Name: Vegan-Friendly Miso Pasta
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 250 gm spaghetti/ pasta of choice; 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 tbsp miso; ⅓ -½ cup parmesan ((alternatively use vegan parmesan)); 2 tbsp nutritional yeast + more for sprinkling; ½ - 1 cup pasta water (as required); furikake (for garnish)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

If you love quick one-pot recipes and experimenting with a contemporary fusion of flavours, this miso pasta could be right up your alley.

To say that this deceivingly-simple recipe is quick would be an understatement. You’ll have to make it yourself to see just how effortless it is! I say deceivingly-simple because the intensity of flavours in the final dish cuts across so many dimensions right from bold overtones of umami embracing the silky-smooth strands of pasta, to a nuanced nuttiness balancing the creaminess of the miso sauce.

You don’t need very many ingredients either. Just six. There’s miso, yes, imparting shades of umami. But also, golden flakes of nutritional yeast adding unidentified complexity; and furikake, an inimitable Japanese seasoning. Don’t be intimidated if you’re unfamiliar with the ingredients or you’re unsure about where to source them (if you’re reading this in India). Everything is available via Urban Platter, our go-to online platform for trending vegan-friendly produce thoughtfully sourced and curated from world over!

Key Ingredients For Making This Miso Pasta

Miso. The fermented soybean paste miso, is the star of the show in this pasta. While you could use dark miso, I have used shiro miso which is lighter with a milder and more versatile flavour.
Olive oil. Olive oil adds a glossy, silky smooth finish to this pasta, also helping to keep it vegan-friendly.
Pasta. You can use any pasta of your choice! Long and thin strands of pasta such as spaghetti work especially well, as they absorb the silky-smooth miso sauce with velvety aplomb! The slurp factor is always a bonus too!
Shaved parmesan/ vegan parmesan. Parmesan adds a craveable creaminess when melted into the miso sauce. To make this recipe vegan, simply sub parmesan with vegan parmesan and/ or omit the parmesan entirely, increasing the nutritional yeast instead.
Nutritional yeast flakes. These nutrient-rich golden flakes are a powerhouse of protein, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants! While often added to vegan, gluten-free dishes as a topping, here we add the flakes right into the miso sauce to amp up the umami with a nuanced nuttiness.
Furikake. Furikake literally means “sprinkled over”, with this quintessentially Japanese condiment used to season dishes with savoury hints of umami!

All ingredients are available via Urban Platter; individual links for each ingredient are provided in the recipe card below.

More Tips For Making This Miso Pasta

Reserve the pasta water when draining your cooked pasta. This starchy water will help to break down the miso, whilst also bringing together the sauce for this recipe. Use up to 1 cup , as required and as per desired consistency of the sauce (use more pasta water for a thinner sauce; less for a thicker sauce).
Toss, toss, toss. This is as simple as a recipe gets, but it does require continuous and vigorous tossing to ensure that the cheese/ vegan cheese and nutritional yeast evenly blend into the miso sauce.

Vegan-Friendly Miso Pasta

This one-pot miso pasta is brimming with an unique depth of flavours, chief among them savoury shades of umami! The recipe is vegan-friendly – simply swap out the parmesan for vegan parm or more nutritional yeast for a completely plant-based option.

Rate this recipe

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Contemporary, Fusion

Servings 4

Ingredients

250 gm spaghetti/ pasta of choice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp miso
⅓ -½ cup parmesan (alternatively use vegan parmesan)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast + more for sprinkling
½ – 1 cup pasta water (as required)
furikake (for garnish)

Instructions

Add pasta to a boiling pot of salted water Cook until just shy of al dente. Drain reserving about 1 cup of pasta water.
Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Add the miso along with about half a cup of pasta water, stirring to break down/ emulsify the miso.
Add the pasta, continuously tossing so that it is coated with the miso sauce.
Add the parmesan and nutritional yeast (and up to ½ cup of more pasta water if required), continuing to toss with tongs so that the cheese melts, with both the parmesan and nutritional yeast uniformly combining into a sauce which is smooth and glossy.
Serve hot off the skillet with a seasoning of furikake and more nutritional yeast on top along with wilted greens (optional)