Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta

This Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta is ready in 30 minutes. Flavoured with garlic, chillies, miso, and mushrooms for a spicy and umami filled dish.

This is the type of recipe that I rely on during busy weeks. It’s quick, simple, flavourful, and comforting. You honestly can’t go wrong, especially if you’re a mushroom fan (like me).

This recipe only requires a handful of ingredients with the miso and the mushroom being the stars of the show.

Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta

This recipe makes for a great lunch or dinner and you can have it ready in under 30 minutes. It starts off with mushrooms cooked over a high heat which in turn causes them to caramelise. This means a more mushroom-y flavour and nuttiness!

We’re then creating a sauce from butter, miso, chillies and garlic. The butter adds a little bit of richness and decadence, but you could totally use olive oil instead if you wanted to. And finally, the pasta is tossed with the sauce along with the mushrooms, and finished with fresh parsley and pecorino.

It’s part of my ‘30 Minute Recipes’ series!

This entire series will be full of recipes that can all be made in UNDER 30 MINUTES. They’re perfect for busy days, or for those evenings when you just want something quick.

In fact, they’re all recipes that I make for my own lunches and dinners. Though I’m always cooking for the blog, those recipes don’t make up my lunches and dinners.

You can find the rest of the recipes here.

What is miso?

Miso is a fermented paste made from soybeans, rice, salt, and koji. Koji is a fungus strain which inoculates miso in order for it to ferment.

There are hundreds if not thousands of different types of miso. With the most popular two being shiro miso (white) and aka miso (red). Besides the colour, the main difference between the two is the fermentation time.

Red Miso vs White Miso

Generally, the longer the fermentation, the deeper the flavour becomes and the darker the colour. Either type of miso can be used here, I always tend to use red miso purely because I prefer the more intense flavour.

Miso and Mushrooms means a LOT of UMAMI

Both miso and mushrooms are great sources of glutamates, which makes them incredible sources for umami. Umami is one of our taste sensations and is described as being deeply savoury.

By incorporating umami in a dish, it elevates the flavour and makes it taste more more-ish. It’s commonly described as adding ‘deliciousness‘ to a dish and plays a vital role in balancing flavours, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

This Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta is all about the flavour

We’ve got a lot going on here, and it’s all delicious. We’ve already mentioned the umami that we get from the miso and the mushrooms above.

The mushrooms also give us a nutty earthiness once they’re caramelised. Which is enhanced further by the nutty and cheesy pecorino.

There’s also garlic and chilli which add so much flavour and a little bit of heat. A crucial duo that make this mushroom pasta just that more special. We’re also finishing this recipe off with some parsley for a clean peppery note. This recipe is full of simple ingredients and we want to taste every bit of it.

You can use any mushrooms you like, but these are the ones I prefer

I always prefer to use either chestnut mushrooms (also known as baby bella), shiitake, or oyster. Or usually a combination of 2 or all 3. For this recipe I tend to use both chestnut and shiitake mushrooms.

They offer the most amount of earthiness and nuttiness, with shiitake also being full of umami. Shiitake mushrooms have a very unique flavour that I do feel is quite key for this recipe. I’d definitely recommend using them here.

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Mushrooms – I’ve used chestnut (baby bella) and shiitake mushrooms here, they’d definitely be my recommended choices
• Miso – red miso would be my recommendation as it has a much stronger flavour than white miso. However feel free to use white if that’s more accessible
• Tomato purée – this is often sold in a tube and is essentially a double concentrated tomato paste. It’s very thick with an intense and rich tomato flavour (also provides another big boost of umami!)
• Pecorino – I purchase vegetarian pecorino from Tesco (for UK based readers). It’s a full-fat, dry, hard cheese that has a nutty and salty flavour. It also adds even more umami!
• Chilli oil – I always use my Homemade Chilli Oil which is staple in my house, I always keep a jar in the fridge at all times. The chilli oil in this recipe is totally optional and it’s just for a drizzle right at the end

The KEY tips for making this Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta

1. Prepare your mushrooms properly – the fresher the mushrooms, the better they tend to cook and caramelise. Avoid washing your mushrooms unless absolutely necessary, instead clean with a lightly damp paper towel. Mushrooms will soak up water and then release it during the cooking process which can cause them to turn soggy
2. Don’t add salt whilst cooking the mushrooms – this will draw out water and make them turn soggy. In this recipe we won’t actually be adding any salt to the mushrooms as the miso and pecorino will provide enough seasoning. But a mushroom cooking tip worth mentioning I say!
3. Make sure the mushrooms are really well caramelised – you want to see caramelisation all over the mushrooms and they should not be watery or soggy. The best way to do this is by cooking them over a high heat and tossing them infrequently. You’ll get a deep nutty smell when they’re starting to caramelise
4. USE the pasta water – the pasta cooking water contains starch which helps emulsify the sauce
5. Keep the heat low when the cheese gets added – if the heat is too high it can cause the cheese to split once it’s added in, so keep it very low at this stage

How to make Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta

1+2) Start by slicing the mushrooms. If you’re using shiitake mushrooms, remove the stems as they’re quite tough

3) Pour some olive oil into a pan and place it over a high heat – this needs to be hot

4) Add all the mushrooms to the hot pan

5) Keep them over a high heat, don’t add any salt, and stir occasionally until they’re caramelised and smell nutty

6) Transfer aside

7) Melt the butter in the pan, then add the garlic and dried chilli flakes

8) Sauté the garlic and chilli for around a minute

9+10) Then add all the mushrooms back in and cook together for a further minute

11) Get your pasta boiling and cook till al dente. Towards the end of cooking, reserve some of the pasta water (this is gold for pasta sauces)

12) Pour the pasta water into a bowl with the miso and tomato paste, and mix together till smooth

13+14) Pour the miso and tomato paste mixture into the pan and mix together over a low heat

15) Next, add in the milk or cream (I tend to just use milk most of the time)

16) Also add in the finely grated pecorino

17) Mix everything together on the lowest heat till it forms a creamy sauce

18) Then, add in all of the cooked pasta

19) Add the fresh parsley, red chilli, and spring onion greens

20) Mix everything together well over a low heat

21+22) Plate up and top with chilli oil (optional) and some more spring onion greens. Sesame seeds would also be great here if you like

Frequently asked questions

Can this Chilli Miso Mushroom Pasta be made vegan?

It can, substitute the butter for vegan butter or olive oil. Substitute the milk/cream for a plant based milk/cream. And the pecorino for any melting vegan cheese that you like.

How long will this mushroom pasta keep? What’s the best way to store it?

This pasta will keep for 3-4 days refrigerated in an air tight container. It can be reheated perfectly on the stove or in the microwave.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy cooking!