Meet my latest weeknight dinner obsession - Miso Pasta! Richly savoury and buttery pasta in less than 15 minutes.
Don't let the photo fool you - I know it might look like just another bowl of pasta but beneath that plain-looking exterior is hiding an unexpected flavour punch that will have you making this dish on repeat.
Late to the miso party? Me too! Now that I've tried it though I'm a full convert and this miso pasta recipe is making me wish I'd joined the party years ago.
I mistakenly assumed miso paste was spicy (due to it's use in Asian style food), but it's not a spicy condiment.
It is a paste (most often made from fermented soybeans and rice) that tastes deeply savoury and meaty, the kind of taste that gets your saliva going and your mouth watering.
The term used to describe this taste is "umami" - one of the five basic tastes that also include sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
Miso paste originated in China, and is traditionally used in Japanese cuisine as a seasoning or to enhance the flavour in recipes.
You could call this miso pasta a "fusion" dish, where Asian influence meets western-style pasta. I know, fancy - right?!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this miso pasta
- Tastes ah-maze-ing - seriously - it's my new go-to pasta.
- Super fast - great for busy weeknights.
- Massive flavour hit from so few ingredients.
What you need to make this miso pasta recipe
*Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient quantities and detailed instructions
- white miso paste - miso paste comes in three main types, the others being red miso paste and mixed miso (a combination of white and red) white miso is usually the mildest.
- pasta - I used spaghetti
- olive oil
- unsalted butter
- fresh garlic
- fresh parmesan
- confit cherry tomatoes - optional garnish to serve
*Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient quantities and detailed instructions
How to make miso pasta
- Cook and drain pasta (reserving some of the starchy pasta cooking water), meanwhile heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet or fry pan over medium heat.
- When butter starts to foam, add miso paste.
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- Then garlic.
- Add reserved pasta water to pan and whisk together to combine.
- Add drained pasta to pan and stir to incorporate and allow most of the liquid to be absorbed by the pasta.
- Finally, sprinkle in grated parmesan over low heat and keep mixing to create a silky sauce.
Top tips
- Different brands of miso paste vary in taste and salt content - I have made this recipe with a ratio of 3:1 butter and miso, the same as my miso butter recipe. You can opt to increase the amount of miso from there if you like.
- I like to use good quality butter for this miso pasta recipe because it's one of the main ingredients.
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese is best to use for this miso pasta rather than packaged as the pre-grated variety sometimes don't melt smoothly.
- I have used spaghetti, but whatever kind of pasta you have in the cupboard will be fine too.
- Make sure you don't forget to save some of that starchy cooking water from cooking the pasta - that is our secret ingredient for creating a lovely creamy sauce (without cream) that clings to the pasta.
- When you add the reserved pasta water to the pan, there will be a lot of liquid - don't worry - it's supposed to be like that! These kind of pasta dishes use that starchy cooking water to make the final sauce.
- Once you add the cooked pasta to the liquid, the pasta will almost "drink" up or absorb most of that liquid (and flavour). The rest will be transformed into a smooth, creamy sauce once you add the parmesan cheese.
- The grated parmesan needs to be stirred in over low heat to give it a chance to melt slowly with the pasta water and get emulsified.
Variations
- Need to make this fast miso pasta even faster? Replace the dry spaghetti with either fresh pasta from the supermarket chiller section or dried angel hair pasta and you could be eating in less than 5 minutes!
- Make this into spicy miso pasta by adding in some red pepper flakes (chilli flakes) when you add the garlic.
- Add some confit tomatoes (like the main photo).
- Add some veggies like mushrooms.
Frequently asked questions
Earthy and savoury with a slightly tangy fermented-yeast taste.
Usually as a flavour enhancer or seasoning to a dish.
The Asian foods section.
Other recipes you may enjoy
Salmon Pasta - a smooth creamy sauce of chilli, garlic & lemon juice combined with still-pink salmon, with tomatoes & parsley.
Crab and Chilli Pasta - tomato, basil, chilli, garlic & lemon added to sweet crab meat, all together in a creamy sauce served with angel hair pasta.
Buttery Garlic Mushrooms - plump, juicy mushrooms sauteed in plenty of garlic and butter then finished off with parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
📖 Recipe
Miso Pasta (With Video)
Ingredients
- 225 g dried pasta I used spaghetti
- 4½ tablespoon unsalted butter (see my notes)
- 1½ tablespoon white miso paste (see my notes)
- 2 garlic cloves cores removed and crushed
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan firmly packed plus extra to serve if desired
- confit cherry tomatoes optional garnish
Watch me make this recipe
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add pasta and cook to al dente (according to package directions).225 g dried pasta
- When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water (you might not need it all).
- Meanwhile, heat unsalted butter in a frypan over medium heat.4½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- When the butter starts to foam, mix in miso paste and garlic and fry for 30 seconds.1½ tablespoon white miso paste2 garlic cloves
- Add reserved pasta water (start with ½ cup pasta water, adding more as needed) to the butter mixture in the pan and whisk together over low heat until combined and uniform with no lumps.
- Add drained pasta to the liquid in the pan and stir to allow the pasta to absorb most of the liquid until only about a few tablespoons remain.
- Finally, sprinkle in grated parmesan over low heat and keep mixing to melt the parmesan and create a silky sauce (adding a little more reserved pasta water if needed). Add confit cherry tomatoes now to heat through if using.½ cup freshly grated parmesanconfit cherry tomatoes
- Serve pasta immediately in bowls, garnished with extra parmesan cheese and ground black pepper.
Notes
- If you have made a batch of my miso butter, just use 6 tablespoons of that.
- Different brands of miso paste vary in taste and salt content - I have made this recipe with a ratio of 3:1 butter and miso, the same as my recipe for miso butter. You can opt to increase the amount of miso from there if you would like.
- I like to use good quality, creamy butter for this kind of dish because it's one of the main ingredients.
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese is the best choice for this recipe rather than packaged as these sometimes don't melt smoothly.
- I have used spaghetti, but whatever kind of pasta you have in the cupboard will work too.
- Make sure you don't forget to save some of that starchy cooking water from cooking the pasta - that is our secret ingredient for creating a lovely creamy sauce (without cream) that clings to the pasta.
- When you add the reserved pasta water to the pan, there will be a lot of liquid - don't worry - it's supposed to be like that! These kind of pasta dishes use that starchy cooking water to make the final velvety sauce.
- Once you add the cooked pasta to the liquid in the frying pan, the pasta will almost "drink" up or absorb some of that liquid (and flavour). The rest will be transformed into a smooth, creamy sauce once you add the parmesan cheese.
- The grated parmesan needs to be stirred into the pasta over low heat to give it a chance to melt slowly with the pasta water and get emulsified.
Want to save this recipe?
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Never tried miso before or used the pasta cooking water and both worked really great. Will be doing this again.
That's great Yolande!