Hearty and flavorful, this Kabocha Miso Soup is filled with sweet kabocha, umami-rich mushrooms, and nutty sesame seeds. It’s vegan, easy to make, and incredibly delicious!
When it comes to “miso soup”, the most common image would involve a simple soup with tofu and wakame seaweed. However, in Japan, we make miso soup with a variety of ingredients.
In fact, one of the tricks I use to volumize a meal is to make the miso soup more substantial and fulfilling with hearty ingredients. Today I’ll show you how to make Kabocha Miso Soup (かぼちゃの味噌汁).
Why You’ll Love This Kabocha Miso Soup
- So easy to make
- Hearty, filling, and comforting all at once
- Flavorful – savory, sweet, nutty, packed with flavors
- Plant-based and gluten-free
Simple 5 Ingredients
To make this soup, you need 5 ingredients.
- Kabocha – It’s available all year round. Check your Japanese and Asian grocery stores.
- Shimeji mushrooms – Or any mushrooms of your choice (you can use other ingredients too)
- White sesame seeds – Highly recommend not to skip.
- Dashi-Included Miso – Read more about my choice below.
- Water – If you use regular miso, then use Awase Dashi (kombu + katsuobushi) or vegan-friendly Kombu Dashi
MSG-Free, Dashi-Included Miso
Dashi-included miso can be very useful when you live in a place where it’s hard to find dashi ingredients (kombu and katsuobushi).
In this recipe, I used “Maru-Yu” Dashi Iri Yuki Miso by Hikari Miso. It’s organic and MSG-free, and it’s Awase Miso made with 5 types of miso.
You can purchase this miso along with other Hikari Miso varieties at Japanese grocery stores or Asian grocery stores (like H-Mart).
Just one thing to remember: dashi-included miso tends to be slightly saltier than regular miso, so adjust the amount and taste before you add more.
Itadakimasu!
You can enjoy this delicious Kabocha Miso Soup on its own or with the following recipes for a complete Japanese meal:
- Instant Pot Brown Rice
- Tamagoyaki (Japanese Rolled Omelette)
- Japanese Salted Salmon (Shiojake)
- Japanese Pickled Cabbage
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Kabocha Miso Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 lb kabocha (squash/pumpkin) (½ kabocha with seeds)
- 4 cups water (If you're not using Dashi-Included Miso, please use Kombu dashi (for vegan) or Awase Dashi instead of water)
- 3.5 oz shimeji mushrooms (1 pack)
- 4 Tbsp miso (I used Hikari Miso® Dashi-Included Miso (read the blog post); please adjust the amount of miso according to your taste)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In an ungreased frying pan, toast the sesame seeds on medium heat until toasty and fragrant. Shake the pan frequently so the sesame seeds don’t get burnt.
- Transfer to the Japanese mortar and pestle (Suribachi and Surikogi). Grind until 90% of the sesame seeds are crushed and keep 10% uncrushed.
- Discard the seeds from the kabocha and cut into ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick slices. Be careful as kabocha is quite tough to cut.
- Cut the slices into a small chunk, roughly 1-inch pieces. Transfer the kabocha into a medium pot.
- Add 4 cups water (or dashi, if you are not using dashi-included miso) and bring the water to boil over medium heat. Cover the lid leaving a small gap to prevent from boiling over.
- Once boiling, skim the foam and scum on the surface using a fine-mesh skimmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low heat and cook kabocha for 15 minutes, or until tender. Do not overcook as kabocha will break into pieces.
- You can check the kabocha’s doneness by inserting a wooden skewer into the kabocha. Check frequently to prevent it from overcooking.
- When kabocha is ready, remove the bottom of shimeji mushrooms and add to the soup. Cook for 1-2 minutes until tender.
- Turn off the heat and add 3 Tbsp miso first. Taste before adding another Tbsp of miso. You may not need to add more if it's flavorful enough to your taste.
- Add the ground sesame seeds and mix well. Serve the miso soup in individual bowls and enjoy!
Hello! I’ve made this before and absolutely loved it. I was wondering if roasting the kabocha then adding it to the miso would work? I love the slight caramelization that happens in the oven to kabocha, and also find it easier than the steaming method used in this recipe. Let me know what you think. Thank you!
Hi Jade! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Roasted Kabocha tastes wonderful, and you can add to the miso soup. However, miso soup itself (broth) would be less flavor without the Kabocha-cooked water.
We hope this helps!
I’m not sure you can claim this dish is vegan because fashion has katsuobushi which is fish.
Hi Mary! To make this dish vegan friendly, please use Kombu dashi (noted in the ingredient list).
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Tried this. It is wonderful.
Hi James!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed this Kabocha miso soup!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
Recently found your site. Just made this kabocha miso soup with shiro miso and awase dashi. It was delicious, with a wonderful balance of flavor among the miso, sesame and squash. Some might be tempted to leave out the sesame, but it’s crucial, I think. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Hi Tim,
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.
We have more than 700 classic & modern Japanese recipes now. Please enjoy!
Happy cooking!😊
I made this last night and I loved the flavors! I did accidentally overcook the kabocha though, but I think it’s because I cut it into thin pieces. Even so, it was still very good even though the “meat” of the kabocha mostly dissolved into the soup. Next time I’ll know to adjust the time a bit!
Speaking of cutting the kabocha though, any tips on how to make it a little easier? I swear my shoulder is really feeling it this morning, haha. Thanks as always for the wonderful recipe.
Hi Valarie!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are happy to hear you loved the flavors!
Here are the post and video, How to Cut a Kabocha Squash (Japanese Pumpkin);
https://www.justonecookbook.com/kabocha-squash/
We hope this is helpful!☺️
This was just absolutely delicious, even with boring old white button mushrooms. I added tofu. I loved how the kabocha added a lovely sweetness to the broth.
Hi Andi!
We are so happy to hear you enjoyed the sweetness of Kabocha in the miso soup!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.😊
Wonderful!
Hi Teresa!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback!😊
This recipe is so easy and tastes great! I wanted to make the dashi myself (I already had normal miso in my fridge) but couldn’t find the bonito flakes- what section of Asian grocery stores is it usually located in? I ended up using dashi powder instead which was still delicious but I want to make my own dashi next time 🙂
Hi Nicole! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! So happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂 Bonito flakes (Katsuobushi) should be near dried shiitake mushrooms or dried foods/ingredient sections. But some Asian grocery stores have “Japanese” section and it could be there because it’s very Japanese ingredients that other Asian countries don’t use. 🙂
I love miso soup and Kabocha, I wanted to ask, as Kabocha is not in season yet here in UK, would it be ok to use Frozen Kabocha? My local japanese grocery store sells the frozen variety at the moment,
Hi elkie! Ohh I see! Kabocha here (or in Japan) is all year round. You can definitely use that instead. 🙂
I made this soup tonight with a shiitake dashi, the shiitakes that I re-hydrated, and some white mushrooms (for bulk). It was so delicious, and enjoyably easy. Next time I think I’ll take the skin off of the kabocha (or just cook for longer). As I find different recipes on this website, I’m more and more happy to see that they are all consistently tasty!
Thank you for trying this recipe, Lilly! I’m glad my recipes have been working out for you so far. Thank you for taking your time to write your feedback. Truly appreciate it very much!!
I love the ingredients of the Kabocha Miso soup so much. I’ll try it tonight. Thank you so much Nami.
PS I really like the whisk you use to to break up the miso. Where can I get one like it? Thanks
Hi Michelle! I hope you enjoy(ed) the recipe! The tool is called Miso Muddler (https://amzn.to/2L9knJc) and I love it! You can find the kitchen tools I love on my shop page: https://www.amazon.com/shop/justonecookbook 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank you for a quick response and for the links of the tool and your kitchen tools. I’ll definitely get one. The soup turned out really good. Thank you 😊
Hi Michelle. I’m glad to hear that! 🙂
Is there such a thing as a vegan Dashi miso?
Hi Naomi! No, typically dashi included miso includes katsuobushi, I believe. You can make vegan dashi (kombu dashi) and use regular miso (that doesn’t have dashi included) for vegan-friendly miso soup. 🙂
Is there any difference between dashi-included miso vs using something like hondashi + normal miso?
Hi Brent! I’d say the result should be similar. If the dashi-included miso is a good brand like this, I prefer the first choice than Hondashi one. 🙂