Our Favorite Things to Make With a Tub of Miso

Spaghetti with Miso Bolognese

Japanese “itameshi” at work: miso and soy sauce build an extraordinarily meaty ragù in about an hour. You don’t taste the miso—just the meat.

By Hisham Ali HassanJune 17, 2026

Grilled Corn with Miso Butter and Sesame Salt

We balance the toasty sweetness of grilled corn with the creamy-salty richness of butter, miso, sesame and salt. To keep the cooking simple, we borrow cookbook author J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s clever idea of using a disposable aluminum pan to contain the e

By Courtney HillMarch 25, 2025

Miso Butter Spaghetti with Scallions

Miso and garlic deliver a flavor upgrade to that classic kid food—buttered noodles. Softened butter mixed with miso, garlic, scallion whites and lemon juice creates a simple, flavorful no-cook sauce for pasta. The heat from the noodles and some of the

By Felisia TanFebruary 19, 2025

Pan-Seared Steak with Smoky Miso Butter and Watercress Salad

Miso compound butter ups the umami; peppery watercress salad keeps things light.

By Courtney HillFebruary 14, 2022

Miso Ground Chicken with Rice and Scallions

Japanese niku miso is a simple mixture of ground meat cooked with miso, soy sauce and a few other basic ingredients from the Japanese pantry. Its savory-sweet flavor tends to be intense and concentrated, as niku miso is meant to be eaten with rice or

By Hisham Ali HassanDecember 9, 2025

Garlic Bread with Parmesan and Miso

For this update of all-American garlic bread—everyone’s favorite accompaniment to spaghetti and meatballs—we sauté chopped garlic until lightly browned to tame its fieriness and crisp its texture. There’s no need to painstakingly chop the cloves—as lo

By Courtney HillSeptember 5, 2025

Peanut Butter-Miso Cookies

Based on Falco Bakery’s wildly popular creation, this classic cookie gets a savory upgrade with white miso.

By Diane UngerJune 8, 2020

Miso-Ginger Chicken Salad

This crunchy salad skips the mayo in favor of a tangy, gingery miso-based dressing, with lots of texture from cucumbers and almonds.

Miso Pesto Pasta

Inspired by kinome ae, a miso and sansho leaf sauce we learned in Japan: rich miso replaces the cheese for a creamy, umami-packed pesto.

By Hisham Ali HassanSeptember 5, 2025

Lemon-Miso Stir-Fried Zucchini

From zucchini to pattypan, summer squash has a reputation for being bland and uninteresting. To combat this, we brown summer squash quickly over high-heat, facilitating caramelization, then toss it with a light and zingy sauce. Miso contributes salty-

By Courtney HillOctober 17, 2023

Sautéed Corn with Miso, Butter and Scallions

For this umami-filled, savory-sweet side dish, plump, tender kernels cut from ears of fresh sweet corn are the first choice, but out of season an equal amount of frozen corn kernels that have been thawed and patted dry will work; they’ll just take a f

Chocolate Pudding with Brown Sugar and Miso

Umami-packed white miso adds layers of depth and complexity to this pantry busting chocolate pudding.

Fettuccine with Miso and Kale Pesto

Bold, salty-sweet white miso forms the backbone of this vegan earthy kale and basil-based pesto. For richness and body, we add walnuts, echoing miso’s umami punch (pine nuts are a good stand-in for those who aren’t fans of walnuts). A few splashes of

By Dimitri DemopolousOctober 17, 2023

Stir-Fried Eggplant and Sweet Pepper with Miso

In this Japanese-inspired stir-fry, succulent eggplant gets bold, concentrated flavor from a sweetened glaze, plus a dose of zingy ginger.

By Rose HattabaughApril 27, 2022

Miso-Gochujang Shredded Pork

Cut into chunks, tossed into a Dutch oven with seasonings and cooked slowly for several hours in a 325°F oven, tough and chewy pork butt (or shoulder) becomes succulent and tender enough to shred. The technique involves little hands-on work, and once

By Courtney HillOctober 13, 2020

Soba with Asparagus, Miso Butter and Egg

To cook asparagus evenly, we cut the spears in two—stalks and tips—and simply toss the stalks into the noodle cooking water first, and a minute later add the tips. Stalks that measured about ½ inch at the thickest end were best. To flavor our asparagu

By Elizabeth GermainFebruary 3, 2017

Maple and Miso-Glazed Broiled Tofu

In this sweet-spicy tofu dish, a mixture of maple syrup, Sriracha, miso and sesame oil does triple-duty—first as a marinade for the tofu, then as a basting liquid and finally, thinned with a little water, as an umami-rich serving sauce. Pressing the p

By Rose HattabaughOctober 17, 2023

Pasta with Cremini Mushrooms and Miso

A meaty-yet-meatless cremini mushroom pasta, cooked directly in the sauce.

Honey-Miso Salmon and Broccolini Traybake

The vegetables gets a head start in the oven while the salmon marinates in a savory-sweet mixture of miso, soy sauce and honey.

By Malcolm JacksonOctober 27, 2023

Japanese Pork, Vegetable and Miso Stew (Tonjiru)

Miso is a familiar flavor in the light, brothy soup served at Japanese restaurants everywhere, but the thick, salty paste also lends its deep, complex savoriness to the chunky meat and vegetable stew called tonjiru. In Tokyo, chef Masato Ishizuki show

By Laura Russell & Lawman JohnsonFebruary 2, 2026

Spaghetti with Broccoli-Miso Sauce and Toasted Walnuts

Spaghetti with creamy broccoli sauce—now with an umami boost.

By Rose HattabaughNovember 15, 2022

Brown Rice and Mushroom Risotto with Miso and Scallions

We’ve given Italian risotto Japanese flair in a few ways. We swapped out the traditional Arborio rice for short-grain brown rice, which we first toast to bring out its nutty taste. We also replaced the usual wine with sake, which lends subtly sweet, m

By Rose HattabaughOctober 17, 2023

Miso Caramel

If you love salted caramel, miso caramel will blow your mind. It’s the perfect embellishment for ice cream, apple pie or even French toast. Use a saucepan with at least a 2-quart capacity; the mixture can sputter. Be sure to use white miso, which is t

By Courtney HillMarch 26, 2025

Broccolini with Miso Caesar Dressing

This spin on Caesar dressing uses mayonnaise as a base. It’s rich in umami because of the Parmesan (or anchovies), and a couple tablespoons of white miso adds incredible depth of flavor, loads of complexity and a subtle sweetness. A splash of olive oi

By Malcolm JacksonOctober 17, 2023

Miso-Walnut Soba with Bok Choy

Nutty soba noodles get a double hit of umami, with just six ingredients.

By Courtney HillAugust 10, 2020

Corn Chowder with Miso and Scallions

This creamy, no-cream corn chowder is the perfect vehicle to preserve summer corn freshness—freeze now, thank yourself later.

By Diane UngerJune 22, 2023

Miso Ramen

Flavorful ramen in 35 minutes? We accepted the challenge.

By Dimitri DemopolousApril 25, 2023

Steamed Whole Cauliflower with Miso and Honey

This recipe is the continuation of Steamed Whole Cauliflower.

By Courtney HillApril 7, 2020

Broccolini with Sesame-Miso Sauce

Even with just a handful of ingredients—many of them likely already in your pantry—the flavor payout here is huge. A thick, nubby mixture of toasted and coarsely ground sesame seeds and umami-rich miso is the perfect flavor accent to skillet-cooked Br

By Calvin CoxNovember 9, 2021

Miso-Garlic Slashed Chicken

This recipe delivers big flavor and a delicious main with minimal work. Umami-packed white miso does the heavy lifting and gets an assist from soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, ginger and garlic, each ingredient holding its own. Slashes cut into bone-in

By Diane UngerNovember 14, 2022

Kale and Miso Soup with Tofu and Ginger

This soup is clean and light yet packed with flavor thanks to white miso, while chili-garlic sauce adds garlicky notes as well as spiciness and a little tang.

By Diane UngerNovember 14, 2022

Miso, Shiitake Mushroom and Kimchi Soup

Though it’s made with just a handful of staple Asian ingredients, this soup is a satisfying flavor bomb because miso, kimchi and dried shiitake mushrooms all pack tons of umami. Be sure to use low-sodium broth, as miso can be quite salty. If you like,

By Calvin CoxNovember 11, 2022

Smothered Chicken with Bourbon and Miso

This is our adaptation of a recipe from “Smoke and Pickles” by Edward Lee. It's a fantastic Asian-inflected spin on an all-American favorite: smothered pork chops. A combination of umami-rich ingredients, woodsy bourbon and sweet-tangy orange juice pr

Chicken Salad with Red Cabbage and Miso

A store-bought rotisserie chicken makes quick work of this simple chicken salad.

By Julia RackowOctober 13, 2020

Miso–Spiced Rum Bananas Foster

We’ve given bananas foster, an American classic, a big flavor update. Honey sweetens while adding floral nuances and miso balances with a delicious savoriness. We use spiced rum as a one-ingredient way to infuse the buttery sauce with flavor and aroma

Pan-Seared Miso-Marinated Skirt Steak

For this recipe, we preferred red miso for its deep, rich, savory flavor. It is used in both the marinade and the sauce for the steak. When slicing the steak for serving, be sure to cut against the grain. This results in shorter muscle fibers, which t

By Sandra Rose GluckApril 2, 2018

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Kale-Miso Salad

Sweet potatoes roasted until deeply browned and tossed with a touch of paprika are a great foil for the savory, minerally notes of a miso-dressed kale salad. The char on the potatoes provides a note of bitterness that balances the richness of the miso

Miso-Ginger Dressing

The creamy texture and mild, sweet-salty flavor of white miso, also called shiro miso, worked best for this dressing. Walnuts gave it richness and body. If the dressing becomes too thick after being refrigerated, gradually whisk in water to thin it.

By Elizabeth GermainDecember 11, 2018

Stir-Fried Orange-Miso Chicken

This recipe adds rich umami flavor to thinly sliced chicken thanks to a cornstarch slurry spiked with white miso. To finish the stir-fry, we add more miso plus fresh ginger, orange zest and juice; this mixture thickens lightly thanks to the starch and

By Rose HattabaughOctober 27, 2023

Miso-Gochujang Umami Sauce

Korean ssamjang, a salty, spicy condiment used with foods that often are wrapped in lettuce for eating, inspired this umami-packed no-cook sauce. It gets its rich, spicy-sweet flavor from a combination of white miso and gochujang—two high-impact ingre

By Rose HattabaughOctober 17, 2023

Miso-Glazed Broiled Salmon

Soy sauce, mirin, white miso and honey combine to create a sweet-savory balance in this super-simple recipe. Some of the glaze mixture is reserved for serving—drizzle it over the salmon itself or onto a side of sautéed greens or broccoli.

By Julia RackowDecember 10, 2018

Steamed Fish with Miso and Scallions

Steaming is an ideal cooking method for mild, flaky white fish. Moist heat surrounds the fish, cooking it from all sides, so that there’s no need to move the delicate fillets. We line the steamer basket with ingredients that prevent the fish from stic

Roasted Cauliflower with Miso Glaze

This recipe—inspired by a dish at Fujisaki, a Japanese restaurant along the Sydney waterfront—coats chunks of cauliflower with dengaku, a thick, miso-based glaze that is sweet and savory. We roast the cauliflower before tossing the richly browned flor

By Phoebe MaglathlinFebruary 8, 2020

Seared Scallops with Browned Butter–Miso Sauce

Scallops are quick to cook, but taken past the point of perfectly done, they turn rubbery. When searing them, the keys to developing flavorful caramelization are: 1) make sure they are dry before they go into the skillet and 2) deeply brown them on on

By Milk StreetNovember 17, 2025

Miso Butter Salmon and Vegetable Packets

There are numerous approaches to making chan chan yaki, a Japanese dish of salmon and vegetables flavored with miso and butter. The dish originates in Hokkaido, but we learned the version that inspired this recipe at Kermis, a stamp-sized restaurant i

By Rose HattabaughSeptember 5, 2025