How Many Calories in Miso Soup?

Also known as 味噌汁, みそ汁, Misoshiru, Tofu Wakame Miso Soup.

Dashi stock with miso paste stirred in, plus tofu cubes and wakame seaweed, or whatever vegetables are in season. It comes with almost every teishoku in Japan and costs 100 to 150 yen on its own.

40kcal / 1 bowl (tofu and wakame)

A standard bowl of miso soup with tofu and wakame is about 40 calories. Matsunoya publishes its plain miso soup at 28 calories. The miso paste is most of that, the tofu adds about 15, and the dashi and seaweed are close to zero. Tonjiru, the pork and root vegetable version, is 140 to 180.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 bowl (tofu and wakame) (180g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	40 kcal	22 kcal
Protein	3 g	2 g
Carbs	4 g	2 g
Fat	1.5 g	1 g

Where the calories come from

Miso paste12g

22 kcal

Silken tofu25g

14 kcal

Dried wakame1g

2 kcal

Dashi stock150g

3 kcal

The real talk

Miso soup is the cheapest way to feel like you ate more. A bowl is 180ml of hot salty liquid for 40 calories, and it slows the meal down. The miso paste is 12 to 15g per bowl at about 2 calories per gram. Tofu is 25g at 14 calories. Wakame, dried, is 1g and rounds to nothing. Even if you double the tofu, you are at 55.

The trade-off is salt. A bowl carries 1.2 to 1.6g of salt, and Matsunoya lists theirs at 1.6g. Japan's health ministry suggests under 7.5g a day for men, so 2 bowls at breakfast and dinner is nearly half the budget. Nobody gains weight from miso soup, but if you are watching blood pressure, one bowl a day is the sensible ceiling. Reduced-salt miso pastes (genen miso) cut that by about a third.

Watch for the upgraded versions. Tonjiru with pork belly, daikon, carrot and konnyaku is 140 to 180 calories a bowl and 7g of fat, still reasonable as a side. Miso soup with a whole fried tofu pouch or nameko mushrooms in a thick broth is 80 to 100. The instant cup versions from the konbini are 30 to 45 and fine, just salty.

How the portions compare

28 kcal

Plain miso soup (Matsunoya)

40 kcal

Tofu and wakame bowl

150 kcal

Tonjiru (pork and vegetables)

Miso Soup variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Plain, spring onion only	28 kcal	Matsunoya published figure
Tofu and wakame	40 kcal	Standard teishoku bowl
Instant cup miso soup	40 kcal	Konbini or supermarket sachet
Nameko mushroom and aburaage	85 kcal	Fried tofu pouch adds most of it
Tonjiru	150 kcal	Pork belly, daikon, carrot, konnyaku

How to eat it lighter

There is nothing to cut. At 40 calories, drink the bowl and enjoy it.
Use it as the starter. A bowl of hot soup before a teishoku means you eat the rice slower and often leave some.
If salt is the concern, pick genen (reduced salt) miso at home, about 1g of salt per bowl instead of 1.5.
Add more tofu and wakame, not more miso. Extra tofu is 15 calories and 2g of protein per 25g.
Tonjiru at 150 calories with a small rice bowl is a proper 400 calorie lunch on its own.

Common questions

How many calories in a bowl of miso soup?

About 40 calories for a standard bowl with tofu and wakame. A plain bowl is around 28, tonjiru with pork is 140 to 180.

Is miso soup good for weight loss?

Yes. At 40 calories a bowl it adds volume and warmth to a meal for almost nothing, which makes it easier to eat less of the rice. The only caution is salt at about 1.5g per bowl.

How much salt is in miso soup?

About 1.2 to 1.6g per bowl. Two bowls a day is roughly 40 percent of the 7.5g daily limit Japan recommends for men.

Does miso soup have protein?

A little. About 3g per bowl from the miso and tofu. It is not a protein source, it is a low calorie side.

Related foods

Tonkatsu

442 kcal per 1 rosu katsu (cutlet only, no rice)

Gyudon

633 kcal per 1 bowl (regular)

Oyakodon

631 kcal per 1 bowl

Salmon Nigiri

93 kcal per 1 plate (2 pieces)

Sup Kambing

520 kcal per 1 bowl with 2 slices French bread

Sup Tulang

350 kcal per 1 bowl (2-3 bones with broth)

See all Soups calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical restaurant, ramen shop or konbini serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Matsunoya published nutrition PDF (みそ汁 28 kcal, 豚汁 143 kcal); tofu and wakame bowl estimated from components. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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