Vegan Spicy Miso Pasta

Vegan spicy miso pasta is a delicious Asian-Italian fusion dish that blends multiple umami-heavy flavours into one bowl of deliciousness. Mushrooms and courgettes are smothered in a rich, creamy sauce enriched with miso and maple syrup to create a funky dish with a perfect taste balance.

Pasta with miso is not something that you hear about every day. It's true, the combination has been an internet sensation for a while after Chrissy Teigen made it popular, but her famous pasta dish is a sort of carbonara, bacon and all.

This is a vegan spicy miso pasta that's full of plant-based goodness. You don't really need meat or dairy to create an umami-flavoured bomb that will surprise your taste buds in a very pleasant way.

What do you need to make vegan miso pasta?

You don't need many ingredients to make this creamy miso pasta, and the good news is that the recipe is quite versatile, so you can add other veggies if you want.

To make a delicious miso mushroom pasta, you need the following:

Mushrooms and courgettes — I use a combination of baby Portobello mushrooms and Forestiere mushrooms here, but you can use any type of mushroom you want. Shiitake, oyster, and chestnut mushrooms are all excellent choices. You can also add some rehydrated porcini or wild mushrooms for an extra umami kick.

Maple syrup — try to use a quality maple syrup as you'll really be able to feel its flavour in the pasta. If you don't like sweet/savoury combinations, feel free to skip it. I highly recommend you try it, as the final flavour of the sauce is to die for.

Miso paste — Miso is a type of fermented paste that is used to add a salty umami flavour to Japanese dishes. Most of the miso available in supermarkets across the world is made in Japan. Its texture is quite similar to peanut butter, and the taste is tangy, salty, and savory at the same time. I used an organic miso paste from Yutaka in this recipe.

Plant-based cream — Use a plant-based cream that works as a substitute for double cream, bit single cream, as you want the thicker consistency in this sauce.

Plant-based ricotta — This one's a bit tricky to find, at least in the UK. I used the Violife Creamy Original Flavour, which has a texture somewhere between ricotta and cream cheese.

Pasta — I used casarecce for this recipe as I like how the texture of this pasta shape goes with the miso sauce, but any type of short or long pasta would work here.

How do you make it?

This is a recipe that's ready in just 20 minutes from start to finish, so it's great for those days when you want to eat something fancy but don't feel like spending too much time in the kitchen.

Start by cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the package. don't forget to reserve some pasta water before draining.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan and fry the mushrooms and courgette for 4-5 minutes until they reduce in size and the liquid is mostly gone.
• Stir in the maple syrup and continue to cook for another minute.
• Remove the mushroom mix from the pan and set it aside.

• In the same pan, heat the rest of the olive oil and fry the garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Add the miso paste and cream and stir well to combine. When the sauce starts to bubble, stir in the ricotta and cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens.
• Add the mushroom mix back to the pan and stir in the spinach.
• Cook for 2 minutes until the spinach wilts, then transfer the cooked pasta to the pan. Toss it until it's well coated in sauce, then season to taste and serve immediately.

Recipe tips and tricks

• Don't overdo it with the miso. Even though it might be tempting to add more than half a tablespoon, it'll likely throw the flavours of the sauce off.
• Some other veggies that would work well in this recipe include broccoli florets, sweet pepper and aubergine (eggplant).
• If the sauce looks too thick at any point, add some pasta water gradually until you reach the desired consistency.

If you liked this vegan spicy miso pasta recipe, you might also like some of my other easy vegan pasta recipes:

Vegan Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Walnuts (Tagliatelle ai Funghi)

Creamy Vegan Peanut Pasta

Vegan Penne Alla Vodka

Creamy Vegan Sausage Pasta with Spinach

20-Minute Vegan Pasta Puttanesca

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