegetable texture and color.
- Frozen vegetable dumplings save time. I've included a list of recommendations below.
Types of Vegetable Dumplings to Buy for Soup
For this recipe I used Trader Joe's Vegetable Gyoza, mainly because they are made without any animal products, easily accessible to me, and affordable. Many grocery stores carry similar versions, and this article outlines a few of the best frozen dumplings available for inspiration (depending on what store you are near).
Can I make this in advance?
Yes! But be warned that as this soup sits, the ingredients take on water and can become mushy. For this reason, I recommend leaving out the sweet potato and dumplings until just before serving. The entire recipe serves about 4 people, so if you're cooking for 1-2, this is a good route to follow.
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Possible Customizations
This recipe is very flexible and I recommend using whatever you have on hand for many of these ingredients!
- Butternut squash or carrots would work well in place of sweet potato.
- Bok choy, cabbage, or spinach can take the place of kale here (cooking times may vary slightly).
- Feel free to test in another kind of miso for the white specified here. I have not tried that (white miso is pretty mild and versatile), but a yellow miso could also be used. Red tends to be a bit more intense in flavor, so you may have to reduce the quantity suggested here by a bit.
- I recommend serving this with sesame seeds, chili crisp, hot sauce, and/or chopped green onions.
Other Cozy Soups to Try Next
Miso Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
- 1 TBS neutral oil like avocado
- 4 oz button mushrooms sliced
- 1 TBS fresh ginger grated
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 scallions sliced into rounds (white parts and green parts in two piles)
- 2 small sweet potatoes sliced into thin coins
- 6-7 cups water
- 1 package frozen vegetable dumplings such as Trader Joes Vegetable Gyoza
- 3-4 large pieces of lacinato kale torn into strips
- ¼ cup white miso
- Scallions hots sauce, chili crisp and sesame seeds to serve
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat oil until shimmering and then add mushrooms and let cook for a 3-4 minutes to release some water. Next, add ginger, garlic, and the white parts of scallions. Let cook for 5-minutes, stirring infrequently so the mixture does not burn. The mushrooms should release a good portion of their water and shrink in size.
- Add potatoes* and water, stirring to combine. Bring mixture to a simmer.
- Next, add dumplings and cook for 4-5 minutes, until heated through. See notes for meal prep option.* Add kale and cook 2 minutes more, to soften. Stir in miso. Bringing the mixture to a full boil (or even just above 114) can kill the probiotic benefits of miso.
- Serve right away topped with reserved green parts of scallions, hot sauce, and sesame seeds.
SWH says
Delicious and so easy! It’s a cold dreary day here in NW PA and this is a perfect soup to warm the body & soul.
Emily says
So glad you enjoyed it, thank you for rating!