← Back to the recipe garden

🍝 Pasta & noodles

Five-ingredient creamy miso pasta

Salty, silky pantry pasta with serious cacio e pepe energy

⏱️ Time estimate: about 20 minutes

Spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini gets tossed with butter, miso, Parmesan, and plenty of pasta water until the sauce turns glossy and creamy.

Creamy miso pasta topped with shredded nori in shallow bowls

Ingredients

Yield: 4 servings

  • Kosher salt
  • 16 ounces spaghetti, linguine, or bucatini
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons white or red miso
  • 4 ounces Parmesan, finely grated, about 1 packed cup
  • Kizami nori, furikake, or thinly sliced seaweed snacks, for garnish, optional

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Reserve 1 1/2 cups pasta water, then drain.
  2. Build the sauce. Add the butter, miso, and 1 1/4 cups pasta water to the pot. Whisk over medium heat until the miso dissolves and the liquid is smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  3. Emulsify. Add the pasta and Parmesan, then stir vigorously with tongs until the cheese melts and the sauce turns silky and emulsified.
  4. Serve. Divide into shallow bowls and top with nori, furikake, or sliced seaweed snacks if you like.

The stirring really does matter here. A little elbow grease is what makes it glossy instead of gloppy.