Dinner Italian Lunch Miso Vegan

Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Miso Pasta

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Do you need a recipe for the pasta that is vegan but you want it to be creamy at the same time? Well, this is the perfect recipe for you. You can make this pasta with any kind of mushrooms you like and it is full of umami from miso which is a traditional Japanese seasoning paste made from soy bean. Creaminess can be achieved with soy milk instead of cow milk or cream which makes this dish vegan and healthy but delicious!

What is Miso?

Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning paste produced by fermenting soybeans, salt, rice, or barley. It is one of the most staple seasonings in Japanese cuisine because it’s really versatile. We use it pretty much every day in everything such as miso soup, dip for vegetables, marinade for meat or fish, and even in Japanese sweets. Also, miso is highly beneficial to health. The saltiness of miso doesn’t affect blood pressure as much as other salty seasoning does.

You might be thinking miso is the same flavour as soy sauce in a different form but actually, they are so different! If you’re assuming that you can use miso and soy sauce interchangeably, please do not do that!

Ingredients You Will Need

paccheri or fettuccine – I like to use paccheri in this recipe but any thick pasta such as fettuccine or tagliatelle is also great with this creamy miso sauce.

mixed mushrooms – You can use any mushrooms for this recipe. For example, Shimeji, Shiitake, Maitake, Button mushroom, and Oyster mushroom.

onion – I use yellow onion for this recipe but you can use other types of onions or even shallot is great with mushrooms and pasta.

garlic – Garlic adds another dimension to your pasta dish as well as a distinctive aroma. However, you can omit it if you prefer not to use garlic in your pasta.

soy milk – To make this mushroom miso pasta creamy without any dairy products, soy milk is essential.

miso – Awase–miso is perfect to use in this pasta but you can use shiro-miso if you only have it at home. Be careful to add shiro-miso to your pasta sauce as it is less salty than awase-miso.

olive oil – I use extra virgin olive oil in my pasta sauce but neutral oil is good as well. Sunflower oil or

black pepper – A scrunch of pepper on top makes your pasta perfect!

Step-by-Step Guide

1 Boil 1.5l water with 15g of salt and cook the pasta until al dente according to the packet instructions.

2 Meanwhile, pour some olive oil into a frying pan and add sliced garlic. Gently heat it until fragrant, add sliced onion, 1/4 tsp salt, and some black pepper to fry for 2-3 minutes.

3 Add mushrooms and continue cooking for a couple of minutes making sure not to cook too much. Add 1 ladle of pasta water and drained pasta to the pan.

4 Cook the pasta for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally or until the pasta absorbs almost all the pasta water on high heat. Add 200ml soy milk to the pan, and reduce heat to low and continue cooking until slightly thickened.

5 Finally, stop heating and add 2 tsp of miso to the pan. Stir everything until the miso has melted into the sauce. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

Tips for Making Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Miso Pasta

Gently heat garlic

Do not heat sliced garlic on high heat because you don’t want burnt taste in your creamy pasta. Make sure to put garlic before heating oil and heat it on low-heat.

Cook your pasta until al dente

To let your pasta soak the creamy miso sauce, take the pasta before it is fully cooked and mix well to emulsify the sauce.

Add soy milk after turning the heat low

Heating soy milk too much causes it to curdle which makes your pasta sauce a bit grainy. Make sure to turn the heat down to low and continue cooking with low heat.

Do not heat miso!

If you add miso to a hot pan, the aroma and nutrition of it will be weakened, so it is important to stop heating it before you add miso to creamy sauce. Therefore, you have to cook the pasta to your liking before adding miso.

Q & A

Can I make this dish with other pasta?

Yes, absolutely! you can use any other kind of pasta if you want. It is your pasta after all. But I like to use thick pasta such as fettuccine, tagliatelle, and linguine to make this dish.

Can I use other types of plant-based milk?

If you don’t want to use soy milk in your pasta, you can replace it with other plant-based milk but they don’t contain as much protein as soy milk, so your pasta sauce won’t be as creamy as the sauce made with soy milk.

What kind of miso can I use in this recipe?

I use Awase-miso which is the most common type of miso in Japan in this recipe. It is not too salty nor too bland, so it’s very versatile in any dish. However, you can use pretty much any type of Japanese miso to make this pasta sauce. If you use shiro-miso, you need to add more and if you use aka-miso, you need to reduce the amount of miso you add to the sauce.

More Miso Recipes

Vegan Deep Fried Tofu with Sweet Miso Sauce and Peanuts (Miso Peanut Karaage)

Miso Tomato Spaghetti

Potato Tempura With Sweet Miso Sauce

Miso and Peanut Butter Blondie with Chocolate Chunks

Mashed Tofu Salad (Shiraae)

Vegan Creamy Mushroom & Miso Pasta

You can make this pasta with any kind of mushrooms you like and it is full of umami from miso which is a traditional Japanese seasoning paste made from soy bean. Creaminess can be achieved with soy milk instead of cow milk or cream which makes this dish vegan and healthy but delicious!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • 1 Large Pot
  • 1 Frying pan
  • 1 Spatula

Ingredients
  

  • 160 g paccheri or fettuccine
  • 15 g salt for cooking pasta
  • 1.5 l water for cooking pasta
  • 200 g mixed mushrooms (torn or cut into bite-size pieces) such as maitake, shimeji, shiitake
  • ½ onion sliced
  • 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
  • 200 ml soy milk
  • 2 tsp miso
  • some olive oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • some black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Boil 1.5l water with 15g of salt and cook the pasta until al dente according to the packet instructions.
  • Meanwhile, pour some olive oil into a frying pan and add sliced garlic. Gently heat it until fragrant, add sliced onion, 1/4 tsp salt, and some black pepper to fry for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add mushrooms and continue cooking for a couple of minutes making sure not to cook too much. Add 1 ladle of pasta water and drained pasta to the pan.
  • Cook the pasta for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally or until the pasta absorbs almost all the pasta water on high heat. Add 200ml soy milk to the pan, and reduce heat to low and continue cooking until slightly thickened.
  • Finally, stop heating and add 2 tsp of miso to the pan. Stir everything until the miso has melted into the sauce. Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

Notes

Can I make this dish with other pasta?
Yes, absolutely! you can use any other kind of pasta if you want. It is your pasta after all. But I like to use thick pasta such as fettuccine, tagliatelle, and linguine to make this dish.
Can I use other types of plant-based milk?
If you don’t want to use soy milk in your pasta, you can replace it with other plant-based milk but they don’t contain as much protein as soy milk, so your pasta sauce won’t be as creamy as the sauce made with soy milk.
What kind of miso can I use in this recipe?
I use Awase-miso which is the most common type of miso in Japan in this recipe. It is not too salty nor too bland, so it’s very versatile in any dish. However, you can use pretty much any type of Japanese miso to make this pasta sauce. If you use shiro-miso, you need to add more and if you use aka-miso, you need to reduce the amount of miso you add to the sauce.
Keyword Vegan, Easy Quick

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