Is miso soup keto and/or gluten-free? Does it fit in your diet?
Is miso soup keto?
If made from a traditional recipe, then yes, miso soup can be eaten if you’re following the keto diet. The base of any miso soup is dashi and miso paste. 1 cup of dashi only contains 0.6g of carbs, which is quite low. Miso paste contains 3g of carbs per tablespoon. Most recipes add 2 tablespoons when making enough for 4 people, so this would come out as 1.5g each.
Depending on your personal preference, you can add seaweed, tofu, eggs, and green onion.
Most recipes for miso soup found online put the carbs per bowl at 7g. This is perfectly acceptable if you’re following a keto diet.
However, the keto diet has a large focus on eating high protein and medium amounts of fat. A bowl of miso soup contains 3g of protein and just 2g of fat. They’re both completely outweighed by the carbs.
So if you’re trying to follow keto to the letter, the balance of macronutrients isn’t ideal and you may choose to spend your carb budget on something that’ll give you more bang for your buck.
If you love miso though, then as long as you track your carbs carefully, there’s no reason why it can’t remain a part of your diet!
Also read: this is an easy keto stir-fry sauce to use in your Asian dishes
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Miso (the main ingredient in miso soup) is made from grains. The type of grain used varies, so some miso will be gluten-free and some won’t. If you’re gluten intolerant or are a celiac, you’ll need to check the ingredients of the soup before you eat it.
In a restaurant, you’ll have to rely on the chef to tell you whether gluten-free miso has been used. If you buy your miso in a store, then you should be able to check the label.
In most western countries, it’s a legal requirement to list all allergens on the product label. The safest way to be sure is to make the soup yourself.
This is a fairly easy task, as miso paste is the only ingredient in miso soup that contains gluten. Check the label and look for a paste made from rice, buckwheat, quinoa, or chickpeas.
Also read: why does miso soup give me diarrhea? Is it the koji?
Please remember this may taste different to miso based on grains such as barley, so some adjustments or new ingredients may be required.
With experimentation, it’s likely you’ll find a combination you like. Once you’ve found it, then use dashi, tofu, seaweed wakame, and green onion to make the soup using your favorite recipe!
Also read: rice or noodles, which is healthier?
Check out our new cookbook
Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.
Try it out for free with Kindle Unlimited:
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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
