Do you love soup? Soups are a must when the weather turns chilly, but in Japanese and many other Asian cultures, soups are a daily affair regardless the temperatures. Simply because a good bowl of soup is restorative and transformative. They bring a great deal of comfort to our bodies and souls, especially after a long day. Here, we’ve rounded up our best collection of Japanese soups that everyone can make at home. Many of the recipes are pantry-friendly and are vegan and vegetarian adaptable too. More reasons to love these Japanese soups: they are typically easy to pull together, require short cooking time, and make the best of your odds and ends in the refrigerator.
16 Cozy and Nourishing Japanese Soups to Make at Home
1. Homemade Miso Soup
Needless to say, miso soup is the most basic and quintessential soup for Japanese cuisine. Not only is it delicious, but it is absolutely life-changing as it’s chock full of health benefits. Once you learn how to make authentic miso soup at home, you’d never look back. “Thank you for this amazing recipe with perfect instructions and easy to follow. This is my go-to miso soup and my husband (Japanese) cannot stop eating! I never have leftovers.” — Adela
2. Cold Miso Soup (Hiyajiru)
Did you know you can also enjoy miso soup cold? Full of flavor and includes seasonal vegetables and protein of your choice, this is the perfect cold soup for hot summer days. We love that it’s substantial enough to enjoy as a light lunch on its own. Ready in 15 minutes! {Vegan Adaptable}
3. Zosui (Japanese Rice Soup)
This comforting Japanese rice soup has the power to heal and re-energize. With pantry-ready ingredients, you can easily make it in no time! Extra bonus: It happens to be the best clear-out-your-fridge soup. {Vegan-friendly} “I almost never leave reviews for recipes, but I just have to with this one. I had some leftover veggies in the fridge so I wanted to try out a recipe that would translate well to different vegetables — I used Napa cabbage, celery, cremini mushrooms, and onion. This recipe was so quick and easy, and the taste is so comforting and nostalgic. I’ll definitely be making this recipe a weekly feature to use up any leftover vegetables.” — Mary
4. Japanese Egg Drop Soup
Egg drop soup is certainly known as a classic Chinese soup, but it is also a favorite in Japanese home cooking. The Japanese version is made with dashi broth with fluffy egg ribbons and has a much lighter consistency. It is equally homey and flavorful! “LOVE LOVE LOVE! I had it for breakfast with rice. Not at all heavy and so satisfying.” – Dee
5. Japanese Glass Noodle Soup (Harusame Soup)
For a fun and easy quick soup, you must try this Japanese glass noodle soup (or harusame soup) made with fluffy eggs, tofu, and wakame seaweed. The slippery glass noodles bring a whole level of textural dimension to the soup. Can’t find glass noodles? Use shirataki noodles instead. “I made this last night, with dashi stock, so easy and light, tasted like something delicious from a Japanese restaurant – yum!” – Laura H
6. Kabocha Miso Soup
Filled with sweet kabocha squash, mushrooms, and sesame seeds, this kabocha miso soup is going to be your new favorite fall and winter soup. Absolutely hearty, filling, and comforting all at once. “This was my first experience cooking Japanese food and this soup was everything I dreamed it would be!!!! Amazing, thank you.” – Dana
7. Japanese Corn Soup (Corn Potage)
This super creamy and smooth corn soup makes a delightful starter soup for all your late summer dinners. No fresh corn? Canned or frozen corn would work just as nicely as well. It’s the kind of soup you can enjoy hot or cold. “Husband usually doesn’t like soups and he loved this recipe! I used cashew cream instead of heavy cream to make it vegan.” – Chashu
8. Tonjiru (Pork and Vegetable Miso Soup)
Made with savory pork and root vegetables, this wholesome soup has been a long-time staple among Japanese home cooks. The recipe also uses super healthful ingredients such as ginger, sesame oil, and miso paste. As a result, it’s highly nutritious and an excellent soup to make for pregnant moms and postpartum recovery. “My daughter and I both got really bad colds so we decided to try this recipe. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find half the vegetables for this recipe but I substituted them with some local harvest vegetables. It was so tasty and I felt so good eating it!” – Amanda
9. Kenchinjiru (Japanese Vegetable Soup)
Originally created as a Buddhist temple cuisine, kenchinjiru (Japanese vegetable soup) is a clear soup cooked with daikon, carrots, tofu, taro, shiitake, and kombu stock. It’s well-balanced and full of umami flavor. Perfect if you’re looking for a meatless meal on a cold night. {vegan} “This soup was so comforting! Reminded me of soups my mom made when I was young. Thank you so much; this will be a keeper for me. With the togarashi, it was perfect!” – Dorothy
10. Japanese Clear Clam Soup
This is a signature dish to serve on Girls’ Day (Hinamatsuri) in Japan, but we love it year-round too. You’ll need only a few ingredients such as kombu, sake, manila clams, and water! “This is one of the finest Japanese dishes I’ve ever experienced. My home-stay okaasan made this for dinner early on in my stay in Kyoto years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday. The flavors are very subtle, very complex, and very delicious.” — Bill
11. Sanpeijiru (Japanese Salmon Soup)
A popular soup from Hokkaido, sanpeijiru features salted salmon and a variety of root vegetables and is cooked in kombu dashi broth. This a fabulous recipe to get your Omega-3! “What a delicious soup! We couldn’t find salted salmon so we tried salted beltfish (hairtail) which is a little lighter in flavor than the salmon. Other than going “full Hobbit (extra potatoes) we followed the recipe and loved it!” — Patty
12. Shrimp and Pork Wonton Soup
Like egg drop soup, this wonton soup is heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine. To make the best juicy wontons, I recommend using a mix of shrimp and pork. Make a big batch and freeze so you can have wonton soup anytime of the week! “Made this yesterday for lunch and it was delicious! I used a Chinese soup base paste for the broth, but everyone loved the dumplings! I even cooked up some ramen noodles in the broth to add with dumplings, and kids really enjoyed that.” — Andrea
13. Kabocha Squash Soup
Few things are cozier than a rich and creamy bowl of kabocha soup. So amazing when dip with some crusty bread. It freezes beautifully too! “My favorite squash ….My favorite soup …My favorite recipe! I usually have too many apples around when I make this in the Fall, so I peel one or two (depending on size) and add them in with the squash.” — Jiyo
14. Clam Miso Soup
Looking to fancy up your miso soup with extra protein and nutrients? Make this clam miso soup! It is another popular style of miso soup enjoyed in Japan. “We added bonito flakes to the kombu and used mussels rather than clams, but it was delicious! The mussels made the broth sweet and so flavorful!” – asheville
15. Soba Noodle Soup
Topped with blanched greens, wakame seaweed, and green onions, this steamy bowl of soba noodle soup will bring you extra comfort. You can keep it really simple or bulk it up with crispy tempura, fish cake, mushrooms or grilled tofu. “I love this recipe, it’s so quick to prepare for dinner after work and delicious! I use the concentrated mentsuyu.” – Ilaria
16. Udon Noodle Soup
Served in a delicate umami broth, this classic udon noodle soup (or kake udon) is the kind of food that celebrates simplicity. “So tasty! I “made” the konbu dashi and the udon noodles according to your recipes. It all turned out so well!” – Anderson We hope you get to try all the delicious Japanese soups we shared above. Do you have any favorites? Leave us a comment below as we’d love to hear from you!
More Comforting Japanese Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Ochazuke (Green Tea Over Rice)Japanese Chicken CurryYosenabe (Japanese Hot Pot)Shabu ShabuBeef Udon (Niku Udon) Mille-Feuille Nabe (Thousand Layers Cabbage Hot Pot)
