Miso Soup with Onion and Potato Recipe
Miso Soup with Onion and Potato is a comforting, everyday Japanese dish that’s as simple as it is satisfying. This easy miso soup recipe uses pantry staples you likely already have, making it perfect for a quick homemade meal. If you’re looking for an authentic miso soup without specialty ingredients, this recipe is a great place to start.
Many people think traditional miso soup requires tofu and wakame seaweed, but the truth is, miso soup is incredibly versatile. In Japan, it’s commonly made with whatever ingredients are available at home. If you’ve prepared miso soup before, you probably already have the essentials—dashi (made from dried bonito flakes or instant dashi granules) and miso paste. With just an onion and a potato, you can create a warm, flavorful Japanese soup that’s both nourishing and deeply comforting.
Onion and potato are classic ingredients in everyday Japanese miso soup because they’re affordable, accessible, and delicious. The onion adds a gentle sweetness, while the potato brings a hearty texture that pairs perfectly with the rich umami flavor of miso. Best of all, you don’t need to visit a Japanese grocery store to make this homemade miso soup. This simple recipe is all about convenience, flexibility, and creating an authentic Japanese dish with ingredients you already have in your kitchen.
More Easy Miso Soup Recipes
- Miso Soup with Broccoli, Onion, and Egg
- Miso Soup with Cabbage and Egg
- Miso Soup with Kabocha and Shimeji Mushroom
- Miso Soup with Satsumaimo Sweet Potato
- Miso Soup with Shrimp
The recipe was originally published on June 3, 2013 The post was fully updated on March 23, 2026 with revised text, new photos, and a short video.
Video
Instructions
- Slice onion thinly and cut potato into bite size pieces (1/4″ thick.)
- Bring Dashi to a boil and add onion and potato. Cook until softened.
- Reduce heat to low and dissolve miso paste in the Dashi. Remove from heat and serve hot.
This soup is absolutely fantastic. I made the dashi using guides from this site and another, sort of mixing the two methods together. Then I just followed this to the letter and it turned out so awesome. While the potato and onion was cooking I steamed broccoli over it since I just bought a 12 quart steamer pot. It worked wonderfully. I also had shrimp which had been steamed with Budweiser Black Crown beer. The soup though was really the highlight of the meal though.
Thank you for posting all this and I can’t wait to get to the rest of the stuff on this site (waiting for the sake and hon-mirin to come UPS).
James,
thanks for trying our recipe! Sake and Mirin will be so handy for your Japanese cooking!
It really is very handy and adds such wonderful types of flavor. I made a second batch of the soup, but this time I added celery and garlic clove finely diced since I had both on hand and wanted to use it up. I honestly think it came out even better than anticipated. It was more or less an experiment. I use my gut to decide how much of each to put in and I must have been on point because it was wonderful.
I think I enjoy it more than my New England Clam Chowder and this is so much simpler to make.
James,
glad you liked the recipe!
Hello I love your website! I was wondering if dashi amd hon dashi were the same thing? Can hon dashi be used for miso soup?
Tawni,
Hondashi is instant powder dashi you can dissolve in hot water. Yes, you can use that for your miso soup, but it is easy to make real Dashi. We have Dashi and Ichiban Dashi recipes!
Helo Yuko,
I thought the “content” of Miso Soup are only tofu and wakame.
NOW I know they are another stuff I can put on that Soup.
TQ for sharing your detail and easy recipe.
– Lina, Jakarta
Lina,
Glad you liked Miso Soup with Onion and Potato. You can make variations by changing vegetables.