It’s easy to end up with more miso soup than you bargained for. Don’t get me wrong – it’s delicious – I just always find myself making (and sometimes ordering) too much.
If you’re in the same boat, you may be wondering if you can save your miso soup and reheat it later. In this article, I cover:
- The best way to reheat miso soup
- Reheating miso soup in the microwave (works in a pinch)
- Storing, freezing, and making miso soup ahead of time
Ready? Let’s jump right in.
A note about my experiment
I wanted to find the best way of reheating miso soup, so I did a simple test. I prepared a delicious batch of miso soup and portioned it out into individual servings.
Then I reheated each portion using a different method and tasted the result. I based my final verdict on the following:
- The flavor and aroma of the miso soup
- How any additional ingredients fare (think tofu, seaweed, scallions, etc.)
- How convenient the reheating method is
The best way to reheat miso soup
The best way to reheat miso soup is on the stove in a small pan. Pour your leftover miso soup into a cold saucepan and gently warm it up using a low to medium heat. Increase the heat gradually to ensure the miso soup doesn’t boil. Miso soup should reheat within 5-7 minutes on the stove.
The stove is a quick but gentle method. You have good control over how fast the miso soup heats, so it’s easy to make sure it doesn’t boil (which would be a disaster).
How to reheat miso soup on the stove:
- Pour your miso soup into a small saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over a low heat and gently warm up the soup.
- Gradually increase the heat to a medium heat, making sure the miso soup doesn’t boil.
- Reheat for 5-7 minutes or until the miso soup reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Serve immediately.
The key here is not to allow the miso soup to boil at any point during the reheating process. You can easily achieve this by being cautious with the heat and increasing it gradually.
If the soup boils the flavors become muted and the texture will become grainy (yuk!).
If you have big chunks of tofu I would consider cutting them in half before you reheat the soup. Otherwise, you might find the middle of the tofu doesn’t heat up quick enough.
Related: How To Reheat Tofu
Verdict
This is the best way to reheat miso soup. The soup was just as delicious as when it was fresh. The extra few minutes on the stove (versus the microwave) was worth it for me.
Reheating miso soup in the microwave
To reheat miso soup in the microwave, place it in a microwave-safe container and cover it with pierced plastic wrap. Reheat the miso soup in 20-second intervals, stirring frequently. Don’t let the soup boil. A typical portion of miso soup should take 90-120 seconds to reheat in the microwave fully.
The microwave is a super-fast way of reheating miso soup, and you don’t create any extra washing up! You just need to be careful to ensure you don’t overheat the soup.
How to reheat miso soup in the microwave:
- Place the miso soup in a microwave-safe container.
- Cover the miso soup with pierced plastic wrap or a microwave-safe splatter cover.
- Heat the miso soup on full power in 15-second increments, stirring after each.
- A typical portion of miso soup will take around 90-120 seconds to reheat fully.
- Allow the miso soup to sit for 30 seconds before serving immediately.
It’s important to stir the miso soup at regular intervals to prevent any cold spots from forming and (more importantly) to prevent it from boiling.
If you accidentally boil the soup you can ruin the flavors and the texture, so you want to avoid it at all costs. The best way to do this is go slow and steady with the microwave. Checking the soup often pretty much eliminates the risk of it getting too hot.
I tried experimenting with microwaving the miso soup for longer on lower power settings, but this didn’t have any (noticeable) impact.
Verdict
The microwave works well in a pinch. It’s very difficult to prevent the miso soup from boiling, so exercise caution for best results.
Why is it important not to boil miso soup?
Boiling miso soup causes three undesirable effects:
- Loss of flavor and aroma. This is probably the most prominent issue. Miso turns sour when boiled/overheated.
- Loss of nutrients and enzymes. If you drink miso soup for its health benefits, heating it above 115°F (46°C) has been shown to kill its live probiotic cultures. This temperature is far below boing point and would result in a lukewarm dish, but it’s still worth noting.
- Texture change of the miso. Miso tends to go ‘gritty’ when overcooked or boiled. This is why recipes call for it to be added after the broth has boiled.
How to store miso soup
Store miso soup in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will last 2-3 days. For best results, separate any tofu, seaweed, and green onions from the miso soup before storing. You can keep miso soup at room temperature for up to 2 hours before you need to store it.
If you’re just wanting to keep your leftover miso soup overnight, keeping the solid stuff in the soup should be fine. After 24 hours, though, they start to go bad pretty rapidly.
Storing the tofu separately from the miso soup helps to ensure that it doesn’t get ‘waterlogged’ and soggy.
Freezing miso soup
To freeze miso soup, remove any remaining tofu and green onions. Next, divide the miso soup into individual portions and freeze in separate airtight containers. Miso soup can last up to 2 months in the freezer. You can also freeze the tofu separately.
To freeze the tofu, lay it out on a baking tray to flash freeze it before transferring the cubes to a heavy-duty freezer bag. The tofu will become slightly spongier after freezing but this is a good thing because it means it can soak up more of the soups flavor!
Some sources online suggest freezing miso soup in ice cube trays. I was considering testing this, but in reality I would need so many ice cubes that it would defeat the purpose of having smaller portions.
Your best bet is to invest in some small, one-portion airtight containers if you don’t have any already. These containers are perfect as they hold 6oz of liquid and are fully airtight. They’re just the right size for a regular portion of miso soup.
How long does miso soup last?
- In the refrigerator, miso soup can last up to 2-3 days.
- In the freezer, miso soup can last up to 2 months.
- At room temperature, miso soup can last up to 2 hours.
As miso soup comprises several ingredients, you can estimate how quickly the miso soup will go off by the most perishable ingredient in the dish.
Here are some examples of perishable ingredients that you may have in your miso soup:
- Tofu
- Potatoes
- Mushrooms
- Bean sprouts
- Pumpkin
- Spinach
How to tell if miso soup is bad
To tell if miso soup has gone bad, look out for a fishy, rotten smell. Also, gone-off miso soup will have a sour, bitter taste. Look out for a white film covering or floating on top of the dish.
If you are worried that your miso soup has gone off, remember the good old food safety saying:
“When in doubt, throw it out.”
Spoiled miso soup can cause food poisoning. It’s just not worth the risk.
Making miso soup ahead of time
Here are some tips for making miso soup ahead of time:
- Make and store the broth before adding the miso. Keep the miso separately and only add it to individual portions when serving. Doing so allows you to bring the broth to a boil without worrying about the miso losing potency or nutritional value.
- Consider making some ‘instant miso soup balls’. When you’re ready to indulge, just add boiling water. Genius? I think so.
- Store ingredients such as tofu and scallions separately from the broth. This is especially relevant when you plan on freezing or keeping the soup for more than a couple of days.
Read Next: How To Heat Up Pho
The BEST Way To Reheat Miso Soup
Equipment
- Pan
Ingredients
- 1 portion miso soup
- 1 portion tofu and other miso soup ingredients
Instructions
- Pour your miso soup into a small saucepan.
- Place the saucepan over a low heat and gently warm up the soup.
- Gradually increase the heat to a medium heat, making sure the miso soup does not boil.
- Reheat for 5-7 minutes or until the miso soup reaches 165°F (74°C).
- Serve immediately.
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