19 Healthy Miso Recipes
This collection of dietitian-designed recipes with miso will give you plenty of ideas for ways to use miso paste in your cooking. Here you’ll find miso recipes for seafood, vegan mains, soups, salads, sides, and sauces. With this roundup, you’ll never have to ask “what to do with miso paste?” again!
In this post you’ll find 19 healthy recipes with miso paste from the blog along with some answers to frequently asked questions. You can keep scrolling to explore everything, or click on the following sections to find exactly what you’re looking for:
What Is Miso Paste?
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning made from fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (a type of mould). It will sometimes contain other ingredients, like rice, barley, or seaweed.
There are many different types of miso paste, but what you will typically see in the grocery store are either the white (lighter) or red (darker) varieties. In general, the darker the colour, the stronger the taste.
What Does Miso Do In A Recipe?
The result of this fermentation process is a thick paste that’s used to add flavour to sauces, soups, marinades, spreads, dips, and more.
Miso adds a FANTASTIC salty and umami flavour to your dishes – it’s incredibly unique and one of my personal favourite flavour enhancers to use in my cooking (as evidenced by this roundup)!
Miso Nutrition Benefits
Because miso paste is made by fermenting soybeans, it’s a natural source of beneficial gut microbes that appear to play a role in many aspects of human health.
Miso is also rich in vitamins and minerals, such as:
- manganese
- vitamin K
- copper
- zinc
Please note that miso does contain a fair amount of sodium, so you likely will not need to add extra salt to any of these recipes 🙂
Seafood Dishes With Miso
In this section you’ll find seafood main dish recipes using miso paste. I particularly love miso with salmon!
1) Baked Miso Maple Ginger Salmon
2) Salmon With Sweet Potato & Miso Coconut Sauce
3) Spaghetti Squash With Kale Miso Pesto
Vegetarian & Vegan Recipes With Miso
In this section you’ll find vegetarian and/or vegan main dish recipes using miso paste.
4) Crispy Tofu With Maple Miso Sauce
5) Tempeh Stir-Fry With Miso Peanut Sauce
6) Creamy Miso Tahini Pasta
7) Miso Mushroom Pasta
Soups With Miso
You may be familiar with traditional miso soup, but miso can also be used to add flavour to all kinds of soups – just like these mushroom and ramen soups!
8) Creamy Miso Mushroom Soup
9) Miso Ramen Noodle Soup
Salads With Miso
Miso makes an AWESOME addition to salad dressings – here are some of my favourites!
10) Warm Mushroom Salad With Miso Dressing
11) Quinoa Edamame Salad With Miso Dressing
12) Crispy Tofu Salad With Miso Tahini
Side Dishes With Miso
In this section you’ll find delicious side dish recipes that use miso paste.
13) Roasted Miso Broccoli
14) Cheesy Miso Mushroom Rice
15) Japanese Sweet Potato With Miso Maple Tahini
16) Miso Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Sauces & Dressings With Miso
In this section you’ll find recipes for a miso salad dressing and some delicious all-purpose sauces that work great on pastas, grain bowls, and stir-fries!
17) Miso Salad Dressing With Sesame & Ginger
18) “Cheesy” Miso Tahini Sauce
19) Miso Peanut Sauce
And there you have it – 19 Easy, Healthy Miso Recipes to cook and enjoy. If you make any of these recipes, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
More Ingredient Roundups To Explore
- 10+ Healthy Recipes With Tahini
- 30+ Healthy Recipes With Oats
- 10+ Healthy Recipes With Kale
- 10+ Healthy Recipes With Sweet Potatoes
- 30+ Healthy Recipes With Chia Seeds
Get the Recipe: 19 Healthy Miso Recipes, Including Miso Salmon
Ingredients
- 2 pieces of salmon (about 4-6 ounces each)
- Black pepper, to taste
Miso Maple Ginger Sauce:
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp miso paste
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place salmon fillets on top.
- Add mirin to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mirin to a boil, and allow to boil for about 1 minute.
- Then, reduce the heat and add minced garlic. Stir around for about 30 seconds, then add miso paste. Whisk until the miso paste starts to dissolve and break down.
- Then, add the grated ginger, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and avocado oil. Bring everything to a boil again, whisking continuously for 1 minute.
- Once a smooth sauce has formed, turn off the heat. Spoon 1/2 of the sauce over top of the salmon fillets, coating evenly.
- Place salmon in the oven for 12-15 minutes, depending on thickness and desired doneness.
- When salmon is cooked, remove from oven. Serve with desired sides (ideas included in notes below!) and finish with the remainder of sauce and some black pepper. Enjoy hot!
Notes
- Leftovers of this recipe can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- You can either reheat the salmon (along with any grains/veggies) in the microwave for a quick meal. Or, if you’d prefer you can always repurpose the salmon in other ways. It would taste great flaked over a salad or added to a stir-fry!
- You can use either freshly grated or ground ginger (*I’d use roughly 1/4-1/2 tsp of ground ginger – feel free to start low and adjust to taste).
- Similarly, you can use either freshly minced garlic or garlic powder (*I’d use roughly 1/4-1/2 tsp of powder – feel free to start low and adjust to taste).
- While I love avocado oil here, you can always use another neutral oil that you have on hand.
- For a starch – I love this over a bed of whole grains like quinoa, brown or white rice, millet, or farro. You could also try it over some crispy roasted potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes!
- For non-starchy veggies – I’d go for some sautéed leafy greens (like spinach, kale, or swiss chard) or roasted veggies like zucchini or broccoli.
- TIP: make this a sheet pan meal by roasting veggies alongside salmon (like I did in the pictures with chopped zucchini). Aim to use a veggie that has a similar cooking time (about 15 mins) and cut into smaller pieces. Otherwise, get the veggies in the oven first and then add the salmon on the pan for the last 12-15 min!
- This recipe makes a decent amount of miso ginger sauce, so it’s perfect for mixing in with the grains and veggies when serving.
Nutrition
As a dietitian, I create recipes with whole food ingredients that provide the nutrients needed for optimal health. My nutrition philosophy does not focus on numbers; however, I understand that this information can be helpful.
Do note that the nutrition info provided is an estimate and I cannot guarantee correctness of the displayed values. These numbers will differ depending on brands used, recipe modifications, and amount eaten. If you require specific nutrition information due to medical reasons, please consult with your dietitian or physician.
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