This Miso Butter Pasta is a fun Japanese-style spaghetti. It’s quick, easy, and most ingredients can be found in your pantry!
I’ve teamed up with Table for Two, a Japanese nonprofit focused on fixing global food imbalance through a meal-sharing program, to make this Miso Butter Pasta. April begins their #EdamameChamp campaign, which promotes healthy eating through Japanese cuisine, focusing on soy products. This raises funds to provide food education to children.
A little about Miso
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made by fermenting soybeans. This thick paste is super flavorful, salty, full of umami, and can be used for so much more than miso soup.
There are different kinds of miso. The most common are:
- Shiromiso (white miso) – This is known for being more “sweet” or mellow in flavor.
- Akamiso (red miso) – This is fermented longer so it is generally more salty and funky in flavor than other miso. It’s great for marinades or rich soups.
- Awasemiso (mixed miso) – This miso is a mix of both white and red miso which makes it super versatile and can be used for almost everything.
What to put into Miso Butter Pasta
This recipe utilizes super simple pantry ingredients:
- Pasta – I use spaghetti but you can pretty much use anything. I recommend pasta that is on the thinner side so it allows the flavors to shine through.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter but if you have salted, you can just reduce the amount of miso or soy sauce
- Miso – I used awasemiso but you can use any type you like! This brings the flavor to the recipe so play around with different kinds.
- Garlic – Cause you can never go wrong with garlic.
- Soy Sauce – Just a splash goes a long way (I add a splash of soy sauce into almost everything)
- Shiso – I cut up some shiso for garnish which adds a nice bright flavor.
You can also add other ingredients to this pasta to change it up. Here are some recommendations:
- Cabbage – Just cut up some cabbage to throw in the pan. It adds nice texture and picks up the flavor of the sauce well.
- Mushrooms – They add even more umami and depth to the dish.
- Heavy Cream – You can add a little heavy cream if you want it a little creamier
- Parmesan Cheese – Another way to add a little creaminess (put it in with the pasta water & miso to make it part of the pasta, or you can just add some on top)
- Canned Fish – Canned Mackerel or Tuna are popular types of fish to add to this type of pasta.
- Shredded Nori – This is a common and delicious topping for Japanese-style pastas.
Don’t miss the #EdamameChamp Kick-Off Event!
I’ll be joining Table for Two for their #EdamameChamp Kick-Off Event THIS Saturday, April 10th, at 7PM EST (4PM PST). There’ll be a chopsticks competition and I’ll be doing a cooking demo for this Miso Butter Pasta!
You can register for the event here (It’s free!)
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Miso Butter Pasta / 味噌バターパスタ
Ingredients
- salt for cooking pasta
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp miso
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- cracked black pepper
- 5 leaves shiso sliced into thin ribbons
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: In a large pot, boil water and salt. Add spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. I recommend cooking it 1 minute less than recommended since it will cook longer once in the pan.
- While the pasta is cooking, thinly slice the garlic and shiso. If you have any other ingredients you want to add (cabbage, mushrooms, etc.), prep them now.
- When the pasta is done cooking, remove the spaghetti but reserve some pasta water (about 1/4 cup).
- In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Before the oil gets too hot, add in the garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle, you can add in any other ingredients here (cabbage, mushrooms, etc).
- When the garlic starts to sizzle, add in the butter and miso and mix well. Add in some pasta water if it needs to be thinned out and then add a splash of soy sauce.
- Add the spaghetti to pan with the sauce. Toss well.
- Season with pepper to taste (and add salt or more soy sauce if needed).
- Plate pasta, top with the cut shiso, and serve immediately.
Notes
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